Notre Dame wins Top-5 showdown
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 4 Notre Dame avenged its most damaging loss from last season by running out to a 21-point lead and holding on to beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night.
Micah Gilbert caught two of those scoring passes, Jordan Faison had the other and Nolan James Jr. had a rushing score for Notre Dame (8-1, No. 11 College Football Playoff), which came into the game knowing another loss to Miami could doom its national championship hopes.
Not to worry. The Hurricanes (8-1, No. 1 CFP) started slowly on offense in their first game without injured wide receiver and Heisman Trophy hopeful Malachi Toney -- and Notre Dame, which lost to Miami 27-24 last season in a game that ultimately kept the Irish out of the playoff, never trailed.
Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes for Miami, twice getting the Hurricanes within a touchdown after they trailed 24-3 early in the third. Cooper Barkate had a pair of those scoring grabs, and Elija Lofton had the other.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 42, NO. 12 MISSISSIPPI 7
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Gunner Stockton passed for four touchdowns and ran for another Saturday night as Georgia coasted to a win over Mississippi.
Georgia (8-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 2 CFP) dominated the opening 22 minutes with touchdown drives of 72, 96, 61 and 50 yards while Ole Miss crossed midfield once.
Stockton finished 9 of 15 passing for 186 yards, directing the Bulldogs to a 28-0 halftime lead. Georgia finished with 482 yards of offense, 298 in the first half.
NO. 3 UTAH 28, NO. 7 BYU 20
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Devon Dampier accounted for four touchdowns, Utah intercepted four Bear Bachmeier passes and the Utes remained undefeated with a victory over BYU.
Dampier hurt the Cougars with with his arm and legs, finishing with 264 yards of offense to help the Utes (9-0, 6-0 Big 12, No. 3 CFP) snap a three-game losing streak in the Holy War rivalry series. He threw two touchdown passes to Braden Pegan and ran for two more scores.
Trailing by six at halftime, Utah forced three turnovers and shut out the Cougars (7-2, 4-2, No. 9 CFP) in the second half to keep alive its College Football Playoff hopes. BYU has lost two of three to dampen its CFP chances.
NO. 5 UCLA 34, MINNESOTA 20
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Ty Dieffenbach threw two 75-yard touchdown passes to Aidan Mizell in the fourth quarter for UCLA, as the Bruins sped away from Minnesota to stay undefeated with a victory.
Wayne Knight rushed for 109 yards and his 15th score of the season to help keep the Bruins (9-0, 6-0) atop the Big Ten and boost their College Football Playoff bid after landing eighth in the first ranking this week.
Dieffenbach, who took over a month ago for the injured Nico Iamaleava, had a career-high 303 yards on just eight completions to overcome an interception and a lost fumble. He found Mizell, a transfer from Florida, streaking through the secondary on consecutive one-play possessions to fend off the Gophers (5-4, 3-3).
NO. 16 TENNESSEE 34, NO. 8 KENTUCKY 6
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Daune Morris had an 66-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Tennessee’s stifling defense shut down Kentucky.
The Volunteers (7-2, 4-2 in Southeastern Conference) are very much alive in the College Football Playoff race. They came in No. 13, while the Wildcats (7-2, 4-2), who had their six-game winning streak snapped, were No. 6.
NO. 9 ALABAMA 31, NO. 15 LSU 13
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Keelon Russell passed for three touchdowns, Alabama’s defense made several pivotal fourth-down stops, and the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide pulled away for a victory over LSU.
Alabama (7-2, 5-2 SEC) remained firmly in the College Football Playoff picture, while leaving LSU (6-3, 3-3) with long-shot hopes at best under first-year coach Lane Kiffin, who also dropped to 0-6 in his coaching career against Alabama (including prior stints at Mississippi and Tennessee).
NO. 10 TEXAS 34, NO. 19 MISSOURI 20
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Arch Manning threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead TD pass to Raleek Brown with just over five minutes to go, and Texas rallied to beat Missouri and keep alive its College Football Playoff hopes.
Brown added 85 yards and a clinching touchdown on the ground, while the Longhorns (7-2, 4-2 SEC, No. 7 CFP) made a series of big defensive plays in the fourth quarter to help preserve their fourth win over a top-20 opponent this season.
OREGON 41, NO. 11 OHIO ST. 28
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Dierre Hill Jr. rushed for two touchdowns, Dylan Raiola passed for 257 yards and Oregon rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit to hammer Ohio State.
The Ducks (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten, No. 23 CFP) were down 14-0 late in the first quarter before scoring on four of their next five drives to take control of the game and deliver a stunning loss to the Buckeyes, who have dropped two straight games for the first time since 2011.
NO. 13 TEXAS TECH 53, WEST VIRGINIA 48
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Thomas Castellanos threw for a career-high five touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Kenny Johnson with 2:44 remaining, and Texas Tech held on for a victory over West Virginia in an old-school Big 12 offensive slugfest.
The Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) stayed on track for a shot at a second consecutive conference title, and the College Football Playoff spot that would come with it, by rallying from seven points down in the fourth quarter after leading by 14 at halftime.
NO. 14 WAKE FOREST 77, MERRIMACK 0
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Steele Pizzella stepped into the starter’s role and kept Wake Forest rolling, throwing for 432 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to lead the Demon Deacons to their sixth straight victory, a record-setting rout of Merrimack of the Football Championship Subdivision.
NO. 17 HOUSTON 31, CINCINNATI 24
HOUSTON (AP) -- Re’Shaun Sanford II ran for 126 yards and the tiebreaking score in the fourth quarter, and Conner Weigman threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns as Houston beat Cincinnati.
Sanford’s 51-yard TD run with 5:10 remaining gave the Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) the lead.
NO. 20 BOISE ST. 64, COLORADO ST. 38
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Backup quarterback Max Cutforth threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score as Boise State extended its winning streak to eight games by beating Colorado State.
NO. 23 SOUTH CAROLINA 23, TEXAS A&M 9
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- LaNorris Sellers threw for 251 yards and a touchdown and ran for a clinching score as South Carolina won its fourth straight game by outlasting Texas A&M.
OKLAHOMA 23, NO. 25 FLORIDA 7
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- John Mateer did just enough with his legs and arm under new play-caller Jason Witten and Oklahoma’s tough defense took care of the rest as the Sooners throttled Florida in a victory.