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No. 5 Stanford 42, No. 23 Arizona State 28
The weekend's only ranked matchup looked like it would be a blowout early. Stanford led 29-0 at halftime and 39-7 at the end of the third, only to let Arizona State back in it by pulling their starters a bit prematurely. The Sun Devils would rally for 21 consecutive points to make it interesting at 39-28, but Stanford would go on a 9 play, 5:47 drive that resulted in a game-icing field goal.
An illegal substitution penalty on 4th and 1 would ultimately doom the Sun Devils, allowing Stanford to shave several more minutes off the clock.
GIF credit: FOX
Cardinal defensive back Ed Reynolds was ejected for targeting in this one. He'll miss the first half of next week's game against Washington State.
Stanford's overpowering and methodical rushing attack was paced by Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson, who combined for 155 yards and three touchdowns between them, and quarterback Kevin Hogan did just enough to aid them, chipping in two passing touchdowns of his own.
Arizona State's Marion Grice found little running room against Stanford's front seven, struggling his way to 50 yards on 17 carries. Sun Devil receiver Jaelen Strong was a highlight, as he terrorized the Cardinal secondary for 12 catches, 168 yards and a touchdown.
No. 9 Georgia 45, North Texas 21
Maybe it was just a case of looking ahead -- after all, the Bulldogs have a date with No. 6 LSU next weekend -- but North Texas gave Georgia quite a scare on Saturday afternoon. Though the Bulldogs surged to an early 14-0 lead, the Mean Green kept hanging around, eventually tying it up at 21 early in the third, thanks to a blocked punt they recovered for touchdown. Georgia would seize control soon after that, scoring 24 straight points for the final margin.
Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards in this one, 98 of which came on a post route to Reggie Davis. That play would be a new school record for longest pass and one of Murray's three touchdowns on the day. Todd Gurley led the Bulldogs with 91 rushing yards and a touchdown, while North Texas managed just seven rushing yards in total.
No. 15 Michigan 24, Connecticut 21
One time is an aberration, two times is a trend: for the second straight week, Michigan has gone down to the wire with an unranked, unheralded opponent. The story was largely the same as it was against Akron -- Michigan committed too many turnovers, was unable to move the ball through the air effectively, had to rally late, and once again had to hang on for dear life at the end. Brendan Gibbons' field goal with 4:36 to play would put Michigan ahead for good, although they had to stop a final 4th and 29 try by Connecticut before coming away with the win.
With quarterback Devin Gardner struggling immensely, Wolverine running back Fitzgerald Toussaint took up the slack, carrying the ball 24 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Gardner was 13-of-25 for 111 yards and two interceptions. He also had a fumble returned for touchdown.
Connecticut quarterback Chandler Whitmer wasn't fantastic himself, but he did just enough to keep the Huskies in it late. The 6'1 junior completed 16-of-32 for 159 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His favorite target on Saturday was receiver Deshon Foxx, who tallied a season-high five catches for 60 yards. Lyle McCombs ran for 38 yards on eight carries.
No. 6 LSU 35, Auburn 21
In a matchup between two Tigers, it was LSU coming away with the win. Two Jeremy Hill touchdowns gave LSU an early lead, and they were able to hang on for the win. Auburn running back Tre Mason scored twice in the third quarter to get Auburn within two scores, but it would never get closer than that. Auburn threatened to cut the lead to single digits, but could not convert a late fourth down in LSU territory.
GIF credit: ESPN
For LSU, Hill's efforts were the key to victory -- the sophomore ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns, effectively tying Auburn's scoring output on his own. Jarvis Landry caught seven passes for 118 yards and a score, while Odell Beckham added 59 more receiving yards.
No. 7 Louisville 72, Florida International 0
Louisville wasn't the only team to beat down and/or annihilate their opponent, but they were the only one to force a running clock. FIU was a pitiful 1-of-13 on 3rd downs for this one, and that wasn't even the worst part. The Golden Panthers were only able to record 30 yards of offense, a total that eight different Cardinals exceeded on their own. Heisman candidate Teddy Bridgewater threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns in reduced action, and three Louisville running backs reached the end zone.
So far, no problems for Louisville, which will likely have to win out if they want to make a BCS bowl game.
In other games...
No. 1 Alabama 31, Colorado State 6
No. 4 Ohio State 76, Florida A&M 0
No. 8 Florida State 54, Bethune-Cookman 6
No. 10 Texas A&M 42, SMU 13
No. 13 UCLA 59, New Mexico State 13
No. 16 Miami 77, Savannah State 7
No. 17 Washington 56, Idaho State 0
No. 18 Northwestern 35, Maine 21
No. 19 Florida 31, Tennessee 17
No. 20 Baylor 70, Louisiana Monroe 7
No. 22 Notre Dame 17, Michigan State 13
No. 24 Wisconsin 41, Purdue 10
No. 25 Texas Tech 33, Texas St 7
Georgia Tech 28, North Carolina 20
Minnesota 43, San Jose State 24
Wake Forest 25, Army 11
Middle Tennessee 42, Florida Atlantic 35 (OT)
Iowa 59, Western Michigan 3
Wisconsin 41, Purdue 10
Kansas 13, Louisiana Tech 10
Syracuse 52, Tulane 17
Vanderbilt 24, Massachusetts 7
Virginia Tech 29, Marshall 21 (3OT)
Maryland 37, West Virginia 0
Pittsburgh 58, Duke 55
USC 17, Utah State 14
Rutgers 28, Arkansas 24
Texas 31, Kansas State 21
Washington State 42, Idaho 0
Houston 31, Rice 26
Nebraska 59, South Dakota State 20
Jacksonville State 32, Georgia State 26 (OT)
Nevada 31, Hawaii 9
Penn State 34, Kent State 0
Virginia 49, VMI 0
Cincinnati 14, Miami (OH) 0
Fresno State 41, Boise State 40
Wyoming 56, Air Force 23
Toledo 38, Central Michigan 17
Ball State 51, Eastern Michigan 20
Ohio 38, Austin Peay 0
UAB 52, Northwestern State 28
Bowling Green 48, Murray State 7
Memphis 31, Arkansas State 7
Old Dominion 59, The Citadel 58
Louisiana-Lafayette 35, Akron 30
Western Kentucky 58, Morgan State 17
Northern Illinois 43, Eastern Illinois 39
Oregon State 34, San Diego State 30
Mississippi State 62, Troy 7
Missouri 45, Indiana 28
Texas-San Antonio 32, UTEP 13
UNLV 38, Western Illinois 7
Utah 20, BYU 13
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