Oct 16, 2005 4 min read

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Matt Leinart launched himself toward the end zone with Southern Cal’s winning streak and its No. 1 ranking hanging in the balance. Swarmed by Notre Dame just short, the ball went shooting out of bounds and the clock ticked down to 0:00.

On the sideline, Charlie Weis raised his arms in what he thought was victory, sending the Fighting Irish and their joyous fans pouring onto the field.

Sorry, Charlie. The Trojans weren’t done.

After USC coach Pete Carroll sprinted down the field to plead his case, officials put 7 seconds back on the clock and the ball inside the 1.

With another chance, Leinart pushed and spun his way into the end zone with 3 seconds left to cap a thrilling but chaotic finish as USC escaped with its 28th straight victory, a back-and-forth 34-31 win Saturday over No. 9 Notre Dame.

UCLA 44, Wash St. 41

PULLMAN, Wash. – Maurice Drew had a 1-yard touchdown run in overtime and Drew Olson threw for five scores as No. 12 UCLA came from 21 points down to beat Washington State.

The Bruins (6-0, 3-0 Pacific-10) snapped a four-game WSU win streak and posted their first win in Pullman since 1993.

TCU 38, Army 17

FORT WORTH, Texas – Jeff Ballard passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more as No. 25 TCU held off a charge from winless Army for a victory.

The Horned Frogs (6-1) won their fifth consecutive game, while Army (0-6) dropped its 11th straight, tying Rice for the longest losing streak in the nation.

Georgia 34, V’bilt 17

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Georgia Bulldogs now have a much easier path to a berth in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

D.J. Shockley threw three touchdown passes, Thomas Brown rushed for 91 yards and the No. 5 Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt in a rare SEC East showdown with a team that has been the league’s worst team for decades.

Auburn 34, Arkansas 17

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kenny Irons rushed for a career-high 182 yards, and Brandon Cox threw three second-half touchdowns to lead No. 21 Auburn over Arkansas.

The Tigers (5-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) won for the 20th time in 21 games. They have beaten 13 straight SEC opponents.

Oregon 45, Wash 21

EUGENE, Ore. – There was no letdown for No. 20 Oregon when Washington came to town.

Kellen Clemens threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns and the Ducks beat the Huskies for their second straight decisive win over their northwest rivals.

LSU 21, Florida 17

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU refused to let this one slip away.

Joseph Addai ran for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown, JaMarcus Russell had two TD passes and the 10th-ranked Tigers ended a three-game home losing streak to No. 11 Florida with a victory.

LSU led 14-0 in the first quarter, but the Gators scored 17 straight points to move ahead in the third. The momentum swing was reminiscent of LSU’s last home game, when it squandered a 21-point lead against Tennessee and lost 30-27 in overtime.

Texas 42, Colorado 17

AUSTIN, Texas – Vince Young ran for three touchdowns, passed for two more and No. 2 Texas avoided any post-Oklahoma letdown with a convincing win over No. 24 Colorado.

Off to its best start since an 11-0 regular season in 1983, the Longhorns appeared ripe for an upset – or at least a close game – after their emotional win over Oklahoma a week earlier snapped a five-year losing streak to the Sooners.

Oregon St. 23, Cal 20

BERKELEY, Calif. – Yvenson Bernard rushed for a career-high 185 yards and the go-ahead touchdown with 6:41 to play, and Oregon State snapped No. 18 California’s 10-game home winning streak in a victory.

Matt Moore passed for 196 yards and Oregon State’s defense forced five turnovers in a miserable performance by the Golden Bears (5-2, 2-2 Pac-10), who lost their second straight after the school’s best start since 1996.

Tex Tech 59, K. St. 20

LUBBOCK, Texas – Cody Hodges threw for 643 yards and five touchdowns to lead No. 13 Texas Tech over Kansas State, helping the Red Raiders to their best start since 1998.

The win sets up a showdown at No. 2 Texas next week that could ultimately determine the winner of the Big 12 South division.

Ohio St. 35, Mich. St. 24

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Troy Smith threw three long touchdown passes and Ashton Youboty returned a blocked field-goal attempt 72 yards for a score to lead No. 15 Ohio State to a win over No. 16 Michigan State in a game in which the Buckeyes didn’t run a play in Spartans territory until just over 5 minutes remained.

Ohio State’s first play in Michigan State territory was Smith’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes that gave the Buckeyes (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) the lead for good with 4:56 left.