Top 25 roundup
Florida knocks Georgia from ranks of the unbeaten JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Chris Leak threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and No. 16 Florida used an impressive defensive performance to beat the previously unbeaten Georgia Bulldogs 14-10 Saturday at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
The Gators (6-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated their rivals to the north for the 14th time in the last 16 meetings, and kept alive their hopes of winning the SEC East and returning to the league title game for the first time since 2000.
But No. 4 Georgia still controls its fate in the division. The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1) need to beat Auburn in two weeks or have Florida lose to Vanderbilt or South Carolina to advance to the conference championship game for the third time in four years.
Playing without injured quarterback D.J. Shockley, the Bulldogs probably lost their shot at the national title.
No. 8 UCLA 30, Stanford 27, OT
STANFORD, Calif. – Brandon Breazell caught a 23-yard TD pass from Drew Olson in overtime after No. 8 UCLA scored 21 points in the final 7:04 of regulation to beat stunned Stanford.
Maurice Drew ran for two late scores, including a 1-yard tumble across the goal line with 46 seconds left to force OT. Olson went 24-of-35 for 293 yards and two TDs while leading his latest jaw-dropping comeback.
Trent Edwards passed for 169 yards and two scores for the Cardinal (4-3, 3-2), who blew a golden opportunity to make a national mark in their first season under new coach Walt Harris. J.R. Lemon had two TD catches.
No. 1 USC 55, Washington St. 13
LOS ANGELES – Matt Leinart passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns before coming out late in the third quarter, LenDale White rushed for 155 yards and two scores, and top-ranked USC won its 30th straight game.
The Trojans, No. 1 in the AP, coaches’ and Harris polls, fell .0007 behind first-place Texas in the latest BCS standings because the computers favored the Longhorns. It might be a different story when the next set of standings are released.
No. 5 Alabama 35, Utah St. 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Brodie Croyle threw three touchdown passes and DJ Hall set an Alabama receiving record. Hall finished with 11 catches for 157 yards, becoming the first Alabama receiver to have back-to-back games with at least 10 receptions. Hall caught 10 balls for 139 yards last week.
No. 10 Florida St 35, Maryland 27
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Drew Weatherford and James Coleman scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to lift Florida State (7-1, 5-1 ACC). Weatherford’s 15-yard run with 8:52 left gave the Seminoles a 28-27 lead and they scored three minutes later on Coleman’s 1-yard run. Coleman’s score was set up by Ernie Sims’ interception.
No. 12 Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31
MINNEAPOLIS – Antonio Pittman rushed for two second-half touchdowns and a career-high 186 yards, springing No. 12 Ohio State to a 45-31 victory over Minnesota on Saturday in a game featuring more than 1,000 yards of offense.
Troy Smith passed for 233 yards and three scores, two to Santonio Holmes, and Ted Ginn Jr.’s 100-yard touchdown on a kickoff return highlighted a wild first quarter for the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten).
No. 6 Miami 34, North Carolina 16
MIAMI – Tyrone Moss rushed for career-highs of 195 yards and four touchdowns, three scores after halftime. The Hurricanes trailed 16-7 at intermission, then scored three touchdowns in an eight-minute span of the third quarter to take control.
Moss scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, then added second-half scoring runs of 1, 4 and 15 yards to ensure Miami (6-1, 3-1) wouldn’t be upset by North Carolina for the second straight year. Quadtrine Hill recovered a punt he blocked in the end zone for the go-ahead score for Miami, which won its sixth straight.
The Hurricanes’ defense, which entered ranked No. 1 nationally but yielded 170 first-half yards, kept the Tar Heels (3-4, 2-2) to 18 total yards on 30 plays after halftime – 14 of those yards coming in the final minute.
No. 15 Wisconsin 41, Illinois 24
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Brian Calhoun ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns. The workhorse running back carried the ball 35 times, his fourth game this season with more than 30 carries. He also caught two passes for 37 yards. The Badgers finished with 464 yards total offense.
Wisconsin (8-1, 5-1) still is in the mix for the Big Ten title. Illinois (2-6, 0-5) lost its sixth straight game despite gaining a season-high 538 yards.
Illini quarterback Tim Brasic was 20-of-39 for 277 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball 16 times for 116 yards. Freshman Kyle Hudson caught 10 passes for 114 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown.
No. 17 Texas Tech 28, Baylor 0
WACO, Texas – Taurean Henderson ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and Cody Hodges threw for another as Texas Tech overcame three terrible quarters to beat Baylor.
No. 19 Auburn 27, Mississippi 3
AUBURN, Ala. – Brandon Cox passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Irons ran for 101 yards and another TD. Placekicker John Vaughn also hit a pair of field goals for the Tigers.
(6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) after a nightmarish 1-for-6 performance in an overtime loss at LSU.
The Rebels (3-5, 1-4) managed just 209 total yards – 23 on the ground.