#1 Clemson 37 Syracuse 27
DeShaun Watson had a big day for Clemson with 461 total yards and three touchdowns as the top-ranked Tigers held off Syracuse 37-27 on Saturday. The win gave the Tigers (10-0, 7-0 ACC) at least 10 victories for the fifth straight season and their first 10-0 start since they won their only national championship in 1981.With 13 straight wins, the Tigers (No. 1 CFP, No. 1 AP) have their longest winning streak in 34 years. Syracuse (3-7, 1-5 ACC) put up a good fight for embattled coach Scott Shafer, but lost for the seventh time in a row. Syracuse is 1-10 all-time against the No. 1 team. Syracuse came within a touchdown of the Tigers several times after trailing 31-17 at halftime but failed to ever tie the game.
#2 Alabama 31 #17 Mississippi State 6
The number two ranked Alabama Crimson Tide unexpectedly dominated the 20th ranked Mississippi Bulldogs 31-6 after a strong effort by the Tide's defense. Dak Prescott was sacked nine times and threw his second interception of the year. Derrick Henry had another 200+ yard game to strengthen his Heisman campaign. Prescott did throw for 300 yards but it wasn’t enough for the Bulldogs, who trailed 21-3 at halftime.
#3 Ohio State 28 Illinois 3
With J.T. Barrett taking the snaps today at quarterback following his one game suspension, he was back in mid-season form, handling the Fighting Illini with care. The Buckeyes came out gunning from the gate, putting up a touchdown in each of the four quarters. Illinois, however, only managed to tally a 46 yard field goal from Taylor Zalewski. Ezekiel Elliott continued another historic season, rushing for 181 yards on the day, along with two touchdowns. The Buckeyes put up a total of 440 yards on the day, compared to the Fighting Illini’s 259 yards. The Buckeyes won their 30th straight conference game, making it the longest streak in college football.
#4 Notre Dame 28 Wake Forest 7
Notre Dame’s little-known freshman running back Josh Adams put forth his second straight 100-yard rushing performance, to make up for a rare tough day from quarterback Deshone Kizer to help the Fighting Irish top the Demon Deacons 28-7. The Irish took a 21-0 lead into halftime after a 12-yard run from Kizer, a 28-yard interception return from Andrew Trumbetti, and a 98-yard run from Adams, which came two plays after Notre Dame stuffed Wake Forest on a 4th & goal at their 1-yard line. John Wolford threw for 219 yards for the Demon Deacons.
#5 Iowa 40 Minnesota 35
Leshaun Daniels rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns and No. 5 Iowa held off Minnesota 40-35 on Saturday night to start 10-0 for the first time in school history. C.J. Beathard threw for 213 yards and ran for two touchdowns for the Hawkeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP). Iowa can clinch the Big Ten West and a spot in the league title game with a win over Purdue next week. Mitch Leidner threw for 259 yards for the Golden Gophers but Minnesota could not overcome a 24-14 halftime deficit.
#12 Oklahoma 44 #6 Baylor 34
Baker Mayfield threw for 270 yards on Saturday and 177 yards went to his top receiver Sterling Shepard, who caught 14 of Mayfield’s 24 completions. Mayfield tossed three touchdowns, two to Shepard, while running back Samaje Perine ran for two scores and 166 yards on the ground to lead the Sooners past the Bears 44-34. Jarrett Stidham threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears but also tossed two interceptions. Shock Linwood ran for 103 yards for Baylor but the Bears fell behind 7-6 in the first quarter and never regained the lead as the Sooners snapped Baylor’s 20 game winning streak.
Oregon 38 #7 Stanford 36
Led by Vernon Adams Jr.’s 205 passing yards, and 105 rushing yards from Royce Freeman, the Ducks held off the Cardinal’s frantic fourth-quarter comeback, stopping what would have been a game-tying 2-point conversion with under a minute left. Kevin Hogan threw for 303 yards for the Cardinal and Christian McCaffrey ran for 147 yards but it wasn’t enough for Stanford. Hogan tossed a four yard pass to cut the lead to 38-36 with ten seconds left but Oregon’s defense stepped up as linebacker Joe Walker dove to break up the 2-point conversion pass attempt.
#8 Oklahoma State 35 Iowa State 31
Mason Rudolph threw for 327 yards and backup quarterback J.W. Walsh entered late to toss the game winning touchdown as the Cowboys remained unbeaten with an unimpressive win over the Cyclones (3-7). Oklahoma State trailed 31-21 in the fourth quarter but were able to overcome an impressive dual performance by Joel Lanning who threw for 162 yards while running for 130 more.
Arkansas 31 #9 LSU 14
Brandon Allen threw for 142 yards, Alex Collins ran for 142 yards, and the Arkansas Razorbacks dominated the LSU Tigers 31-14 to complete their second straight upset win over a ranked team. Following a 53-52 overtime defeat of the Ole Miss Rebels, the Razorbacks opened up a 21-7 lead over ninth-ranked LSU and never looked back, cruising to victory at LSU’s home stadium.
Arizona 37 #10 Utah 30
Backup quarterback Jerrard Randall made his only completion of the game count as he tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass in the 2nd overtime to lead Arizona to an upset victory in double overtime over the Utah Utes. The win clinched a bowl-game berth for Arizona, who snapped a three-game losing streak. The loss ends Utah’s playoff hopes, as it is their second loss to an unranked opponent this season. Anu Solomon threw for 277 yards before he injured himself and Randall had to come in to complete the game. Travis Wilson threw for 219 yards for Utah and Devontae Booker ran for 145 yards.
#11 Florida 24 South Carolina 14
The Gators were dominating the game for the first three quarters, leading 17-0 come the end of the third quarter. The Gamecocks, however, staged a late comeback to bring it close. Wide receiver Pharoh Cooper threw, yes threw, a 17-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Perry Orth for their first score of the game. The two connected again, this time Orth throwing to Cooper, for a 38-yard touchdown. The Gamecocks were back in it, down 17-14. However, a huge 53-yard rush from Kelvin Taylor set up a one yard touchdown rush from Taylor to kill all hopes of an upset. Florida quarterback Treon Harris stepped up, throwing for 246 yards and one touchdown.
Maryland 7 #13 Michigan State 24
Michigan State played at top form on Saturday despite losing quarterback Connor Cook after the first drive of the game due to a shoulder injury. He should be able to play against Ohio State but was taken out as a precaution. Backup quarterback Tyler O’Connor came in and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass on the next drive. For much of the first half, the Spartans and Terrapins were tied up at 7 before a Riley Bullough returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown. From there, Michigan State continued to roll and handled Maryland easily. The Spartans relied on their defense, forcing five turnovers on the day.
#14 Michigan 48 Indiana 41
Jake Rudock threw for a whopping 440 yards to overcome a rare bad performance from Michigan’s defense as the Wolverines survived a great challenge from the Hoosiers, defeating Indiana 48-41 in two overtimes. Rudock tossed a five yard touchdown pass as time expired on fourth and goal to tie the game for Michigan. Rudock proceeded to throw two touchdowns in overtime and Delano Smith broke up a potential game tying pass on 4th and Goal from the 2-yard line. Nate Sudfield threw for 220 yards for the Hoosiers while Jordan Howard ran for an amazing 238 yards but the Hoosiers couldn’t complete the upset and remain winless in Big 10 play.
Kansas 17 #15 TCU 23
A winless Jayhawk squad gave the Horned Frogs quite a scare. It all started when TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin left the game early with an ankle injury. Come halftime, TCU and Kansas were tied up at 10, to the surprise of many college football fans. The third quarter was quiet, with only a field goal from TCU. Third string quarterback Foster Sawyer helped TCU pull away from Kansas with a 42 yard touchdown pass to Shaun Nixon (his first of his career), making the score 20-10. TCU added another field goal, but Kansas got back in it with a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Willis to Tyler Patrick, bringing them within six. Kansas couldn’t complete the comeback, despite multiple chances, and TCU survived this game following last week’s blowout loss to Oklahoma State.
#16 Florida State 34 N.C. State 17
Everett Golson started the game for the Seminoles but a lackluster performance enticed head coach Jimbo Fisher to bring backup quarterback Sean Maguire in. It was the right move as Maguire led the Seminoles to a comeback 34-17 victory. The Wolfpack took a 17-7 first half lead before Fisher subbed Maguire into the game. Maguire threw for 231 yards and Dalvin Cook rushed for 138 yards more as the Seminoles outscored the Wolfpack 27-0 after the first quarter.
Purdue 14 #18 Northwestern 21
Purdue has been known to keep it close with teams, and the Boilermakers continued that trend this week against Northwestern. The two were tied at seven after the first quarter, and the Wildcats added another score before the half to take a 14-7 lead. In the third quarter, Purdue struck back with their own touchdown, tying the game at 14 to end the quarter. In the fourth, Northwestern began to pull away following a two yard touchdown rush from Justin Jackson with five minutes left in the game. Jackson had a total of 116 rushing yards on the day. This is Northwestern’s fifth win by less than nine points on the year.
Washington State 31 #19 UCLA 27
The Washington State Cougars pulled off the upset win in Los Angeles after coming from behind late in the fourth quarter to defeat the #19 UCLA Bruins 31-27 to improve to 7-3 on the season and remain in contention to win the Pac-12 North. Luke Falk was the player of the game for the Cougars after he went 38-53 for 331 yards, two touchdowns and an interception after coming off late in the second half with fears of a concussion after being sacked by Jacob Tuioti-Mariner. He broke Washington State’s single season record with the late touchdown pass that was his 35th of the season, and now sits just seven back of the single season NCAA record of 42 with two games left this season. The Cougars trailed at halftime but scored the only touchdown of the third quarter to take the lead. Josh Rosen threw for 340 yards and Paul Perkins ran for 121 yards for the Bruins who dropped their third conference game of the season.
#20 Navy 55 SMU 14
Navy looked good in their first game as a ranked team this season, dominating throughout en route to a 55-14 thrashing of Southern Methodist University. Quarterback Keenan Reynolds ran for 137 yards while Chris Swain completed the two-headed monster with 73 yards on 16 carries. The Midshipmen had a 28-7 halftime lead and turned the game into a rout with a 21-point fourth quarter.
#24 Houston 35 #21 Memphis 34
Down 20-0 late in the first half, and 34-14 midway through the third-quarter, the Houston Cougars came storming back to edge the Tigers 35-34 and remain unbeaten. Paxton Lynch (278 passing yards) and Doroland Dorceus (116 rushing yards) helped Memphis gain a 20-0 lead. Houston scored late in the first half and then again early in the second half to cut the lead to 20-14. Two touchdowns from Memphis put their lead back at 20 points. However, quarterback Kyle Postma led the Cougars to a stunning comeback, putting up 21 consecutive points, the last on a 7-yard touchdown run from Postma with 1:27 remaining in the game that gave the Cougars a one-point lead. Memphis drove quickly back down the field but missed a potential game-winning 48-yard field goal with 19 seconds left.
USF 44 #22 Temple 23
Quinton Flowers threw for 230 yards and Marlon Mack ran for 230 more as the Bulls feasted on Temple’s defense which had a rare bad day, to rout the #22 Owls 44-23. P.J. Walker threw for 259 yards but that wasn’t enough to overcome a 31-10 halftime deficit.
#23 UNC 59 Miami 21
Elijah Hood ran for 132 yards and Marquise Hood added 101 rushing yards, as well as 105 passing yards, as the Tar Heels opened up a 31-0 halftime lead and cruised past the Hurricanes 59-21. Brad Kaaya threw for 326 mostly meaningless yards for the Hurricanes.