Saturday Top 25 Capsules.
(1) TEXAS 56, (12) MISSOURI 31

AUSTIN, Texas Letdown, what letdown?

Colt McCoy led top-ranked Texas to a 56-31 victory over Missouri in a Big 12 Conference blowout on Saturday.

The romp, coming on the heels of a win last week over then-No. 1 Oklahoma, solidified the Longhorns standing as the team to beat and strengthened McCoys position as the Heisman Trophy front-runner.

McCoy dazzled and doused the hopes of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who was looking to get the Tigers and himself on track after being upset last week by Oklahoma State.

Texas (7-0, 3-0 Big 12 South) scored on its five first-half possessions, rolling up 337 yards of total offense.

McCoy ran for one touchdown from 6 yards and threw for two more while going 18-of-20 for 230 yards before intermission. He finished 29-of-32 for 337 yards, two touchdowns passing and one rushing.

McCoys TD run gave Texas a 7-0 lead after a 12-play, 94 yard drive. Chris Ogbonnaya then scored on a 9-yard run to make it 14-0.

McCoy found Malcolm Williams with a 32-yard strike to make it 21-0 before Ogbonnaya added his second TD, this one from 10 yards.

McCoy added to the onslaught by finding Jordan Shipley with a 13-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-0.

Missouri (5-2, 1-2 North) managed to get on the board when Jeff Wolfert kicked a 33-yard field goal on the last play of the half.

The Tigers scored their first touchdown on their first drive of the second half as Derrick Washington rolled in from 2 yards to make it 35-10.

McCoy stalled any hopes of a Missouri rally, leading the Longhorns on a 77-yard drive that ate up 3:56. It ended with a 2-yard run by McCoy that made it 42-10. The touchdown was the 82nd of McCoys career at Texas, a school record.

Daniel found Chase Coffman from 13 yards to cut the gap to 42-17, but the Longhorns answered as Cody Johnson scored from a yard out to up the lead to 49-17.

Daniel padded his stats with an 18-yard completion to Jared Perry that made it 49-24. He finished 31-of-41 for 317 yards, two touchdowns passing, one rushing and an interception.

The Longhorns capped the victory when backup quarterback John Chiles found Dan Buckner streaking down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown connection.

Playing in extended garbage time, Daniel scored on a 1-yard run with 4:18 left to make it 56-31.

Missouri has not won in Austin since 1896.

(6) OKLAHOMA 45, (15) KANSAS 31

NORMAN, Oklahoma Even without one of its top weapons for most of the game, Oklahomas offense left Kansas gasping for air.

Sam Bradford passed for a school-record 468 yards as the sixth-ranked Sooners rebounded from last weeks loss to Texas to defeat No. 15 Kansas, 45-31, in a Big 12 Conference shootout.

Manuel Johnson, the Sooners leading receiver, left just five plays into the contest with a left arm injury and did not return. It hardly mattered, as Juaquin Iglesias picked up the slack with 12 receptions for 191 yards.

Bradford tossed only three touchdowns after throwing five in last weeks 45-35 loss to the Longhorns, but he completed 36-of-53 passes against the Jayhawks, helping Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1 Big 12 South) amass nearly 700 yards in total offense.

A sophomore, Bradford broke Josh Heupels previous school mark of 429 yards passing set against Louisville in 1999.

Oklahomas overall total of 674 yards fell well short of the school record of 875 yards established against Colorado in 1980.

Kansas (5-2, 2-1 North) gained nearly 500 yards, but the Jayhawks never led after Oklahoma grabbed a 14-7 lead on Bradfords 3-yard TD pass to DeMarco Murray on the first play of the second quarter.

The first half evolved into a duel between Iglesias (10 catches for 178 yards) and Kansas Dezmon Briscoe, who had nine receptions for 173 yards in the opening half. Briscoe finished with 12 receptions for a school-record 269 yards and two scores.

But in a game in which the teams combined for more than 1,100 yards, Oklahomas defense stiffened in the second half, and the Sooners were able to wear down the shell-shocked Jayhawks.

(9) GEORGIA 24, (23) VANDERBILT 14

ATHENS, Georgia Knowshon rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown to lead ninth-ranked Georgia to a 24-14 triumph over No. 23 Vanderbilt in a Southeastern Conference showdown.

Matthew Stafford passed for 194 yards and a pair of scores with two interceptions while freshman AJ Green hauled in seven receptions for 132 yards and a TD for the Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1 SEC East).

Holding a 21-14 lead, Georgia sealed the win with 2:08 left, stopping the Commodores on a fourth down. Facing a fourth-and-4, Mackenzi Adams completed a 3-yard pass over the middle to Jamie Graham, who was immediately tackled.

Adams tossed two touchdowns to Graham but was intercepted twice for Vanderbilt (5-2, 3-2), which has dropped two straight games after winning its first five contests of the season.

Moreno gave the Bulldogs a 21-7 advantage early in the third quarter, scoring on an 11-yard rush with 12:12 remaining. It appeared that Moreno reached the end zone on the previous play, but the referees ruled his knee was down at the 11.

VIRGINIA 16, (21) NORTH CAROLINA 13 (OT)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia Try as it might, North Carolina just cant win on the road against Virginia.

The Cavaliers found their offense just in time, scoring a late touchdown in the fourth quarter and another in overtime for a 16-13 victory over the 21st-ranked Tar Heels in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Cedric Peerman scored on a pair of 2-yard TD runs, one with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the second on Virginias first possession in overtime.

North Carolina (5-2, 1-2 ACC Coastal) has not won against Virginia (4-2, 2-1) on the road since 1981, when the Tar Heels managed a 17-14 victory.

Virginia has now won three straight after it looked like its season was going to go off the rails following consecutive blowout losses to Connecticut and Duke – and no it wasnt basketball. The Cavaliers responded with a shutout win over Maryland and a victory over East Carolina.

For three quarters, it looked like Virginias modest winning streak was about to end as well as North Carolinas road jinx in Charlottesville. But after the Tar Heels capped a 15-play, 70-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal by Casey Barth, Virginia finally got its offense in gear.

The Cavaliers took over at the 18 and marched down the field. Marc Verica completed seven straight passes to give Virginia a 1st-and-goal at the two and two plays later, Peerman scored to tie the game.

North Carolina went on offense to start overtime and settled for a 28-yard field goal by Barth to take a 13-10 lead.

Verica and Peerman came through again, as Verica hit John Phillips on 2nd-and-8 down to the 5. Peerman bulled his way down to the 2 on the next play and capped the comeback with his second TD run on the following play.

(5) TEXAS TECH 43, TEXAS A&M 25

COLLEGE STATION, Texas Graham Harrell threw for three touchdowns and added two more on the ground as fifth-ranked Texas Tech remained unbeaten with a 43-25 Big 12 Conference victory over pesky Texas A&M.

Coming off an overtime victory at home against Nebraska, the Red Raiders (7-0, 3-0 Big 12 South) again were unimpressive as they had to battle back from a three-point halftime deficit in an otherwise sloppy performance.

Harrell completed 44-of-56 passes for 449 yards and two interceptions. It marked the fourth time this season that the senior surpassed 400 yards.

Two of Harrells TD passes went to dynamic wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who briefly left the game in the second quarter after rolling his left ankle. The second TD, a 3-yard connection with 11:10 remaining in the third quarter gave the Red Raiders the lead for good at 27-23.

Crabtree, who returned in the second half, finished with eight catches for 72 yards.

MARYLAND 26, (19) WAKE FOREST 0

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland Marylands defense knocked Wake Forest out of the rankings.

Running back DaRel Scott threw his first career touchdown pass and the defense was dominant as the Terrapins posted a 26-0 victory over No. 19 Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference upset.

Obi Egekeze kicked four field goals for Maryland (5-2, 2-1 ACC Atlantic), which had its first shutout since besting North Carolina State, 37-0, last season.

The Terrapins used some trickery to cap their opening drive with a touchdown. Scott had his first career completion in three attempts, finding Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 9-yard score to give Maryland an early 7-0 edge with 10:59 left in the first quarter.

Scott finished with 72 rushing yards and Heyward-Bey hauled in 11 receptions for 102 yards.

The Terrapins defense took over from there, holding the Demon Deacons (4-2, 2-1) to just 219 yards from scrimmage. Shane Popham did not help Wake Forests cause, missing a pair of field goals in the first half.

(11) OHIO STATE 45, (17) MICHIGAN STATE 7

EAST LANSING, Michigan In what was billed as a battle for supremacy in the Big Ten Conference, Chris Beanie Wells and Ohio State proved they still operate at a different level than Michigan State.

Wells ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns as the 11th-ranked Buckeyes pounded the 17th-ranked Spartans, 45-7, in a game that quickly deteriorated into a beatdown.

Freshman Terrelle Pryor also enjoyed an outstanding game for Ohio State (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten), rushing for a touchdown and throwing for another score in the opening 10 1/2 minutes.

The Buckeyes raced to a 28-0 halftime lead and never looked back, scoring a pair of defensive touchdowns in the second half to win their seventh straight meeting with the Spartans (6-2, 3-1).

It was the fifth straight victory for Ohio State, which has used Pryor as its starting quarterback since dropping a 35-3 decision at Southern California on September 13.

The Spartans, off to their best start since 2003, entered this contest seeking their first seven-game winning streak since 1978 and riding the outstanding play of Heisman Trophy hopeful Javon Ringer, the nations leading rusher.

(3) PENN STATE 46, MICHIGAN 17

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania Darryl Clark ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score as third-ranked Penn State erased an early 10-point deficit to crush Big Ten Conference rival Michigan, 46-17.

Clark completed 18-of-31 passes for 171 yards and also ran for 45 yards on nine carries.

Evan Royster rushed for 184 yards and a TD on just 18 carries for the Nittany Lions (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten), which scored 39 unanswered points to snap their nine-game losing streak to the Wolverines.

Michigan (2-5, 1-2) raced to a 17-7 second-quarter lead thanks to a pair of scoring runs from Brandon Minor.

(20) SOUTH FLORIDA 45, SYRACUSE 13

TAMPA, Florida After a disappointing loss to Pittsburgh, South Florida faced the perfect opponent to regain some of its swagger.

Matt Grothe tossed three touchdown passes and rushed for another score as 20th-ranked South Florida routed Syracuse, 45-13, in a Big East Conference mismatch.

After allowing the Orange to stay in the game in the first half, the Bulls (6-1, 1-1 Big East) imposed their will after the intermission, blowing open the contest behind a dominant defense and ball-control offense.

Relying on the effective running of Curtis Brinkley, who rushed for 112 yards in the first half, including a 24-yard touchdown, the Orange only trailed, 21-13, at halftime.

But Syracuse (1-6, 0-3) unraveled in the second half, getting outgained, 273-9. The Orange had no first downs on six second-half possessions, going three-and-out five times and fumbling inside their 5-yard line.

(10) OKLAHOMA STATE 34, BAYLOR 6

STILLWATER, Oklahoma Zac Robinson threw a pair of touchdown passes to Dez Bryant as 10th-ranked Oklahoma State crushed Baylor, 34-6, in a tune-up before next weeks Big 12 Conference clash with Texas.

Robinson completed 13-of-20 attempts for 237 yards while Bryant hauled in 11 receptions for 211 yards for the Cowboys (7-0, 3-0 Big 12 South), who are off to their best start since 1945.

Robinsons first TD pass to Bryant, a 37-yarder, gave Oklahoma State a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter. The duo hooked up for a 9-yard scoring strike to make it 21-6 with 5:41 remaining in the first half.

True freshman Robert Griffin finished 16-of-28 for 164 yards for Baylor (3-4, 1-2 South).

(2) ALABAMA 24, OLE MISS 20

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama John Parker Wilson passed for 219 yards and two touchdowns as second-ranked Alabama defeated Mississippi, 24-20, in a Southeastern Conference contest.

Mark Ingram rushed for 73 yards and a score for the Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0 SEC West), who held a 24-3 advantage at the half.

It is the first time coach Nick Saban has been 7-0 in his career.

After nearly squandering a three-touchdown lead, Alabama sealed the victory with just over a minute to go when it stopped Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) on a fourth down. Jevan Snead threw an incomplete pass from the Tide 43.

(4) USC 69, WASHINGTON STATE 0

PULLMAN, Washington Mark Sanchez threw five touchdowns in the first half and fourth-ranked Southern California dominated Washington State in every aspect of the game, cruising to a 69-0 Pac-10 Conference victory.

Sanchez completed 15-of-20 passes for 253 yards, all of which came in the first half. He connected on a pair of scoring strikes to Patrick Turner and Ronald Johnson as the Trojans led, 41-0, at halftime.

C.J. Gable ran for three touchdowns and Broderick Green added two scoring runs for USC (5-1, 3-1 Pac-10), which racked up 621 yards of total offense.

Washington State (1-7, 0-5) registered just four first downs and 114 yards of total offense while not crossing midfield.

(13) UTAH 49, COLORADO STATE 16

SALT LAKE CITY Corbin Louks and Matt Asiata each ran for a pair of touchdowns as 13th-ranked Utah used a balanced rushing attack en route to a 49-16 Mountain West Conference victory over Colorado State.

Louks scored on runs of of 22 and 69 yards as the Utes scored three straight touchdowns after the Rams cut their deficit to 28-16 midway through the third quarter.

Brian Johnson completed 18-of-25 passes for 186 yards and a pair of scores as Utahs ground game collected 329 yards on 37 carries.

Billy Farris connected with Dion Morton on 29-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Gartrell Johnson ran for 95 yards on 20 carries for Colorado State.

(14) LSU 24, SOUTH CAROLINA 17

COLUMBIA, South Carolina Charles Scotts second touchdown of the game broke a tie late in the fourth quarter as 14th-ranked LSU pulled out a 24-17 victory at South Carolina in Southeastern Conference action.

Keiland Williams rushed for 77 yards and Scott gained 58 on the ground for LSU (5-1, 3-1 SEC West), which absorbed a 51-21 setback at Florida.

Tied at 17-17 midway through the fourth quarter, the Tigers went on an impressive 11-play, 83-yard drive capped by Scotts 2-yard touchdown run with 4:16 remaining.

South Carolina (5-2, 2-2 SEC East) quarterback Stephen Garcia was intercepted on the next possession, and LSU ran out the clock to seal the win.

The Tigers trailed by seven at the half but tied the game with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter on Richard Dixons 7-yard touchdown catch from Andrew Hatch.

LSU limited South Carolina to just 254 total yards – 39 on the ground – and allowed four first downs during the second half while forcing three turnovers.

BOSTON COLLEGE 28, (18) VIRGINIA TECH 23

CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts Brent Bowden, Ifeanyi Momah and James McCluskey each scored touchdowns in the second quarter as Boston College overcame some early mistakes to upset 18th-ranked Virginia Tech, 28-23, in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Bowden scored on a 65-yard punt return, Momah caught a 10-yard score from Chris Crane and McCluskey added a 2-yard TD run to lift the Eagles (5-1, 2-1 ACC Atlantic), who led, 28-17, at halftime.

In a rematch of last seasons ACC title game, Boston College exacted a measure of revenge despite some poor play from Crane, who threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for scores.

Crane was 16-of-32 for 218 yards with one TD as the Eagles star signal-caller from last season, NFL rookie Matt Ryan, looked on from the press box.

Brett Warren and Victor Harris returned interceptions 36 and 55 yards, respectively, for scores for Virginia Tech (5-2, 2-2 Coastal).

ARIZONA 42, (22) CALIFORNIA 27

TUCSON, Arizona Arizona scored four touchdowns in the third quarter en route to a 42-27 victory over 22nd-ranked California.

Willie Tuitama started the comeback with a 56-yard scoring pass to Mike Thomas that made it 24-21.

After a Cal (4-2, 2-1 Pac 10) field goal, Keola Antolin score his third rushing touchdown, this one from one yard out, to put Arizona (5-2, 3-1) ahead, 28-27.

Seventeen seconds later, Devin Ross picked off Nate Longshores pass and returned it 21 yards to make it 35-27.

Tuitama then found Rob Gronkowski with a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-27.

Posted on October 19th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: College football news