Top 25: Spartans put on show
With coach Mark Dantonio back in the stadium, No. 17 Michigan State took advantage of three interceptions by Denard Robinson and scored 24 unanswered points to break open a close game and beat No. 18 Michigan 34-17 on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Spartans (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) trailed midway through the second quarter before their scoring binge, which allowed them to beat their rivals for the third straight time.
It’s their longest winning streak over the Wolverines since 1965-67.
As expected, Michigan (5-1, 1-1) struggled to stop Michigan State, but both teams had to be stunned by Robinson’s inability to make many plays with his arm or his feet.
Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins threw for a touchdown and handed off to Edwin Baker, Le’Veon Bell and Larry Caper for three scores, giving Dantonio a reason to smile. He was back coaching from the press box nearly three weeks after a mild heart attack.
The Spartans seemed to rattle Robinson, intercepting a pass in the end zone on the opening drive and picking off a third pass after he scored to pull Michigan within two TDs on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Robinson accounted for nearly 2,000 yards of total offense in his first five games, against only one interception, but wilted in his first true test against a good defense.
He was 17 of 29 for 215 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, but made the three costly turnovers and ran for a season-low 86 yards – with a long of 16 – on 21 carries.
Cousins avoided turning the ball over and threw for 284 yards and a score.
Baker ran for 147 yards, Bell had 78 yards rushing and Caper chipped in enough to help the Spartans account for 249 yards on the ground, striking a balance that gave the Wolverines’ lackluster defense plenty of problems.
(2) Ohio State 38, Indiana 10: Terrelle Pryor threw for a career-best 334 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) past the Hoosiers (3-2, 0-2) in Columbus, Ohio, giving Ohio State coach Jim Tressel his 100th victory.
Pryor hit on scoring passes covering 22 yards to Dane Sanzenbacher, 60 yards to Brandon Saine and 17 yards to DeVier Posey as the Buckeyes rolled to their 12th consecutive win – and 16th in a row over the Hoosiers.
(5) TCU 45, Wyoming 0: Andy Dalton threw for a season-high 270 yards and three touchdowns a week after his worst game of the season and the Horned Frogs (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) beat the Cowboys (2-4, 0-2) in Fort Worth, Texas, recording consecutive shutouts for the first time in 55 years.
Dalton completed 14 of 17 and surpassed last week’s passing total on the first play of the second quarter, a 31-yard strike to Bart Johnson that put the Horned Frogs ahead 21-0.
(8) Auburn 37, Kentucky 34: Cam Newton drove Auburn into position for Wes Byrum’s 24-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the eighth-ranked Tigers (6-0, 3-0 SEC) past the Wildcats (3-3, 0-3) in Lexington, Ky.
Newton ran for a career-high 198 yards and four touchdowns and deftly guided the Tigers 88 yards in the final 7:22 after the Wildcats had tied it at 34.
(10) Utah 68, Iowa State 27: Jordan Wynn threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, Shaky Smithson threw a TD pass and caught another one and the Utes (5-0) blew past the Cyclones (3-3) in Ames, Iowa.
Eddie Wide added three touchdowns for the Utes, who scored 31 unanswered points in the second quarter and racked up their most points since beating Wyoming 69-14 in 1983.
(11) Arkansas 24, Texas A&M 17: Ryan Mallett threw three touchdown passes in the first half then struggled to do anything else, and safety Tramain Thomas intercepted a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play to give the Razorbacks (4-1) a victory over the Aggies (3-2) in Arlington, Texas.
The Razorbacks had plenty of chances to break the game open. They recovered three fumbles inside the Aggies’ 40-yard line but managed only one field goal out of it, their only points in the second half.
(12) LSU 33, (14) Florida 29: Jarrett Lee tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Tolliver with 6 seconds left after LSU kept its final drive alive with a successful fake field goal, and the Tigers (6-0, 4-0 SEC) pulled out a wild victory over the Gators (4-2, 2-2) in Gainesville, Fla.
With 35 seconds remaining, LSU lined up for a game-tying, 52-yard field goal, but holder Drew Alleman threw a no-look pitch over his head to place-kicker Josh Jasper. The ball bounced, Jasper scooped it up on a hop and ran for the first down.
(23) Florida State 45, (13) Miami 17: Jermaine Thomas scored a career-high three touchdowns, Chris Thompson rushed for 158 yards and a TD and the Seminoles (5-1, 3-0 ACC) jumped out to a huge lead en route to a win over the Hurricanes (3-2, 1-1) in Miami.
Thomas had touchdown runs of 1 and 6 yards, plus caught a 17-yard scoring pass from Christian Ponder – all in the game’s first 21 minutes.
Thompson had a 90-yard touchdown run – the longest ground gain against Miami in history – with 4:24 left to seal it for Florida State.
(20) Wisconsin 41, Minnesota 23: John Clay ran for three TDs and freshman James White added two more to lead the Badgers (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) past the Golden Gophers (1-5, 0-2) in Madison, Wis., keeping Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the seventh straight year.
Clay ran for 111 yards and White finished with 118 in the most lopsided victory for Wisconsin in the most played rivalry in Division I football, which dates to 1890.
(24) Missouri 26, Colorado 0: Blaine Gabbert threw two touchdown passes before leaving with a hip pointer after three quarters and the Tigers (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) got several big plays on special teams along with stout defense in a victory over the Buffaloes in Columbia, Mo.
The Tigers had four sacks and an interception in their fifth straight victory over Colorado by a total score of 203-40.
(25) Air Force 49, Colorado State 27: The Falcons (5-1, 3-0 MWC) added some air to the nation’s top-ranked running attack and Jonathan Warzeka returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in a rout of the Rams (1-5, 0-2) in Air Force Academy, Colo.
Tim Jefferson threw for 160 yards on 5-of-9 passing and hooked up with Zach Kauth for two scores. He also set up the Falcons’ first two touchdowns with completions of 51 and 39 yards as Air Force celebrated its first game as a ranked team in seven seasons with a big win.