Top 25 roundup: Spartans shock Wolverines with late fumble return

Jalen Watts-Jackson grabbed the football on a flubbed punt attempt and lumbered 38 yards into the end zone for a touchdown on the final play of the game, giving No. 7 Michigan State a shocking 27-23 win over No. 12 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in one of college football’s most unlikely endings.

With the Wolverines ahead 23-21 and 10 seconds left, Michigan punter Blake O’Neill bobbled a low snap, and spun around to try and make the kick. But he was hit, the ball popped free and Watts-Jackson caught it, broke a few tackles in the final yards and made it into the end zone.

Michigan State (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) has won seven of eight in the series, its best stretch in more than a half-century. Michigan (5-2, 2-1) lost for the first time since opening the season with a setback at Utah.

The Wolverines were seconds away from sealing the win after Sione Houma ran for two TDs, Kenny Allen kicked three field goals and forcing the Spartans to turn the ball over on downs with 1:47 left at its 45.

The Spartans had only one timeout left and used it after the next snap. Michigan had two and coach Jim Harbaugh used both, including one with 10 seconds left to set up the final punt.

Michigan State moved the ball up and down the field against a team that had shut out three straight opponents, picking up 386 yards – mostly through the air – and 20 first downs.

Connor Cook was 18 of 39 for 328 yards and a TD and Aaron Burbridge had nine receptions for 132 yards for the Spartans.

Jake Rudock was 15 of 25 and 168 yards and avoided turning the ball over.

In fact, both teams took good care of the football until the final snap.

It looked like a trick play was going to lead to a setback for the Spartans.

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, known for having the guts to call trick plays, called for a fake punt when no one was expecting it. Punter and backup quarterback Tyler O’Connor ran 7 yards on a fourth-and-8 from the Michigan State 31, turning the ball over on downs.

Michigan took advantage, moving to a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter on Houma’s 1-yard run.

No. 1 Ohio State 38, Penn State 10

J.T. Barrett played finisher for Ohio State, running for two red-zone touchdowns in the first half and then taking over full-time for Cardale Jones in the third quarter, as the Buckeyes played another round of quarterback roulette in a victory against the Nittany Lions in Columbus, Ohio.

Wearing black uniforms for the first time, Ohio State didn’t look like themselves, though they did look a lot more like the dominant team many expected the defending national champions to be this season.

Ohio State (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) still doesn’t have a definitive answer at quarterback, but the Buckeyes have a 20-game winning streak.

Barrett added two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to make it 38-10 and draw chants of “J.T.! J.T.!” from the blackout crowd of 108, 423 for Dark Night in the Shoe.

Jones started, as he has all season, but was only 9 for 15 for 84 yards. Barrett, as he did last week, entered when the Buckeyes got inside the 20 in the first half and helped Ohio State complete three trips there with touchdowns. After two unproductive third-quarter series, Jones was benched.

Freshman Saquon Barkley provided most of the offense for Penn State (5-2, 2-1) with 194 yards rushing.

No. 2 Baylor 62, West Virginia 38

Corey Coleman caught three more touchdowns and the second-ranked Bears won its FBS-best 19th consecutive home game, getting some measure of revenge with a victory over the Mountaineers in Waco, Texas.

Coleman matched and then broke the single-season school record for TD catches, his nation-leading 16 coming halfway through the regular season for Baylor (6-0, 3-0 Big 12).

Seth Russell became the only Baylor quarterback other than Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III in 2011 to throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards in the same game. Russell had five TD passes and ran 14 times for 160 yards with another score.

Baylor’s only regular-season loss last year was 41-27 at West Virginia, and the Bears wound up the first team left out of the initial College Football Playoff.

Skyler Howard, from Fort Worth, Texas, less than 100 miles from the Baylor campus, threw four TD passes for West Virginia (3-3, 0-3).

No. 3 TCU 45, Iowa State 21

Trevone Boykin threw for 436 yards and four touchdowns and the Horned Frogs rolled past the Cyclones in Ames, Iowa, for its third road win in four weeks.

Josh Doctson had 190 yards receiving and two TDs for the Horned Frogs (7-0, 4-0 Big 12), who went on a 31-0 run after the first quarter.

Boykin’s 3-yard TD run with 14:36 left put TCU ahead 38-21. Doctson made it a rout with a 42-yard touchdown catch six minutes later.

Sam Richardson had 251 yards passing for Iowa State (2-4, 1-2).

No. 5 Clemson 34, Boston College 17

Deshaun Watson passed for three touchdowns and a season-best 420 yards and the Tigers rolled against the Eagles’ top-ranked defense in Clemson, South Carolina.

Watson added a rushing touchdown and the Tigers improved to 6-0 (3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) for the third time in five seasons. Watson finished 27-of-41, including touchdowns throws of 21 yards to Zac Brooks, 51 yards to Artavis Scott and 6 yards to Jordan Leggett.

Scott had 10 catches for 162 yards as Clemson put up 532 yards on an Eagles defense that was only allowing 140 a game coming in to lead the Football Bowl Subdivision. Boston College hadn’t allowed so many yards since losing the Independence Bowl to Arizona State after the 2013 season.

Clemson won its school-record 14th straight game at Death Valley.

No. 6 LSU 35, No. 8 Florida 28

Leonard Fournette ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns, Tigers coach Les Miles victimized the Gators with a fake field goal for the second time in five years, and the LSU beat Florida in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Kicker Trent Domingue’s 16-yard touchdown run on the fake was LSU’s only scoring play of the second half, breaking a 28-all tie in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers’ defense held from there – barely. Florida receiver Antonio Callaway, who had a 72-yard punt return for a score, also had his hands on a long pass to the end zone from Treon Harris in the middle of the fourth quarter, but LSU’s Dwyane Thomas punched it out to prevent a tying touchdown.

Harris, starting for the suspended Will Grier, passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns for Florida (6-1, 4-1 SEC). Brandon Harris threw for 202 yards and two scores for LSU (6-0, 4-0).

No. 10 Alabama 41, Texas A&M 23

Derrick Henry ran for a career-high 236 yards and two scores and the Crimson Tide added a school record three touchdowns on interception returns to get a win over the Aggies in College Station, Texas.

Alabama (6-1, 3-1 SEC) built a 28-6 lead in the second quarter thanks to 55- and 6-yard touchdown runs by Henry and interception returns of 33 and 93 yards.

Christian Kirk returned a punt 68 yards for a score just before halftime and Texas A&M (5-1, 2-1) added another touchdown on a 3-yard reception by Ricky Seals-Jones after a fumble early in the third to cut it to 28-20.

But Alabama kicked two field goals before Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 55-yard interception return for a score – his second of the day – made it 41-23 and sealed the victory.

No. 11 Florida State 41, Louisville 21

Everett Golson threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns as the Seminoles rallied in the second half to beat the Cardinals in Tallahassee, Florida.

It is the eighth 300-yard game of Golson’s career and his second since transferring earlier this summer. A 70-yard touchdown pass to Kermit Whitfield, who had nine receptions for 172 yards, gave the Seminoles a 20-14 lead with 8:05 remaining.

The win gives Florida State a 6-0 record for the third straight season. The Seminoles are 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cardinals drop to 2-4 and 1-2 in the ACC.

Dalvin Cook had his fourth 100-yard game of the season, gaining 163 yards on 22 carries.

Louisville’s Lamar Jackson passed for a career-high 307 yards and James Quick had five receptions for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

Memphis 37, No. 13 Mississippi 24

Paxton Lynch threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers stunned the Rebels in Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis (6-0) has won 13 straight games dating back to last season, which is the third longest streak in the nation. It was the first win for the Tigers over a ranked opponent since 1996.

Ole Miss (5-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than six minutes into the game – partly thanks to a 68-yard touchdown pass by receiver Laquon Treadwell on a trick play – but Memphis responded with 31 unanswered points to take a 31-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Lynch was superb, completing 39 of 53 passes. Anthony Miller caught 10 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.

The Rebels were able to pull within 31-24 later in the third quarter, but could get no closer. Treadwell caught a school-record 14 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown.

No. 17 Iowa 40, No. 20 Northwestern 10

Reserve running back Akrum Wadley ran for 204 yards and tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns to carry the Hawkeyes over the Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois.

With leading rusher Jordan Canzeri sidelined in the first quarter with an ankle injury, Wadley took over for Iowa (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten). The injury occurred following a short run when Northwestern linebacker Jaylen Prater landed on Canzeri, folding his ankle under a pile of players.

Wadley, who had only eight carries coming into the game, scored his third touchdown on a 2-yard run with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter, extending Iowa’s lead to 23-10. His record-tying fourth scoring run, which followed a Northwestern fumble on the Wildcats ensuing drive, came on a 4-yard run that.

Northwestern (5-2, 1-2) turned the ball over three times as the Wildcats lost for the second straight week after five consecutive victories.

No. 19 Oklahoma 55, Kansas State 0

Baker Mayfield threw for five touchdowns and the Sooners bounced back from its Red River upset to beat the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas, the first time Kansas State has been shut out since 1996.

Kansas State had delivered serious scares to Top 25 opponents each of the last two weeks but the Wildcats (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) were helpless against Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1). Oklahoma set the tone early, taking only 1:04 to score on its opening drive on a 22-yard pass from Mayfield to Sterling Shepard.

The Sooners took a 35-0 lead into halftime and just kept rolling in the second half.

Going into Saturday’s game, Kansas State had scored in 234 straight games. The loss to Oklahoma marked the first time the Wildcats have been shut out at home since 1991.

No. 22 Toledo 63, Eastern Michigan 20

Phillip Ely threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns as the Rockets improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1997 with a win over the Eagles in Toledo, Ohio.

Toledo (6-0, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) led 28-6 at halftime, and then Ely really warmed up. He threw touchdown passes on Toledo’s first two possessions of the second half, connecting with Corey Jones for a 55-yard score and then with Cody Thompson on an 88-yarder four minutes later.

The touchdown to Thompson was the fourth longest completion in school history, and it wasn’t the only record book-worthy play of the game against an Eastern Michigan (1-6, 0-3) defense that entered the game ranked 118th in scoring defense (40.7 points) and 116th in total defense (495.3 yards).