‘Noles drub Cavaliers

Wyatt Sexton’s precision passing and Florida State’s defense carried the seventh-ranked Seminoles to a 36-3 victory over the previously undefeated and sixth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday night in Tallahassee, Fla.

Tailback Lorenzo Booker added 123 yards rushing and a pair of touchdown runs, and his defensive teammates limited Virginia to 20 yards rushing.

Sexton completed 20 of 26 passes for 275 yards and a touchdowns despite having five passes dropped. He has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 846 yards and five touchdowns since replacing Chris Rix as the starter last month.

Florida State (5-1, 3-1 ACC) stayed perfect in seven home games against Virginia.

Virginia (5-1, 2-1 ACC) came into the game averaging 42.4 points and 493.2 yards a game, but was unable to run against Florida State’s vaunted rush defense, which gave up just 5 yards in the first half.

Next for Virginia: at Duke

Next for Florida State: at Wake Forest

(2) Oklahoma 31, Kansas St. 21

Jason White threw for four touchdowns, two each to Travis Wilson and Mark Clayton, and the Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) held off the Wildcats (2-4, 0-3) in Manhattan, Kan.

Freshman star Adrian Peterson added 130 yards rushing – all but 26 of those after the half. He is the only Oklahoma freshman to go over 100 yards in each of his first six games.

Next for Oklahoma: Kansas

(4) Auburn 38, Arkansas 20

Jason Campbell passed for a career-high 297 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers (7-0, 4-0 SEC) to a rout of the Razorbacks (3-3, 1-2) in Auburn, Ala.

With Campbell completing 17 of 19 passes – all in the first three quarters – the Tigers won their ninth straight game and lived up to their highest ranking in 10 years.

Auburn scored on its first five possessions for a 30-0 lead.

Next for Auburn: Kentucky

(9) Texas 28, Missouri 20

Cedric Benson rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns and the Longhorns (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) shook off a post-Oklahoma hangover with a win over the Tigers (4-2, 2-1) in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns won despite more shaky play in the passing game as quarterbacks Vince Young and Chance Mock threw for just 58 yards and two interceptions.

Benson overcame three fumbles to score Texas’ final two touchdowns.

Next for Texas: at Texas Tech

(10) Utah 46, North Carolina 16

Alex Smith threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score to help the Utes (6-0) rout the Tar Heels (3-4) in Salt Lake City.

Smith wound up 29 for 37 and 341 yards as Utah (6-0) earned its third victory this season over a team from a Bowl Championship Series conference. Utah had 669 yards of offense.

Next for Utah: UNLV

(12) Georgia 33, Vanderbilt 3

David Greene passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, leading the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 SEC) to an easy win over the Commodores (1-5, 1-3) in Athens, Ga.

Georgia’s freshmen running backs both went over 100 yards, the first Bulldog pair to accomplish that feat in 12 years. Danny Ware rushed for 127 yards and Thomas Brown had 122, including a touchdown.

Garrison Hearst and Mack Strong were the last 100-yard duo in 1992 against South Carolina.

Next for Georgia: at Arkansas

(13) Tennessee 21, Mississippi 17

Erik Ainge shook off a costly interception to hit Bret Smith with the winning touchdown with 6:58 to play as the Volunteers (5-1, 3-1 SEC) outlasted the Rebels (3-4, 2-2) in Oxford, Miss.

The Rebels rallied and took a 17-14 lead after Bryan Brown intercepted Ainge’s pass and returned it 34 yards for a TD early in the fourth.

Next for Tennessee: Alabama

(14) Michigan 30, Illinois 19

Michael Hart rushed for 234 yards and a touchdown and the Wolverines (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Illinois in Champaign, Ill., sending the Illini (3-4, 0-4) to their 12th consecutive conference loss.

The Wolverines outscored Illinois 20-2 in the second half.

Next for Michigan: at Purdue

(23) Texas A&M 36, (16) Okla. St. 20

Reggie McNeal threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores to help the Aggies (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) beat the Cowboys (5-1, 2-1) in Stillwater, Okla.

The Aggies bolted out to a 20-0 lead as Oklahoma State made uncharacteristic mistakes with a string of early penalties and turnovers.

Next for Oklahoma State: at Missouri

Next for Texas A&M: Colorado

Michigan State 51, (19) Minnesota 17

Drew Stanton passed for 308 yards and ran for 102 more, setting a school record for total offense, to lead the Spartans (4-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to an upset victory over the Golden Gophers (5-2, 2-2) in East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State gained 407 yards in the first half, a school record, while taking a 31-10 lead. The Spartans finished with 636 yards of offense.

Stanton’s 414 yards of total offense, which also included a reception for 4 yards, topped the previous mark of 393 set by quarterback Jeff Smoker against Fresno State in 2001.

Next for Minnesota: Illinois

(21) Boise State 45, Tulsa 42

Antwaun Carter scored on a 2-yard run with less than two minutes remaining, and Tyler Jones kicked a 46-yard field goal with 3 seconds left, rallying the Broncos (6-0, 3-0 WAC) to a win over the Golden Hurricane (1-5, 0-2) in Tulsa, Okla.

Carter scored with 1:24 left to tie the game at 42 as the Broncos won their 17th straight, the longest winning streak in the nation.

James Kilian threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores for Tulsa.

Next for Boise State: Fresno State

(22) Florida 52, Middle Tennessee 16

Chris Leak threw three touchdown passes, DeShawn Wynn scored three times and the Gators (4-2) romped to a victory over the Blue Raiders (2-4) in Gainesville, Fla.

Leak completed 17 of 22 passes for 316 yards in the game.

Next for Florida: at Mississippi State

Alabama 27, (24) Southern Miss 3

Kenneth Darby rushed for 197 yards and scored two touchdowns, one on a run and one on a pass, as the Crimson Tide (5-2) beat the Golden Eagles (4-1) in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for their first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two years.

Alabama limited Southern Miss to 148 yards rushing and only 23 yards passing.

Next for Southern Miss: East Carolina

Iowa 33, (25) Ohio St. 7

Drew Tate passed for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) to a victory over Ohio State (3-3, 0-3) in Iowa City, Iowa, the Buckeyes’ third straight loss.

Iowa held Ohio State’s inept offense to 27 yards rushing and 177 total yards in beating the Buckeyes for just the fourth time in 42 years.

Ohio State is 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1988.

Next for Ohio State: Indiana