Brown, Wolfpack romp to upset victory over No. 9 Seminoles

Andre Brown ran for 179 yards and a touchdown and North Carolina State intercepted Drew Weatherford three times to upset No. 9 Florida State 20-15 in Tallahassee, Fla., for its third victory in five years over the Seminoles.

Florida State (7-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) backed into the conference’s first championship game scheduled next month in Jacksonville because Boston College lost at North Carolina.

Without injured tailback Leon Washington, Florida State’s offense managed 43 yards rushing and was unable to get the ball to 6-foot-6 receiver Greg Carr, who came into the game leading the ACC in touchdown catches and yards receiving.

N.C. State (4-4, 2-4) built a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter when Anthony Hill caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Stone.

(2) Texas 62, Baylor 0

Ramonce Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns and had a 42-yard catch from Vince Young for another score as the Longhorns (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) crushed the Bears (4-5, 1-5) in Waco, Texas.

Young had 351 total yards in just more than three quarters – 16-of-27 passing for 298 yards and two TDs, and 53 yards rushing on eight carries. Jamaal Charles ran for two scores.

(4) Alabama 17, Mississippi State 0

Kenneth Darby ran for 122 yards and the Crimson Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) returned two turnovers for touchdowns in a win over the Bulldogs (2-7, 0-6) in Starkville, Miss.

The Tide got rolling on the second-half kickoff. Jimmy Johns jarred the ball from Mississippi State returner Derek Pegues. Matt Miller scooped it up and returned it 15 yards to give Alabama a 10-0 lead 7 seconds into the third quarter.

On the Bulldogs’ next possession, quarterback Mike Henig fell and flipped the ball directly to defensive lineman Rudy Griffin, who brought it back 17 yards for another score.

(6) LSU 24, Appalachian State 0

JaMarcus Russell passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and the Tigers (7-1) beat the Division I-AA Mountaineers (6-3) in Baton Rouge, La.

It was LSU’s closest game against a I-AA opponent. It was Appalachian State’s closest game against a Division I-A opponent since a 15-7 loss to Auburn in 1999.

(8) Notre Dame 41, Tennessee 21

Brady Quinn threw three touchdown passes and Tom Zbikowski had a punt return and interception return for scores to lead the Fighting Irish (6-2) over the Volunteers (3-5) in South Bend, Ind.

Quinn was 20 of 33 for 295 yards and threw two touchdown passes in the span of a minute to give the Irish a 14-0 lead. The Irish went ahead 21-3 on a Zbikowski’s 78-yard punt return for a score. After the Vols rallied to tie the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by Arian Foster, Quinn threw a 4-yard TD pass to Jeff Samardzija to give the Irish the lead again.

(10) Penn State 35, (14) Wisconsin 14

Michael Robinson threw two touchdown passes and ran for 125 yards, and linebacker Tamba Hali had four sacks to lead the Nittany Lions (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) past the Badgers (8-2, 5-2) in State College, Pa.

Tony Hunt added 151 yards and two scores for Penn State, which inched closer to claiming the Big Ten’s BCS bid. Penn State can guarantee a trip to a BCS bowl if it wins its final regular-season game, at Michigan State on Nov. 19.

(12) Ohio St. 40, Illinois 2

Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes and Antonio Pittman ran for two scores to lead the Buckeyes (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) past the Fighting Illini (2-7, 0-6) in Columbus, Ohio.

The Buckeyes piled up 526 yards on offense, while holding the Illini to 160.

(13) Florida 49, Vanderbilt 42 (2OT)

Backup cornerback Reggie Lewis, beaten all game by Vanderbilt’s bigger receivers, intercepted Jay Cutler’s first pass in the second overtime to give the Gators (7-2, 5-2 SEC) a win over the pesky Commodores (4-5, 2-4) in Gainesville, Fla.

Cutler threw for 361 yards and four TDs, including two in the final 2:17 of regulation to send the game into overtime.

(16) Texas Tech 56, Texas A&M 17

Taurean Henderson ran for 109 yards and four touchdowns and the Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) rolled over the Aggies (5-4, 3-3) in Lubbock, Texas.

Cody Hodges connected on 29 of 44 passes for 408 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score for Texas Tech.

(17) Auburn 49, Kentucky 27

Kenny Irons, Tristan Davis and Tre Smith combined for 365 yards rushing and five touchdowns as the Tigers (7-2, 5-1 SEC) beat the Wildcats (2-6, 1-4) in Lexington, Ky.

Irons carried 23 times for 103 yards and three TDs, while Davis added 162 yards and a TD on eight carries.

North Carolina 16, (19) Boston College 14

Wallace Wright returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, Connor Barth broke out of a season-long slump with three field goals and the Tar Heels (4-3, 3-2 ACC) held off the Eagles (6-3, 3-3) in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jesse Holley set career highs with eight catches for 125 yards for the Tar Heels.

(20) TCU 33, Colorado State 6

The Horned Frogs (9-1, 6-0) wrapped up their first outright conference title in nearly 50 years by beating the Rams (5-4, 4-2) in Fort Worth, Texas, to clinch the Mountain West.

Robert Merrill and Aaron Brown combined for 178 yards on 29 rushes to lead the conference’s highest-scoring offense. The TCU defense, which leads the conference in points allowed, shut down the Rams with four interceptions and five sacks.

TCU, playing its first season in the MWC, last won an outright title in 1958 (Southwest Conference).

(25) Colorado 41, Missouri 12

Lawrence Vickers rushed for 85 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Buffaloes (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) past the Tigers (5-4, 3-3) in Boulder, Colo.

Vickers normally does more blocking and pass catching than running, but when the Buffs decided right before kickoff that hurting tailback Hugh Charles couldn’t go, Vickers got the call.