Tide rout fifth-ranked Gators, send message to rest of SEC
With Brodie Croyle throwing two long touchdown passes and the defense producing a goal-line stand and a bunch more big plays, No. 15 Alabama finally looked like a Southeastern Conference contender again.
Croyle threw for 286 yards and three TDs, including an 88-yarder to Tyrone Prothro and a 65-yarder to Keith Brown, to lead the Crimson Tide to a 31-3 rout of No. 5 Florida on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Tide (5-0, 3-0) played like the league’s most dominating team, while handing the Gators (4-1, 2-1) their first loss under coach Urban Meyer.
Alabama, which hadn’t beaten a top-five team at Bryant-Denny Stadium in five previous tries, got its biggest win since a 34-7 victory over Florida in the 1999 SEC championship game.
It was the Gators’ worst defeat since losing 36-7 to LSU in 2002 and ended Meyer’s personal 20-game winning streak at Utah and Florida.
(2) Texas 51, Missouri 20
Vince Young ran for 108 yards and a TD and threw for two other scores, and the Longhorns (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) converted three turnovers by Missouri quarterback Brad Smith into touchdowns in beating the Tigers (2-2, 0-1) in Columbia, Mo.
The Longhorns, who have now won 11 straight road games and 11 straight games overall, beat Missouri for the 14th time in 15 games.
(3) Virginia Tech 34, West Virginia 17
Marcus Vick threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and the Hokies (5-0) converted two West Virginia turnovers into scores to beat the Mountaineers (4-1) in Morgantown, W.Va., in the finale of a 33-year series between the former Big East rivals.
(4) LSU 37, Mississippi State 7
An efficient JaMarcus Russell threw two touchdown passes to Dwayne Bowe, and the Tigers (2-1, 1-1 SEC) bounced back from a bitter defeat by routing the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-3) in Starkville, Miss.
Russell finished 20 of 23 for 197 yards for the Tigers, who were eager to make up for an overtime home loss to No. 10 Tennessee five days earlier.
(6) Florida State 38, Syracuse 14
Drew Weatherford passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including a 71-yard swing pass to Lorenzo Booker, and the Seminoles (4-0) rolled over the Orange (1-3) in Tallahassee, Fla.
(9) Miami 27, South Florida 7
Tyrone Moss matched a career-high with three TDs to lead the Hurricanes (3-1) to a victory over the Bulls (3-2) in Miami.
Moss ran for 89 yards and had scoring runs of 1 and 19 yards in the first quarter, when Miami took advantage of three South Florida turnovers to build an early 17-0 lead.
(10) Tennessee 27, Mississippi 10
Gerald Riggs ran for a touchdown and Jonathan Wade returned an interception for another score in the first quarter, and the Volunteers (3-1, 2-1 SEC) breezed past the Rebels (1-3, 0-2) in Knoxville, Tenn.
(13) Notre Dame 49, (22) Purdue 28
Brady Quinn passed for 440 yards and three touchdowns, two to Jeff Samardzija, leading the Fighting Irish (4-1) to a victory over the Boilermakers (2-2) in West Lafayette, Ind.
Quinn threw a TD pass for a 10th straight game, tying a school record set by Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte in 1964.
(16) Texas Tech 30, Kansas 17
Cody Hodges threw for 333 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score to lead the Red Raiders (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) over the Jayhawks (3-1, 0-1) in Lubbock, Texas.
(17) Wisconsin 41, Indiana 24
Brandon Williams caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt 63 yards for a score as the Badgers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) in Madison, Wis.
The Badgers won for the 10th straight time at home, their longest home winning streak since reeling off 25 straight from 1900-03, when their opponents included the likes of Hyde Park High School, Milwaukee Medical and the Osteopaths.
Penn State 44, (18) Minnesota 14
Derrick Williams and Tony Hunt each rushed for two touchdowns, Penn State’s stifling defense held Laurence Maroney to a season-low 48 yards rushing and the Nittany Lions (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) crushed the Golden Gophers (4-1, 1-1) in State College, Pa.
Maryland 45, (19) Virginia 33
Lance Ball ran for 163 yards and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Terrapins (3-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) amassed 570 yards of offense in College Park, Md., to hand the Cavaliers (3-1, 1-1) their first defeat.
Sam Hollenbach went 25 for 33 for 320 yards and two touchdowns for Maryland.
(21) Boston College 38, Ball State 0
Backup quarterback Matthew Ryan ran for a pair of first-half scores and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, leading the Eagles (4-1) to an easy win over the suspension-riddled Cardinals (0-4) in Boston.
The Cardinals had 15 players sidelined after being suspended earlier in the week for violating an NCAA extra-benefits rule involving the use of textbooks.
Nebraska 27, (23) Iowa State 20 (2OT)
Zac Taylor finished his record day with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cory Ross in the second overtime to give the Cornhuskers (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) an upset victory over the Cyclones (3-1, 0-1) in Lincoln, Neb.
Taylor completed 36 of 55 passes for 431 yards on a day the Cornhuskers all but abandoned their running game. He set school records for completions and yards.
(24) Louisville 61, Florida Atlantic 10
Michael Bush ran for a career-high 204 yards and the Cardinals (3-1) spoiled Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger’s homecoming in Louisville, Ky., by handing the Owls (0-5) their worst loss in their five-year history.
The 71-year-old Schnellenberger was born in Louisville and coached the Cardinals from 1985-94.