Buckeyes down Nittany Lions

Troy Smith put No. 1 Ohio State ahead with a sensational touchdown pass, and the Buckeyes defense took over from there to secure the win over Penn State in Columbus, Ohio.

Smith threw a 37-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter, then Malcolm Jenkins and Antonio Smith returned interceptions for touchdowns as Ohio State (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) beat No. 24 Penn State 28-6 on Saturday.

With the Nittany Lions (2-2, 0-1) seeking a touchdown and 2-point conversion that would tie it, Jenkins picked off an Anthony Morelli pass and raced down the left sideline 61 yards for a score to make it 21-6 with 2:31 left.

Moments later, Antonio Smith stepped in front of a pass by Morelli meant for Deon Butler and sped along the same route as Jenkins for a 55-yard score and the Buckeyes never looked back.

The victory extended Ohio State’s winning streak to 11 in a row, dating to last year’s 17-10 loss at Penn State. The teams ended up tied for the Big Ten title after the Nittany Lions lost on the final play against Michigan.

(2) Auburn 38, Buffalo 7: At Auburn, Ala., without tailback Kenny Irons or much passing, the Tigers (4-0) eventually wore down the defense of the Bulls (1-3) and then used a late surge for the victory. Favored by six touchdowns, the Tigers led by only 10 points until late in the third quarter. The Tigers eventually plodded to a win that only looked effortless on the final scoreboard.

(4) West Virginia 27, East Carolina 10: At Greenville, N.C., Patrick White showed there’s more to the Mountaineers offense than just handing off to Steve Slaton. White threw for a personal-best 216 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, and the Mountaineers (4-0) overcame Slaton’s least-productive game of the season and pulled away late in a victory over the Pirates (1-3).

(5) Florida 26, Kentucky 7: At Gainesville, Fla., Chris Leak threw two touchdown passes, running back DeShawn Wynn had a second consecutive 100-yard game and the Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC) defeated the Wildcats (2-2, 1-1).

(6) Michigan 27, Wisconsin 13: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Mario Manningham’s second touchdown catch put the Wolverines (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) ahead late in the third quarter and Mike Hart added a score to help the Wolverines overcome a sluggish start and beat the Badgers (3-1, 0-1).

(7) Texas 37, Iowa State 14: At Austin, Texas, quarterback Colt McCoy engineered another efficient game with a pair of TD passes and the Longhorns beat the Cyclones in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

The Longhorns (3-1, 1-0) have won 16 straight league games and haven’t lost a Big 12 contest at home since 1999. McCoy finished with 212 yards on 18-of-23 passing with an interception. Limas Sweed had seven catches for 107 yards. Bret Meyer, Iowa State’s career passing leader, threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1).

(8) Louisville 24, Kansas State 6: At Manhattan, Kan., Hunter Cantwell, starting in place of injured Heisman hopeful Brian Brohm, threw for 173 yards and a touchdown and the Cardinals (4-0) came away with a ragged victory over the Wildcats (3-1).

(10) LSU 49, Tulane 7: At Baton Rouge, La., Early Doucet caught two touchdown passes and ran for a third score as the Tigers (3-1) jumped out to a big early lead in a victory over the Green Wave (1-2).

(11) Virginia Tech 29, Cincinnati 13: At Blacksburg, Va., Branden Ore ran for 152 of his 170 yards in the second half and scored a touchdown as the Hokies (4-0, 2-0 ACC) overcame a sluggish start to get the victory over the Bearcats (1-3).

(14) Iowa 24, Illinois 7: At Champaign, Ill., the Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) pulled away by scoring three touchdowns late in the second quarter en route to a victory over the Ilini.

Drew Tate completed 17 of 27 passes for 190 yards to lead an offense that collected 344. He was intercepted near the goal line early in the second quarter by Kevin Mitchell, but the Hawkeyes grabbed control after that.

(15) Tennessee 33, Marshall 7: At Knoxville, Tenn., LaMarcus Coker ran 89 yards for a touchdown and Montario Hardesty added a 20-yard scoring run to help the Volunteers (3-1) shake off last week’s loss to Florida with a victory over the Thundering Herd (1-3). Lightning and heavy rain postponed the start of the game by an hour.

(17) Oklahoma 59, Middle Tennessee 0: At Norman, Okla., Adrian Peterson and Malcolm Kelly made sure there was no doubt the Sooners (3-1) came away with a win this time. Peterson scored three touchdowns, Kelly set a school record with 134 of his 164 yards receiving in the first quarter and the Sooners scored 45 points in the first half on their way to the win against the Blue Raiders (2-2).

(18) Florida State 55, Rice 7: At Tallahassee, Fla., Antone Smith ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns and Lorenzo Booker added 115 yards and a score as the Seminoles (3-1) beat the winless Owls.

The Seminoles ran for 287 of its 500 total yards.

(19) Clemson 52, North Carolina 7: At Clemson, S.C., James Davis had four of seven rushing touchdowns for the Tigers (3-1, 2-1 ACC) and the Tar Heels (1-3, 0-2 ACC) were held to 150 total yards in the victory – a day the school honored its 1981 national title team.

North Carolina State 17, (20) Boston College 15: At Raleigh, N.C., Daniel Evans connected with John Dunlap for a 34-yard touchdown with 8.5 seconds to play to cap a stunning comeback and lead the Wolfpack past the Eagles. Evans – a redshirt sophomore making his first career start – threw for 179 yards for the Wolfpack (2-2, 1-0 ACC), which trailed 15-10 in the final minute before Evans directed a 72-yard TD drive with no timeouts to stun the Eagles (3-1, 1-1).

(23) Nebraska 56, Troy 0: At Lincoln, Neb., Marlon Lucky ran for 156 yards and three long touchdowns and Kenny Wilson ran for 106 yards and two scores as the Cornhuskers (3-1) beat the Trojans (1-3).