No. 2 Auburn survives at South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Kenny Irons ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Auburn knocked away a last-chance pass to keep its unbeaten season alive with a 24-17 victory over South Carolina on Thursday night.

Along with Irons’ ground game, the Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) displayed a passing game that helped them take every snap of the third quarter.

“I think that’s a first for me,” Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said. “I haven’t a seen a game where one team had it for the entire quarter.”

Brandon Cox completed nine of 13 passes for 125 yards in the third period and Auburn kept South Carolina’s offense off the field with the help of an onside kick. Still, it took Auburn’s defense to save this one.

South Carolina closed to a touchdown on Syvelle Newton’s 25-yard pass to Jared Cook with 8:25 to go. Then the Gamecocks got the ball back one last time, driving to the Tigers 6. However, on fourth down, Newton’s floater to Sidney Rice was batted away by Patrick Lee with 19 seconds left.

BYU 31, (17) TCU 17: At Fort Worth, Texas, John Beck threw for 321 yards and three second-half touchdowns and the Cougars held on for a big victory to end the Horned Frogs’ winning streak at 13 games. The streak was the longest in NCAA Division I-A.

The Cougars (3-2, 1-0 Mountain West) beat a Top 25 team for the first time since 1999. TCU fell to 3-1, 0-1.

Weber State 26, Northern Colorado 21: At Ogden, Utah, Shawn Woods passed for two touchdowns and 177 yards in the Wildcats’ (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) victory over the Bears (1-4, 0-2).

Trevyn Smith rushed for more than 100 yards and a touchdown for the second time this season in the win.