TCU rolls Utes

Now that the hometown fans are finally taking notice of No. 4 TCU, maybe the rest of the nation will also realize that the BCS-hopeful Horned Frogs are for real.

Utah certainly can’t disagree.

In likely its last significant hurdle to an undefeated regular season, TCU scored three touchdowns in a 2 1/2 -minute span early in the second quarter and beat No. 16 Utah 55-28 Saturday night.

The Horned Frogs (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West) stretched their winning streak to 12 games since a last-minute loss last November at Utah (8-2, 5-1), which had won 22 of 23. TCU also has won 13 in a row at home since losing when the Utes last visited two years ago.

With a record crowd of 50,307 – a sellout at 79-year-old Amon Carter Stadium without the benefit of an instate opponent – and representatives from the Orange, Rose and Fiesta bowls watching from the athletic director’s suite, the Frogs put on quite a show. Fans stormed the field when it was over.

Matthew Tucker had the first and last touchdowns (runs of 41 and 9 yards) for TCU, with five teammates getting into the end zone in between. The 55 points were the most allowed by Utah since 1996.

Even without guaranteed access to the Bowl Championship Series, the Frogs have changed the question about if they can be a BCS buster. Now it’s can they be the first outsider to play for the national title?

The Frogs are fourth in the BCS standings, the highest a team from a conference without an automatic bid has reached. They trail only Florida, Alabama and Texas – all winners Saturday.

(1) Florida 24, South Carolina 14: At Columbia, S.C., Tim Tebow tied the Southeastern Conference touchdown record and the Gators (10-0, 8-0) gained their first perfect league season in 13 years with a victory over the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5).

(2) Texas 47, Baylor 14: At Waco, Texas, Colt McCoy tied the NCAA record for career victories by a starting quarterback, throwing two touchdown passes to help the Longhorns (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) roll past the Bears (4-6, 1-5).

McCoy is 42-7 in his career, tying the wins record set by former Georgia quarterback David Greene. Texas led 40-0 by halftime with McCoy throwing touchdown passes of 3 and 7 yards to Jordan Shipley.

(3) Alabama 31, Mississippi State 3: At Starkville, Miss., Mark Ingram rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, Greg McElroy threw two long scoring passes and the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 SEC) beat the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-4).

Ingram had a workmanlike night until midway through the fourth quarter when he ripped off a 70-yard scoring run untouched.

(7) Georgia Tech 49, Duke 10: At Duhram, N.C., Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets (10-1, 7-1) clinched a spot in the ACC championship game with a win over the Blue Devils (5-5, 3-3).

Nesbitt was 6 for 10 for 195 yards with touchdown passes covering 32 yards to Stephen Hill and 75 yards to Demaryius Thomas, and had a 2-yard touchdown run.

(8) Pittsburgh 27, Notre Dame 22: At Pittsburgh, Jonathan Baldwin made two exceptional catches that allowed the Panthers (9-1) to open up an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter and hold on late to beat the Fighting Irish (6-4).

Notre Dame trailed 27-9 with 12:44 remaining after Dion Lewis’ 50-yard touchdown run, then came back before Jimmy Clausen fumbled with just more than 2 minutes remaining.

(9) LSU 24, Louisiana Tech 16: At Baton Rouge, La., Keiland Williams ran for 116 yards and two second-half touchdowns, helping the Tigers (8-2) fend off the upset-minded Bulldogs (3-7).

Williams’ first score, on a powerful 3-yard run that moved the pile, gave LSU a 17-13 lead midway through third quarter. His 9-yard TD in the fourth quarter made it a two-score game with a little more than 7 minutes to go.

North Carolina 33, (12) Miami 24: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Kendric Burney returned one of his three interceptions for a 77-yard touchdown and his third pick resulted in a fourth-quarter score that helped the Tar Heels (7-3, 3-3 ACC) beat the Hurricanes (7-3, 4-3).

Central Florida 37, (13) Houston 32: At Orlando, Fla., Brett Hodges outplayed Case Keenum and Brynn Harvey rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Knights (6-4, 4-2 C-USA) stop the Cougars (8-2, 4-2).

Harvey scored on runs of 1, 41 and 7 yards, the last set up by an interception that ended Keenum’s streak of consecutive passing attempts without a pick at 123.

(17) Oklahoma State 24, Texas Tech 17: At Stillwater, Okla., Patrick Lavine scored on a 21-yard interception return, and the Cowboys (8-2, 5-1 Big 12) came up with a final defensive stand to hold off the Red Raiders (6-4, 3-3).

(19) Penn St. 31, Indiana 20: At State College, Pa., linebacker Navorro Bowman had a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown and Evan Royster scored twice to help the Nittany Lions (9-2, 5-2 Big 10) overcome four first-half turnovers to beat the Hoosiers (4-7, 1-6).

Senior quarterback Daryll Clark threw for one score and ran for another in his last game at Beaver Stadium.

(20) Virginia Tech 36, Maryland 9: At College Park, Md., Tyrod Taylor threw for 268 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, and the Hokies (7-3, 4-2 ACC) built an early 24-point lead before coasting to a victory over the Terrapins (2-8, 1-5).

Taylor threw each of his TD passes in the opening 23 minutes to help Virginia Tech go up 27-3. Freshman Ryan Williams ran for 126 yards and a touchdown.

(21) Wisconsin 45, Michigan 24: At Madison, Wis., Scott Tolzien tied a career high with four touchdown passes and scored on a sneak as the Badgers (8-2, 5-2 Big 10) beat the Wolverines (5-6, 1-6).

(22) BYU 24, New Mexico 19: At Albuquerque, N.M., Max Hall passed for two touchdowns and got his 29th win at BYU to match Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer’s school record in the Cougars’ (8-2, 5-1 Mountain West) win over the Lobos (0-10, 0-6).

(24) Clemson 43, N.C. State 23: At Raleigh, N.C., C.J. Spiller became the first player in Clemson history to record a touchdown passing, rushing and receiving in the same game as the Tigers (7-3, 5-2 ACC) routed the Wolfpack (4-6, 1-5).