NW upsets No. 8 Iowa

Published 12:26 am Sunday, November 8, 2009

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No. 8 Iowa finally ran out of time.

Northwestern’s Dan Persa threw a touchdown pass and Marshall Thomas recovered a fumble for another score to help the Wildcats snap the Hawkeyes’ 13-game winning streak with a 17-10 victory Saturday.

It was the first win over a top-10 opponent for the Wildcats (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) since knocking off then-No. 6 Ohio State 33-27 in overtime in 2004. It also ended the nation’s second-longest winning streak.

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Iowa played without starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi after he sustained an apparent ankle injury early in the second quarter. Freshman James Vandenberg was just 9 of 27 for 82 yards and couldn’t lead the Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) to any points after Stanzi left the game.

No. 1 Florida 27, Vanderbilt 3

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — No. 1 Florida didn’t do much to erase all the negative vibes from rough week for the defending champions.

Tim Tebow accounted for two touchdowns, Caleb Sturgis kicked two field goals and the Gators beat Vanderbilt 27-3 in a lackluster effort Saturday night at The Swamp.

The Gators (9-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) extended their winning streak to 19 games overall — and their streak against Vandy (2-8, 0-6) to 19 games, too — but struggled on offense for the fifth time in seven league games.

No. 2 Texas 35, Central Florida 3

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jordan Shipley set a Texas record with 273 yards receiving, including an 88-yard touchdown, and the No. 2 Longhorns shook off a slow start for a 35-3 win over Central Florida on Saturday.

The sixth-year senior broke the previous best of 242 yards set in 1987 by Tony Jones. The touchdown came early in the fourth quarter on a drive that started at the 1.

Colt McCoy passed for 470 yards with two touchdowns. He was just shy of current Texas running backs coach Major Applewhite’s school-record 473 yards in the 2001 Holiday Bowl.

Central Florida (5-4) managed just 151 total yards.

No. 3 Alabama 24, No. 9 LSU 15

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — No. 3 Alabama picked up another dramatic win and a second straight trip to the SEC championship game.

Julio Jones caught a 73-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Leigh Tiffin booted a 40-yard field goal with 3:04 left to seal it.

The Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) earned a rematch with No. 1 Florida for the league championship in a physical game that left the Tigers (7-2, 4-2) without quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott for most of the second half.

The win touched off another big celebration for Alabama, which survived a 12-10 win over Tennessee two weeks ago with Terrence Cody’s two blocked field goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Tiffin came up big in that one, too, with four field goals.

No. 6 TCU 55, San Diego State 12

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more as No. 6 TCU won its 11th straight with a 55-12 win over San Diego State on Saturday.

TCU (9-0, 5-0 Mountain West) remained in the chase for a BCS bowl berth by staying undefeated.

The Horned Frogs jumped in front with touchdowns on five of their first six possessions. Dalton scored on runs of 13 and 7 yards as TCU held a 31-6 halftime lead. He also hit Ryan Christian on TD passes of 44 and 29 yards.

San Diego State (4-5, 2-3 MWC) struggled against TCU’s top-ranked defense, managing just a 30-yard TD pass from Ryan Lindley to DeMarco Sampson and two field goals by Lane Yoshida.

Stanford 51, No. 7 Oregon 42

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Toby Gerhart bowled over the Oregon defense to make the Cardinal bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.

Gerhart ran for a school-record 223 yards and three scores, Andrew Luck threw for two touchdowns and Stanford held on for sixth win of the season.

The loss by Oregon (7-2, 5-1 Pac-10) just a week after beating Southern California 47-20 opened up the conference race and cost the Ducks a shot at a berth in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

Oregon rallied with two late touchdowns to cut a 20-point lead down to six, but Stanford (6-3, 5-2) recovered an onside kick with 2:38 to go and tacked on Nate Whitaker’s third field goal with 11 seconds left. The students rushed the field as the game ended.

No. 10 Georgia Tech 30, Wake Forest 27, OT

ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Nesbitt scored on a 3-yard run in overtime after Georgia Tech pulled off a gutsy play on fourth down, leading the No. 10 Yellow Jackets another step closer to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Jonathan Dwyer rushed for a career-best 189 yards and went over 1,000 yards for the season, but it was Nesbitt and the guys on the defensive side who bailed out the Yellow Jackets (8-1, 6-1) at the end.

After the defense stifled Wake Forest (4-6, 2-4) on the first possession of OT, forcing a field goal, Georgia Tech drove to the 5 where it faced fourth-and-less-than-a-yard. The Yellow Jackets (8-1, 6-1 ACC) initially tried to draw Wake offsides, but was forced to burn a timeout when that didn’t work.

Instead of sending on Scott Blair for a chip-shot field goal to extend the game, coach Paul Johnson decided to go for the win right there. Nesbitt powered up the middle for a 2-yard gain and scored on the very next play.

No. 14 Pittsburgh 37, Syracuse 10

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Greg Williams’ 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982.

Dion Lewis ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for the freshman’s sixth 100-yard game, tight end Dorin Dickerson caught his 10th touchdown pass this season and the Panthers (8-1, 5-0 in Big East) won their fifth in a row heading into next Saturday’s game against No. 19 Notre Dame.

Bill Stull was 16 of 23 for 225 yards and no interceptions as the Panthers, who last were 8-1 during Dan Marino’s senior season 27 years ago, set themselves up for a possible Big East title-deciding game against No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 5.

If the Bearcats defeat Connecticut on Saturday night and West Virginia on Friday, the Cincinnati-Pitt game will determine the conference’s BCS bowl participant regardless of what happens in the Pitt-West Virginia game on Nov. 27.

No. 15 Ohio State 24, No. 11 Penn State 7

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The Ohio State Buckeyes are back in control of the Big Ten title race.

Terrelle Pryor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his return to his home state, Ray Small burned No. 11 Penn State (8-2, 4-2) with two long punt returns and No. 15 Ohio State won a duel of the league’s top two defenses in a 24-7 victory Saturday.

The Buckeyes (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) got an added bonus, too: a tie for the conference lead with Iowa after Northwestern handed the Hawkeyes its first loss of the season earlier Saturday.

No. 16 Miami 52, Virginia 17

MIAMI (AP) — Graig Cooper rushed for a career-best 152 yards and a touchdown, Damien Berry ran for a pair of second-half scores.

Thearon Collier had a 60-yard punt return for the go-ahead touchdown, and Jacory Harris finished 18 of 31 for 232 yards with two TDs for the Hurricanes (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). The 35-point margin of victory was Miami’s biggest in an ACC game since beating Duke 52-7 in 2005.

Rashawn Jackson had a 34-yard rushing touchdown for Virginia (3-6, 2-3), which has lost 10 of 13 starting with an overtime defeat to Miami last season, a slide that’s placed coach Al Groh’s future at his alma mater in doubt. The Cavaliers were outgained 515-149 and played without starting quarterback Jameel Sewell, who warmed up but was eventually ruled out with a shoulder injury.

No. 17 Utah 45, New Mexico 14

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jordan Wynn passed for 297 yards and two touchdowns in his first college start and Eddie Wide set a school record with his sixth straight 100-yard rushing game.

The Utes (8-1, 5-0) won their sixth straight and scored their most points since a 48-24 win over BYU last year to end the regular season. Utah also remained unbeaten in the Mountain West Conference, setting up a first-place showdown next week at No. 6 TCU.

Wide gained 122 yards in the third quarter alone as the Utes blew open the game with three touchdowns.

New Mexico (0-9, 0-5) lost its 13th straight, the second-longest streak in school history.

No. 18 Oklahoma State 34, Iowa State

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Keith Toston ran for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns, Zac Robinson threw a touchdown pass and the Cowboys bounced back from their drubbing by Texas.

Oklahoma State (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) controlled the game with a solid performance on both sides of the ball and reached seven victories for the fourth straight season, the first time in school history that has happened.

After throwing four interceptions in the 41-14 loss to Texas, Robinson was on the mark in this one and replaced his coach, Mike Gundy, as Oklahoma State’s career passing leader.

Iowa State (5-5, 2-4) was outgained 334-145 through three quarters and didn’t score until 11:50 remained in the game.

Navy 23, No. 19 Notre Dame 21

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Navy did it to Notre Dame again — and this loss to the Midshipmen is even more costly.

Craig Schaefer sacked Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left Saturday and Navy held on for a 23-21 victory, its second straight at Notre Dame Stadium.

No. 19 Notre Dame (6-3) scored with 24 seconds left on a 31-yard pass from Jimmy Clausen to Golden Tate to cut the lead to two, but the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds.

The win sends Navy into the Texas Bowl and effectively ends any hope Notre Dame (6-3) had for a Bowl Championship Series berth.

No. 21 Arizona 48, Washington State 7

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Travis Cobb returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to set the tone for No. 21 Arizona.

The Wildcats scored the first seven times they had the ball.

Arizona led 34-0 at the half, then William “Bug” Wright returned a punt 86 yards for a score the first time the Wildcats touched it in the third quarter.

Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Pac-10), the only Pac-10 team never to go to the Rose Bowl, pulled within a half-game of first-place Oregon after the Ducks lost at Stanford. Arizona and Oregon both have one conference loss. Everyone else has at least two.

Washington State (1-8, 0-6) lost its starting quarterback, freshman Jeff Tuel, when he sprained his right knee in the second quarter.

Oregon State 31, No. 23 California 14

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Sean Canfield threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score, while No. 23 California lost star tailback Jahvid Best to a concussion after he took a scary fall.

Cal (6-3, 3-3 Pac-10) couldn’t recover from seeing Best land on his head in the end zone after a leaping touchdown over a defender in the second quarter. The Golden Bears, who had won three straight to get back in the Top 25 for the first time following a four-week absence, lost their fifth straight at home to the Beavers — and this one made Oregon State (6-3, 3-3) bowl eligible.

Canfield completed 29 of 39 passes with nine to Jacquizz Rodgers and six each to James Rodgers and Joe Halahuni. It was the third straight game Cal gave up more than 300 yards in the air. Damola Adeniji had five catches for Oregon State, which leads the Pac-10 in passing.

No. 24 Wisconsin 31, Indiana 28

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — No. 24 Wisconsin followed the same old script to grind down Indiana.

John Clay ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, Montee Ball scored two TDs and the Badgers held off the Hoosiers’ fourth-quarter rally.

The Badgers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) have now won two straight and still have not lost to an unranked team this season.

Indiana’s fading bowl hopes took another hit. The Hoosiers (4-6, 1-5) must now win their final two games — at No. 11 Penn State and home against rival Purdue — to become eligible. They have lost three straight and six of seven.

No. 25 BYU 52, Wyoming 0

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Max Hall threw for 312 yards and four touchdowns in just over two quarters, and No. 25 BYU won its sixth straight over Wyoming, 52-0 on Saturday.

BYU (7-2, 4-1 Mountain West) recorded its first shutout of the season and second consecutive against the Cowboys. The Cougars beat Wyoming 44-0 last year.

Hall now has 28 career wins, one behind the school record held by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, who played at BYU from 1988-91.

Against Wyoming (4-5, 2-3), he was 20 of 22 and had TD passes of 44, 2, 79 and 15 yards. He completed passes to seven different receivers before taking a seat midway through the third quarter.