Gainesville, Fla. – Tim Tebow and No. 11 Florida looked like the juggernaut everyone expected this season.
Tebow threw two touchdown passes to Percy Harvin and ran for a score, and the Gators thumped defending national champion LSU, 51-21, Saturday night in The Swamp.
The fourth-ranked Tigers (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had won six consecutive games, 19 in a row at night and 23 straight in regulation. Florida (5-1, 3-1) ended all those streaks and looked arguably its best since beating Ohio State for the 2006 national title.
No. 6 Penn State 48, Wisconsin 7
Madison, Wis. – With coach Joe Paterno perched in the press box for the second straight week because of a bum leg, Daryll Clark threw for a touchdown and ran for two more as Penn State dismantled Wisconsin.
No. 8 USC 28, Arizona St. 0
Los Angeles – Mark Sanchez passed for one touchdown and ran for another, and the USC defense dominated Arizona State.
Joe McKnight ran for a career-high 143 yards on 11 carries and Kevin Thomas returned an interception 46 yards for a TD for the No. 8 Trojans (4-1, 2-1 Pac-10), who extended their winning streak over ASU to nine games.
No. 9 BYU 21, New Mexico 3
Provo, Utah – Max Hall threw for three touchdowns, and BYU survived its lowest-scoring game of the season with a victory, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 straight.
BYU (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) remained unbeaten at the halfway point of the season, but needed Hall’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie with 3:05 left in the game to seal it.
No. 10 Georgia 26, Tennessee 14
Athens, Ga. – Matthew Stafford passed for a career-best 310 yards, Knowshon Moreno ran for 101 yards, and Georgia dropped Tennessee to 0-3 in the SEC for the first time in 20 years.
No. 12 Ohio St. 16, Purdue 3
Columbus, Ohio – Malcolm Jenkins blocked a punt, and Etienne Sabino returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to lead Ohio State to the victory.
Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor had an erratic day, and tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells totaled 94 yards on 22 carries for the Buckeyes (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten), who have won four straight games.
Mississippi St. 17, No. 13 Vanderbilt 14
Starkville, Miss. – Anthony Dixon rushed for 107 yards, De’Mon Glanton set up the game-clinching touchdown with an interception, and Mississippi State handed Vanderbilt its first loss.
The Commodores (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) were looking to go 6-0 for the first time since 1928. Instead, the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-2) held Vandy to 107 yards of offense.
No. 14 Utah 40, Wyoming 7
Laramie, Wyo. – Matt Asiata ran for a touchdown and caught a TD pass, and Utah’s special teams scored two touchdowns.
No. 15 Boise St. 24, Southern Miss 7
Hattiesburg, Miss. – Kellen Moore threw three touchdown passes, and Boise State rolled to an easy victory, beating Southern Mississippi with a scoring flurry in the second quarter.
Moore hit 16 of 20 passes for 144 yards and all three scores in the first half, connecting twice with Austin Pettis.
Arkansas 25, No. 20 Auburn 22
Auburn, Ala. – Michael Smith rushed for 176 yards and scored the go-ahead TD on a 63-yard run in the fourth quarter, and Arkansas mounted two late defensive stands.
The Razorbacks (3-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) forced Auburn’s Kodi Burns into three straight incompletions from their 5 to halt one drive. Then Matt Harris made a diving interception with 29 seconds left on the Tigers’ last chance.
No. 22 North Carolina 29, Notre Dame 24
Chapel Hill, N.C. – Cameron Sexton scored on a leaping four-yard keeper to start the fourth quarter and Quan Sturdivant returned an interception for a touchdown for North Carolina.
Ryan Houston scored on a short run for the Tar Heels (5-1), who are off to their best start since winning the first eight games in 1997. North Carolina rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit and beat Notre Dame for just the second time in 18 meetings.
No. 23 Michigan State 37, Northwestern 20
Evanston, Ill. – Javon Ringer ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns to lead Michigan State to a victory over previously unbeaten Northwestern.
Brian Hoyer added two short touchdown passes and the Spartans never trailed. Michigan State (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) scored 17 straight points in the first quarter with the help of a pair of Northwestern turnovers.
No. 25 Ball St. 24, Western Kentucky 7
Bowling Green, Ky. – Ball State isn’t used to playing with a target on its back.
If the Cardinals keep winning, they won’t have a choice.
Nate Davis threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns as No. 25 Ball State overcame a slow start in its first-ever game as a ranked team to beat Western Kentucky.
MiQuale Lewis ran for 112 yards and a score for the Cardinals (7-0), who needed more than a half to find any rhythm against the pesky Hilltoppers (2-5).