BCS Roundup: Irish, Tide roll

BCS TOP 25 ROUNDUP

Notre Dame 38, Wake Forest 0

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- If voters in any of the polls associated with the BCS standings happened to miss the Notre Dame football team's win over Wake Forest on Saturday, the final score pretty much tells the story.

After a season full of narrow escapes, the third-ranked Irish (11-0) were finally able dominate in a 38-0 conquest over the Demon Deacons (5-6).

In just over two quarters, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson threw for 346 yards (20 of 30, 3 TDs, 1 interception). Running back Cierre Wood rushed for 150 yards and a TD before garbage time set in.

With Tommy Rees taking over for Golson midway through the third quarter, the Irish extended the blowout to 38-0 with a 48-yard burst by Wood that was pivotal in a drive that George Atkinson finished off from 9 yards.

No. 4 Alabama 49, Western Carolina 0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The reigning national champions took out their loss to Texas A&M last week on the Catamounts.

Junior running back Eddie Lacy ran for 99 yards in nine carries and scored three touchdowns as Alabama (10-1) amassed 338 total yards in the first half against FCS Western Carolina (1-10).

The Crimson Tide didn't play its starters in the second half, and quarterback AJ McCarron took a seat midway through the second quarter after his 29-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Christion Jones set the Crimson Tide season-season record for touchdown passes with 21. Greg McElroy had the previous record, throwing 20 in 2010.

McCarron completed all six of his passes for 133 yards.

No. 5 Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 14

ATHENS, GA. -- If there's one thing Georgia has shown this season, it's the ability to adjust to whatever opposing offenses are able to do. Saturday's game against visiting FCS member Georgia Southern is another example. The Eagles and their triple-option offense caused Georgia all sorts of first-half grief, but the Bulldogs figured things out in the second half.

Amazingly, the game was close for a while. Georgia led 10-7 late in the second quarter before a penalty helped stop a GSU drive deep in Georgia territory.

From there, the rout was on. Quarterback Aaron Murray was sterling, completing 19 of 28 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns. Two went to Chris Conley, who led all receivers with four catches for 76 yards.

Freshman Todd Gurley also had a successful afternoon, rushing 15 times for 68 yards and a score. He went over the 1,000-yard mark with his performance and joined Herschel Walker as the only true freshman to accomplish that feat.

Along with Conley, Tavarres King and Malcolm Mitchell also hauled in touchdown passes from Murray, who threw three in the third quarter alone as Georgia pushed its 17-7 halftime advantage to 38-7 heading into the fourth.

No. 6 Florida 23, Jacksonville State 0

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's home schedule ended, fittingly, with the defense bailing out the inconsistent offense with a big play, kicker Caleb Sturgis adding a trio of field goals and senior tailback Mike Gillislee rolling up impressive yardage and key runs against Jacksonville State.

Marques Ivory's first pass of the second half, on third-and-10 from his own 2, was picked off by Florida linebacker Jon Bostic -- one of 18 players honored on Senior Day -- and returned 7 yards for a touchdown. The Gators avoided a loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week thanks to a blocked punt that was returned by fellow linebacker Jelani Jenkins for the winning score.

Florida (10-1) entered the game ranked 12th nationally with a plus-12 margin. Bostic's interception was UF's 16th this season. While going 7-0 at home, the Gators forced three turnovers in a 14-6 win against LSU, recovered three fumbles and got an interception in a 44-11 win over South Carolina and had four picks in a 14-7 win against Missouri.

So it was only fitting that, one final time, a defensive play wrapped up another game.

Gillislee, who needed 158 yards to become the first Gator back since Ciatrick Fason in 2004 to rush for more than 1,000 yards, got closer Saturday. He recorded his fourth career 100-yard game midway through the third quarter, and finished with 122 yards on 20 carries, including a touchdown.

He is now 36 shy going into next Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game at Florida State.

Sturgis added field kicks of 44 and 47 yards, his fourth three-field goal game of the season.

No. 7 LSU 41, Mississippi 35

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Odell Beckham's 89-yard punt return in the fourth quarter breathed much-needed life into LSU, and Jeremy Hill scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds left to lift the Tigers.

LSU (9-2, 5-2) maintained its slim hopes of getting to the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 1. The Tigers need an Alabama loss to Auburn next week and a Texas A&M victory at Missouri to force a three-way tie. LSU would win the tiebreaker and face Georgia.

Ole Miss was ahead 35-28 before Beckham's punt return tied the score.

It was reminiscent of Billy Cannon's famous return of the same distance that gave LSU a victory over Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959.

No. 8 Texas A&M 47, Sam Houston State 28

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Johnny Football continues to dazzle in Texas.

On the week Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel took the lead in the Heisman Trophy race, the sensation threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more in the Aggies' victory over Sam Houston State.

Manziel's final play was missing an extra point after he threw an 89-yard touchdown strike to Uzoma Nwachukwu on the opening drive of the second half.

Outside of missing the extra point, Manziel did nothing to hurt his Heisman chances. He ran for 100 yards on 16 carries and passing for 267 yards in one half and one play. His sterling performance was a fine encore to last week, when he led A&M to a 29-24 upset of then No. 1 Alabama.

The win over Sam Houston upped No. 9 A&M's record to 9-2, tied for the most wins in a season since 1998. The Bearkats, No. 3 in the FCS and the co-Southland Conference champion, had its seven-game win streak snapped and dropped to 8-3.

No. 9 South Carolina 24, Wofford 7

COLUMBIA, s.C. -- It wasn't as easy as expected, but the Gamecocks kept alive their chances to equal last season's school-record 10-2 regular season by getting past the Terriers to finish with a 7-0 mark.

Coach Steve Spurrier collected his 64th victory in eight seasons with the Gamecocks, tying Rex Enright's school record. Enright was 64-69-7 from 1938-42 and 1946-55. Spurrier is 64-37.

The Gamecocks (9-2) took the lead for good, 10-7, with 11:57 left in the game on a 23-yard field goal by Adam Yates, after a 15-play, 68-yard drive that followed Wofford's second lost fumble of the game.

Wofford (8-3) is expected to receive a bid to the Championship Subdivision playoffs when pairings are announced on Sunday.

No. 10 Florida State 41, Maryland 14

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Florida State rolled to the ACC Atlantic Division title, routing undermanned Maryland.

The Seminoles (10-1, 7-1 in the ACC) clinched the Atlantic championship for the second time in the last three years and the third time since the league went to divisional play in 2005.

Quarterback E.J. Manuel led the way, completing 17 of 23 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter.

The Terrapins (4-7, 2-5), who won only two games last season but began 4-2 this year, had their quest for bowl eligibility end with the defeat, their fifth in a row. Maryland, with 10 players out for the year because of injuries, finishes the regular season next Saturday at North Carolina.

Florida State went 61 yards in 11 plays on the game's opening possession, Devonta Freeman slamming over from five yards for the touchdown. Freeman had 148 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, part of Florida State's 237 yards on the ground.

No. 11 Clemson 62, N.C. State 48

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Tajh Boyd threw for five touchdowns and rushed for three more while amassing a school-record 529 total yards as Clemson rolled past the Wolfpack at Memorial Stadium.

It was a record-breaking day for both teams, who combined for the highest-scoring game in Clemson history.

Both teams had a 400-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers, and the combined 1,351 yards were a record for a Clemson game.

Boyd broke the Atlantic Coast Conference record for touchdown responsibility in a game as Clemson (10-1, 7-1 in ACC) won its school-record 13th consecutive home game and claimed a 10-win season for the first time since the Tigers' national championship season of 1981.

N.C. State (6-5, 3-4) got a record-setting day of its own from senior wide receiver Tobais Palmer, who amassed an ACC-record 496 all-purpose yards, including 244 in kickoff returns.

No. 14 Nebraska 38, Minnesota 14

LINCOLN, Neb. -- After three consecutive come-from-behind victories, the Huskers bolted to an early lead and left no doubt in trouncing the Gophers before 85,330 fans at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska (9-2, 6-1) remained tied with Michigan atop the Legends Division of Big Ten Conference, and the Huskers can clinch the title with a victory Friday at Iowa, or with a Michigan loss at Ohio State on Saturday.

Taylor Martinez completed 21 of 29 passes for 308 yards for Nebraska, while the defense recorded held Minnesota to 177 total yards. The junior quarterback increased his career total of 6,140 passing yards, surpassing Zac Taylor' record of 5,850 yards, set in the 2005-06 seasons.

Kenny Bell caught nine passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns for the Cornhuskers.

No. 17 UCLA 38, No. 18 USC 28

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA defeated USC at the Rose Bowl on Saturday and avenged last year's 50-0 loss to the Trojans.

Tailback Johnathan Franklin rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including a 29-yarder with 4:02 remaining to give the Bruins a 38-28 advantage after USC came within three points.

Quarterback Brett Hundley passed for 234 yards and one touchdown while also running for two scores.

UCLA jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter as Hundley confounded the Trojans, completing of 12 of his first 14 passes.

Matt Barkley threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, and he had two passes intercepted. Marqise Lee caught nine passes for 158 yards, and Curtis McNeal ran for 161 yards on 21 carries.

Utah State 48, No. 20 Louisiana Tech 41 (OT)

RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech rallied from two 24-point deficits to force overtime with a field goal at the end of the fourth quarter, but Utah State squashed the rally -- and Tech's hopes of crashing the BCS -- at Joe Aillet Stadium.

After Matt Nelson capped a furious Louisiana Tech rally with a 32-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, Utah State running back Kerwynn Williams scored on third play in overtime to give the Aggies a lead. Facing a fourth-and-3 at Utah State's 18, Louisiana Tech opted to run the ball up the middle. The game ended when Ray Holley was stopped for no gain.

Led by quarterback Chuckie Keeton, Utah State's offense started fast and rolled up 646 yards of offense to Louisiana Tech's 629. Keeton had 340 yards passing (20 of 34), 121 yards rushing on 17 carries and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Aggies defense held the potent Bulldogs in check for more than a half to help Utah State 9-2 (5-0) clinch at least a share of the WAC championship. The Aggies can take the outright conference title with a victory over Idaho in next week's regular-season finale.

Louisiana Tech's (9-2, 4-1) will not win back-to-back outright WAC titles. Bulldogs quarterback Colby Cameron extended his NCAA record streak of 444 passes without an interception before Will Davis picked him off in the end zone with 52 seconds left in the second quarter. Cameron finished 35-of-60 passing for 396 yards. Wide receiver Quinton Patton led all receivers with 11 catches and 181 yards and freshman teammate Kenneth Dixon ran for 109 yards and two scores.

Williams piled up 162 rushing yards, 125 receiving yards and three scores.

No. 21 Michigan 42, Iowa 17

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson got significant playing time in his final home game Saturday at Michigan Stadium. But quarterback Devin Gardner -- Robinson's replacement for a third straight game -- fueled the Wolverines to their third consecutive win.

In Michigan's rout of Iowa (4-7, 2-5), Gardner threw for three touchdowns and scored three more for the Wolverines (8-3, 6-1 Big Ten Conference). Robinson, who did not play in Michigan's previous two games, rotated between quarterback and tailback for the Wolverines, and the senior finished his final game at Michigan Stadium with 98 yards on 13 carries.

However, Robinson's role was amplified after No. 21 Michigan lost tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint to injury in the first quarter. Toussaint was taken off the field on a stretcher and on a cart, with his left leg stabilized in an air cast.

No. 22 Rutgers 10, Cincinnati 3

CINCINNATI -- Jawan Jamison was limited by an ankle injury, so sophomore Savon Huggins carried the load for the Scarlet Knights, who kept control of their destiny in the Big East Conference title race by winning at Nippert Stadium.

Huggins rushed for 179 yards on 41 carries, bettering his season total of 175, as Rutgers (8-1, 4-0) rushed for 236 yards while limiting the Bearcats to 90 rushing yards.

The Scarlet Knights scored the only touchdown when Gary Nova hit Mark Harrison on a 71-yard touchdown pass play for a 7-0 lead with 6:13 left in the second quarter.

Tony Milano kicked a 36-yard field goal for Cincinnati with 11 seconds left in the game, but Rutgers recovered the onside kick.

No. 24 Oklahoma State 59, No. 23 Texas Tech 21

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Isaiah Anderson caught three long touchdown passes -- his first scores of the season -- leading No. 24 OSU to a rout over No. 23 Texas Tech at Boone Pickens Stadium.

A key game in the Big 12 for bowl positioning purposes, with both teams entering with four conference wins, the Cowboys rolled to a 35-14 halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half.

Oklahoma State improved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the conference. The Red Raiders fell to 7-4 and 4-4.

Anderson had 174 receiving yards and all three scores by halftime. He also ran for 26 yards on a reverse. The touchdowns: 60, 33 and 66 yards. The last TD went for more yards than Anderson had ever totaled in a game (63).

No. 24 Washington 38, Colorado 3

BOULDER, Colo. -- Junior quarterback Keith Price continued his scoring assault by tying the school record with five touchdown passes to five different receivers and Washington defeated Colorado in the Pac-12.

The Huskies' less-than-mediocre first half -- Washington led 7-0 and Colorado has been outscored 309-96 in the first half this season --included a Bishop Sankey fumble inside the 5-yard line and a missed field-goal attempt that hit off the upright.

The Huskies (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12) broke the scoreless tie with 1:02 left in the first half on a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior Cody Bruns, the first TD of his career. Kasen Williams caught a 17-yard touchdown pass for the 14-0 lead and less than three minutes later the Huskies added six points on a 23-yard scoring catch-and-dash by freshman Kendyl Taylor.

Sophomore quarterback Connor Wood's first career start for Colorado (1-10, 1-7) -- in place of Nick Hirschman, who is out with a concussion from the 56-31 loss to Arizona -- was short lived. He was yanked in favor of junior Jordan Webb midway through the second quarter after completing 3-of-6 passes for 11 yards and a pair of interceptions.