Top 25 roundup: Alabama rallies, Notre Dame survives

SATURDAY'S TOP 25 BCS ROUNDUP

No. 1 Alabama 21, No. 5 LSU 17

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Left for dead after a miserable second half, the Alabama offense and quarterback AJ McCarron roared to life with a 72-yard drive in the final 1:34 and scored with 51 seconds left to stun No. 5 LSU before an announced record crowd of 93,374 at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. McCarron passed for all 72 yards on the final drive, the final 28 to tailback T.J. Yeldon on a screen pass.

The Tigers' last gasp ended when quarterback Zach Mettenberger was sacked, triggering a Crimson Tide celebration that was much a sigh of relief as anything else after the closest call this season.

The final flurry allowed McCarron to finish with 165 yards after he misfired on his first six throws in the second half.

No. 2 Kansas State 44, No. 24 Oklahoma State 30

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State took the ball away from No. 24 Oklahoma State five times to improve remain undefeated. The Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 in the Big 12) should hold their No. 2 ranking in the BCS standings.

Allen Chapman had three interceptions, including a return for a touchdown to give K-State a 31-17 lead at the half. He also snuffed out Oklahoma State's final threat with an interception in the end zone with 2:06 remaining.

Kansas State was fifth in the FBS with a plus-15 turnover margin coming into the game, while Oklahoma State (5-3, 3-2) was ranked 94th at minus-2.

K-State quarterback Collin Klein once again was nearly perfect, finishing the game 16-of-22 for 245 yards. He also had 64 yards on 17 carries, plus a touchdown on the ground. But he too left the game early in the third quarter and was replaced by redshirt freshman Daniel Sams. There was no obvious injury, but he remained on the sideline without his helmet for the remainder of the game.

No. 3 Notre Dame 29, Pitt 26 (3 OT)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Everett Golson took matters into his own hands as Notre Dame preserved its national championship hopes with a triple overtime victory over Pitt.

Golson set up the game-winner with a 6-yard run to the Pitt one, then bulled through the line for the game-winner as the Irish remained unbeaten.

Pitt's Kevin Harper had given the visitors a 26-23 lead in the third overtime with a successful 44-yard field goal.

Notre Dame, which entered the game No. 4 in two national polls and third in BCS weekly rankings, improved to 9-0 for the first time since 1993.

Unranked Pitt, which had beaten Notre Dame in two of three previous meetings in South Bend, slipped to 4-5.

Golson had a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes, then ran for a two-point conversion as the Irish forced a 20-20 tie with 3:02 left in regulation.

No. 4 Oregon 62, No. 17 USC 51

LOS ANGELES -- Oregon tailback Kenjon Barner put on a Heisman-worthy performance, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for a school record 324 yards, as the No. 4-ranked Ducks blew past No. 17 USC in front of 93,607 fans at The Coliseum.

The teams combined for more than 1,350 yards offense but it was the Ducks who were the superior team as Barner's running kept USC off-balance much of the game.

But Barner wasn't the only one to be part of five touchdowns as USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw for five scores and 489 yards in the air in the losing cause.

Barner's five-yard touchdown run with 9:15 left in the game gave the Ducks a 55-38 lead that they did not relinquish.

No. 6 Georgia 37, Mississippi 10

ATHENS, Ga. -- Coming off an emotional victory against rival Florida, the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs did more than just avoid a homecoming let down by rallying early to blow out the Mississippi Rebels at Sanford Stadium.

Georgia (8-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) stumbled out of the gate but scored 37 unanswered points to distance itself from the Rebels (5-4, 2-3), who were looking to gain bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009.

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray led the Bulldogs' offense by completing 21 of 28 passes for 384 yards and four scores. Freshman Todd Gurley paced Georgia's running backs with 117 yards on 18 carries.

No. 7 Florida 14, Missouri 7

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- No. 7 Florida's defense intercepted a season-high four of Missouri quarterback James Franklin's passes and the Gators managed to scrounge up just enough offense to hold off the upset-minded Tigers.

The tense game wasn't decided until the final seconds. Missouri (4-5, 1-5 SEC) actually shut Florida out for a half, extending UF's streak to six quarters without a touchdown.

Florida (8-1, 7-1) had a pair of big offensive plays to take the lead and Matt Elam and Jon Bostic killed a couple of late drive attempts by the Tigers.

The Gators' Brad Phillips, kicking in place of injured Caleb Sturgis, kept things interesting by missing a 24-yard field goal that would have locked the game up with less than 2 minutes to play.

No. 10 Louisville 45, Temple 17

LOUISVILLE -- Sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a career-high five touchdown passes as the 10th-ranked Cardinals went to 9-0 for the first time in school history with a 45-17 Big East Conference rout of Temple.

Bridgewater completed 19-of-28 passes for 324 yards, hitting Andrell Smith on scoring strikes of 14 and nine yards. He also connected with Eli Rogers from 15 yards, found tight end Ryan Hubbell on a 72-yard catch-and-run touchdown, and threw a 25-yard dart over the middle to DeVante Parker.

It was only the second double-digit victory for Louisville since a 35-7 decision over FCS opponent Missouri State on Sept. 8.

No. 12 Oklahoma 35, Iowa State 20

AMES, Iowa -- Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones got picked off twice by the same Iowa State defensive back (Durrell Givens) and still led his Sooners to their sixth win of the season.

Oklahoma running back Brennan Clay helped the Sooners on the ground since the Sooners usual starter Damien Williams was limited due to an ankle injury he sustained in Oklahoma's previous game.

In the third quarter, Brennan Clay compiled 23 yards on a drive before breaking for an 18-yard rush into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the year.

Clay got his first start since Sept. 2011. Clay came into the game with 30 carries for 220 yards. He finished the day with 24 carries for 157 yards.

No. 13 Clemson 56, Duke 20

DURHAM, N.C. -- Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd did so much of his work in the first half that he didn't have much of a chance to pad his passing numbers. The 13th-ranked Tigers scored on six of their first eight possessions and steamrolled Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Boyd threw five touchdown passes -- three going to receiver DeAndre Hopkins -- and rushed for another touchdown as the Tigers amassed 718 yards of offense.

Clemson (8-1 overall, 5-1 ACC) won its fifth consecutive game, all coming by at least 14-point margins.

The Blue Devils (6-4, 3-3) dropped consecutive games for the first time this season. Duke fell into third place in the ACC's Coastal Division but still has a reasonable path into the ACC championship game if it wins its last two games following next weekend's open date.

No. 14 Stanford 48, Colorado 0

BOULDER, Colo. --No. 14 Stanford routed Colorado, even though redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan of the Cardinal had to take over in the final seconds of the first quarter after a dismal start by senior quarterback Josh Nunes.

Nunes managed only 23 yards and one first down in the Cardinal's first two series' against the Pac-12's worst defense.

Hogan didn't waste the chance, as he led the Cardinal (7-2, 5-1 in the Pac-12) to points in all but one of his seven possessions, five touchdowns and a field goal.

No. 16 Texas A&M 38, No. 15 Mississippi State 13

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- No. 16 Texas A&M rolled up 718 yards of offense, including 465 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Johnny Manziel, in a victory over No. 15 Mississippi State.

Manziel completed 30-of-36 passes for 336 yards and added 129 yards on 21 rushes, including two touchdowns.

Ben Malena added 112 yards rushing and a touchdown on 17 carries for the Aggies (7-2, 4-2 in the SEC). Ryan Swope caught nine passes for 121 yards.

No. 23 Texas 31, No. 18 Texas Tech 22

LUBBOCK, Texas -- No. 23 Texas surged to an early two-score lead then fended off 18th-ranked Texas Tech for a 31-22 victory over the Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Longhorns starting quarterback David Ash showed in the first half that coach Mack Brown was right to stick with him. Ash gave way to backup Case McCoy a week earlier as McCoy led Texas to a comeback.

But Ash started against Texas Tech and burned the Red Raiders for touchdown passes of 6 and 75 yards to help the Longhorns take control in the first half. Ash's 6-yard pass to Jaxon Shipley gave Texas the initial lead. Then Ash's 75-yard bomb to Mike Davis put Texas ahead 21-10.

In the fourth quarter, Ash was right on target again to Davis for a 25-yard touchdown that gave the Longhorns (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) just enough room. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 264 yards

No. 20 Nebraska 28, Michigan State 24

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Junior quarterback Taylor Martinez threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Jamal Turner with six seconds remaining, giving the No. 20 Cornhuskers a victory over Michigan State at Spartan Stadium.

Martinez rushed for 205 yards -- including scoring runs of 71 and 35 yards -- on 17 carries for Nebraska, which remain tied with Michigan atop the Legends Division, each at 4-1.

Martinez was mostly ineffective as a passer, throwing three interceptions, but delivered on the game-winning 80-yard scoring drive. Ameer Abdullah had his fourth 100-yard rushing game in as many career starts, gaining 110 yards on 22 carries.

Overall, Nebraska had 313 rushing yards. The Huskers were averaging a Big Ten-best 264.1 rushing yards, while the Spartans were the conference leaders in rushing defense at 91.2 yards per game.

TCU 39, No. 21 West Virginia 38

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- TCU coach Gary Patterson gambled and went for a two-point conversion in the second overtime and it paid off when Josh Boyce made a diving catch in the end zone to give the Horned Frogs a thrilling one-point win over West Virginia in a game that was filled with intriguing twists and turns.

The teams missed field goals in the first overtime, then traded touchdowns in the second overtime, Geno Smith of West Virginia hitting Stedman Bailey for a 25-yard touchdown and Trevone Boykin of TCU throwing to Corey Fuller for a touchdown on the first play.

Patterson opted to go for two and Boykin's pass to Boyce survived a review.

TCU (5-4, 3-3 in the Big 12) broke a two-game losing streak, while West Virginia (5-3, 2-3) had its losing streak extended to three games.