Omar Cooper Jr’s toe-tap TD keeps No. 2 Indiana’s undefeated season alive vs Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Omar Cooper Jr. jumped to catch a pass from Fernando Mendoza in the back of the endzone, sweeping his inside foot within the field of play to save No. 2 Indiana from its first loss of the season Saturday against a downtrodden Penn State team that almost denied the Hoosiers their first Happy Valley win in school history.

Mendoza connected with the leaping Cooper with 36 seconds remaining to put Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) ahead 27-24.

Penn State (3-6, 0-6) rallied to take the lead 24-20 late in the fourth quarter after being down by 13 points in the third. Ethan Grunkemeyer connected with Nicholas Singleton for a 19-yard score.

The Nittany Lions were not able to put together a last-second score following Cooper’s touchdown, with the game ending on a failed Hail Mary attempt.

NO. 1 OHIO ST. 34, PURDUE 10

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Julian Sayin threw for 303 yards and one touchdown Saturday and Ohio State used four straight scoring drives in the second quarter to pull away from Purdue.

Jeremiah Smith finished with a season-high 10 catches for 137 yards and caught a 35-yard TD pass to break open the game. It was his 10th scoring catch of the season and the 25th of his career, tying him with Santonio Holmes for sixth on the Buckeyes all-time list.

Sayin was 27 of 33 with one interception. C.J. Donaldson Jr. scored the first and final touchdowns of the game for Ohio State — both on 1-yard plunges — as the Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 13. They also remained on pace for a potential Big Ten championship game showdown against No. 2 Indiana, which rallied in the final minute for its first ever win at Penn State, keeping its unbeaten record intact.

NO. 3 TEXAS A&M 38, NO. 22 MISSOURI 17

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Marcel Reed threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns, Texas A&M’s hounding defense made for a forgettable first start for Missouri quarterback Matt Zollers, and the Aggies beat the Tigers to remain undefeated.

Rueben Owens II added 102 yards rushing and a pair of clinching touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, as the Aggies (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 3 CFP) continued their best start since 1992 with their third consecutive victory over Missouri.

Zollers, starting in place of injured Beau Pribula, was just 7 of 22 for 77 yards, despite getting plenty of help from his rushing attack. Jamal Roberts ran for 110 yards and a touchdown, and Ahmad Hardy added 109 yards and another score, as the Tigers (6-3, 2-3, No. 22) piled up 207 yards on the ground.

NO. 4 ALABAMA 20, LSU 9

Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP) — Alabama delivered its best defensive effort in Southeastern Conference play this season and beat LSU 20-9 on Saturday night, keeping the Tigers out of the end zone for the first time since the 2012 national championship game.

The Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC, No. 4 CFP) allowed just 13 first downs and 232 yards while winning their eighth consecutive game. Alabama extended its home winning streak to 17 games, the longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and remained on track for a spot in the league title game and the College Football Playoff.

Ty Simpson completed 21 of 35 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.

Garrett Nussmeier completed 18 of 21 passes for 121 yards for LSU (5-4, 2-4), but he was benched in the third quarter in favor of sophomore Michael Van Buren.

NO. 5 GEORGIA 41, MISSISSIPPI ST. 21

STARKVILLE, Miss (AP) — Gunner Stockton threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns and Georgia beat Mississippi State.

Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) surrendered a touchdown on the opening drive of the game and then scored 38 straight points.

It was a complete mismatch on both sides of the ball as the Georgia Bulldogs held the Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-5, 1-5 SEC) scoreless on six consecutive possessions while scoring five straight touchdowns themselves. Everything worked for Georgia offensively as Stockton finished 18 of 29 passing for 264 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 31 more yards.

NO. 6 OREGON 18, IOWA 16

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Atticus Sappington kicked a 39-yard field goal with 3 seconds left, and Oregon escaped with an win over Iowa.

Dante Moore led a 10-play, 54-yard drive to set up Sappington’s third field goal of the game, connecting with Malik Benson for 24 yards to get the Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 9 CFP) into range for the winning kick.

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski’s 3-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 93-yard march that gave the Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2, No. 20 CFP) their first lead, 16-15 with 1:51 to play. Iowa went for 2, but Gronowski’s conversion pass was incomplete.

Moore completed five passes for 47 yards during the winning drive on what was otherwise a challenging day for the Ducks’ offense. He finished with just 112 yards passing and one interception.

NO. 7 MISSISSIPPI 49, THE CITADEL 0

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Trinidad Chambliss passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi to a win over The Citadel.

Chambliss completed 19 of his first 20 passes, most of them quick outs, and finished 29 for 33 before leaving after the first drive of the third quarter for the Rebels (9-1).

Kewan Lacy rushed 49 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 2, 15 and 3 yards for Mississippi, which scored touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions.

NO. 9 TEXAS TECH 29, NO. 8 BYU 7

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Stone Harrington kicked a school-record five field goals and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez had two takeaways as the Red Raiders beat BYU, holding the previously-unbeaten Cougars to a season-low 255 total yards in a game with Big 12 and playoff implications.

Behren Morton passed for 216 yards and threw a 9-yard touchdown to Caleb Douglas while Cameron Dickey ran for 121 yards and a 1-yard score for Texas Tech (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 8 CFP), which played in its first top-10 matchup since 2008.

BYU (8-1, 5-1, No. 7 CFP) had never played in such a game, though the teams could meet again in the Big 12 championship game in four weeks in Arlington, Texas.

NO. 10 NOTRE DAME, NAVY 10

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — C.J. Carr threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns and Notre Dame beat Navy on a snowy night for its seventh consecutive victory.

Carr completed 13 of 16 passes and Notre Dame (7-2) led 42-10 when he gave way to backup quarterback Kenny Minchey late in the third quarter.

Jeremiyah Love gained 94 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns. He scored on a stunning 48-yard run where he went down but didn’t touch the turf, rolling off adefender and racing to the end zone after regaining his footing.

Aneyas Williams added a 54-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Navy (7-2) played without quarterback Blake Horvath after he was injured last week in a 31-17 loss to North Texas

Braxton Woodson started in place of Horvath and gained 101 yards on 23 carries. He scored Navy’s lone TD on a 2-yard run that tied it at 7.

WAKE FOREST 16, NO. 14 VIRGINIA 9

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Carlos Hernandez returned a bouncing punt 88 yards in the third quarter for the game’s only touchdown, and Wake Forest handed Virginia its first Atlantic Coast Conference loss of the season.

Playing most of the night without quarterback Chandler Morris, who was injured on a second-quarter run, Virginia (8-2, 5-1, No. 14 CFP) became the last ACC team to lose a league game this year, disappointing a crowd of 55,568 at Scott Stadium that had been energized by the Cavaliers’ best start in 35 years.

Connor Calvert hit three field goals for the Demon Deacons (6-3, 3-3), including from 50 and 49 yards in the second half.

Virginia totaled 327 yards of offense to just 203 for Wake Forest, but the Cavaliers were held without a touchdown for the first time since a 14-12, four-overtime loss at Miami in 2022.

Will Bettridge made three field goals for Virginia. The Cavaliers’ final possession ended on fourth down at the 5-yard line when backup Daniel Kaelin’s throw for Jahmal Edrine sailed over the receiver’s head in the end zone.

CALIFORNIA 29, NO. 15 LOUISVILLE 26, OT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jacob De Jesus in overtime, and California topped Louisville for its first ranked win over a ranked team in 15 attempts.

The Golden Bears (6-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) elected to go for the win on fourth down and succeeded as Sagapolutele rolled left and hit De Jesus, who lept for the pylon to end a slugfest featuring four ties in regulation. Cal went on defense after winning the toss and held the Cardinals to Cooper Ranvier’s 49-yard field goal.

Sagapolutele completed 30 of 47 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns to help the Bears halt a two-game slide and become bowl eligible for the third consecutive season. They outgained Louisville 427-351, including 350-203 through the air.

Miller Moss was 20 of 38 passing for 203 yards and rushed for a touchdown for Louisville (7-2, 4-2, No. 15 CFP) which had won three straight since an overtime home loss to Virginia. Keyjaun Brown rushed for 136 yards on 14 carries while Duke Watson rushed for a score.

NO. 16 VANDERBILT 45, AUBURN 38, OT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Diego Pavia threw a 4-yard pass to Cole Spence in overtime, and Vanderbilt rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Auburn.

The win keeps hopes of a College Football Playoff berth alive for Vanderbilt (8-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 16 CFP). The Commodores had left themselves with no room to spare after losing 34-31 at Texas last week.

Auburn’s Ashton Daniels tied it up at 38-all by throwing a 23-yard TD pass to Cam Coleman before finding Coleman again for a 2-point conversion with 5:27 left. Daniels’ pass into the end zone at the end of regulation was batted down.

In overtime, needing to match Pavia’s TD, Daniels overthrew Coleman in the end zone on fourth-and-7.

Pavia threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran for 112 yards and another score.

Tight end Eli Stowers had 12 catches for 122 yards, and Tre Richardson finished with 124 yards on three receptions. Sedrick Alexander also ran for a pair of TDs in the shootout as Vanderbilt allowed season highs in points and offensive yards well before overtime.

NO. 18 Miami 38, SYRACUSE 10

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Carson Beck threw for a touchdown, caught a scoring pass and eclipsed the 10,000-yard passing mark for his college career as Miami used some tricks to roll to a win over Syracuse.

Offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa caught a backward pass and finished off what officially went into the books as a 3-yard rushing touchdown, while Keionte Scott had an interception return touchdown for the Hurricanes (7-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Keelan Marion had 116 receiving yards and Girard Pringle Jr. had a touchdown run for Miami.

The Hurricanes punted on each of their first four drives — then scored on each of their next four possessions, with the exception of a kneel-down to end the first half. Miami had no points on its first 22 plays, 24 points on its next 22.

Elijah Washington-Baker had a 17-yard touchdown catch with 21 seconds left and Rickie Collins completed 12 of 25 passes for 85 yards for Syracuse (3-7, 1-6), which gave up six sacks and has dropped six straight. It’s the longest losing streak for the Orange since an eight-game slide in 2020.

WISCONSIN 13, NO. 24 WASHINGTON 10

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Nathanial Vakos made a tiebreaking 32-yard field goal late in the third quarter and Mason Posa led a dominant defensive effort as Wisconsin snapped a six-game skid by upsetting Washington.

The Badgers (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) had lost 11 straight games against Power Four opponents before winning this one as a 10 1/2-point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The Badgers withstood an injury to quarterback Danny O’Neil, who was making his first start since Sept. 13 but got carted off the field in the first quarter. At the end of a 21-yard keeper, O’Neil started limping and then went down and clutched his right leg.

Freshman Carter Smith took over for Wisconsin in his college debut and went 3 of 12 for 8 yards passing, though he rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown. Wisconsin won on a day when its leading passer was punter Sean West, who threw a 24-yard completion on a fake punt attempt.

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