Mendoza’s near-perfect day lifts No. 2 Indiana to 31-7 win over Wisconsin

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza completed 91.7% of his passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns as No. 2 Indiana took another step toward clinching a spot in its first Big Ten title game and likely a second straight playoff berth with a 31-7 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday.

Mendoza spent some time in the injury tent during the fourth quarter, but returned on the next Indiana series to throw his school-record-breaking 30th TD of the season — a 5-yarder to Omar Cooper Jr. Mendoza continued to make his Heisman Trophy case by going 22 of 24 despite being sacked five times.

The Hoosiers (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten, No. 2 CFP) are undefeated through 11 games for the first time in school history and have tied last season’s record-setting victory total. They also improved to 15-0 at home — the longest winning streak in school history — in coach Curt Cignetti’s two-year tenure.

Wisconsin (3-7, 1-6) has lost to five ranked teams this season but has not beaten a top-10 team on the road since 2019.

Carter Smith became the first true freshman to start a game for the Badgers since 1991 and finished 9 of 15 with 98 yards, including a 45-yard TD pass to Lance Mason. He also had two turnovers and Wisconsin generated only 23 total yards in the second half.

Indiana took control by closing the first half with a 37-yard field goal to make it 10-7 and opening the second half with a 2-yard TD pass from Mendoza to Holden Staes. The Hoosiers then converted a Badgers turnover into a 21-yard TD pass from Mendoza to Riley Nowakowski, the former Badger. Mendoza and Cooper closed it out with a fourth quarter scoring play for the second straight week.

NO. 3 TEXAS A&M 31, SOUTH CAROLINA 30

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Marcel Reed threw for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns and Texas A&M rallied from a 27-point deficit to remain undefeated with a victory over South Carolina.

It’s the biggest comeback in school history, eclipsing a 21-point rally by a Johnny Manziel-led team in a 52-48 win in the 2013 Chick-Fil-A Bowl over Duke. Entering Saturday, teams were 0-286 in Southeastern Conference play since 2004 when trailing by 27 points or more.

Reed bounced back from an awful first half where he was intercepted twice and had a fumble returned for a score to put the Aggies in a 30-3 hole with a dazzling second half to keep Texas A&M on track for its first trip to the College Football Playoff.

The Aggies took the lead for the first time on a 4-yard run by EJ Smith with about 11 minutes left.

Texas A&M had a first down at the 1 after that, but Jamarion Morrow fumbled on a trick play and the Gamecocks recovered with about three minutes to go.

Dalton Brooks and Cashius Howell sacked LaNorris Sellers on consecutive plays to bring up fourth-and-16 with about 90 seconds to go. Sellers scrambled on fourth down and he was stopped short of the first down marker to seal the victory.

NO. 11 OKLAHOMA 23, NO. 4 ALABAMA 21

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Kip Lewis had seven tackles, including two sacks, and Oklahoma stunned Alabama to send shock waves through the Southeastern Conference.

The Sooners (7-2, 4-2 SEC, No. 11 CFP) had three takeaways — scoring 17 points off those turnovers — and got a key stop late to end Alabama’s winning streaks of eight games overall and 17 at home. The Crimson Tide (8-2, 6-1, No. 4 CFP) had a chance down the stretch, but Ty Simpson’s fourth-down pass to Ryan Williams fell incomplete.

The Sooners ran out the clock from there, setting off a raucous celebration by their visiting fans. Oklahoma — a 6-point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook — managed just 212 yards of offense but had an interception and recovered two fumbles.

NO. 8 TEXAS TECH 48, UCF 9

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez struck the Heisman Trophy pose again after the first offensive touchdown of his career, Reggie Virgil scored three times and Texas Tech routed UCF.

The Red Raiders (10-1, 7-1 Big 12, No. 6 CFP) stayed on track for a shot at their first Big 12 championship in their regular-season home finale, reaching 10 victories for the first time since going 11-2 under the late Mike Leach in 2008.

The Golden Knights (4-6, 1-6) didn’t pick up a first down until they trailed 21-0 and dropped to 0-4 on the road, getting outscored 78-12 combined in the past two, a pair of trips to Texas. UCF had a season-low 52 yards rushing against the nation’s No. 1 run defense.

NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 37, NO. 23 PITTSBURGH 15

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jeremiyah Love ran for 147 yards and a score, Malachi Fields hauled in a pair of touchdown passes and Notre Dame breezed past Pittsburgh.

The Fighting Irish have won eight straight games by an average of 26 points since their 0-2 start. Notre Dame likely needs to merely avoid upset bids by Syracuse or Stanford to end the season to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Love gave his burgeoning Heisman Trophy campaign a boost by finishing with 167 yards of total offense, the highlight coming on a 56-yard sprint to the end zone in the first quarter that included a spin move at midfield that left Pitt’s Kavir Bains-Marquez grasping at air.

Notre Dame’s Tae Johnson picked off Heintschel on the next play from scrimmage and raced 48 yards to the end zone to give the Irish an early 14-point lead they never squandered.

NO 14 GEORGIA TECH 36, BOSTON COLLEGE 34

BOSTON (AP) — Aidan Birr kicked a 23-yard field goal with 11 seconds left and Georgia Tech rallied for a victory over Boston College to remain tied for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Haynes King completed 26 of 34 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown as the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1, No. 16 CFP) stayed even with No. 20 Virginia (No. 19 CFP) atop the league standings.

Dylan Lonergan went 26 of 40 for 362 yards and two TDs for the Eagles (1-10, 0-7), who lost their 10th straight game.

NO. 16 MIAMI 41, NC STATE 7

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Carson Beck passed for 291 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Malachi Toney, and Miami — looking to climb in the College Football Playoff rankings — rolled past N.C. State.

Beck completed his final 13 throws to cap off a 21-for-27 day for the Hurricanes (8-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Miami now has five wins by at least 25 points this season, the most in a single year by the Hurricanes since the 2002 team had six such victories.

Jakobe Thomas picked off two passes in the first quarter, running one of them back for a touchdown for Miami. And Girard Pringle Jr. more than doubled his season rushing total for the Hurricanes; he ran for 116 yards on Saturday, one more than he had in his first four games of the year.

Miami took a 41-0 lead before substituting liberally in the fourth quarter on Senior Day, the last regular-season home game for the Hurricanes. Miami outgained N.C. State 581-149.

CJ Bailey completed 17 of 30 passes for 120 yards for N.C. State (5-5, 2-4). The Wolfpack — with Miami playing reserves on defense at the time — got on the scoreboard on a rushing touchdown from Bailey with 2:18 left. That extended N.C. State’s streak of not getting shut out to 144 games; its last time being blanked was Oct. 4, 2014.

NO. 17 SOUTHERN CAL 26, IOWA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Makai Lemon made 10 catches for 153 yards and a second-half touchdown, and Southern California scored 19 unanswered points to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive with a victory over Iowa on Saturday.

Jayden Maiava passed for 254 yards and Bryan Jackson rushed for two touchdowns for the Trojans (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 17 CFP), who faced their largest deficit of the season when they trailed 21-7 late in the second quarter at a rain-soaked Coliseum. USC mounted five consecutive scoring drives, capped by Jackson’s go-ahead TD run with 13:36 to play.

Mark Gronowski threw a touchdown pass, made a TD run and caught a scoring pass during the first half, but his Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3, No. 21 CFP) got shut out in the second half of another heartbreaking loss to a ranked team.

NO. 18 MICHIGAN 24, NORTHWESTERN 22

CHICAGO (AP) — Dominic Zvada kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired, Jordan Marshall ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns before exiting with an injury and Michigan stayed in the playoff chase by beating Northwestern.

The Wolverines overcame three late turnovers, including two interceptions by Bryce Underwood, and remained in the running for the College Football Playoff with their fourth straight win. Northwestern lost its third in a row.

Zvada’s boot capped a 50-yard drive and set off a celebration on the field and in the stands, where a large part of the crowd wore maize and blue.

Michigan was up 21-9 when the Wildcats’ Preston Stone plowed in from the 1 two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Michigan then had a third down at its 26 when Braden Turner picked off a pass intended for Deakon Tonielli and returned it to the 6. Caleb Komolafe ran it in on the next play, giving Northwestern a 22-21 lead with 12:05 remaining in the game. The 2-point conversion pass failed.

Michigan then drove to the 30 before Underwood got picked off again, this time by Robert Fitzgerald at the 20. The Wolverines had another opportunity after Northwestern punted, only to give it away again after opting not to go for the field goal. They had a fourth-and-1 at the Wildcats’ 24 when Bryson Kuzdzal fumbled the handoff and Northwestern recovered.

NO. 20 VIRGINIA 34, DUKE 17

Durham, N.C. (AP) — Chandler Morris passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns, J’Mari Taylor ran for 133 yards and two scores on 18 carries, and Virginia kept its conference title hopes intact with a victory over Duke.

Morris, who left last week’s loss to Wake Forest following a hit to the head, went 23 of 35 through the air for the Cavaliers, who piled up 540 total yards. He also threw two interceptions, including one that Duke linebacker Tre Freeman returned 18 yards for a touchdown.

Trell Harris paced Virginia (9-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) with eight catches for 161 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown that made it 20-3 in the third quarter.

Duke reached the Virginia 8-yard line on its next possession, but Darian Mensah was sacked on fourth down by Mitchell Melton. Three players later, Taylor sprinted for a 78-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.

Mensah finished with 213 yards and one touchdown on 18 of 35 passing as Duke (5-5, 4-2) dropped its second straight.

ARIZONA 30, NO. 22 CINCINNATI 24

CINCINNATI (AP) — Noah Fifita passed for 294 yards and a touchdown to become Arizona’s all-time leader in TD passes as the Wildcats beat Cincinnati in the first game between the teams.

Fifita was 23 for 31 passing and his scoring pass in the fourth quarter was his 68th career TD pass, surpassing the marks of Nick Foles and Willie Tuitama.

Kris Hutson had eight catches for 123 yards for Arizona, his fourth career 100-yard receiving game.

Cincinnati, coming off a bye week following a 45-14 loss at No. 14 Utah, got within three points on Zion Johnson’s TD run with 6:38 left.

Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, who missed a field goal try and had another attempt blocked in the first half, connected from 50 yards to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 30-24 with 1:34 left.

NO. 24 JAMES MADISON 58, APPALACHIAN STATE 10

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Jobi Malary rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns as James Madison extended its winning streak to eight games with a win over Appalachian State.

Wayne Knight carried 16 times for 94 yards and a score and caught six passes for 55 yards as the Dukes (9-1, 7-0) remained unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play.

Alonza Barnett completed 22 of 35 passes for 303 yards and ran for two TDs as the Dukes piled up 557 yards of total offense, their second-highest output of the season.

JMU’s defense dominated, holding the Mountaineers scoreless until 10:48 remained in the game. James Madison limited Appalachian State to a season-low 146 yards of total offense.

NAVY 41, NO. 25 SOUTH FLORIDA 38

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Eli Heidenreich caught five passes for 146 yards and became Navy’s all-time receiving yards leader, quarterback Braxton Woodson ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter in relief of Blake Horvath and the Midshipmen defeated South Florida.

Alex Tecza carried 12 times for 126 yards, including an early 76-yard score, and caught Horvath’s lone touchdown pass as Navy secured a half-game lead in the conference.

Heidenreich has 1,794 career receiving yards and moved past Rob Thompson’s 1,736, compiled from 1965-67.

Byrum Brown threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 136 yards and two more scores for South Florida, which scored 22 points in the fourth quarter yet lost its second consecutive road game. The Bulls also lost ground in their bid to reach the conference championship game.