Published: October 05, 2008 02:51 am            

NCAA Football Top 25 Results

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Vanderbilt, welcome to the big time.

Mackenzi Adams came off the bench and threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 19 Vanderbilt beat 13th-ranked Auburn 14-13 Saturday night to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1943.

The Commodores also improved to 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference for only the third time — the first since 1950. This win keeps them undefeated atop the SEC East while also snapping a 13-game skid to Auburn (4-2, 2-2). It was Vandy's first win in the series since the 1955 Gator Bowl.

Trying to preserve a one-point lead, Vandy had to punt the ball back to Auburn one last time with 2:16 left, but Brett Upson kicked it 55 yards and Alan Strong downed it at the Tigers 3. On the next play, Myron Lewis intercepted Chris Todd's pass intended for Rodgeriqus Smith.



WACO, Texas (AP) — Oklahoma remembers how to play the role of No. 1.

Sam Bradford threw for 372 yards with two touchdowns, DeMarco Murray ran for two scores and four other Sooners got into the end zone in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Bradford threw a 53-yard TD to Manuel Johnson only 70 seconds into the game for the Sooners (5-0), who built a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Sooners have never lost to Baylor (2-3), winning all 18 games in the series. The last five in Waco have been decided by an average margin of 36 points.

Murray, who ran 26 times for 96 yards, had TD runs of 2 and 1 yards. Mossis Madu (1 yard) and Chris Brown (3 yards) also had scoring runs.



TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Glen Coffee rushed for 218 yards, Leigh Tiffin kicked a 24-yard field goal with 2:12 left and Alabama held on.

Coffee and the Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 SEC) mounted a bruising 15-play drive from their own 17-yard line to set up the clinching field goal. Tiffin, who had missed two earlier kicks, drilled this one for a 17-7 lead, and the points proved necessary.

Mike Hartline hit DeMoreo Ford streaking down the right sideline for a 48-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left for the Wildcats (4-1, 0-1). The onside kick attempt went out of bounds to give Alabama the ball and the game.

The preseason No. 24 team survived three turnovers and a struggling passing game.



WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Evan Royster ran for 141 yards and a touchdown for Penn State, which outgained Purdue 422 to 241 in its last test before next Saturday's showdown at Wisconsin.

Royster also had 53 yards on four catches for the Nittany Lions (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten).

Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter finished 13-for-22 for 112 yards. He moved past Mark Herrmann into second place on the school's career yards passing list, but on a day in which the 10,000 career yards passing milestone was in reach, he fell short and was benched in the fourth quarter. The loss left Painter with an 0-9 record against ranked teams in his career.

Kory Sheets led Purdue (2-3, 0-1) with 59 rushing yards on 18 carries. He broke a tie with Mike Alstott to set a school record with 40 career rushing touchdowns.



MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Graham Harrell threw six touchdown passes and shattered the Texas Tech record for career yards passing, leading the Red Raiders to an easy win.

Lyle Leong snared three touchdown passes from Harrell, who was 38-for-51 for 454 yards. Texas Tech (5-0, 1-0 Big 12), with its highest ranking in 32 years, scored on seven straight possessions and did not attempt a punt until late in the fourth quarter.

Michael Crabtree had nine catches for 107 yards and two TDs, and the Red Raiders rolled up 626 yards of total offense against the woeful Wildcats (3-2, 0-1).

The six TD passes tied the career-best for Harrell, who spread his passes around to 10 different receivers. The three-year starter ran his career total to 12,709 yards, erasing the record of 12,429 yards by Kliff Kingsbury from 1999-02.



LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Sanchez threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and Southern California stormed back from a stunning loss to rout Oregon.

The Trojans (3-1, 1-1 Pac-10) shook off a defeat at Oregon State in Corvallis that knocked them out of the No. 1 ranking, and dominated the Ducks (4-2, 2-1), who had been considered the better of Oregon's two Pac-10 schools.

Sanchez, coming off a so-so performance in the 27-21 loss, completed 19-of-28 and did not throw an interception.

He threw to seven different receivers, with Joe McKnight catching five passes for 86 yards, and Patrick Turner grabbing five for 77 yards and a TD.



FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes, and Jeffrey Demps ran for 103 yards and two long TDs as the Gators rebounded from an upset loss to Ole Miss.

The Gators led 17-7 late in the third quarter when Jerry Franklin picked off Tebow, snapping the Heisman Trophy winner's streak at 203 passes without an interception. The Florida defense held, and Tebow came back to lead his team on an 83-yard touchdown drive to put it away.

The Gators (4-1, 2-1) might be snapping out of their funk in time to host LSU next weekend in a huge Southeastern Conference matchup.

Arkansas (2-3, 0-2) made a game of it for a while after losing to Alabama and Texas by a combined 77 points, but the Razorbacks wasted several chances in Florida territory. Michael Smith ran for 133 yards and a touchdown for Arkansas.



MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Terrelle Pryor ran for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:08 left and Chris "Beanie" Wells had 168 yards rushing and a score and Ohio State's new double-threat backfield led it over Wisconsin.

The last time the Buckeyes (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) played a marquee game under the lights, they got pounded by Southern California last month. Wells didn't play in that game and Pryor, the talented freshman, wasn't the starter.

With Wells healthy and Pryor getting comfortable, Ohio State looks like a much different team.

The 19-year-old quarterback kept his poise, leading Ohio State on two fourth-quarter scoring drives and snapping a 16-game home winning streak for the Badgers (3-2, 0-2).



AMES, Iowa (AP) — Todd Reesing threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and the Jayhawks rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit.

Kerry Meier caught seven passes for 125 yards and two TDs for the Jayhawks (4-1, 1-0 Big 12), who tied the third-biggest comeback in school history.

Austen Arnaud threw for a career-high 268 yards and three touchdowns for Iowa State (2-3, 0-1), which blew a golden opportunity for its first win over a ranked team since 2005. The Jayhawks' comeback was their biggest since 1992, when they rallied from 26 down to beat the Cyclones 50-47.



BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Darren Evans ran for two touchdowns, quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for another and the Hokies held on to beat the Hilltoppers.

Virginia Tech (5-1) led 27-3 when Western Kentucky (2-4) added a field goal late in the third quarter. The Hilltoppers recovered an onside kick, then drove 50 yards without a quarterback on the field, choosing instead to snap the ball to running back Dexter Taylor. David Wolke came back on the field and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tristan Jones that made it 27-13 with 11:58 left in the game, but that was as close as Western Kentucky got.

Dustin Keys had field goals of 22 and 27 yards for Virginia Tech, which lost starting tailback Kenny Lewis Jr. to a ruptured Achilles' tendon in the third quarter.



FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Inoke Funaki threw two touchdown passes and Dan Kelly gave Hawaii its first road win ever against a ranked team with his career-high fourth field goal as the Warriors took advantage of six Fresno State turnovers and three missed field goals to beat the Bulldogs in overtime.

Kevin Goessling had a 36-yard attempt blocked by Antwan Mahaley with 43 seconds to play in regulation for Fresno State (3-2, 0-1 WAC).

Then on the first possession of overtime, Goessling missed from 40 yards out only to get another chance when Calvin Roberts was called for running into the kicker. Goessling, who also missed three kicks in a 13-10 loss to Wisconsin last month, was wide again from 35 yards, setting the stage for Kelly's winning kick.

The Warriors (2-3, 1-1) ran the ball three times before Kelly converted from 34 yards out to give Hawaii its first road win in 11 tries against a ranked team.



CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Shawn Draughn rushed for a career-high 109 yards and a touchdown, defensive lineman Marvin Austin returned an interception 23 yards for another score and North Carolina routed Connecticut.

Bruce Carter blocked three punts, Matt Merletti fell on one of them for a touchdown and Draughn's 39-yard touchdown run started the game-breaking sequence that gave the Tar Heels their first win over a ranked team in three years.

Ryan Houston had a 1-yard score and Cameron Sexton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks for North Carolina (4-1), which overcame some shortcomings on the stat sheet by scoring 21 points off Husky mistakes. UConn outgained the Tar Heels 378-263 and had a 10-minute advantage in time of possession, but couldn't overcome three interceptions by new starter Zach Frazer. Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher, ran for 161 yards — 20 below his average — with a touchdown for the Huskies (5-1).



No. 1 Oklahoma 49, Baylor 17

No. 2 Alabama 17, Kentucky 14

No. 5 Texas 38, Colorado 14

No. 6 Penn State 20, Purdue 6

No. 7 Texas Tech 58, Kansas St. 28

No. 9 Southern California 44, No. 23 Oregon 10

No. 12 Florida 38, Arkansas 7

No. 14 Ohio State 20, No. 18 Wisconsin 17

No. 16 Kansas 35, Iowa State 33

No. 20 Virginia Tech 27, Western Kentucky 13

No. 21 Oklahoma St. 56, Texas A&M 28

Hawaii 32, No. 22 Fresno State 29, OT

North Carolina 38, No. 24 Connecticut 12

        

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