Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns are headed home from the State Fair with the prize that's eluded them for five years: a victory over Oklahoma.
Showing the poise and leadership he's developed since a miserable performance against the Sooners last year, Young threw for three touchdowns in guiding No. 2 Texas to a 45-12 victory Saturday.
The Longhorns (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) convincingly ended one of the most dominant runs in the 100-game series between the Red River rivals and salvaged the reputation of coach Mack Brown.
The orange-clad throng that filled the Texas half of the Cotton Bowl savored every second -- and even for a long time after the postgame rendition of the "Eyes of Texas." Several thousand remained inside the stadium rather than heading to the fairgrounds outside.
The Sooners (2-3, 1-1) came in not only riding their longest series winning streak since the 1950s, they'd outscored the Longhorns 189-54 along the way, leaving the impression that Oklahoma's Bob Stoops was outcoaching Brown. Even with victories over Michigan in the Rose Bowl and at Ohio State earlier this season, Brown still had something to prove in this game.
The proof came right away.
Young led an 82-yard touchdown drive on the opening series that put Texas ahead for good. Although Oklahoma got within 7-6, freshman Jamaal Charles answered with an 80-yard touchdown run on the Longhorns' next snap and the rout was on.
Young finished 14-of-17 for 241 yards with no interceptions and ran for 45 yards. Charles had 116 yards on nine carries, then left with an injury in the third quarter. Pittman caught four passes for 100 yards.
Adrian Peterson, who had 225 yards against Texas last year, was plagued by a sprained ankle and ran three times for 10 yards and the Sooners ran for only 77 yards.
No. 1 USC 42, Arizona 21
At Los Angeles, LenDale White scored four touchdowns, rushed for 179 yards and USC posted its 27th consecutive victory.
The Trojans (5-0, 3-0 Pac-10) also won their school-record 23rd home game. White and Reggie Bush, who had 110 yards, each ran for 100-plus yards for the third consecutive game. Steve Smith added seven catches for 134 yards.
Syndric Steptoe returned five kickoff returns for 159 yards to lead Arizona (1-4, 0-2). Mike Thomas four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 3 Virginia Tech 41,
Marshall 14
At Blacksburg, Virginia, Branden Ore rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown for Virginia Tech.
The Hokies (6-0) led 14-7 at the break, but got a 19-yard field goal from Brandon Pace, a 15-yard fumble return by Vince Hall and a 48-yard scoring pass from Marcus Vick to David Clowney in a span of 3:29 of the third quarter to lead 31-7.
Vick finished 11-for-16 for 163 yards. He also threw an interception, only his second this season, on a ball that glanced off Josh Morgan's hands to Chris Royal. Ahmad Bradshaw had 99 yards on 22 carries to lead Marshall (2-3).
No. 9 Miami 52, Duke 7
At Miami, Kyle Wright threw for three touchdowns in a 5-minute span of the second quarter, and Tyrone Moss ran for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Ryan Moore made a career-high seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown for Miami (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), winners of four straight.
Wright completed 18 of 31 passes for 255 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions before being replaced midway through the third quarter by Kirby Freeman. Ronnie Drummer had an 81-yard touchdown run -- the longest play from scrimmage allowed by Miami in 29 years -- early in the third quarter for Duke (1-5, 0-3), which has lost 29 straight games against ranked opponents.
Northwestern 51,
No. 14 Wisconsin 48
At Evanston, Illinois, Freshman Tyrell Sutton ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns, and Reggie McPherson's interception sealed the victory.
Northwestern scored on seven straight possessions and finished with 674 yards of offense.
Brett Basanez completed 26 of 36 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns for the Wildcats. Sutton's 1-yard run in the third quarter put Northwestern (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) ahead for good, 23-17, and his 62-yarder late in the fourth made it 51-34.
Wisconsin's Brian Calhoun became the first Badger with more than 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game, carrying 23 times for 122 and catching 11 passes for 128. John Stocco was 24-of-31 for 326 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions for Wisconsin (5-1, 2-1).
No. 4 Florida St. 41,
Wake Forest 24
At Tallahassee, Florida, Drew Weatherford threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns as the Seminoles blew open a close game with three quick scores in the final quarter.
Florida State (5-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) rolled up 585 yards and 27 first downs, but its nationally ranked defense struggled all day against the pesky Demon Deacons. Wake Forest (2-4, 1-2) closed to 20-17 on a 31-yard touchdown run by Chris Barclay, who finished with 125 yards.
But the Seminoles scored three touchdowns in the next 9 minutes to take a 41-17 lead. Weatherford completed 20 of 31 passes and also scored on a 1-yard run.
No. 5 Georgia 27,
No. 8 Tennessee 14
At Knoxville, Tennessee, starting for the first time against a top-10 team, D.J. Shockley went 16-of-27 for 207 yards and ran 11 times for 51 yards as the Bulldogs won for the third straight time in Neyland Stadium.
An erratic season continued for the Volunteers (3-2, 2-2 SEC), and their offense showed more ineptness with two costly fumbles and an interception. The Vols were held to 48 yards on the ground. Gerald Riggs had 52 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Georgia (5-0, 3-0) led 13-0 in the third quarter after Brannan Southerland's 1-yard touchdown run and two field goals by Brandon Coutu. Thomas Brown added an 18-yard touchdown run with 1:44 left to pad Georgia's lead.
No. 20 UCLA 47,
No. 10 California 40
At Pasadena, California, Maurice Drew ran for three touchdowns, scored another on a long punt return, and caught a 28-yard pass for the go-ahead touchdown and UCLA snapped California's 12-game, regular-season winning streak.
The loss cost the Bears (5-1, 2-1 PAC 10) their best start in 55 years, dating to when Cal began 9-0 in 1950.
Drew finished with 279 total yards -- 162 on three punt returns, 65 on 15 carries, and 52 on two receptions for UCLA (5-0, 2-0).
Drew Olson finished 17-of-33 for 225 yards and two touchdowns, and he scored once on a quarterback sneak.
Justin Forsett rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown for Cal, and Marshawn Lynch carried 22 for 135 yards and also scored a TD.
Ayoob completed 18-of-35 for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
No. 15 Texas Tech 34, Nebraska 31
At Lincoln, Nebraska, Cody Hodges tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Joel Filani with 12 seconds left for the victory.
The Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) squandered a three-touchdown lead and then had to rely on good fortune in the end. Le Kevin Smith intercepted Hodges near the goal line with 1:11 left, but fumbled on the return. Danny Amendola recovered for Tech, setting up the Raiders at the Nebraska 18.
On fourth-and-2 from the 10, Hodges threw into end zone for the winning score. Hodges completed 34 of 45 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns -- three to Filani, who had 11 catches for 163 yards. Zac Taylor was 21-of-35 for 229 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions for the Huskers (4-1, 1-1).
Nebraska lost a homecoming game for the first time since 1968.
No. 25 Oregon 31,
No. 17 Arizona St. 17
At Tempe, Arizona, Kellen Clemens threw for 279 yards and Terrence Whitehead ran for 122.
Whitehead also caught nine passes for 100 yards for the Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10), who scored 24 consecutive points after the Sun Devils took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Sun Devils (3-3, 2-2), coming off an emotional, bruising 38-28 home loss to No. 1 USC, lost to Oregon for the first time in four years.
Sam Keller completed 31 of 56 for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He threw two interceptions and was sacked four times.
No. 16 Penn St. 17, No. 6 Ohio St. 10
At State College, Pennsylvania, Michael Robinson and Derrick Williams ran for touchdowns less than three minutes apart in the second quarter, and Paul Posluszny and Penn State's defense did the rest as the Nittany Lions moved back on top of the Big Ten and back in the hunt for a national title.
Win No. 349 for Joe Paterno was the type of victory some thought was only in the past for the 78-year-old coach. The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0) hadn't beaten a team so highly ranked since knocking off No. 4 Arizona to start the 1999 season.
The Nittany Lions did more than just hold their own against the Buckeyes (3-2, 1-1) and their vaunted defense, led by linebacker A.J. Hawk.
The Buckeyes had 230 total yards with Troy Smith passing for 139. Penn State managed 195, Robinson passed for 78 and ran for 52.
Minnesota 23, No. 21 Michigan 20
At Ann Arbour, Michigan, Jason Giannini kicked a 30-yard field goal with a second left, helping Minnesota snap a 16-game losing streak to the Wolverines.
On third-and-10 from the Minnesota 26, Gary Russell ran 61 yards to set up the winning kick for the Gophers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten).
Michigan (3-3, 1-2) is off to its worst start since also having a 3-3 record in 1990. Garrett Rivas had two chances to break the 20-20 tie for the Wolverines, but he missed a 42-yard field goal late in the third quarter and a 34-yard kick early in the fourth.
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