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Gators put a big hurt on Bulldogs

University of Florida linebacker Earl Rverett, right, tackles University of Georgia tailback Thomas Brown during the second quarter in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday. PHOTO: AP

Chris Leak threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and No. 16 Florida Gators (6-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) used an impressive defensive performance to beat the previously unbeaten Georgia Bulldogs 14-10 in NCAA Division I-A football on Saturday.

But No. 4 Georgia still controls its fate in the division. The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1) need to beat Auburn in two weeks or have Florida lose to Vanderbilt or South Carolina to advance to the conference championship game for the third time in four years.

Playing without injured quarterback D.J. Shockley, the Bulldogs probably lost their shot at the national title.

No. 8 UCLA 30, Stanford 27, OT

At Stanford, California, Brandon Breazell caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Drew Olson in overtime after No. 8 UCLA scored 21 points in the final 7:04 of regulation to beat stunned Stanford.

Maurice Drew ran for two late scores, including a 1-yard tumble across the goal line with 46 seconds left to force OT. Olson went 24-of-35 for 293 yards and two TDs while leading his latest jaw-dropping comeback.

USC's Steve Smith, right, makes a touchdown catch in the end zone as Washington State's Husain Abdullah defends during the first half in Los Angeles on Saturday. PHOTO: AP

Trent Edwards passed for 169 yards and two scores for the Cardinal (4-3, 3-2). J.R. Lemon had two TD catches.

Olson led UCLA (8-0, 4-0 Pac-10) fourth-quarter scoring drives of 65, 72 and 66 yards -- and all three took a combined 3:40. Joe Cowan caught a 31-yard TD pass with 4:43 to play.

No. 1 USC 55, Washington St. 13

At Los Angeles, Matt Leinart passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns before coming out late in the third quarter, LenDale White rushed for 155 yards and two scores, and top-ranked USC won its 30th straight game.

An Oklahoma State fan cheers during play against Texas at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Saturday. The longhorns defeated the Cowboys 47-28. PHOTO: AFP

Playing before a homecoming crowd of 92,021 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Trojans (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) tied Texas for the 11th longest winning streak in major college football history. Only three teams have won as many as 30 in a row in the past 35 years.

USC also has a 24-game winning streak at home and a 20-game streak against Pac-10 opponents. Both are school records.

Florida State running back Leon Washington, left, dives into the end zone early in the first quarter as Maryland's William Kershaw defends in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday. The 10th-ranked Seminoles defeated the Terrapins 35-27. PHOTO: AP

The loss was the fifth straight for the Cougars (3-5, 0-5), but was far more decisive than the other four, which came by a total of 21 points.

No. 2 Texas 47, Oklahoma St. 28

At Stillwater, Oklahoma, Vince Young rushed for a career-high 267 yards and two scores and threw two touchdown passes as Texas scorched Oklahoma State in the second half for a third straight season.

In the past three meetings, the Longhorns have outscored Oklahoma State 118-0 in the second half after trailing at halftime in each game.

This time, the Longhorns (8-0, 5-0) trailed by as many as 19 points against the Cowboys (3-5, 0-5) before rallying to stay on track to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl and play for a national title.

No. 5 Alabama 35, Utah St. 3

At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Brodie Croyle threw three touchdown passes and DJ Hall set an Alabama receiving record. Hall finished with 11 catches for 157 yards, becoming the first Alabama receiver to have back-to-back games with at least 10 receptions. Hall caught 10 balls for 139 yards last week.

The Crimson Tide improved to 8-0 for the first time since 1994 and finished its nonconference season with an easy win that allowed the starters to rest in the fourth quarter after two straight dramatic, last-minute league wins.

On the bench after three quarters, Croyle completed 22 of 31 passes for 279 yards against Utah State (2-5).

No. 7 LSU 56, North Texas 3

At Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Shyrone Carey ran for two scores and fellow backup tailback Justin Vincent added a TD run as LSU rolled past North Texas in a game that had been postponed by Hurricane Katrina.

The Tigers (6-1) won their fifth straight and their 13th consecutive nonconference game.

The Mean Green (2-5) lost for the fifth time in six games. North Texas, which has won the Sun Belt Conference each of the last four seasons, dropped to 3-29 all-time against SEC teams.

Vincent rushed for 70 yards on 12 carries and Carey finished with 44 yards on eight carries. Both received extended playing time as Joseph Addai, the leading rusher in the Southeastern Conference, left the game after two series in the first quarter.

No. 11 Penn State 33, Purdue 15

At State College, Pennsylvania, Tony Hunt ran for 129 yards and Kevin Kelly booted four field goals. Rodney Kinlaw set up BranDon Snow's touchdown with a dazzling 58-yard kickoff return and Hunt had some key fourth-quarter rushes for Penn State (8-1, 4-1). Hunt bullied over numerous Purdue defenders as the Nittany Lions went to the running game to thwart a late comeback by the Boilermakers (2-6, 0-5).

Penn State inched closer to its first Big Ten title since 1994, though it must beat Wisconsin next week in a showdown of conference leaders at Beaver Stadium.

The Boilermakers, who started the season in the Top 25, lost their fifth straight.

No. 10 Florida St. 35, Maryland 27

At Tallahassee, Florida, Drew Weatherford and James Coleman scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to lift Florida State (7-1, 5-1 ACC). Weatherford's 15-yard run with 8:52 left gave the Seminoles a 28-27 lead and they scored three minutes later on Coleman's 1-yard run. Coleman's score was set up by Ernie Sims' interception.

Maryland's final bid for a tie ended with 52 seconds left when Joel Statham was sacked by A.J. Nicholson at the Florida State 40. Florida State can lock up a spot in the first league title game with a victory over North Carolina State next Saturday.

Maryland (4-4, 2-3) scored 24 straight points midway through the game, building a 24-14 lead.

No. 12 Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31

At Minneapolis, Antonio Pittman rushed for two second-half touchdowns and a career-high 186 yards, springing No. 12 Ohio State to a 45-31 victory over Minnesota in a game featuring more than 1,000 yards of offense.

Troy Smith passed for 233 yards and three scores, two to Santonio Holmes, and Ted Ginn Jr.'s 100-yard touchdown on a kickoff return highlighted a wild first quarter for the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten).

Ohio State's speed was just too much, evidenced by Ginn's breath-stopping, untouched return for a 17-7 lead. Minnesota (5-3, 2-3) surged back to tie it at 17 before the half on Jared Ellerson's 5-yard touchdown catch from Bryan Cupito.

Laurence Maroney, the Big Ten's leading rusher for a Gophers team that led the nation in yards rushing coming into the game, ran for 114 yards and a score on 16 first-half carries against the stingiest rushing defense in the country. But he had only 13 yards rushing in the second half and also fumbled.

No. 6 Miami 34, UNC 16

At Miami, Tyrone Moss rushed for career-highs of 195 yards and four touchdowns, three scores after halftime. The Hurricanes trailed 16-7 at intermission, then scored three touchdowns in an eight-minute span of the third quarter to take control.

Moss scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, then added second-half scoring runs of 1, 4 and 15 yards to ensure Miami (6-1, 3-1) wouldn't be upset by North Carolina for the second straight year. Quadtrine Hill recovered a punt he blocked in the end zone for the go-ahead score for Miami, which won its sixth straight.

The Hurricanes' defense, which entered ranked No. 1 nationally but yielded 170 first-half yards, kept the Tar Heels (3-4, 2-2) to 18 total yards on 30 plays after halftime -- 14 of those yards coming in the final minute.

No. 15 Wisconsin 41, Illinois 24

At Champaign Brian Calhoun ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns. Wisconsin (8-1, 5-1) finished with 464 yards total offense.

Illinois (2-6, 0-5) quarterback Tim Brasic was 20-of-39 for 277 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball 16 times for 116 yards. Freshman Kyle Hudson caught 10 passes for 114 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown.

No. 25 Michigan 33,

No. 21 Northwestern 17

At Evanston, Illinois, Leon Hall returned a fumble recovery 83 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and Michigan won its third straight, shutting out Northwestern in the second half.

The 17 points were a season-low for the Wildcats (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten), whose three-game win streak ended. Michigan (6-3, 4-2) held an offense that was fourth in the nation, averaging 529.3 yards, to 415 yards.

Michigan's Jerome Jackson ran for 105 yards on 24 attempts. Chad Henne completed 17-of-30 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, but threw three interceptions.

Brett Basanez was 26-of-49 for 326 yards, and Mark Philmore caught nine for a career-high 139 yards for Northwestern.

No. 17 Texas Tech 28, Baylor 0

At Waco, Texas, Taurean Henderson ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and Cody Hodges threw for another as Texas Tech overcame three terrible quarters to beat Baylor.

Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) is off to its best start since 1976 when the team went 8-1.

The shutout against Baylor (4-4, 1-4) was Tech's first ever in a Big 12 road game.

No. 19 Auburn 27, Mississippi 3

At Auburn, Alabama, Brandon Cox passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Irons ran for 101 yards and another TD for the Tigers (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference).

The Rebels (3-5, 1-4) managed just 209 total yards -- 23 on the ground.

No. 20 TCU 23, San Diego St. 20

At San Diego, Cory Rodgers ran 6 yards for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter and David Roach had an interception in the end zone as TCU won its seventh straight game.

Robert Merrill carried 29 times for a season-high 170 yards and two touchdowns for TCU (8-1, 6-0).

San Diego State (3-6, 2-4), knocked out of bowl eligibility, lost for the 19th straight time to a ranked team.

No. 22 Fresno State 27, Hawaii 13

At Honolulu, Wendell Mathis ran for 229 and three touchdowns, including a 78-yarder late in the fourth quarter, to lead Fresno State.

The victory was the first at Aloha Stadium for Fresno State since 1994.
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