JaMarcus Russell kept No. 5 LSU's national title hopes alive by hitting Dwayne Bowe for a touchdown in overtime for a 16-13 victory over previously unbeaten No. 3 Alabama on Saturday.
Russell hit Justin Vincent on a swing pass for 10 yards to open the possession after Alabama (9-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) had to settle for a field goal. Then the LSU quarterback was stopped for no gain when he couldn't find an open receiver against the nation's top scoring defense.
A reverse to Xavier Carter went for 4 yards, forcing a third-and-6. Russell rolled right and threw a strike over the middle to Bowe to punctuate an up-and-down day mostly dominated by the defenses.
PHOTO: AFP
The LSU players swarmed to the end zone while the Crimson Tide fans mostly remained in their seats, stunned by the sudden end to their surprising run at perfection.
LSU (8-1, 5-1) won it without having to turn to placekicker Chris Jackson, who had already missed three of his four long field goal attempts.
No. 1 USC 35, California 10
PHOTO: AFP
At Berkeley, California, Matt Leinart passed for 246 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and LenDale White ran for three more scores in USC's 32nd straight win, a rout of slumping California.
Reggie Bush ran for 82 yards for the Trojans (10-0, 7-0 Pac-10), while USC defense intercepted Joe Ayoob four times and kept Cal out of the end zone until 1:34 remained.
The Trojans haven't lost since their 34-31 triple-overtime defeat at Memorial Stadium in 2003, when Leinart and Bush couldn't overcome an early deficit and a slew of mistakes.
PHOTO: AFP
USC is even better now -- and mistake-prone Cal (6-4, 3-4) is plummeting, with four losses in its last five games. The Bears took their largest loss in coach Jeff Tedford's four seasons.
No. 2 Texas 66, Kansas 14
At Austin, Texas, Vince Young became Texas' career total offense leader with 281 yards passing and a career-high four touchdown tosses as Texas clinched the Big 12 South Division title.
Young had scoring passes of 45 yards and 64 yards to Limas Sweed and Quan Cosby, and Aaron Ross returned a punt 71 yards for a TD as Texas built a 52-0 lead by halftime, tying the school record for most points in a half.
Texas (10-0, 7-0) ran its winning streak to 17 games and earned its first berth in the Big 12 championship game since 2001, although Longhorns fans are thinking well beyond what could be their first conference title since 1996.
Young passed for 264 yards and all four TDs in the first half. He left the game in the third quarter against Kansas (5-5, 2-5).
No. 3 Miami 47, Wake Forest 17
At Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Kyle Wright tied a school record with five touchdown passes, Charlie Jones ran for two more scores and Miami stayed on track for a spot in the first Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
A week after a surprisingly easy victory at Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes (8-1, 5-1 ACC) used a quick-strike offense to avoid a letdown in their first visit to Groves Stadium since 1971. Injured tailback Tyrone Moss (torn ACL) and return star Devin Hester (hamstring strain) hardly were missed as Miami piled up 515 yards of offense.
Wright finished 17-for-27 for 319 yards and Jones rushed for 90 more, but it wasn't quite as easy as the final margin indicated. The Demon Deacons (4-7, 3-5) completed their third straight losing season with an inspired effort, taking a 17-14 lead late in the second quarter on a 7-yard run by Chris Barclay.
Wright responded on the third play of the ensuing possession with his first TD toss, waiting patiently in the pocket for Sinorice Moss to break open in the middle of Wake Forest's zone to give Miami the lead for good.
No. 7 Notre Dame 42, Navy 21
At South Bend, Indiana, Brady Quinn passed for four touchdowns, three to Maurice Stovall, to lead Notre Dame to its record 42nd straight win over Navy.
Notre Dame broke the game open by scoring on all three of its second-quarter possessions, including a pair of touchdowns 1:28 apart late in the quarter by Darius Walker, who ran for 118 yards on 19 carries, and Anthony Fasano to take a 28-7 halftime lead.
The Irish (7-2) need to win their final two games against Syracuse and at Stanford to remain eligible for a Bowl Championship Series berth. Navy (5-4) still needs a win over either Temple or Army to become bowl eligible.
Stovall had TD catches of 31, 16 and 10 yards, giving him eight touchdown catches in the past three games.
No. 10 Ohio St. 48,
No. 25 Northwestern 7
At Columbus, Ohio, Troy Smith ran for two touchdowns and linebacker A.J. Hawk returned a blocked punt for another score to lead Ohio State to its fifth consecutive win.
Ohio State (8-2, 6-1) needs to win next week's annual showdown with rival Michigan to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title.
The Buckeyes scored at least 35 points for the fifth game in a row -- a streak in which they've won by an average score of 42-15. But their defense paved the way.
Brett Basanez came in averaging 316 yards passing a game -- fifth-best in the nation -- for Northwestern (6-4, 4-3), but was limited to just 121 yards passing while completing 15 of 31 passes with one interception.
South Carolina 30,
No. 12 Florida 22
At Columbia, South Carolina, Mike Davis and Daccus Turman ran for two touchdowns each for South Carolina and Steve Spurrier beat Florida in his first meeting against the school where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1966 as a quarterback and a national championship in 1996 as a coach.
It wasn't the kind of blowout Spurrier's Gators perfected during his 12 seasons there from 1990-2001. But it broke Florida's 14-game winning streak in the series -- a run Spurrier contributed to by going 10-0 vs. South Carolina -- that had dated to 1939.
And it closed any chance the Gators (7-3, 5-3) had of playing for the Southeastern Conference championship.
With their fifth straight SEC victory -- a school first -- it's the Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3) who have an outside shot of reaching the Georgia Dome as SEC Eastern Division champions.
Oklahoma St. 24,
No. 13 Texas Tech 17
At Stillwater, Oklahoma, Al Pena scored on a 1-yard run with 23 seconds remaining to stave off a rally by Texas Tech.
Julius Crosslin did most of the work on the Cowboys' last drive with runs of 12, 11, 10 and 9, putting Pena in position to break a 17-17 tie.
It was the first Big 12 win for Oklahoma State (4-5, 1-5) and spoiled Texas Tech's hopes of its first 10-win season since 1976.
The Cowboys dominated much of the game and led 17-0 with 6:41 to go in the third quarter. The Red Raiders (8-2, 5-2) finally got on the board with a field goal minutes later, and Cody Hodges threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Hicks with 14:42 to go.
Seconds later, after a penalty left the Cowboys driving from their own 8, Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid fumbled and Chris Hudler jumped on it in the end zone for the tying TD.
No. 14 UCLA 45, Arizona St. 35
At Pasadena, California, Drew Olson threw for 510 yards and five touchdowns and UCLA defeated Arizona State in an high-scoring show at the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10) rebounded from their 52-14 loss at Arizona last week with another explosive offensive performance.
After building a 21-7 first-quarter lead against Arizona State, the Bruins edged away from a 28-28 tie in the third quarter to get back on the winning track.
The Sun Devils (5-5, 3-4) got a 334-yard, three-touchdown pass performance from redshirt freshman Rudy Carpenter and might have kept pace with UCLA but for three lost fumbles.
Clemson 35, No. 17 Florida St. 14
At Clemson, South Carolina, Charlie Whitehurst threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns to lead Clemson over Florida State, the second time in three meetings that Tigers coach Tommy Bowden has beaten father Bobby.
Whitehurst went 21-of-32 a week after resting his sore shoulder and Chansi Stuckey had 11 catches for 156 yards and two TDs for Clemson (6-4, 4-4 Atlantic Coast).
The Seminoles (7-3, 5-3) gained just 226 yards as they lost for the second game in a row and the third time in their last five.
Iowa 20, No. 19 Wisconsin 10
At Madison, Wisconsin, Albert Young ran for 127 yards and Iowa ruined Barry Alvarez's going away party, beating Wisconsin in the coach's final home game.
Alvarez will step down after 16 seasons but remain as Wisconsin's athletic director.
The win makes Iowa (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) bowl eligible while ending the slim hopes Wisconsin (8-3, 5-3) had of sharing the Big Ten title in Alvarez's last season.
Wisconsin seemed poised to send Alvarez out a winner, jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. But Iowa clamped down from there, holding the Badgers to just 72 more yards until their last drive with the game out of reach.
No. 21 Michigan 41, Indiana 14
At Ann Arbor, Michigan, Chad Henne had three touchdown passes in the first half as No. 21 Michigan built a huge lead and coasted to a victory over Indiana without scoring after halftime.
The Wolverines (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten) won their fourth straight, avoiding a letdown coming off a bye and heading into the regular-season finale against Ohio State. The Hoosiers (4-6, 1-6) fell out of bowl contention with their fifth consecutive setback.
Henne's passing, Kevin Grady's two TD runs and Steve Breaston's 201 all-purpose yards gave the Wolverines a 41-7 lead at halftime. It was Michigan's highest-scoring first half since scoring 45 against Indiana in 2000.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but