Top-25 College Football Game Capsules

Tallahassee, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Jameis Winston passed for 325 yards and a touchdown, Devonta Freeman scored three times and No. 3 Florida State shut out No. 7 Miami in the second half for a 41-14 win on Saturday night. Winston was intercepted twice in the first half, leading to two Miami scores, but the Seminoles (8-0, 6-0 ACC) turned a 21-14 halftime lead into a rout with 20 unanswered points to hand the Hurricanes their first loss of the season. Florida State has won its first eight games for the first time since 1999, when it went 12-0 and won the national championship. Freeman rushed 23 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a 48-yard reception for the Seminoles, who have won four in a row over Miami and seven of the last nine games between them. James Wilder added two short touchdown runs, Freeman finished with 98 yards receiving and Winston was 21-of-29 passing. Miami running back Duke Johnson was helped off the field in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury and then carted to the locker room. He rushed for 97 yards. Miami’s Stephen Morris threw for 192 yards and two touchdown passes to Allen Hurns but was intercepted twice. The Hurricanes (7-1, 3-1), who entered the game with their highest ranking since 2005, were coming off a couple of close calls in their last two games — last-minute wins over North Carolina and Wake Forest — and couldn’t keep pace in this one.

Final Score: (4) Ohio State 56, Purdue 0

West Lafayette, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Doran Grant returned an interception for an Ohio State touchdown on the second play from scrimmage and Braxton Miller threw three touchdown passes over the remainder of the first quarter, as the fourth-ranked Buckeyes rolled to a 56-0 victory over Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium. Miller finished the contest 19-of-23 passing for 233 yards with four scores and an interception in just one half of play, while Carlos Hyde ran for 111 yards in the victory. Jeff Heuerman caught five passes for 116 yards and a score for the Buckeyes, while backup quarterback Kenny Guiton threw for a touchdown and ran for a pair of scores. Ohio State (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) ran its winning streak to 21 straight games under Urban Meyer, one shy of the school record of 22 set between 1967-69. Purdue (1-7, 0-4) has lost six straight since an early September win over FCS foe Indiana State. The Boilermakers were also blanked by Michigan State in their last game two weeks ago and became the first Big Ten team with consecutive shutout conference losses since Northwestern in 1981. Danny Etling threw for just 89 yards on 13-of-29 passing for Purdue, which mustered just 116 yards of total offense and surrendered a whopping 640 to Ohio State.

Final Score: (8) Auburn 35, Arkansas 17

Fayetteville, AR (SportsNetwork.com) – Tre Mason had four touchdown runs to power the eighth-ranked Auburn Tigers to a 35-17 road win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mason finished with 168 yards on a career-high 32 carries for Auburn (8-1, 4-1 SEC). Nick Marshall started at quarterback for the Tigers after suffering a shoulder injury in last Saturday’s win over Florida Atlantic. He was 7-of-8 passing for 118 yards with a third-quarter touchdown of 88 yards to Sammie Coates. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen, shaken up early in the game, completed 10-of-22 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Jonathan Williams rushed for 104 yards on 15 carries and Alex Collins added 92 rushing yards for the Razorbacks (3-6, 0-5), who have dropped six straight.

Final Score: (9) Clemson 59, Virginia 10

Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – Tajh Boyd threw three touchdown passes and ran one in to lead the ninth-ranked Clemson Tigers to a 59-10 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers. Boyd completed 24-of-29 passes for 377 yards with an interception. Sammy Watkins caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns for Clemson (8-1, 6-1 ACC), which has won four of the last five meetings against Virginia. Roderick McDowell added 12 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown while also contributing three catches for 37 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers. Chad Kelly, D.J. Howard and C.J. Davidson each added a rushing touchdown of their own. David Watford scored the lone touchdown for Virginia on one of his seven carries that totaled eight yards. Watford also completed 16-of-35 passes for 130 and an interception. Kevin Parks had 16 carries for 82 yards to lead Virginia (2-7, 0-5) in rushing.

Final Score: (10) Missouri 31, Tennessee 3

Columbia, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – Maty Mauk threw three first-half touchdown passes and No. 10 Missouri bounced back strongly from a gut-wrenching loss by posting a 31-3 rout of Tennessee in SEC action from Faurot Field. Mauk managed only 163 yards on a 12-of-25 completion rate, but delivered a career-high 114 rushing yards on 13 attempts as the Tigers rebounded from last week’s 27-24 double-overtime setback to South Carolina and remained in control of the SEC East race. Missouri (8-1, 4-1 SEC) blew a 17-point fourth- quarter lead against the Gamecocks, but prevented any chance of an encore by holding the Volunteers scoreless in the second half and churning out 339 rushing yards. The win kept the Tigers as the division’s only one-loss team. Marcus Lucas hauled in one of Mauk’s scoring strikes and finished with 75 yards on four catches, while Henry Josey rushed for 74 yards on 16 attempts for Missouri. True freshman Joshua Dobbs completed 26-of-42 throws for 240 yards in his first career start for Tennessee (4-5, 1-4), but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble as the Volunteers were handed an 11th straight road loss in SEC play. Alton Howard finished with 11 catches totaling 89 yards in defeat.

Final Score: (12) Texas A&M 57, UTEP 7

College Station, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Johnny Manziel tossed four touchdown passes and rushed for two more to lead 12th-ranked Texas A&M to a 57-7 rout of UTEP on Saturday. Manziel was an efficient 16-for-24 passing for 273 yards while also rushing for a team-high 68 yards on seven carries. Travis Labhart caught four passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, while Malcome Kennedy and Mike Evans added one touchdown reception apiece for the Aggies (7-2, 3-2 SEC), who have won two straight since falling to then-No. 24 Auburn on Oct. 19. Tra Carson, who had one rushing touchdown, was carted off the field after sustaining an apparent head/neck injury in the early in the fourth quarter. Carson had movement in his extremities before he was taken away. Blaire Sullivan was 9-for-17 passing for 71 yards and three interceptions for the Miners (1-7, 0-4 C-USA), losers in six straight.

Final Score: (14) South Carolina 34, Mississippi State 16

Columbia, SC (SportsNetwork.com) – Connor Shaw threw four touchdown passes and the 14th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks tied a school record with their 15th straight home victory, a 34-16 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Shaw completed 10-of-20 passes for 147 yards for the Gamecocks (7-2, 5-2 SEC), who also won 15 in a row at home from 1978-80. Mike Davis carried the ball 15 times for 128 yards for South Carolina, which recorded a thrilling double-overtime victory over Missouri last week. Shaq Roland caught two passes for 57 yards and two scores. Dak Prescott connected on 28-of-43 passes for 235 yards and three interceptions for the Bulldogs (4-4, 1-3), who had a brief two-game winning streak snapped. He also carried the ball 15 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

Final Score: (18) Oklahoma State 52, (15) Texas Tech 34

Lubbock, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – Clint Chelf passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, as 18th-ranked Oklahoma State outlasted No. 15 Texas Tech, 52- 34, in a Big 12 scorefest on Saturday. Chelf ended up completing 18 of his 34 passes for 211 yards but made them count, also racking up 88 yards on six carries for the Cowboys (7-1, 4-1 Big 12), who have won four in a row and vaulted over their foes in the conference standings. Desmond Roland paced the rushing attack with 96 yards and three scores on 31 carries, with Tracy Moore and Jeremy Seaton picking up a TD reception each. Webb Davis let fly 71 times, completing 45 for 425 yards and two touchdowns for the Red Raiders (7-2, 4-2), who have allowed 90 points in back-to-back losses to Oklahoma-based programs after winning seven straight to open the season. Jace Amaro led all players with 174 yards on 15 receptions, Eric Ward added 86 yards on eight grabs, with each player hauling in a TD pass from Davis. Kenny Williams picked up a rushing score and Pete Robertson returned a Chelf pass for another score in defeat.

Final Score: (16) Fresno State 41, Nevada 23

Fresno, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Josh Harper had 17 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns and No. 16 Fresno State beat Nevada 41-23 on Saturday night. The Bulldogs are 8-0 for the fifth time in school history and first since 1989. Derek Carr, who was 39-of-55 for 487 yards and three touchdowns, surpassed Kevin Sweeney late in the fourth for the school’s passing yards record. Davante Adams had eight receptions for 84 yards and a score and Josh Quezada carried the ball 17 times for 115 yards for Fresno State (8-0, 5-0 MWC), which has tallied 35 or more points in every game this season. Cody Fajardo threw for 206 yards on 14-of-24 efficiency with two touchdowns and an interception, while accumulating 98 yards rushing on 17 totes for the Wolf Pack (3-6, 2-4), who have dropped four consecutive games for the first time since 2001.

Final Score: (17) UCLA 45, Colorado 23

Pasadena, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Brett Hundley had two touchdown passes and ran in two scores to lead 17th-ranked UCLA in a 45-23 victory over Colorado on Saturday. Hundley went 19-for-24 for 271 yards passing and had 57 yards on 10 carries for the Bruins (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12), who snapped a two-game losing streak and sit in a three-way tie with Arizona and USC for second place in the South Division. Devin Fuller caught the two touchdown passes from Hundley and also had a score on the ground, while Damien Thigpen added a rushing touchdown in the win. Sefo Liufau went 25-for-37 for 250 yards and a touchdown for the Buffaloes (3-5, 0-5), who have been outscored 244-89 in conference play this season. Tony Jones had a rushing touchdown in the loss.

Final Score: (21) Northern Illinois 63, Massachusetts 19

Foxboro, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jordan Lynch notched five touchdowns to keep 21st-ranked Northern Illinois rolling with a 63-19 rout of Massachusetts. Lynch ran for 119 yards on 17 carries with four touchdowns and also completed 10-of-14 passes for 160 yards with a score in two-plus quarters of play. Cameron Stingily and Drew Hare each added a rushing touchdown for the Huskies (9-0, 5-0 MAC), who matched the best start in school history. The 1965 team was also 9-0 before losing in the Mineral Water Bowl. Lorenzo Woodley was the only bright spot for UMass as he carried the ball 38 times for 163 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Brendon Levengood made each of his four field goals with a long of 46 yards for the Minutemen (1-8, 1-4), who have lost three straight.

Final Score: (22) Wisconsin 28, Iowa 9

Iowa City, IA (SportsNetwork.com) – James White carried the ball 19 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the 22nd-ranked Wisconsin Badgers’ 28-9 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Both of White’s scores came in the fourth quarter for Wisconsin (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten), which has won three in a row and sits one game behind Ohio State for first place in the Leaders Division. Melvin Gordon rushed for 62 yards on 17 carries. Joel Stave completed 11- of-19 passes for 144 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Badgers, whose last 12 wins have come by a double-digit margin. Jake Rudock connected on 12-of-24 passes for 109 yards and an interception for the Hawkeyes (5-4, 2-3), who have lost three of four. C.J. Beathard completed 4-of-16 passes for 70 yards and an interception in relief.

Final Score: (24) Michigan State 29, (23) Michigan 6

East Lansing, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – The 24th-ranked Michigan State Spartans showed why they have one of the best defenses in the nation on Saturday. The Spartans limited the 23rd-ranked Michigan Wolverines to minus-48 rushing yards in a 29-6 victory. The Michigan State defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three straight games, having yielded just nine points over that stretch. On Saturday, the Spartans held the Wolverines to 168 yards of total offense. The negative-48 yards on the ground for the Wolverines set a school record for the fewest in a single game. The previous mark was minus-46 against Minnesota in 1962. Connor Cook completed 18-of-33 passes for 252 yards, one touchdown and an interception for the Spartans (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten), who have won five in a row. He also rushed for a touchdown. Jeremy Langford carried the ball 26 times for 120 yards and a score for Michigan State. Bennie Fowler caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. It was the Spartans’ most lopsided win in the series since 1967.

Categorized in: NCAA Football