No. 7 Alabama holds off South Carolina

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama was able to hold off South Carolina 27-25 on Saturday with an interception after allowing the Gamecocks a chance at handing the Crimson Tide its second straight SEC loss by botching an onside-kick recovery before the game’s final drive.

LaNorris Sellers hit Nyck Harbor for a 31-yard touchdown with 43 seconds left, but the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-3) failed to convert on their two-point attempt. They recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Sellers’ desperation heave toward the end zone with 13 seconds remaining was intercepted at the goal line by Domani Jackson.

Jalen Milroe rushed for a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and then hit Germie Bernard for a late 34-yard score to help No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) survive the scare.

The Crimson Tide narrowly avoided another upset after losing to Vanderbilt last week, ending a short stint as the top-ranked team in the country.

No. 4 PENN ST. 33, SOUTHERN CAL 3O, OT

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Warren caught 17 passes to tie the FBS single-game record for tight ends, Ryan Barker hit a 36-yard field goal in overtime and No. 4 Penn State rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half for a victory over Southern California.

Drew Allar passed for a career-high 391 yards and two touchdowns despite three interceptions for Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), which didn’t lead in the final 49 minutes of regulation. The Nittany Lions came back three times to tie it in the final 20 minutes, including Nicholas Singleton’s 14-yard TD reception with 2:53 left.

Quentin Joyner scored two early TDs for the Trojans (3-3, 1-3), who have lost three of four. USC hasn’t beaten a top-five team since the Trojans held off No. 5 Penn State in a 52-49 thriller of a Rose Bowl in January 2017.

Warren racked up 224 yards and a touchdown, although his only catch after the third quarter was a 3-yarder in overtime. The senior set a record for the most receptions by an opponent in USC’s 137-year football history.

No. 5 GEORGIA 41, MISSISSIPPI ST. 31

ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck passed for a career-high 459 yards and three touchdowns and No. 5 Georgia withstood Mississippi State’s second-half comeback bid for a win.

Georgia (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) played at times as if it were looking ahead to next week’s visit to No. 1 Texas but had enough offense for its 28th consecutive home win.

Georgia led 34-10 early in the second half before freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., making his second start, led the Bulldogs (1-5, 0-3) to two straight touchdowns. Van Buren’s strong performance was not enough to prevent Mississippi State’s fifth consecutive loss.

With Georgia leading 34-24, Beck led a 16-play touchdown drive to put the game away. On fourth down at the MSU 1, Trevor Etienne was pushed across the goal line by Georgia’s offensive line.

No. 8 Tennessee 23, Florida 17, OT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dylan Sampson scored on his third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run in overtime to give No. 8 Tennessee a 23-17 victory over Florida on Saturday night.

The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) went to overtime for only the second time. The first was in 1998 when they won the national title.

Trey Smack missed a 47-yard field goal try for Florida (3-3, 1-2) on the first overtime possession.

The Gators tied it with 29 seconds left on DJ Lagway’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike. After lining up for a 2-point conversion, Tennessee called a timeout and Florida kicked the extra point.

Sampson, who rushed for 112 yards, ran 23 yards for a go-ahead, fourth-quarter touchdown. The touchdown was set up by a defensive stand that forced the Gators to punt from their end zone.

Florida jumped out to a 10-0 lead, with Graham Mertz hitting Arlis Boardingham with a 13-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter. On the play, Mertz’s foot caught in the turf and he sustained a left leg injury.

Sampson then had a 6-yard scoring, and Lagway, who took over for Mertz, threw an interception that set up Max Gilbert’s tying, 35-yard field goal.

With Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss still on the schedule, the Gators will have to get things in order in a hurry. Bright glimmers from wins over Mississippi State and UCF were parlayed into a gritty performance against the Vols.

A lot of the problems that cropped up for the Vols in the loss to Arkansas were evident again. With Alabama visiting next week, the Vols have a long way to go to make things right. If Tennessee is going to be a playoff contender the rest of the season, it needs to show consistency in its performance.

No. 10 CLEMSON 49, WAKE FOREST 14

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Cade Klubnik passed for three touchdowns and Phil Mafah added two short touchdown runs as No. 10 Clemson rolled past Wake Forest for its fifth straight win.

The Tigers (5-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) turned a couple of interceptions into touchdowns as they started to pull away with a 28-point second quarter.

Klubnik threw for 309 yards on 31 for 41 passing and Mafah gained 118 yards on 20 carries.

The Tigers threw in some wrinkles, with receiver Antonio Williams throwing 28 yards to tight end Jake Briningstool for a third-quarter touchdown.

Wake Forest (2-4, 1-2) dropped its fourth consecutive home game. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier was limited to 126 passing yards with a pair of interceptions and two touchdown tosses before he was replaced midway through the third quarter.

No. 11 NOTRE DAME 49, STANFORD 7

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Riley Leonard threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 11 Notre Dame to a win over Stanford.

Leonard was 16 of 22 passing for 229 yards and three scores, and rushed six times for 31 yards and a TD.

The game was stopped at the end of the third quarter due to lighting in the area, with Notre Dame ahead 42-7. Play resumed after a delay of about an hour.

Steve Angeli replaced Leonard at quarterback when play resumed.

Notre Dame (5-1) shut down Stanford’s offense and posted eight tackles for loss, four quarterback sacks and a lost fumble. The Fighting Irish also stopped Stanford three times on fourth-down attempts.

No. 14 BYU 41, ARIZONA 19

PROVO, Utah — Jake Retzlaff passed for 218 yards and two touchdowns and No. 14 BYU forced four turnovers in a win over Arizona.

Darius Lassiter had 86 yards on five catches and Parker Kingston caught a touchdown pass and threw for a score on a trick play for BYU. The Cougars (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) are off to their best start since 2020.

“It’s cool, but a bowl game is not what we want,” Kingston said. “We want to go to the playoff and we want to go to the national championship. That’s what we’re looking forward to, and not really settling on a bowl game this year.”

Noah Fifita threw for 275 yards and a touchdown to lead Arizona, but he tossed three interceptions and lost a fumble.

“I got to fix a lot of things,” Fifita said. “I got to get better individually. So, (I’m) just not even close to where I want to be individually, and not close to where we need to be offensively.

Tetairoa McMillan had 78 yards on five catches for the Wildcats. He moved into fourth place on the school’s career receiving yards list.

No. 21 MISSOURI 45, UMASS 3

AMHERST, Mass. — Missouri receiver Luther Burden scored on a 61-yard jet sweep less than a minute into the game, and the 21st-ranked Tigers went on to beat Massachusetts.

Missouri (5-1) rebounded from its 41-10 loss at Texas A&M last week with a resounding victory over the Football Bowl Subdivision independent. UMass (1-6) lost its third straight game.

Brady Cook completed 14 of 19 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters and gave way to Drew Pyne to start the fourth. Marcus Carroll rushed for 91 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns.

The Tigers, who entered the game ranked 15th nationally in total defense, limited UMass to 237 yards and 13 first downs.

No. 22 PITTSBURGH 17, CALIFORNIA 15

PITTSBURGH — Desmond Reid ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 22 Pitt held off California.

The Panthers improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1982 by relying on a defense that racked up six sacks on a day their revamped offense struggled. Pitt managed just 277 total yards — nearly 250 below its season average coming in — and did next to nothing in the second half.

Still, Pitt hung on as Cal (3-3, 0-3 ACC) let a couple of late opportunities slip away. Ryan Coe’s go-ahead 40-yard field goal attempt with 1:54 left was a low wobbler that sailed wide right. The Bears got the ball back with 44 seconds remaining but failed to generate a first down as Pitt reached bowl eligibility a year after a 3-9 season led longtime head coach Pat Narduzzi to overhaul the offensive coaching staff.

The arrival of offensive coordinator Kade Bell and his up-tempo attack has shoved Pitt into the 21st century, but for most of a crisp fall afternoon, the Panthers defense led the way.

No. 23 ILLINOIS 50, PURDUE 49, OT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Luke Altmyer threw a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime to Pat Bryant and Dylan Rosiek sacked Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne on a two-point conversion attempt after the Boilermakers scored a TD to give to give No. 23 Illinois a Big Ten win Saturday.

Ahrmad Branch, on his only carry of the day, scored on a 3-yard run in OT for the Boilermakers.

A 38-yard field goal by Illinois’ David Alano as time expired sent the game into overtime after Purdue rallied from 27-3 and 40-28 deficits in the second half.

Illinois (5-1, 2-1) had lost four straight to Purdue (1-5, 0-3) and seven of the last eight games against the Boilermakers and hadn’t beaten Purdue at Memorial Stadium since 2010.

Altmyer completed 20 of 34 passes for 379 yards and three touchdowns.