Tide tramples punchless Vols 45-7

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Bo Scarbrough had two fourth-down touchdown runs and No. 1 Alabama continued its domination of rival Tennessee with a 45-7 victory on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) improved to 11-0 in the traditional Third Saturday in October game under coach Nick Saban while dealing another blow to the slumping Volunteers (3-4, 0-4) and embattled coach Butch Jones.

Alabama outgained Tennessee 604-108 in total yards even with reserves manning the offensive backfield most of the second half.

Scarbrough's two 1-yard scores came with defensive linemen Da'Ron Payne and Quinnen Williams as lead blockers.

Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts capped the opening second half drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Irv Smith and then watched from the sidelines the rest of the way.

The Vols did snap a streak of 12-plus quarters without a touchdown after that move. Linebacker Daniel Bituli intercepted Tua Tagovailoa's pass and raced 97 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.

Tagovailoa added big plays after his mistake. He scored on a 23-yard run and then hit fellow freshman Henry Ruggs III for a 60-yard touchdown with 4:49 left. Ruggs has five catches this season, all going for scores.

Alabama made a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter with the stands mostly still packed and fans celebrating almost like it was a game-saver.

No. 10 Oklahoma St. 13

Texas 10 OT

AUSTIN, Texas -- Ramon Richards intercepted Sam Ehlinger's pass in the end zone in overtime and Matt Ammendola kicked a field goal.

The Cowboys (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) scored the winning points on a 34-yard field goal by Ammendola on the first possession of OT. He missed a 29-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.

Though the field goal came first, Richards didn't realize the game ended with his play.

"I thought the offense had to come back," Richards said.

Texas (3-4, 2-2) had a first down on the Oklahoma State 12 after a pass-interference penalty against A.J. Green.

Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph passed for 282 yards, failing to reach 300 for the first time in eight games. The Cowboys beat Texas for the fifth-straight time in Austin, the most ever by a Longhorns opponent.

Oklahoma State began the day leading the nation in total offense. The Cowboys ranked second in scoring.

Just when the Cowboys appeared to be on their way to creating some momentum, they fumbled at the Texas 14 in the second quarter. Texas responded with a 90-yard pass from Ehlinger to John Burt that set up a touchdown.

No. 5 Wisconsin 38

Maryland 13

MADISON, Wis. -- Jonathan Taylor ran for a touchdown and broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season, Alex Hornibrook passed for two scores and No. 5 Wisconsin stayed unbeaten.

Taylor finished with 126 yards on 22 carries, a relatively ho-hum day following two straight 200-yard outings for the running back.

Playing in his seventh game at Wisconsin (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), Taylor tied a major-college football record shared by five other backs for fewest games by a freshman to get to 1,000 yards.

Hornibrook shook off an interception on his second attempt of the day, finishing 16 of 24 for 225 yards to balance the offense.

Maryland (3-4, 1-3), which has the conference's worst defense, could have picked up some early pointers from Wisconsin.

No. 8 Miami 27

Syracuse 19

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Malik Rosier threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns, and Travis Homer's 33-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left helped No. 8 Miami defeat upset-minded Syracuse as the Hurricanes extended their winning streak to 11 games.

It was the third consecutive down-to-the-end game for Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which is off to its best league start since joining the ACC in 2004.

The Hurricanes needed last-second plays to beat Florida State two weeks ago and Georgia Tech last week. This one was nearly as dramatic.

Miami's defense intercepted Syracuse's Eric Dungey four times, all in the first half.

No. 14 Virginia Tech 59

North Carolina 7

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Josh Jackson threw three touchdown passes and No. 14 Virginia Tech scored on fumble, interception and punt returns to rout North Carolina.

Jackson passed for 132 yards and the Hokies (6-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated in sending the Tar Heels (1-7, 0-5) to their fifth-straight loss.

Off last week, Virginia Tech looked rested and focused and played that way, scoring in all three phases in the first half and bolting to a 35-0 halftime lead. Virginia Tech scored twice on defense, getting the first score of the game on defensive tackle Ricky Walker's 12-yard fumble return.

The Hokies added Greg Stroman's 91-yard punt return for a touchdown -- his second punt return for a score this season -- and defensive back Reggie Floyd's 69-yard interception return for a score.

North Carolina only got into Virginia Tech territory three times, turned the ball over three times, and finished with just 172 yards.

No. 18 Michigan St. 17

Indiana 9

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Brian Lewerke threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Felton Davis with 5:59 remaining, and No. 18 Michigan State edged Indiana.

Lewerke struggled for much of the game, but he was able to connect with an open Davis to the left side of the end zone. The extra point by Matt Coghlin put Michigan State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) ahead 10-9.

On the next possession, the Spartans forced an Indiana punt -- one of 17 the teams combined for. Then LJ Scott ran 18 yards for a touchdown for Michigan State, which may have actually helped the Hoosiers because it gave them the ball back with 1:49 remaining and a chance to tie it.

But Indiana (3-4, 0-4) wasn't able to cross midfield before turning the ball over on downs.

Shut down for most of the game, the Spartans drove 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Lewerke completed a short pass to freshman Hunter Rison to convert fourth-and-3, and a reverse to Davis on the next play gained 16 yards, setting up first down at the Indiana 13.

Lewerke's pass to Davis for the game's first touchdown gave Michigan State a breakthrough in a tough, defensive matchup.

No. 20 Central Florida 31

Navy 21

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Adrian Killins ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, McKenzie Milton passed for 233 yards and No. 20 Central Florida beat Navy for the first 6-0 start in school history.

It was tied in the third quarter before Killins bolted down the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown run to put the Knights ahead for good.

With the victory, Central Florida (6-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) became bowl eligible, matched its win total of last year and improved to 6-0 for the first time in the 39-year history of the program.

The Midshipmen (5-2, 3-2) kept it close, but their chances of pulling off an upset dwindled after quarterback Zach Abey was forced from the game in the third quarter. Abey was dazed from a hit to the helmet at the end of a run and had to be helped off the field.

Mississippi State 45

Kentucky 7

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Nick Fitzgerald had 270 total yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi State.

Mississippi State (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) dominated the game from the opening quarter and never trailed. The Bulldogs finished with 441 total yards of offense and averaged 5.9 per play.

Fitzgerald, a junior, led all rushers with 115 yards and became just the sixth SEC quarterback to rush for more than 2,000 career yards. He was also 18 of 26 passing for 155 yards and a touchdown to Jordan Thomas.

Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) managed just 260 total yards and 14 first downs against one of the nation's toughest defensive units. They trailed 17-7 at the half and crossed midfield on only three drives the entire game.

Missouri 68, Idaho 21

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri ended a five-game losing streak.

Drew Lock completed 23 of 33 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns. He fell one touchdown pass short of the school record he set in the season opener. J'Mon Moore caught 11 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown.

Missouri (2-5) dominated in all phases. In addition to piling up 658 total yards, the Tigers scored on Richaud Floyd's 85-yard punt return and were set up for another TD when Ronnell Perkins recovered a muffed kickoff in the first quarter.

The game began ominously for the Tigers. Armond Hawkins intercepted Lock on the first play, and the Vandals (2-5) proceeded to score on a 7-yard pass from Matt Linehan to Kaden Elliss, a linebacker who moonlights on offense. But Missouri responded with five first-quarter touchdowns, including three TD passes from Lock to tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.

By halftime, the Tigers led 51-14 and had accumulated 465 yards.

Iowa State 31

Texas Tech 13

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Kyle Kempt threw three touchdown passes and Iowa State dumped Texas Tech.

Texas Tech coach and chief offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury broke away from his offensive trends and the Cyclones made him pay.

Iowa State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) remained in the midseason chase for the conference's new championship game. Five league teams began play on Saturday with 2-1 records and trailed TCU by a game in the standings.

Texas Tech (4-3, 1-3) fell back the championship-game hunt last week after blowing an 18-point lead at West Virginia and faced an 18-point halftime deficit of its own against the Cyclones.

The nation's seventh-most productive offense through eight weeks bucked its passing trend through the first half and ran 22 rushing plays against 9 of 11 passing by Nic Shimonek for 18 yards.

Running backs Justin Stockton and Desmond Nisby fumbled on back-to-back offensive plays and on the wrong side of midfield in the first half. Iowa State converted the turnovers -- recovered by D'Andre Payne and Mike Warren -- into 10 points on a 22-yard field goal by Garrett Owens and a 4-yard touchdown grab by Matthew Eaton, who caught a 3-yard score later in the half for a 24-6 lead at the break.

Shimonek ultimately completed 31 of 40 passes for 207 yards with an interception as Texas Tech tried to claw back into the mix. The Red Raiders ran the ball 41 times through the game's course and amassed 336 total yards, well below their average of 543 yards.

Sports on 10/22/2017

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