Cam Newton and No. 5 Auburn won the SEC's battle of unbeatens, Missouri did the same in the Big 12 and No. 8 Michigan State used a furious rally to stay perfect, too.
On a Saturday that promised to thin the field of unbeatens by at least two, two sets of Tigers and the Spartans emerged unscathed.
No. 18 Missouri 36,
No. 3 Oklahoma 27
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Jerrell Jackson spun free from a knot of tacklers on a 38-yard reception for the go-ahead score, sparking a 16-point fourth quarter that helped Missouri upend the top team in the BCS standings.
The third-ranked Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) committed three costly turnovers, out of character considering they had only five giveaways the first six games. Two of the turnovers led to 10 points and the other squelched a drive deep in Missouri territory, and the Sooners also missed a chip-shot field goal.
An 86-yard scoring return Gahn McGaffie on the opening kickoff added to that edge as the Tigers (7-0, 3-0) ended a seven-game losing streak in a lopsided series dating to 1998, and beat the Sooners for only the second time in the last 21 meetings overall.
Jackson had nine catches for 139 yards, both season bests. He totaled 18 catches the first six games, playing the pre-conference schedule wearing a cast from a broken left wrist.
Landry Jones threw three touchdown passes but was intercepted twice for Oklahoma.
No. 4 TCU 38, Air Force 7
FORT WORTH, Texas - Ed Wesley had a career-high 209 yards and two touchdowns, and the TCU defense stiffened after giving up its first October touchdown, leading the Horned Frogs to a victory over Air Force.
Wesley had more yards by himself than the nation's No. 1 rushing offense as the Frogs (8-0, 4-0) piled up 377 yards on the ground.
No. 5 Auburn 24, No. 6 LSU 17
AUBURN, Ala. - Cam Newton ran for 217 yards and Onterio McCalebb sprinted 70 yards for the go-ahead score with 5:05 left to lift Auburn to a victory over LSU (7-1, 4-1).
The host Tigers (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) moved on as the powerful league's last unbeaten team.
Newton didn't do anything to set back his Heisman Trophy candidacy against the SEC's top defense. He ran for two touchdowns and broke the league's single-season rushing mark for a quarterback of 1,006 yards by Auburn's Jimmy Sidle in 1963. He also topped Heisman winner Pat Sullivan's 40-year-old school mark of 26 TDs rushing and passing in a season.
No. 7 Alabama 41,
Tennessee 10
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Trent Richardson's 65-yard touchdown run and 5-yard touchdown reception were part of 28 unanswered second-half points as Alabama beat Tennessee.
Greg McElroy completed 21 of 32 for 264 yards, mostly to Julio Jones, who set an Alabama single-game record with 221 yards on 12 catches.
No. 8 Michigan State 35, Northwestern 27
EVANSTON, Ill. - Kirk Cousins threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 8 Michigan State rallied from 17 points down to remain unbeaten.
B.J. Cunningham made an acrobatic grab for the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes left. Edwin Baker added a 25-yard scoring run and Eric Gordon intercepted Dan Persa to seal a wild win.
Playing out of state for the first time this season, the Spartans scored 28 points in the second half.
No. 9 Utah 59,
Colorado State 6
SALT LAKE CITY - Jordan Wynn threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns in drizzly weather and Utah thrashed Colorado State to stay unbeaten.
The sophomore quarterback went 23 of 29 and reached the 300-yard mark for the third time in his career. With the game in hand, Wynn didn't play after Matt Asiata's rushing touchdown pushed Utah to a 38-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Utes (4-0 Mountain West Conference) ran their record to 7-0 for the third time in the last seven years. In the 2004 and 2008 seasons, the Utes went undefeated and won BCS bowl games.
No. 10 Wisconsin 31,
No. 13 Iowa 30
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Montee Ball ran 8 yards for a touchdown with 1:06 left and Wisconsin rallied to beat Iowa.
Scott Tolzien threw for 205 yards and a touchdown, and John Clay added a pair of touchdowns for the Badgers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten), who kept their final drive alive by converting a fake punt deep in their own territory.
Punter Brad Nortman ran 17 yards on fourth down from his own 26 with Wisconsin trailing 30-24. The Badgers converted another fourth down with 3:23 left and Ball capped an 80-yard drive with the game-winning score, barely breaking the goal line with an outstretched arm holding the ball.
Iowa (5-2, 2-1) took a 30-24 lead on Michael Meyer's 40-yard field goal with 8:35 left.
Iowa's final drive ended when Adam Robinson failed to get out of bounds before time expired.
No. 11 Ohio State 49, Purdue 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Terrelle Pryor threw for three scores, Dan Herron ran for two and No. 11 Ohio State showed it was over its Wisconsin hangover with a victory over Purdue.
The beat-up Buckeyes (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) also got redemption for a stunning 26-18 upset a year ago at Purdue, along with last week's 31-18 defeat in Madison that toppled them from No. 1.
No. 12 Stanford 38, Washington State 28
STANFORD, Calif. - Andrew Luck threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns to help Stanford beat Washington State to post its best record after seven games in 40 years.
Stepfan Taylor ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinal (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10).
Luck went 20 for 28 with touchdown passes to Ryan Whalen, Doug Baldwin and Coby Fleener - the fourth time this season he's thrown for at least three TDs.
No. 14 Nebraska 51,
No. 17 Oklahoma State 41
STILLWATER, Okla. - Taylor Martinez set a Nebraska freshman record with 323 yards passing and threw a career-high five touchdown passes, and the Cornhuskers knocked Oklahoma State from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter ran for 201 yards, but Nebraska (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) forced the Cowboys (6-1, 2-1) to go three-and-out on three of their four drives in the second half while pulling ahead.
No. 19 South Carollina 21, Vanderbilt 7
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Brian Maddox rushed for a career-high 146 yards and the game-clinching touchdown to lead South Carolina to a difficult win over Vanderbilt, giving Steve Spurrier his 40th victory with the Gamecocks.
The win snapped South Carolina's seven-game Southeastern Conference road losing streak that dated back to 2008 and put the Gamecocks (5-2, 3-2) in first place in the SEC East. South Carolina had lost two of the last three to Vanderbilt (2-5, 1-3).
Syracuse 19,
No. 20 West Virginia 14
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Ryan Nassib threw a touchdown pass, Ross Krautman kicked four field goals and Syracuse scored nine points off turnovers in shocking West Virginia.
Syracuse (5-2, 2-1 Big East) snapped an eight-game losing streak to West Virginia (5-2, 1-1). The Orange made a remarkable turnaround on defense after being throttled at home by Pittsburgh 45-14 last week.
West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith threw three first-half interceptions and was sacked five times.
No. 21 Arkansas 38,
Mississippi 24
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Knile Davis ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 21 Arkansas waited out two weather delays to beat former coach Houston Nutt and Mississippi.
The Razorbacks (5-2, 2-2 SEC) also got a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown from Joe Adams while rebounding from a loss to fifth-ranked Auburn last week. The game against the Rebels was delayed twice by lightning that sent fans and players scurrying for cover.
Iowa State 28, No. 22 Texas 21
AUSTIN, Texas - Austen Arnaud passed for two touchdowns, Alexander Robinson ran for 120 yards and two scores, and Iowa State put another home loss on Texas.
The Longhorns, back home for the first time since a 34-12 loss to UCLA on Sept. 25, dropped a second straight in Austin for the first time since 1997. This one came against an Iowa State defense that had given up 120 points the previous two games.
The Cyclones (4-4, 2-2 Big 12) got their first win over Texas (4-3, 2-2) with the defense forcing four turnovers by Longhorns quarterback Garrett Gilbert.
No. 23 Virginia Tech 44,
Duke 7
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Tyrod Taylor threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns and Virginia Tech rolled to a victory over Duke.
Taylor was 13 of 17 passing and finished with 327 yards of total offense, putting him less than 100 away from becoming the school's career leader.
No. 24 Mississippi State 29,
UAB 24
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Freshman LaDarius Perkins rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown as Mississippi State survived an upset scare to beat Alabama-Birmingham.
Playing as a nationally ranked team for the first time since 2001, the Bulldogs won their fifth straight game, which is the program's longest streak since 1999. They also earned bowl eligibility for the first time in three seasons and only the second time in decade.
No. 25 Miami 33,
North Carolina 10
MIAMI - Jacory Harris threw three touchdown passes to move into second place on Miami's career list, Damien Berry ran for his fourth straight game of 100-plus yards and the Hurricanes scored 30 straight points to easily get past North Carolina.
Berry finished with 109 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes (5-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). LaRon Byrd, Travis Benjamin and Leonard Hankerson had touchdown catches for Miami and Sean Spence forced a key fumble in the opening quarter to deny North Carolina a touchdown.