TOP 25: Oregon roars back to beat USC

LOS ANGELES - LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns, Darron Thomas threw three of his four scoring passes to Jeff Maehl and No. 1 Oregon roared back from a second-half deficit with a 53-32 victory over No. 24 Southern California on Saturday night.

Thomas passed for 288 yards and Maehl had eight catches for a career-high 145 yards for the high-powered Ducks (8-0, 4-0 Pac-10), who racked up 599 total yards in yet another barn-burning offensive performance.

Oregon still trailed in the third quarter for just the second time all season after USC scored two touchdowns in 2 1/2 minutes to take a 32-29 lead, but James led the Ducks to 24 consecutive points to close their first win at the Coliseum since 2000.

Matt Barkley passed for 263 yards and Marc Tyler rushed for two scores for the Trojans (5-3, 2-3), who used trickery and big defensive plays to stay competitive until the third quarter.

No. 3 Auburn 51, Mississippi 31

OXFORD, Miss. - Cam Newton caught a touchdown pass, to go along with the two TD passes he threw, and Mike Dyer ran for 180 yards for Auburn.

The Tigers (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) are ranked atop the BCS standings for the first time.

The Rebels (3-4, 1-4) ended Newton's string of four straight 170-yard rushing efforts against SEC defenses, but the Heisman Trophy contender passed for 199. He also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from receiver Kodi Burns.

Auburn scored on Demond Washington's 95-yard punt return, Onterio McCalebb's 68-yard touchdown run and Dyer's 30-yarder in a rare buffet of big plays not involving Newton.

Jeremiah Masoli, a transfer and double threat like Newton, completed 20 of 33 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Ole Miss.

No. 18 Iowa 37,

No. 5 Michigan State 6

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Ricky Stanzi threw three touchdown passes and Iowa handed Michigan State its first loss decisively.

Adam Robinson added a pair of touchdowns for the charged-up Hawkeyes, who rolled out to a 30-0 halftime lead and dealt a crushing blow to the Spartans' national title hopes.

Iowa (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) jumped ahead 17-0 when Micah Hyde went 66 yards after taking a pitch from safety Tyler Sash, who had picked off a pass.

Kirk Cousins threw three interceptions for the Spartans (8-1, 4-1), who were trying to move to 9-0 for the first time since winning a share of the national title in 1966.

No. 14 Nebraska 31, No. 7 Missouri 17

LINCOLN, Neb. - Roy Helu Jr. rushed for a school-record 307 yards, and Nebraska knocked Missouri from the unbeatens.

The Cornhuskers (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) held off the Tigers after building a 24-0 lead and moved into a first-place tie with them in the Big 12 North. Nebraska earned the inside track to the division title by winning the head-to-head meeting.

Missouri (7-1, 3-1) has lost 17 straight road games against Top 25 opponents since 1997.

Helu ran for touchdowns of 66, 73 and 53 yards. The Cornhuskers played without quarterback Taylor Martinez in the second half after he came up hobbling following a run late in the second quarter. Zac Lee took over to start the third quarter.

Nebraska put heavy pressure on Blaine Gabbert and held him to 18 of 42 passing for 199 yards. He was sacked six times.

No. 8 Utah 28, Air Force 23

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Utah's defense forced five turnovers and stopped the Falcons twice on downs in the final quarter to win heading into its big game with TCU next weekend.

Safety Greg Bird came up with one big hit after another and Eddie Wide scored twice as the Utes ran their record to 8-0 for the third time in the last seven years.

Utah (5-0 Mountain West) will face its biggest challenge so far this season when it hosts TCU next Saturday, a marquee matchup between two hopeful BCS busters.

Tim Jefferson threw for 201 yards and ran for another 67 as the Falcons (5-4, 3-3) dropped their third straight game. He also threw two interceptions.

No. 10 Ohio State 52, Minnesota 10

MINNEAPOLIS - Terrelle Pryor threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Dan Herron rushed for 114 yards and another score in the first half to lead Ohio State.

Pryor completed 18 of 22 passes and also rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown for the Buckeyes (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten), who are trying to ram their way back into the national championship picture.

MarQueis Gray had three catches for 81 yards for Minnesota (1-8, 0-5), which has lost eight straight games.

DeVier Posey had six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown as Ohio State racked up 507 total yards.

No. 11 Oklahoma 43, Colorado 10

NORMAN, Okla. - Ryan Broyles broke the school record with 208 yards receiving as part of the biggest passing day in Oklahoma history, and the 11th-ranked Sooners bounced back from their first loss of the season to beat Colorado.

Landry Jones threw for a career-high 453 yards and four touchdowns, including three to Broyles. Jones' total was the second-best in school history, behind only Sam Bradford's 468 against Kansas in his 2008 Heisman Trophy season. When combined with backup Drew Allen's 35 yards, the Sooners (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) broke the school record for passing set on Bradford's biggest day.

No. 13 Stanford 41, Washington 0

SEATTLE - Andrew Luck ran for one score and threw for another, and No. 13 Stanford scored touchdowns on its first four possessions.

Facing Washington quarterback Jake Locker in a matchup of touted NFL draft prospects, Luck was easily more impressive. The Stanford sophomore completed 19 of 26 passes for 192 yards and added another 92 yards rushing. Stepfan Taylor ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns for Stanford (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10).

Meanwhile, the Cardinal defense held Washington (3-5, 2-3) to its worst offensive performance in 37 years. Locker completed 7 of 14 passes for 64 yards and two interceptions.

No. 15 Arizona 29, UCLA 21

PASADENA, Calif. - Backup Matt Scott passed for a career-high 319 yards, and Arizona held off UCLA.

Scott, playing for injured starter Nick Foles (knee), was 24 of 36 with one interception and one touchdown. The junior also carried 12 times for 71 yards.

Keola Antolin rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries for the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10).

Richard Brehaut passed for a career-best 228 yards and two touchdowns for the Bruins (3-5, 1-4), who lost their third straight game but performed much better than in their last two, when they were outscored 95-20 at California and Oregon.

No. 17 S. Carolina 38, Tennessee 24

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Alshon Jeffery's 70-yard touchdown catch broke a fourth-quarter tie and kept South Carolina in control of the SEC East.

The Vols (2-6, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) had rallied back from a 14-point deficit on a pair of touchdown passes from backup quarterback Tyler Bray to tie the game at 24.

Garcia added two rushing touchdowns, the second from 1 yard out with 3:28 left that sealed the win for South Carolina (6-2, 4-2).

No. 19 Arkansas 49, Vanderbilt 14

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Ryan Mallett threw for a school-record 409 yards and Arkansas beat Vanderbilt.

Mallett topped his own record of 408 yards, set last year against Georgia, and finished 27 of 44 as the Razorbacks (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) won their second straight game. He threw for three touchdowns, and Arkansas scored 43 straight points after trailing early.

No. 20 Oklahoma St. 24, Kansas State 14

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Brandon Weeden threw two touchdown passes and No. 20 Oklahoma State's high-powered offense overcame the absence of star wide receiver Justin Blackmon to beat Kansas State.

The Cowboys are 7-1 overall, 3-1 Big 12.

Virginia 24,

No. 22 Miami 19

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia intercepted Miami's backup quarterbacks four times after Jacory Harris was hurt and pulled off the upset.

Virginia (4-4, 1-3 ACC), which had lost nine straight conference games, knocked Harris from the game on a huge hit by John-Kevin Dolce in the second quarter with the score still 0-0.

Keith Payne ran for two touchdowns, and Marc Verica added a touchdown pass for Virginia.

The Hurricanes (5-3, 3-2), made it inside the Virginia 20 just once in the first three quarters.

No. 23 Mississippi St. 24, Kentucky 17

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Vick Ballard rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Mississippi State relied on its running game and defense.

The Wildcats threatened to tie the game in the final minute, but Mike Hartline's pass was intercepted by Johnthan Banks at the goal line to seal a sixth straight victory for Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) - its longest streak since 1999.

Kentucky (4-5, 1-5) hasn't beaten a ranked team on the road since 1998. Randall Cobb caught 12 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.

No. 25 Baylor 30, Texas 22

AUSTIN, Texas - Robert Griffin III passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Baylor beat Texas for the first time since 1997.

Baylor trailed 19-10 early in the third quarter before Jay Finley ran 69 yards for a touchdown. Griffin then scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and hit Kendall Wright with a 30-yard scoring pass in the fourth.

Baylor (7-2, 4-1) got its first win in Austin since 1991 and stays in first place in the Big 12 South. Texas (4-4, 2-3) looked in control when Garrett Gilbert scored on a 20-yard run in the third, but had its third consecutive home loss.