No. 1 Ducks turn close game into convincing win

Southern California really thought it had figured out how to stop Oregon's high-octane offense when the Trojans took a third-quarter lead on the nation's top-ranked team.

Turns out the Ducks were only pausing on the way to another convincing win.

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 the 24th-ranked Trojans on Saturday night at Los Angeles.

Thomas passed for 288 yards and Maehl had eight catches for a career-high 145 yards for the fleet-footed 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? minutes to take a 32-29 lead.

"That's a little different for us, especially in the second half, but we just kept pushing," Maehl said. "We knew our offense would wear them down."

Indeed, FBS rushing leader 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.

"We thought we had this game in the bag, but they played a hell of a game," said USC defensive lineman Jurrell Casey, whose interception set up the Trojans' first score in the third quarter.

No. 13 Stanford 41, Washington 0: At Seattle, Andrew Luck ran for a 51-yard touchdown the first time he carried the ball, directed Stanford to touchdowns on its first four possessions, and the Cardinal (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10) routed the Huskies (3-5, 2-3).

The anticipated matchup of Luck and Washington quarterback Jake Locker, two of the most highly touted NFL draft prospects for next spring brought out nearly 20 NFL scouts.

Along with his TD run, the sophomore quarterback completed 19 of 26 passes for 192 yards and threw a 3-yard TD pass to Zach Ertz on the final play of the third quarter.

Locker rarely had time to throw and when he did, his inaccuracy surfaced again. He completed just 7 of 14 passes for 64 yards and threw a pair of interceptions.

No. 15 Arizona 29, UCLA 21: At Pasadena, Calif., backup Matt Scott had another big game, passing for a career-high 319 yards, and Arizona (7-1, 4-1) held off UCLA (3-5, 1-4) to remain in contention for its first Pac-10 championship.

Scott was 24 of 36 with one interception and one touchdown. The junior also carried 12 times for 71 yards.

Oregon State 35, California 7: At Corvallis, Ore., Jacquizz Rodgers threw for a touchdown before running for three more and Oregon State defeated California (4-4, 2-3).

Rodgers rushed for 119 yards for the Beavers (4-3, 3-1 Pac-10), who led 28-0 at the half.

Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick completed 10 of 15 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Wolf Pack past Utah State 56-42 on Saturday night in Western Athletic Conference play at Reno, Nev.

Kaepernick also ran for 102 yards and one touchdown on eight carries for Nevada (7-1, 2-1), which became bowl eligible.

Courtney Randall added 93 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and Mike Ball rushed for 58 yards and a pair of scores on six carries for the Wolf Pack.

Utah State (2-6, 0-4) quarterback Diondre Borel threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions on 24-of-38 passing.

New Mexico State 29, San Jose State 27: At Las Cruces, N.M., Taveon Rogers caught an 8-yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock as New Mexico State (2-6, 1-3 WAC) beat San Jose State (1-8, 0-4).

The Aggies drove 79 yards on eight plays in the game's final 52 seconds for the winning score.

Roy Helu Jr. rushed for a school-record 307 yards, and No. 14 Nebraska knocked No. 7 Missouri from the ranks of the unbeatens with a 31-17 victory Saturday at Lincoln, Neb.

"I can't explain how much I feel for my linemen and fullback," Helu said. "They deserve as much credit as I do. I know the focus is on the record and the individual, but it's a team sport."

The Cornhuskers (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) held off Missouri after building a 24-0 lead and moved into a first-place tie with the Tigers in the Big 12 North. Nebraska, which ended a 13-game losing streak against Top 10 teams, earned the inside track to the division title by winning the head-to-head meeting.

Missouri (7-1, 3-1) was off to its best start since 1960. The Tigers have 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 hit from Kenji Jackson on a run late in the second quarter. Zac Lee took over to start the third quarter.

Coach Bo Pelini said Martinez had a bruised right leg and should be able to play next week at Iowa State.

Pelini had been concerned about flat performances in recent home games, including a 20-13 loss to Texas two weeks ago, but that wasn't an issue Saturday.

No. 3 Auburn 51, Mississippi 31: At Oxford, Miss., Cam Newton caught a touchdown pass, to go with the two TD passes he threw, and Mike Dyer ran for 180 yards to help Auburn power past Mississippi (3-4, 1-4).

The Tigers (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference), who are ranked atop the BCS standings for the first time, easily sidestepped the string of upsets that had struck No. 1 teams in each of the past three weeks.

No. 4 TCU 48, UNLV 6: At Las Vegas, Andy Dalton threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns and TCU (9-0, 5-0 Mountain West) beat UNLV (1-7, 1-3).

No. 18 Iowa 37, No. 5 Michigan State 6: At Iowa City, Iowa, Ricky Stanzi threw three touchdown passes and the Hawkeyes (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) stomped the Spartans (8-1, 4-1).

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.

No. 8 28, Air Force 23: At Air Force Academy, Colo., Utah's defense forced five turnovers and stopped the Falcons twice on downs in the final quarter, helping the Utes (8-0, 5-0 Mountain West Conference) hold off Air Force (5-4, 3-3) for a win to set up a showdown with No. 4 TCU next weekend.

No. 10 Ohio State 52, Minnesota 10: At 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 the 10th-Buckeyes (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) past Minnesota (1-8, 0-5).

No. 11 Oklahoma 43, Colorado 10: At Norman, Okla., Ryan Broyles broke the school record with 208 yards receiving as part of the biggest passing day in Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) history, and the Sooners beat Colorado (3-5, 0-4).

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 broke the school record for passing set on Bradford's biggest day.

No. 17 South Carolina 38, Tennessee 24: At Columbia, S.C., Alshon Jeffery's 70-yard touchdown catch broke a fourth-quarter tie and kept South Carolina (6-2, 4-2) in control of the SEC East with a victory over Tennessee (2-6, 0-5).

No. 19 Arkansas 49, Vanderbilt 14: At Fayetteville, Ark., Ryan Mallett threw for a school-record 409 yards as Arkansas (6-2, 3-2 SEC) beat Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4).

No. 20 Oklahoma State 24, Kansas State 14: At Manhattan, Kan., Brandon Weeden threw two touchdown passes and Oklahoma State's high-powered offense overcame the absence of star wide receiver Justin Blackmon to beat Kansas State (5-3, 2-3).

Blackmon, suspended for the game after being arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge, left the Cowboys (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) without the nation's leader in receiving yards per game, total receiving yards, scoring and touchdown catches.

Virginia 24, No. 22 Miami 19: At Charlottesville, Va., Virginia intercepted Miami's backup quarterbacks four times after Jacory Harris was hurt to upset the Hurricanes (5-3, 3-2).

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.

No. 23 Mississippi State 24, Kentucky 17: At Starkville, Miss., Vick Ballard rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2 SEC) relied on its running game and defense to beat Kentucky (4-5, 1-5).

No. 25 Baylor 30, Texas 22: At Austin, Texas, Robert Griffin III passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in leading Baylor (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) to its first win over the Longhorns (4-4, 2-3) since 1997.

Taiwan Jones rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns as Eastern Washington defeated Portland State 50-17 on Saturday night at Portland, Ore.

Jones, who entered the game as the leading rusher in the Big Sky Conference, pushed his season rushing total to 1,078 yards. He scored on runs of 71, 65 and 2 yards en route to a 198-yard first half as the Eagles (7-2, 6-1) opened a 28-10 lead.

With 33 receiving yards, Jones outgained Portland State (2-6, 1-4) 231-227 in the first two quarters. He has 10 rushing TDs on the season.

Bo Levi Mitchell was 13 of 23 for 231 yards and two touchdowns passing for Eastern Washington.

The Eagles put the game out of reach early in the third quarter, when T.J. Lee recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to make the score 34-10.

Weber State 30, Montana 21: At Ogden, Utah, Vai Tafuna rushed for 124 yards and four touchdowns to lead Weber State past Montana.

Weber State (5-3, 4-2 Big Sky) trailed by eight points at halftime before shutting out Montana (6-3, 5-2) in the second half.

Montana's Justin Roper passed for 261 yards. He threw three touchdown passes in the first half and two interceptions in the second half.

Montana State 23, Idaho State 20, OT: At Pocatello, Denarius McGhee's 25-yard touchdown run in overtime lifted the Bobcats (7-2, 5-1 Big Sky) past the Bengals (1-7, 0-6).

Willamette 28, Whitworth 12: At Spokane, Taylor Eglet completed 12 of 25 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for Whitworth (4-4, 2-2 Northwest Conference) in a loss to Willamette (6-2, 3-1).