Top 25 Capsules – Tebow leads Gators past pesky Ole Miss

The Gators (4-0) got off to a slow start and allowed the Rebels (1-3) back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

But Tebow came up with a handful of clock-killing runs after he engineered two second-half touchdown drives, scoring on a 6-yard run and throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy.

The sophomore, who was the nation’s No. 2 passer coming into the game, finished with 261 yards passing as he led the defending national champions to their 11th straight win and 19th in their last 20. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Gators in the state of Mississippi.

Percy Harvin had 11 catches for 121 yards and Tebow’s other touchdown pass, a 19-yarder in the second quarter that helped the Gators to a 14-6 halftime lead.

Ole Miss rallied to cut Florida’s advantage to 27-24 on Seth Adams’ 71-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace with 7 seconds left in the third quarter. But Tony Joiner ended the rally when he picked off a pass by Adams on the Rebels’ next drive. Their final drive ended when they failed to make a first down on a fake punt.

Syracuse 38,

No. 18 Louisville 35

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ‘ Andrew Robinson threw for a career-high 423 yards and four touchdowns as Syracuse stunned No. 18 Louisville 38-35 on Saturday.

Taj Smith caught four passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns for the Orange (1-3, 1-0 Big East) as Syracuse ended Louisville’s 20-game home winning streak by dominating the listless Cardinals (2-2, 0-1).

The victory was Syracuse’s first road conference win and first victory over a ranked team since beating Boston College at the end of the 2004 season.

Brian Brohm completed 45-of-65 passes career-high 555 yards and four scores for Louisville, but the Cardinals’ defense allowed Syracuse ‘ which entered the game ranked near the bottom nationally in every offensive category ‘ to pile up 465 yards and make big play after big play.

Syracuse built a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter before trying to make it interesting late. The Orange the ball over twice in the final minutes allowing Louisville to get within three with 56 seconds left.

The ensuing onside kick, however, failed to go 10 yards and the Orange held on.

No. 5 West Virginia 48,

East Carolina 7

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) ‘ Pat White threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as No. 5 West Virginia overpowered East Carolina 48-7 on Saturday.

Steve Slaton rushed for 110 yards and a score to match a school record for career touchdowns, and the Mountaineers (4-0) rolled up 599 total yards against the Pirates (1-3), who suffered their most lopsided loss under third-year coach Skip Holtz.

West Virginia’s defense didn’t allow a score until the final two minutes, limiting the Pirates to nine first downs and 160 total yards.

West Virginia scored seven of the first eight times it had the ball in beating East Carolina for the seventh straight time. The team’s last two meetings weren’t decided until the fourth quarter, but this one wasn’t close.

East Carolina entered the game allowing 86 yards rushing per game, and had been the only team to hold West Virginia under 200 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons.

No. 15 Clemson 42,

NC State 20

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ‘ C.J. Spiller and James Davis each caught a touchdown pass and rushed for another to lead No. 15 Clemson to a 42-20 rout of North Carolina State today.

Davis rushed for a season-high 166 yards with a 3-yard touchdown catch and a 1-yard scoring run, while Spiller ‘ a week after Furman held him to minus-1 yard ‘ finished with 114 yards with an 11-yard TD catch and a 44-yard scoring run.

The Tigers dominated from the opening kickoff, scoring on four of their first five possessions and at one point outgaining the Wolfpack 220-1.

Cullen Harper was unshaken and efficient in his first career road start, completing 25-of-39 passes for 268 yards ‘ 2 yards shy of his career high ‘ with touchdown passes to both tailbacks.

Darrell Blackman returned a kickoff for a school-record 99 yards for a touchdown and caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Daniel Evans, and Andre Brown ran 17 yards for a TD for N.C. State.

No. 23 South Florida 37,

North Carolina 10

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ‘ South Florida validated its first Top 25 ranking with a dominating 37-10 victory over North Carolina. That sets up the 23rd-ranked Bulls for next week’s much-anticipated Big East showdown against number-five West Virginia.

Matt Grothe completed 17 of 30 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown before heading to the bench in the fourth quarter. The 3-and-0 Bulls also rushed for 194 yards and outgained North Carolina 428-164 overall.

The Tar Heels fall to 1-and-3.

South Florida cracked the Top 25 for the first time in only its 11th season of big-time football, largely on momentum generated by last year’s 9-and-4 finish and a 26-23 overtime victory at then-number 17 Auburn two weeks ago.

No. 24 Nebraska 41,

Ball State 40

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) ‘ Sam Keller’s fourth touchdown pass finally put Nebraska in the lead with 3:13 left in the game, and the 24th-ranked Cornhuskers survived an upset bid by Ball State with a 41-40 victory on Saturday.

The Cardinals moved in position to win the game, but Jake Hogue’s 55-yard field goal attempt was wide left with 17 seconds left, allowing Cornhuskers fans everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief.

Keller passed for a school-record 438 yards, and Nebraska (3-1) needed every one of them against the 23-point underdog Cardinals (2-2).

Keller’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Purify gave the Huskers the lead for good with 3:13 left, but there were more nervous moments for Nebraska before it avoided what could have been the most embarrassing defeat in school history.

Nate Davis, who passed for 422 yards and three touchdowns, drove the Cardinals to the Nebraska 38 with 17 seconds left, but Hogue was unable to connect. The Huskers were soundly beaten by No. 1 Southern California last week, and were hoping to avoid a letdown.

No. 14 Boston College 37,

Army 17

BOSTON (AP) ‘ Matt Ryan threw for 356 yards and accounted for four touchdowns before leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter and leading No. 14 Boston College to a 37-17 victory over Army on Saturday.

Ryan moved into third place on BC’s career passing list behind Doug Flutie and Glenn Foley with 6,147 yards. The senior quarterback finished 35-for-51 with three touchdown passes and a TD run, and connected with Kevin Challenger nine times for 104 yards before being replaced by Chris Crane for garbage time.

Ryan also threw two interceptions, one of them caught by Brian Chmura and returned 11 yards for a touchdown that made it 29-17 with 9:22 left in the game. But on the second play of the ensuing possession, Andre Callender went through the line and down the left sideline for a 66-yard touchdown.

BC (4-0) hasn’t opened the season with four wins since 1999 and hasn’t started 5-0 since 1954, when it played its home games at Fenway Park. The Eagles play Massachusetts next week and Bowling Green after that.