Trojans survive big scare
Wyatt Sexton stepped in for Chris Rix to lead Florida toppled Clemson.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STANFORD, Calif. -- USC had another harrowing trip to the Bay Area. Thanks to their defense and their unstoppable tailback tandem, this one had a much happier ending.
Matt Leinart passed for 308 yards and LenDale White scored on a 2-yard run with 6:15 left, capping the Trojans' comeback from an 11-point deficit for a 31-28 victory over Stanford on Saturday night.
Steve Smith caught eight passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, and Reggie Bush contributed 95 yards rushing and a key punt return to Southern California's 13th straight victory. After yielding 291 yards in the first half, No. 1 USC gave up just 36 after halftime.
Stanford took a 28-17 lead into halftime.
No. 5 Texas 35, Rice 13
AUSTIN, Texas -- Cedric Benson and the Texas running machine keep rolling along.
Benson rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown and Vince Young passed for three scores to his tight ends for Texas, which came in with the nation's No. 1 rushing attack and pounded the Owls on the ground from the start, grinding out 339 yards.
No. 8 Florida 41, Clemson 22
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Wyatt Sexton threw for 162 yards and a touchdown after replacing an injured Chris Rix, and No. 8 Florida State forced five turnovers in a 41-22 victory over Clemson on Saturday.
Rix sprained his right ankle late in the first quarter and was able to return, but spent the rest of the game on the sideline watching Sexton direct the offense.
Sexton, a redshirt sophomore, completed 17 of 26 passes with a 47-yard scoring pass to Chauncey Stovall -- the Seminoles' first TD pass of the season.
No. 9 Auburn 33, The Citadel 3
AUBURN, Ala. -- Jason Campbell passed for 194 yards in the first half and Auburn coasted in breather between a pair of high-stakes contests.
The Tigers (4-0) had no problem overcoming a few sloppy plays against the Division I-AA Bulldogs (0-2) in a tuneup for next week's showdown at No. 11 Tennessee. They have a six-game winning streak for the first time since opening the 1997 season 6-0 .
No. 11 Tennessee 42, Louisiana Tech 17
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Erik Ainge threw three touchdown passes and Cedric Houston ran for 160 yards and two more scores for Tennessee.
The Volunteers (3-0) started slow but broke open the game in the second quarter to catch a breather between a crucial win over Florida last week and a meeting with No. 9 Auburn next week.
No. 13 LSU 51, Mississippi State 0
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Alley Broussard ran for a career-high three touchdowns in the first 17 minutes and LSU held Mississippi State to seven first downs and 130.
The Tigers (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) rolled up 594 yards and led 34-0 at half.
No. 14 Utah 49, Air Force 35
SALT LAKE CITY -- Marty Johnson tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns and Utah held off Air Force for its best start in 10 years.
Johnson, who had 20 carries for 68 yards, became the fourth Utah player to score four TDs and Alex Smith added a rushing score and passed for two more. Smith completed 13 of 23 passes for 260 yards and had 13 carries for 84 yards.
No. 16 Florida, 20, Kentucky 3
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With Hurricane Jeanne approaching, Florida squeezed in its game against Kentucky and beat the Wildcats 20-3 Saturday behind Ciatrick Fason's career-high 210 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Kickoff was moved up 61/2 hours to 11:30 a.m. because of the growing storm, which bore down on the state's Atlantic coast with winds near 115 mph. Three million people were told to evacuate.
No. 23 Maryland 55, Duke 21
DURHAM, N.C. -- Joel Statham threw four touchdown passes to offset a host of mistakes and Maryland piled up 685 yards in total offense.
Vernon Davis caught three of the TDs -- the first of his career -- and Rich Parson had the other as Maryland (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its fifth straight over the Blue Devils (0-4, 0-2).
No. 24 Louisville 34, North Carolina 0
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Eric Shelton ran for three touchdowns and Louisville earned its second shutout of the season.
Shelton rushed for 86 yards to lead the Cardinals, who improved to 3-0 for the second straight season under coach Bobby Petrino. Brian Brohm added a touchdown run and Michael Bush ran for 82 yards.