Iowa downs PSU; Alabama cruises

Associated Press

IOWa City, Iowa

Ricky Stanzi threw for 227 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, and No. 17 Iowa overwhelmed 22nd-ranked Penn State 24-3 on Saturday night for its third straight win over the Nittany Lions.

Adam Robinson added 95 yards rushing for the Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten), who recorded their biggest win ever over Penn State.

Iowa raced out to a 17-0 lead late in the first half on Stanzi’s 9-yard TD pass to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (Campbell/Mooney High) and his 1-yard plunge. The Hawkeyes stopped Rob Bolden on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the third quarter, and Shaun Prater returned an interception 33 yards for a TD with 1:27 left.

Bolden had 212 yards passing for Penn State (3-2, 0-1), which has scored just six points in a pair of road losses to Alabama and the Hawkeyes.

Iowa’s 21-point victory surpassed its 19-0 win over the Nittany Lions in 1930.

The Hawkeyes needed fourth-quarter rallies to upset Penn State in each of the last two seasons. This time, favored Iowa jumped ahead early and let its defense finish things off.

No. 1 Alabama 31 No. 7 Florida 6

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.

Mark Ingram scored two touchdowns, C.J. Mosley returned an interception 35 yards for a score and the top-ranked Crimson Tide overwhelmed Florida.

Round 2 between the last two national champions could come in Atlanta in early December at the SEC title game. Alabama (5-0, 2-0) certainly looked like a team on its way to another championship season.

In front of a 101,821 at a blaring Bryant-Denny Stadium, coach Nick Saban’s Tide rolled to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter behind Ingram’s two short TD runs and a defense that was buzzing around the ball.

After the Gators (4-1, 2-1) chipped it down to 24-6 in the middle of the third quarter, Mosley picked off a short pass by a hurried John Brantley into the middle of the field, and raced to the end zone for a score that all but wrapped up Alabama’s 19th straight victory.

Notre Dame 31, Boston college 13

BOSTON

Dayne Crist threw for two first-quarter touchdowns and ran for another as Notre Dame built a 21-point lead and coasted.

The Fighting Irish (2-3) had lost three straight games — all to teams currently in The Associated Press Top 25. But they got little resistance from Boston College (2-2), which promoted freshman Chase Rettig to starting quarterback during the week only to lose him to an ankle injury early in the second quarter.

Crist completed 24 of 44 passes for 203 yards. Armando Allen ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.