Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder throws a pass in the first half against Tulane on Saturday in New Orleans. Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Desmond Ridder twice connected with tight end Josh Whyle for touchdowns, and No. 2 Cincinnati remained unbeaten with a 31-12 victory Saturday over a struggling but feisty Tulane squad that kept the game competitive deep into the second half.
Jerome Ford rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown – his 14th this season – for Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference), which briefly trailed in the second quarter and led by just two points at halftime.
Ridder passed for 227 yards and three touchdowns to go with his 47 yards rushing, but also was sacked in the end zone for a safety and intercepted. Whyle caught four passes for 79 yards.
Tulane (1-6, 0-4), which was playing without starting quarterback Michael Pratt because of his concussion during last weeks loss at SMU, lost its sixth straight, but did have a few standout performances.
(1) GEORGIA 34, FLORIDA 7: No. 1 Georgia and its top-ranked defense dominated Florida (4-4, 2-4), scoring three touchdowns off turnovers in a 12-play sequence that turned “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” into another lopsided affair, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Georgia (8-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) won its 12th consecutive game since getting steamrolled in Jacksonville a year ago. The Bulldogs’ injury-riddled defense allowed 571 yards in that one, the most in coach Kirby Smart’s six seasons.
Georgia vowed to not let it happen again and responded with another demoralizing effort that might be their most impressive all season.
(4) OKLAHOMA 52, TEXAS TECH 21: Caleb Williams threw for 402 yards and six touchdowns and the Sooners (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) finally put together a complete game, rolling past the Red Raiders (5-4, 2-4) in Norman, Oklahoma.
The true freshman quarterback tied Kyler Murray and Landry Jones for the second-most touchdown passes in a game in school history. Baker Mayfield threw seven against Texas Tech in 2016.
Marvin Mims caught four passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and Mario Williams had five receptions for 100 yards and a score to help the Sooners extend their nation-leading winning streak to 17 games.
(7) OREGON 52, COLORADO 29: Anthony Brown Jr. threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns, and the Ducks (7-1, 6-1 Pac-12) amassed a season-high 568 total yards in a victory over the Buffaloes (2-5, 1-4) in Eugene, Oregon.
Travis Dye ran for two touchdowns and caught another for Oregon, which extended its winning streak at Autzen Stadium to 17 games.
Brendon Lewis threw for 224 yards and three TDs for the Buffaloes who were outmatched by the Ducks. Brenden Rice, son of San Francisco 49ers great Jerry Rice, had 102 yards receiving and a touchdown.
(8) MICHIGAN STATE 37, (6) MICHIGAN 33: Kenneth Walker rushed for 197 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Spartans (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) top the Wolverines (7-1, 4-1) for a thrilling comeback win in East Lansign, Michigan.
The Spartans trailed by nine at halftime and 30-14 with 6:47 left in the third quarter before Walker boosted his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy.
Walker’s fifth touchdown — a 23-yard run — lifted the Spartans to a 37-33 lead with 5:08 remaining.
The Wolverines forced a final punt and had the ball at their 33 with 1:15 and no timeouts left.
WISCONSIN 27, (9) IOWA 7: Graham Mertz scored on two quarterback sneaks and threw a touchdown pass to help the Badgers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) trounce the Hawkeyes (6-2, 3-2) for their fourth consecutive victory, Madison, Wisconsin.
(18) AUBURN 31, (10) OLE MISS 20: Bo Nix passed for 276 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores and No. 18 Auburn’s defense made a number of big stops as the Tigers (6-2, 4-1 SEC) beat the Rebels (6-2, 3-2) in Auburn, Alabama.
The Tigers remained the top challenger to No. 3 Alabama in the Western Division with Nix winning a quarterback duel with Heisman candidate Matt Corral.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 31, (12) KENTUCKY 17: Dillon Johnson ran for two touchdowns and the Bulldogs (5-3, 3-2 SEC) scored 14 points off of four Kentucky turnovers to beat the No. 12 Wildcats (6-2, 4-2) in Starkville, Mississippi.
The Bulldogs came up big with three interceptions of Will Levis and a fumble recovery. They turned a third-quarter fumble and pickoff into consecutive touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
(13) WAKE FOREST 45, DUKE 7: Sam Hartman continued his recent tear by accounting for five touchdowns to help No. 13 Wake Forest (8-0, 5-0 ACC) beat the Blue Devils (3-5, 0-4) giving the Demon Deacons their best start in program history.
(15) OKLAHOMA STATE 55, KANSAS 3: Spencer Sanders threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 53 yards and a score, all in the first half, to lead the Cowboys (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) to a dominating victory over the Jayhawks (1-7, 0-5) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Jaylen Warren added 69 yards rushing on just nine carries and backup running back Dominic Richardson gained 79 yards and a touchdown on 11 rushes for Oklahoma State .
MIAMI 38, (17) PITTSBURGH 34: Miami freshman Tyler Van Dyke outdueled Heisman Trophy candidate Kenny Pickett, throwing for 426 yards and three touchdowns as the Hurricanes (4-4, 2-2 ACC) beat Pickett and the Panthers (6-2, 3-1) in Pittsburgh.
Van Dyke completed 31 of 41 passes for the three scores and an interception as Miami (4-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated a ranked opponent for a second straight week.
(16) BAYLOR 31, TEXAS 24: Baylor tight end Ben Sims had a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter before Abram Smith spun away for a 32-yard scamper to the end zone in a win, when the 16th-ranked Bears (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) became the third team in a row to overcome a double-digit deficit to beat the Longhorns (4-4, 2-3) in Waco, Texas.
WEST VIRGINIA 38, (22) IOWA STATE 31: Jarret Doege threw three touchdown passes, Leddie Brown ran for two scores and the Mountaineers (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) upset the Cyclones (5-3, 3-2) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
WILLIAM & MARY 31, VILLANOVA 18: Bronson Yoder ran for 106 yards and a touchdown and the William & Mary defense picked off four passes, leading the Tribe (6-2, 4-1 CAA) to a win over the Wildcats (6-2, 4-1) in Philadelphia.
TOWSON 38, ALBANY 24: Mark Collins returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown to highlight a 21-point second quarter and the Tigers (4-4, 3-2 CAA) went on to defeat the Great Danes (0-8, 0-6) in Towson, Maryland.
RICHMOND 35, NEW HAMPSHIRE 21: Joe Mancuso threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Aaron Dykes and the Spiders (3-5, 1-4) rallied to beat the Wildcats (3-5, 2-3) in Durham, New Hampshire.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.