Johnny Football and SEC newbie Texas A&M took down the biggest bully in their new neighborhood and left No. 1 Alabama with badly bruised national title hopes.
Johnny Manziel, better known around Texas as Johnny Football, staked the No. 15 Aggies to a three-touchdown lead in the first quarter, and Texas A&M held on to beat the Crimson Tide 29-24 yesterday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Aggies (8-2, 5-2) also might have ended the SEC’s run of BCS titles at six years — though Alabama (9-1, 6-1) can win the conference’s Western Division and a berth in the conference title game by beating Auburn on Nov. 24.
The defending national champion Crimson Tide didn’t go quietly. AJ McCarron threw one touchdown pass and motored the ball downfield before Deshazor Everett intercepted his fourth-down pass at the goal line with 1:36 left.
After the pick, Alabama forced a punt with less than a minute left, but the Tide was penalized for offsides, giving the Aggies a first down and a chance to kneel out the clock.
Oregon 59, California 17
In Berkeley, Calif., Marcus Mariota overcame a brief injury to throw for a career-high 377 yards and tie a school record with six touchdown passes as No. 2 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Pac-12) made a case for the top ranking in the country by pounding California (3-8, 2-6).
Kansas St. 23, TCU 10
In Fort Worth, Texas, Collin Klein ran for two touchdowns and No. 3 Kansas State (10-0, 7-0 Big 12)beat conference newcomer TCU (6-4, 3-4) to improve to 10-0 for only the second time under coach Bill Snyder.
Georgia 38, Auburn 0
In Auburn, Ala., freshman tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each ran for more than 100 yards and No. 5 Georgia (9-1, 7-1 SEC) overwhelmed the Tigers (2-8, 0-7), sending the Bulldogs back to the SEC championship game as Eastern Division champs.
Florida 27, La.-Lafayette 20
In Gainesville, Fla., Jelani Jenkins returned a blocked punt 36 yards for a touchdown with two seconds remaining, capping a comeback and giving No. 7 Florida (9-1) the victory over upset-minded Louisiana-Lafayette (5-4) after losing quarterback Jeff Driskel to an ankle injury.
LSU 37, Mississippi St. 17
In Baton Rouge, La., Zach Mettenberger passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 9 LSU (8-2, 4-2 SEC) kept alive faint hope of a conference title with the win over No. 23 Mississippi State (7-3, 3-3).
Syracuse 45, Louisville 26
In Syracuse, Ryan Nassib threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, and the Orange (5-5, 3-3 Big East) handed No. 11 Louisville (9-1, 4-1) its first loss of the season.
Stanford 27, Oregon St. 23
In Stanford, Calif., Kevin Hogan threw three touchdowns in his first collegiate start, and the No. 16 Cardinal (8-2, 6-1 Pac-12) rallied past No. 13 Oregon State (7-2, 5-2).
Nebraska 32, Penn St. 23
In Lincoln, Neb., the No. 18 Cornhuskers (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) overcame a double-digit, second-half deficit for the fourth time this season and beat Penn State (6-4, 4-2).
Texas 33, Iowa St. 7
In Austin, Texas, David Ash passed for 364 yards and two touchdowns and No. 19 Texas (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) honored former the memory of late coach Darrell Royal by whipping Iowa State (5-5, 2-5).
Texas paid tribute during the game to Royal, who died Wednesday at age 88. The Longhorns lined up in the wishbone, the formation Royal introduced to college football in 1968, on their first play. Instead of a run, Texas ran a trick play that resulted in a 47-yard pass.
USC 38, Arizona St. 17
In Los Angeles, Marqise Lee caught 10 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, Curtis McNeal rushed for 163 yards and two more scores, and No. 21 Southern California (7-3, 5-3 Pac-12) bounced back from consecutive losses to top Arizona State (5-5, 3-4).
In other games: No. 10 Clemson routed Maryland, 45-10; No. 12 South Carolina beat Arkansas, 38-20; No. 14 Oklahoma outgunned Baylor, 42-34; No. 18 UCLA held off Washington State, 44-36; No. 19 Louisiana Tech topped Texas State, 62-55; and No. 25 Texas Tech outlasted Kansas, 41-34 in two overtimes.