Sports

Irish rally, then outlast Pitt in OT

Notre Dame, trailing 20-6 in the fourth quarter, was going to need some big plays and a little luck to stay undefeated and keep its national title hopes alive.

It got just enough of both.

Everett Golson scored on a quarterback sneak in the third overtime as the No. 4 Fighting Irish came back from a 14-point deficit and beat Pittsburgh 29-26 in South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame (9-0) is off to its best start since 1993. Pitt (4-5) missed a potential game-winning field goal in overtime.

Golson re-entered the game after being replaced by Tommy Rees and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame cut Pitt’s lead to 20-12. Notre Dame’s chances for a comeback appeared to end when Pitt cornerback K’Waun Williams intercepted a pass by Golson in the end zone.

But the Irish defense held, and Golson completed a 45-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels to the Pitt 5. Golson then threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick and ran in for the two-point conversion to tie the game.

Oregon 62, USC 51

In Los Angeles, Kenjon Barner rushed for a school-record 321 yards and five touchdowns, Marcus Mariota threw four TD passes (two to Josh Huff), and No. 2 Oregon (9-0, 6-0 Pac-12) produced another landmark offensive performance in a wild win over No. 18 Southern California (6-3, 4-3).

The Ducks outlasted the Trojans in a back-and-forth second half to extend their winning streak to 12 games. Oregon’s 730 yards and 62 points were the most ever allowed by USC, which began playing football in 1888.

Georgia 37, Mississippi 10

In Athens, Ga., Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes and No. 7 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) overcame an early 10-0 deficit to beat Mississippi (5-4, 2-3) and move one win away from a spot in the conference championship game.

The Bulldogs can clinch the SEC East title and second straight trip to the conference championship game with a win at Auburn next week.

Florida 14, Missouri 7

In Gainesville, Fla., Mike Gillislee took a screen pass and went 45 yards for a touchdown, and No. 8 Florida (8-1, 7-1 SEC) survived a scare to beat conference newcomer Missouri (4-5, 1-5).

The Gators turned two short fields into second-half touchdowns, with Omarius Hines scoring on a 36-yard jet sweep to tie the game in the third quarter before Gillislee put Florida ahead for good in the fourth.

TCU 39, West Virginia 38 (2OT)

In Morgantown, W.Va., Corey Fuller caught a 25-yard touchdown pass and Trevone Boykin threw to Josh Boyce for the 2-point conversion, lifting TCU (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) to a double-overtime win over No. 23 West Virginia (5-3, 2-3).

The Mountaineers had gone ahead on Geno Smith’s 25-yard TD pass to Stedman Bailey, his third of the game. West Virginia led 21-14 at halftime, but was held to 126 yards in the second half and overtime.

Kansas St. 44, Oklahoma St. 30

In Manhattan, Kan., Collin Klein piled up more than 300 yards of offense and rushed for a touchdown before leaving in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury, and No. 3 Kansas State (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) remained unbeaten with the victory over Oklahoma State (5-3, 3-2).

Louisville 45, Temple 17

In Louisville, Ky., Teddy Bridgewater threw a career-high five touchdown passes and the No. 12 Cardinals (9-0, 4-0 Big East) fell behind for the sixth straight game, but came back to beat Temple (3-5, 2-3).

Oklahoma 35, Iowa St. 20

In Ames, Iowa, Landry Jones threw for 405 yards and a season-high four touchdowns and No. 14 Oklahoma (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) beat Iowa State (5-4, 2-4), moving coach Bob Stoops into a second-place tie with Bud Wilkinson on the Sooners’ career win list with 154, 12 shy of Barry Switzer.

Nebraska 28, Michigan St. 24

In East Lansing, Mich., Taylor Martinez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Turner with six seconds left, giving No. 21 Nebraska (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) the win over Michigan State (5-5, 2-4).

In other games, No. 6 Ohio State easily beat Illinois, 52-22; No. 10 Clemson rolled over Duke, 56-20; No. 15 Stanford shut out Colorado, 48-0; No. 16 Texas A&M routed No. 17 Mississippi State, 38-13; Texas upset No. 20 Texas Tech, 31-22; and No. 22 Louisiana Tech blasted Texas-San Antonio 51-27.