No. 2 Ohio State beats No. 9 Penn State to take Big Ten East

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — J.K. Dobbins rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Ohio State locked up the Big Ten East title Saturday, surviving its first real test of the season with a 28-17 victory over No. 9 Penn State.

The Buckeyes held on after Penn State (9-2, 7-2) took advantage of two second-half turnovers to climb back into the game in the third quarter after going down 21-0. This was a far different scenario for Ohio State, which blew out its first 10 opponents.

The Buckeyes (10-0, 8-0 Big Ten) were clinging to a 21-17 lead early in the fourth quarter when Justin Fields threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave to create some breathing room.

The Ohio State defense, with Chase Young back from a two-game suspension, then shut down two late Penn State drives on fourth down. The last drive included back-to-back sacks of backup quarterback Will Levis by Young and linebacker Baron Browning.

Fields fumbled away the ball twice, once as he was crossing the goal line for an apparent touchdown. But he got critical yards on the ground, rushing for 68 yards on 21 carries and threw beautiful second half touchdown passes to K.J. Hill and Olave.

Dobbins was responsible for both first-half touchdowns, a 4-yard plunge in the first quarter and a 2-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 2 minutes left in the half. He finished the first half with 89 rushing yards.

NO. 5 ALABAMA 6, WESTERN CAROLINA 3

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mac Jones passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in little more than a half and Alabama began life without Tua Tagovailoa with a romp over Western Carolina.

With Tagovailoa watching much of the game from a cart behind the bench, the Crimson Tide (10-1) treated its injured quarterback to a one-sided show against the Catamounts (3-9). Alabama is ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings and hoping to somehow make the field despite failing to win the SEC West.

This one was about taking care of business five days after Tagovailoa underwent surgery on his right hip. It wasn’t the type of game for impressing the selection committee.

Alabama forced five turnovers, including Xavier McKinney’s 81-yard interception return for a touchdown, and got big plays from Jones and wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. Jones completed 10 of 12 passes with only one attempt after halftime in his second career start. Smith had four catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yarder when he juked a defender before sprinting to the end zone. Waddle produced 101 yards and took a screen 54 yards for a touchdown, then returned a punt 49 yards to near the goal line.

NO. 11 MINNESOTA 38, NORTHWESTERN 22

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Tanner Morgan led Minnesota to scores on its first three possessions and finished with four touchdown passes, and the Gophers bounced back from their first loss of the season.

The Gophers (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP), who lost at Iowa last week, strengthened their grip on first place in the West Division.

Morgan, the Big Ten’s leading passer, came out firing following a week in concussion protocol after absorbing back-to-back sacks by the Hawkeyes. The redshirt sophomore, listed as questionable until Saturday morning, has thrown 26 touchdown passes this season to set a school record. Morgan threw three TD passes to Rashod Bateman and one to Tyler Johnson against Northwestern (2-9, 0-8).

Morgan zipped a 19-yard TD pass to Bateman in the corner of the end zone to end a 10-play, 56-yard drive on Minnesota’s first possession. After Shannon Brooks ran in from 9 yards, Morgan hit Bateman for a 10-yard TD and 21-0 lead. Bateman’s other TD catch was a 7-yarder in the third quarter.

NO. 15 NOTRE DAME 39, BOSTON COLLEGE 7

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Ian Book threw three touchdown passes and Notre Dame corralled Boston College star running back AJ Dillon.

The fourth straight victory by the Fighting Irish (9-2, No. 15 CFP) completed their second straight unbeaten season (7-0) at Notre Dame Stadium, where they have won 18 straight. But for the second straight week, the stadium was not filled after a streak of 273 sellouts since 1973. The announced crowd of 71,827 was 5,795 short of capacity.

Leading 16-7 at halftime thanks to Jonathan Doerer’s field goals of 47, 20 and 45 yards, the Irish scored 17 points in the third quarter to bury the Eagles (5-6). Dillon, a 250-pound junior who had 1,451 yards entering the game, was held to 56 yards on 14 carries.NO. 16 AUBURN 52, SAMFORD 0

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn held Samford to 114 yards and forced four turnovers, JaTarvious Whitlow scored twice and the Tigers tuned up for the Iron Bowl against Alabama with a rain-drenched rout.

Auburn (8-3) forced and recovered a fumble on a fourth-and-4 on Samford’s opening drive, the first of three turnovers and a trio of three-and-outs across Samford’s first six possessions. The Tigers had 13 tackles for loss and held Samford to 2 yards per play, 2 of 13 on third down as Auburn’s defensive starters were benched a few minutes into the third quarter.

Samford (5-7) had scored in 213 straight games.

As the rain increased, so, too, did Auburn’s offensive production. After a seven-point first quarter in which they struggled to convert third downs and had a 43-yard field goal blocked, the Tigers had 193 yards of offense and 24 points in the second. Whitlow and D.J. Williams accounted for 130 yards from scrimmage in the first half and Williams added his second touchdown of the season in the third quarter.

After completing 15 of 23 passes for 150 yards and a score, Bo Nix’s day also was done early in the third quarter.

NO. 19 IOWA 19, ILLINOIS 10

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nate Stanley threw for 308 yards and Keith Duncan kicked four field goals to set a Big Ten-season mark in Iowa’s victory over Illinois.

The Hawkeyes (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) also forced three turnovers against the team that came into the game leading the nation in turnover margin. Brandon Peters had two passes intercepted and a lost a fourth-quarter fumble for the Illini (6-5, 4-4).

Iowa held Illinois to its lowest point total of the season, a week after doing the same thing to Minnesota. Illinois had 198 rushing yards and held the Hawkeyes to 79 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Illini got into Iowa territory on three consecutive possessions in the second half, but only got a field goal.

Duncan had field goals of 23, 45, 24 and 29 yards to make it 27 this season for the conference record.

NO. 22 OKLAHOMA STATE 20, WEST VIRGINIA 12

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Dru Brown threw two touchdown passes in his first start, Chuba Hubbard surpassed 100 yards rushing for the ninth consecutive game and Oklahoma State beat West Virginia.

Brown and national rushing leader Hubbard generated just enough offense to help the Cowboys (8-3, 5-3 Big 12, No. 21 CFP) win their fourth straight game. Hubbard ran 26 times for 106 yards, far below his 173-yard average, but he showed off his receiving skills.

He took a screen pass and ran 46 yards to set up Oklahoma State’s first touchdown. Hubbard finished with seven catches for 88 yards, both career highs. Hubbard entered the game with 82 receiving yards all season.

West Virginia dropped to 2-6 in the Big 12 and 4-7 overall.

NO. 23 APPALACHIAN STATE 35, TEXAS STATE 13

BOONE, N.C. (AP) — Darrynton Evans ran for 154 yards and three second-half touchdowns for Appalachian State.

Zac Thomas threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns to help the Mountaineers (10-1, 6-1 Sun Belt) improve to 30-6 at home since becoming an FBS team in 2014. Tyler Vitt threw for 154 yards and a touchdown for Texas State (3-8, 2-5).

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