It took them 59 minutes and 59 seconds, but the sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes escaped, literally escaped, ninth-ranked Notre Dame Saturday night with a 16-14 victory.
Now, the winning touchdown was scored with 10 men on the field on defense (Notre Dame Had 10 Men on Field for Ohio State’s Go-Ahead Touchdown Run) – but that’s water under the bridge now.
The Irish are no longer unbeaten, although they likely will fall only a spot or two, if that, in the polls, considering the fashion in which they lost.
Here’s an official game story from The Associated Press: No. 6 Ohio State plunges for touchdown with 1 second left to beat No. 9 Notre Dame 17-14).
For early Saturday games, check out our report that begins on the home page, or click this link (FSU tops Clemson in OT; ‘Bama says “Shhh, haters;” Oregon slams Colorado, and more early Saturday results | The Football Beat).
Some of the other scores from the games that began later on Saturday:
No. 1 Georgia beat Alabama-Birmingham, scoring 21 second-quarter points to blow the game open. (Bowers catches 2 of Beck’s 3 scoring passes to power No. 1 Georgia past UAB, 49-21)
No. 3 Texas were rude guests at McLane Stadium in Waco, powering past Baylor, 38-6, in the Big 12 Conference opener for both (Brooks and defense lead No. 3 Texas into final Big 12 season with dominant 38-6 win at Baylor).
No. 5 Southern Cal got a fairly good night from quarterback Caleb Williams and outlasted Arizona State, 42-28 (No. 5 USC finally puts away Arizona State 42-28)
No. 7 Penn State crushed Iowa, 31-0, as the power of the white-out continues. (Penn State Defeats Iowa 31-0 in a Dominant Big Ten Football Victory)
No. 8 Washington outscored Cal, 45-12, in the first half, and then put it on cruise control for a 59-32 win in Pac-12 play. (Cal Game Summary: No. 8 Washington Clobbers the Bears 59-32).
No. 12 LSU struggled mightily with Arkansas – like needed a field goal as time expired to win (Daniels’ 4 TD passes, Ramos’ late kick lift No. 12 LSU over Arkansas, 34-31)
No. 14 Oregon State went down to No. 21 Washington State, 38-35, but not without a heck of a fight. Oregon might have a little something to say about the following headline the AP put on the story, though. (Pac-2 Champs? No. 21 Washington State tops No. 14 Oregon State 38-35)
No. 17 North Carolina topped Pittsburgh, 41-24, remaining unbeaten, as Drake Maye got cute and threw a left-handed touchdown pass (assuming, of course, that he’s normally right-handed). (Drake Maye throws 296 yards, completes left-handed TD pass as No. 17 UNC beats Pitt 41-24).
No. 25 Florida beat Charlotte, 22-7, and now Charlotte has three losses to go with three questions (Charlotte 49ers coach Biff Poggi fired up after only receiving three questions). Sorry, couldn’t resist. I was actually sitting front-row for this, although it’s not my video. Here’s the game story: No. 25 Florida settles for field goals and beats Charlotte 22-7 in Swamp
In other scores from later games Saturday, TCU held off SMU, 34-17; New Mexico beat UMass, 34-31; Iowa State topped Oklahoma State, 34-27; South Florida beat Rice, 42-29; Georgia Tech beat Wake Forest, 30-16; Colorado State beat Middle Tennessee, 31-23; Arizona edged out 1-3 Stanford, 21-20; Tulane beat Nicholls, 36-7; Wyoming topped Appalachian State, 22-19; Arkansas State beat Southern Miss, 44-37; Indiana just about didn’t beat Akron, but did, 29-27; Missouri held off Memphis, 34-27; Northwestern beat Minnesota in overtime, 37-34; South Carolina almost needed overtime, but held off Mississippi State, 37-30 in spite of a ridiculous night by Griffin: seven catches for 256 yards and a touchdown; Louisiana beat Buffalo, 45-38; Kansas State “welcomed” Central Florida to the Big 12 by dealing them a 44-31 loss; James Madison beat Utah State, 45-38; UNLV beat UTEP, 45-28; Kent State – Nick Saban U – lost to Fresno State, 53-10; and Hawai’i edged out New Mexico State by a field goal, 20-17.
