Alex McPherson kicks 34-yard field goal as time expires to lift Auburn over No. 1 Georgia
Florida players celebrate their win over Texas in an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Alex McPherson kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired and Auburn, led by quarterback Byrum Brown’s dominant running game, upset No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday.
It’s the second straight week the top team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked foe after then-No. 1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton led a long game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter but lost a fumble with 58 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs driving for a potential go-ahead field goal.
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Alex McPherson kicks 34-yard field goal as time expires to lift Auburn over No. 1 Georgia
Florida players celebrate their win over Texas in an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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By The Associated Press
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Alex McPherson kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired and Auburn, led by quarterback Byrum Brown’s dominant running game, upset No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday.
It’s the second straight week the top team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked foe after then-No. 1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton led a long game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter but lost a fumble with 58 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs driving for a potential go-ahead field goal.
Stockton, who also threw two interceptions, fumbled on a run from the Auburn 46. Safety Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered for the Tigers at the Auburn 44. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Georgia’s Gabe Harris Jr. helped set up McPherson’s game-winning kick. Auburn players swarmed the field.
Brown ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and added a scoring pass.
Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) saw its streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams come to an end in a loss that also will end the Bulldogs’ short one-week stay atop the AP Top 25.
NO. 8 BYU 28, NO. 2 NOTRE DAME 24
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Bear Bachmeier threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:47 left and then BYU stopped Notre Dame at the goal line to preserve a riveting victory.
The thriller capped a wild Saturday in which five of the top 8 teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same regular-season day for the first time, per Sportradar. Paired with No. 1 Georgia’s 27-24 loss to Auburn, the top two teams in the country lost on the same day for the first time in the regular season since Nov. 17, 2012.
Bachmeier ran for two TDs, caught another and had 224 yards passing to help the Cougars (6-0) beat the Irish for the first time since 2004. Preston Rex added 66 yards on 10 carries to help BYU start 6-0 for the third consecutive season.
After Bachmeier’s go-ahead score, CJ Carr completed several clutch passes to drive the Irish (6-1) into Cougar territory, including a fourth-down pass to Micah Gilbert that put Notre Dame at the BYU 9 with four seconds left. His final pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
NO. 3 MIAMI 43, FLORIDA ST. 35, 2OT
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP ) — Darian Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, the last of them a 3-yarder to Malachi Toney in the second overtime, and Miami held on to beat archrival Florida State in a back-and-forth classic.
Toney had 11 catches for 154 yards and two scores, plus threw a 2-point conversion pass to Cooper Barkate after his OT score for Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Bryce Fitzgerald sealed the win with an interception for the Hurricanes on the final play.
Mensah completed 23 of 34 passes for Miami, which has now won seven of its last 10 games against the Seminoles. Javian Mallory rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including one in the first OT and Mark Fletcher Jr. added a rushing score for the Hurricanes.
Ashton Daniels threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns for Florida State (3-4, 1-3). Duce Robinson had a pair of TD catches late, including a 75-yarder that tied the game with 2:49 left in regulation and a 20-yard score to open the first overtime.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 19, NO. 5 INDIANA 15
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Julian Sayin threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith on fourth down early in the fourth quarter Saturday, and Ohio State survived what appeared to be the go-ahead score when Nick Marsh’s left foot was ruled to be out of bounds as the Buckeyes beat Indiana 19-15.
The victory ended Indiana’s winning streak at 22 and home winning streak at 19. They were the two longest active streaks in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
But the victory could prove costly for Ohio State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten). Sayin appeared to injure his right arm in the fourth quarter, left the game and watched the final minutes from the sideline wearing a sling.
Indiana sure didn’t go down easily in the rematch of last year’s Big Ten championship game. Trailing 19-7 after Smith’s TD catch, the injured Josh Hoover responded by finding Nick Marsh on a 19-yard TD pass and Turbo Richard on the 2-point conversion to make it 19-15 with 10:30 to go.
It looked like he did it again on fourth-and-4 from the Buckeyes 27-yard line when he hooked up with a wide open Marsh in the front corner of the end zone. The fireworks even went off, but Marsh’s left foot came down out of bounds and he put his hands on his helmet, knowing what happened. It was first home loss in coach Curt Cignetti’s three seasons and the first top-five matchup in Memorial Stadium history.
NO. 14 TENNESSEE 26, NO. 6 ALABAMA 10
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — DeSean Bishop rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, lifting Tennessee over Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (5-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) have lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time since 2007 after also losing to No. 1 Georgia last week.
The Volunteers (6-1, 3-1) relied on a stout defense and the steady play of quarterback George MacIntyre (197 passing yards) to win their third straight game. Alabama had just 201 yards of total offense, including 54 rushing, and turned the ball over four times.
Tennessee has won three of its last five games against Alabama following a run of 15 consecutive defeats. All three of those wins came at home.
Crimson Tide quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 147 yards and scored the only touchdown on a 19-yard run. Alabama lost two fumbles, and Russell threw two interceptions.
FLORIDA 27, NO. 7 TEXAS 24
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Florida quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. threw two touchdowns to Lacota Dippre in his first career start, Jadan Baugh scored a fourth-quarter touchdown and the Gators rallied to beat Texas 27-24 and hand the Longhorns their second consecutive loss.
Florida had risen as high as No. 8 after a 4-0 start under first-year coach Jon Sumrall before consecutive blowout losses, but delivered what could be a season-saving victory.
The Gators defense, ranked last the Southeastern Conference, shut down Texas quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns offense, holding Texas under 300 yards of total offense.
Jones started in place of injured Aaron Philo and after a slow start led a methodical Gators offense that rallied from a 17-3 deficit in the second quarter.
His first touchdown pass cut the Texas lead to 17-10 with 18 seconds left in second quarter. The second capped a 15-play drive that chewed up eight minutes of the third.
A 28-yard field goal by Patrick Durkin gave Florida its first lead before Baugh broke outside for an 11-yard touchdown.
Texas quickly answered on Manning’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman. That score came after Manning avoided a sack on a fourth down and found Emmett Mosley V for 62 yards to set up the TD pass.
Texas led 17-3 in the second quarter after Ryan Niblett returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, the third of his career.
Florida rallied to tie it on a pair of touchdown passes from Jones to Dippre. The first came with 18 seconds left in the first half and the second capped a 15-play drive that took eight minutes of the third quarter.
NO. 9 MISSISSIPPI 31, NO. 13 MISSOURI 3
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Trinidad Chambliss threw for three touchdowns and ran for another Saturday as Mississippi beat Missouri.
Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1 SEC) was never seriously threatened after trailing 3-0 in the opening 10 minutes. Chambliss had a five-yard touchdown run and finished 20-of-36 passing for 241 yards, including touchdown passes of 10, 21 and 17 yards to Caleb Odom, Horatio Fields and Caleb Cunningham.
Missouri (5-2, 2-2) trailed 21-3 at halftime and did not reach the red zone in the second half until the final two minutes. Jamal Roberts, after consecutive 200-plus yards rushing performances, rushed for 39 yards on 20 carries.
Kewan Lacy finished with 122 yards on 16 carries, primarily in the second half as the Rebels pulled away. Makhi Frazier added 101 yards on 15 rushes as Ole Miss finished with 498 yards of total offense, 257 on the ground.
NO. 10 TEXAS TECH 53, ARIZONA ST. 25
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — J’Koby Williams ran for a career-high 165 yards with two long touchdowns after an early fumble, Ben Roberts returned an interception for a touchdown and Texas Tech overwhelmed Arizona State in a matchup of the past two Big 12 champions.
The reigning champion Red Raiders (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) broke a school record with their eighth consecutive regular-season conference victory, since a 26-22 loss last year at Arizona State. Their 12th home win in a row is one short of the longest streak in school history set in 1942.
Texas Tech led for good on Roberts’ 24-yard pick-6, the fourth time in three games a Red Raiders linebacker returned an interception for a touchdown. That came three plays after Williams’ fumble at the Sun Devils 2 on the 13th play of the game’s opening possession.
The Red Raiders scored on the last seven drives of the first half, with four TDs and three field goals by Stone Harrington (31, 42 and 37 yards) for a 43-10 halftime lead. They already had 404 of their 502 total yards by then.
Reed Harris had his Big 12-leading eighth TD catch for Arizona State (3-3, 1-2) on the first drive after halftime, on a 2-yard pass from backup Mikey Keene.
NO. 12 UCLA 17, WISCONSIN 7
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach was 22 of 33 for 264 yards in his first start as a Bruin, Wayne Knight and Anthony Woods each ran for touchdowns, and UCLA beat Wisconsin to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2022.
Bob Chesney is the first UCLA coach to begin his tenure with that many wins. The Bruins (4-0 Big Ten) were without starting QB Nico Iamaleava, who injured his leg last week at Oregon.
Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) closed to 10-7 on quarterback Colton Joseph’s 3-yard TD run in the third quarter, when the Badgers dominated after being held scoreless in the first half.
Joseph finished 6 of 16 for 66 yards passing. He was the Badgers’ leading rusher with 18 carries for 71 yards.
NO. 15 KENTUCKY 21, OKLAHOMA 13
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kenny Minchey threw two touchdown passes, Jordan Castell returned an interception 41 yards for a score and Kentucky rallied in the second half to beat Oklahoma and move into a tie for the Southeastern Conference lead.
Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC) has won five straight and pulled even with No. 1 Georgia after the Bulldogs lost to Auburn.
The Wildcats intercepted Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer four times. Castell’s late score sealed the win, but the first of Ty Bryant’s two picks breathed life into Kentucky, which trailed 13-7 with time winding down in the third quarter and struggled to move the ball up until then.
Following the pick, Minchey took the Wildcats 44 yards in seven plays, finding tight end Willie Hernandez for a 12-yard touchdown. Adam Zouagui’s extra point gave Kentucky a 14-13 lead.
Mateer threw for 270 yards and a touchdown but his mistakes cost the Sooners (3-3, 1-2) who knocked off then-No. 1 Texas the previous week.
NO. 22 LSU 31, NO. 16 MISSISSIPPI ST 0
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sam Leavitt threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, and LSU raced to a three-touchdown, first-half lead on its way to a victory over an injury-depleted Mississippi State.
Jackson Harris had six catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns for LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) before leaving the game with an apparent lower left leg injury in the third quarter.
Playing without dynamic starting quarterback Kamario Taylor and top running back Fluff Bothwell, the Bulldogs (4-2, 2-2 SEC) lost their second straight — each by more than 30 points.
Mississippi State’s offense took the field with quarterback Parker Puckett making his first start. He was intercepted once and sacked three times before finishing 16 of 26 for 121 yards.
Puckett drove the Bulldogs inside the LSU 40 five times, but all five of those drives ended on failed fourth down plays, including once from the Tigers 6-yard line.
The victory was methodical and convincing for LSU, which was looking to bounce back from a 35-34 overtime loss at Kentucky the previous week that had caused the Tigers to drop 12 spots in the AP Top 25. It was also LSU’s first shutout of an SEC opponent since winning 45-0 at Mississippi State in 2007 — en route to a national championship.
NO. 20 HOUSTON 35, NO 18 OKLAHOMA 32
HOUSTON (AP) — Conner Weigman threw for 343 yards and tied a career high with five touchdown passes to help Houston beat Oklahoma State for its fourth straight victory.
Weigman finished 24 of 33 and rushed for 52 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 2, 7, 2, 21 and 48 yards and Houston (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) had 505 yards.
Amare Thomas caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and Trent Walker had seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Overmyer and Koby Young also caught touchdown passes.
Drew Mestemaker was 22 of 34 for 365 yards and three touchdowns for Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1). Caleb Hawkins rushed 68 yards and caught seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Wyatt Young had five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown and Justin Bowick had a touchdown catch. The Cowboys had 499 yards.
NO. 24 SMU 23, VIRGINIA 13
DALLAS (AP) — Kevin Jennings threw two touchdown passes, former SMU soccer player Brendan Baird boosted the struggling special teams with three field goals and the Mustangs beat Virginia.
Kendrick Raphael ran for 124 yards as SMU (5-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) improved to 10-0 at home in ACC games since rejoining a power conference league in 2024. The Mustangs are 17-3 overall in the ACC.
The Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2) were held to fewer than 300 total yards for a third consecutive game by an SMU defense that led a win over Boston College two weeks ago despite Jennings’ offense gaining just 218 yards. Virginia finished with 258 yards.
Jennings was 23 of 36 for 246 yards with a 6-yard TD pass to Randy Pittman Jr. on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter and a 37-yard catch-and-run score by Jalen Halen early in the fourth.
Baird had missed his only previous kick for a unit that was just 3 of 7 on field goals this season before making kicks of 23, 45 and 26 yards.
The 45-yarder gave SMU a 13-10 halftime lead on an untimed down after Billy Koudelka was called for roughing the passer when Jennings was throwing the ball away after time had expired.
NO. 25 NORTHWESTERN 24, MICHIGAN ST. 21
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jackson Kleather kicked three field goals, including the game-winning 34-yarder with 2 seconds left Saturday to rally Northwestern to a win over Michigan State.
Aidan Chiles tied the game at 21 with 7:24 remaining when he scored on a 1-yard run and threw to Alex Honig on a 2-point conversion for Northwestern (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten). After Matthew Smith blocked Michigan State’s Liam Boyd 33-yard field-goal attempt, Chiles then drove the Wildcats 64 yards in eight plays to set up the winning kick.
Chiles, who started 20 games at Michigan State the past two seasons before transferring to Northwestern, completed 18 of 27 passes for 226 yards and also had 16 carries for 25 yards.
The Spartans (2-5, 0-4) had led 21-13 early in the fourth quarter when Alessio Milivojevic tossed a 53-yard touchdown pass to Chrishon McCray. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns.
Michigan State took a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter on Milivojevic’s 3-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1.
The Wildcats went in front 10-7 early in the second quarter as Caleb Komolafe had a 10-yard scoring run. Northwestern had a chance to increase the margin, but Kleather’s 41-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Eli Coenen.
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