College football Top 25: Indiana beats No. 8 Penn State 36-35 in overtime

Michael Penix forced overtime with a 2-point conversion run with 22 seconds left, then scored on a diving 2-point conversion to give Indiana a season-opening 36-35 upset victory over No. 8 Penn State on Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana – ending the Big Ten’s longest streak of consecutive losses to Top 10 teams at 42.

The winning play went to a replay review before the officials announced the initial call stood.

Indiana beat the Nittany Lions for the second time in 24 matchups and beat a top-10 foe for the first time since a 31-10 victory at Ohio State on Oct. 10, 1987.

When Indiana failed to gain a first down after Sean Clifford threw a go-ahead 60-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson with 2:30 left, coach Tom Allen instructed his defense to let Penn State score.

Devyn Ford obliged with a 14-yard run with 1:42 to go. Penix then took the Hoosiers down the field, scored on a 1-yard TD run with 22 seconds to go, added the 2-point conversion and eventually wound up in overtime after Jordan Stout’s 57-yard field goal came up short with 3 seconds left in regulation.

Penn State made it 35-28 when Clifford hooked up with Parker Washington in overtime.

Whop Philyor caught a 9-yard TD pass for the Hoosiers and Penix won it when he dove for the goal line and the ball hit the pylon.

No. 1 Clemson 47, Syracuse 21: Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes, Travis Etienne ran for three scores and the Tigers (5-0) shook off a sluggish performance to win their 27th straight Atlantic Coast Conference game and put away pesky Orange (1-5) in Clemson, South Carolina.

The Tigers opened 6-0 for the sixth straight season, but it took a late burst to get it done – just like usual against Syracuse. The Orange were the last ACC team to beat the Tigers with a 27-24 victory in 2017. A year later at Death Valley, Syracuse again looked primed for the upset as it held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before Clemson’s 27-23 escape to keep its national championship season intact.

Syracuse kept the Tigers out of synch much of the game and was down just 27-21 late in the third quarter. But Andrew Booth Jr.‘s fumble recovery and touchdown run after Rex Culpepper was sacked late in the third quarter turned the game in Clemson’s favor for good.

Etienne added rushing TDs of 9 yards and 1 yard. Lawrence threw for 289 yards with scoring passes of 25 yards to Cornell Powell and 18 yards to Davis Allen.

The Tigers broke fast for a 17-0 lead less than 11 minutes into the game. That’s when things got away from the five-time defending ACC champion. Syracuse freshman Drew Tuazama blocked a punt and four plays later Sean Tucker scored on a 7-yard run. Then right before half, Orange cornerback Garrett Williams caught a pass off Amari Rodgers’ hands and took it 39 yards for a pick six.

No. 2 Alabama 48, Tennessee 17: Mac Jones threw for 387 yards and ran for a touchdown, and Najee Harris ran for three more scores to help the Crimson Tide (5-0) rout the Volunteers (2-3) in Knoxville, Tennessee, for their 14th straight win in the rivalry.

The Crimson Tide outgained Tennessee 587-302. But playing the Vols proved costly for Alabama a second straight season. A year ago, Tua Tagovailoa hurt an ankle in the second quarter and missed the next game against Arkansas.

On Saturday, Jaylen Waddle rolled his right ankle as he was tackled on the opening kickoff and was taken by cart to the locker room. Alabama coach Nick Saban said Waddle had a high ankle sprain with a fracture that probably will need surgery.

No. 3 Notre Dame 45, Pittsburgh 3: Ian Book passed for 312 yards and three touchdowns – two of them long catch-and-runs to graduate transfer Ben Skowronek – and the Fighting Irish (5-0) overwhelmed the reeling Panthers (3-4) in Pittsburgh.

No. 5 Ohio State 51, Nebraska 17: Justin Fields completed 20 of 21 passes for two touchdowns and ran for another score, Master Teague III rushed for a pair of scores and the Buckeyes rolled over the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten teams’ pandemic-delayed opener.

No. 6 Oklahoma State 24, No. 17 Iowa State 21: Spencer Sanders passed for 235 yards and ran for 71 and a touchdown in his return from injury and the Cowboys (4-0) beat the Cyclones (2-3) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

No. 11 Miami 19, Virginia 14: D’Eriq King threw for 322 yards and a touchdown, Mike Harley had career bests of 10 catches for 170 yards and the Hurricanes (5-1) outlasted the Cavaliers (1-4) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

No. 14 North Carolina 48, No. 23 N.C. State 21: Javonte Williams ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns and the Tar Heels (4-1) beat the Wolfpack (4-2) in the renewal of the longtime state rivalry in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

No. 18 Michigan 49, No. 21 Minnesota 24: Joe Milton accounted for two touchdowns in an unflappable debut at quarterback for Michigan, and the Wolverines (1-0) totaled 258 yards rushing against the Golden Gophers (0-1) in Minneapolis.

Wake Forest 23, No. 19 Virginia Tech 16: Walk-on freshman safety Nick Andersen had three interceptions, Christian Beal-Smith ran for 129 yards and Nick Sciba kicked three field goals to help Demon Deacons (2-3) beat the Hokies (3-2) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

No. 20 Kansas State 55, Kansas 14: Phillip Brooks returned a pair of punts for touchdowns, Kansas State took advantage of an embarrassing day of special teams by its biggest rival, and the Wildcats (4-1) rolled past the Jayhawks (0-5) in Manhattan, Kansas,

No. 22 Marshall 20, Florida Atlantic 9: Brenden Knox rushed for 101 yards and caught one of redshirt freshman Grant Wells’ two touchdown passes to lead the Thundering Herd (5-0) over the pandemic-depleted Owls (1-1) in Huntington, West Virginia.

No. 25 Coastal Carolina 28, Georgia Southern 14: Backup quarterback Fred Payton threw three touchdown passes and the Chanticleers (5-0) won their first game as a ranked team over the Eagles (3-2) in Conway, South Carolina.