Wolverines hold off Ball State

Michigan’s tuneup turned into quite a test.

Trailing by eight, Ball State threw an incomplete pass into the end zone with 2:46 left and couldn’t connect on a heave from midfield on the final play, allowing the second-ranked Wolverines to escape with a 34-26 victory on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan (10-0) let its guard down – maybe the Wolverines were looking ahead to the much-anticipated game Nov. 18 at No. 1 Ohio State? – and allowed the Cardinals (3-7) to make a late charge in a game they were expected to lose by five touchdowns.

Mike Hart ran for 154 yards and a TD and teammate Brandon Minor rushed for 108 yards and another score to help the Wolverines avoid a shocking upset.

(1) Ohio State 17, Illinois 10: At Champaign, Ill., the Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten). built a 17-0 halftime lead against Illinois but had trouble holding off the Illini.

Rashard Mendenhall’s 3-yard touchdown run with 1:40 to go brought Illinois (2-8, 1-5) within seven and the Buckeyes were forced to punt on the next possession.

Illinois got the ball at its own 2 with 4 seconds left and 98 yards to go but failed to convert on the drive.

(4) Texas 36, Oklahoma State 10: At Austin, Texas, Colt McCoy threw three touchdowns passes to break the Texas single-season record and the Longhorns (9-1, 6-0) beat the Cowboys (5-4, 2-3).

McCoy’s 27 touchdown passes broke the school mark of 26 shared by Vince Young (2005) and Chris Simms (2002). The redshirt freshman is two shy of the NCAA freshman season record of 29, set by Nevada’s David Neill in 1998.

(6) Auburn 27, Arkansas State 0: At Auburn, Ala., Brandon Cox threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers held the Indians to 177 total yards.

The Tigers (9-1) turned the ball over four times, but got the easy tuneup they hoped for to set up season-ending games with traditional rivals Georgia and Alabama. The Indians (5-4) gained 86 yards and four first downs in the first three quarters before finally starting to move the ball against Auburn’s backups.

(7) Florida 25, Vanderbilt 19: At Nashville, Tenn., Chris Leak ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as Florida survived a late rally by Vanderbilt.

The Commodores (4-6, 1-5 SEC) scored 13 points in the fourth quarter against Florida, including a 31-yard touchdown catch by Earl Bennett with 2:30 left, to pull within 25-19. Not until Florida (8-1, 6-1) recovered an onside kick were the Gators in the clear.

(11) Notre Dame 45, North Carolina 26: At South Bend, Ind., Brady Quinn passed for four touchdowns and a season-high 346 yards to help Notre Dame (8-1) overcome breakdowns on defense and special teams and beat North Carolina (1-8).

It appeared for a while the Fighting Irish would put the game away early, breaking a 7-7 tie with a pair of touchdowns and a field goal to move ahead 24-7. But the Irish gave up a 90-yard kickoff return by Brandon Tate and a 72-yard touchdown catch by Hakeem Nicks as the Tar Heels kept it respectable.

(12) Arkansas 26, South Carolina 20: At Columbia, S.C., Darren McFadden ran for a career-high 219 yards and two touchdowns and Marcus Monk had eight catches for a career-best 192 yards as the Razorbacks (8-1, 5-0 SEC) beat the Gamecocks (5-4, 3-4).

The Razorbacks mostly stuck to what has kept them undefeated in the SEC so far – running the ball. Arkansas rushed for 267 yards to pad their league-leading average of 235 yards a game.

(22) Wake Forest 21, (16) Boston College 14: At Winston-Salem, N.C., Kevin Marion had an 81-yard touchdown run and Patrick Ghee intercepted a pass in the end zone with just under a minute left as the Demon Deacons (8-1, 4-1 ACC) beat the Eagles (7-2, 3-2).

Jyles Tucker had two sacks and forced a key fourth-quarter fumble and the Demon Deacons limited the Eagles to 28 yards rushing.

(17) Wisconsin 13, Penn State 3: At Madison, Wis., Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) scored the first touchdown given up by Penn State’s defense in more than two games, and kept the Nittany Lions’ offense under control for most of the afternoon.

Penn State (6-4, 4-3) squandered the few scoring chances it had – including a drop of a potential game-tying interception that might have been returned for a touchdown.

(18) Oklahoma 17, Texas A&M 16: At College Station, Texas, Allen Patrick ran for a career-high 173 yards and the Sooners (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) sealed a victory over the Aggies (8-2, 4-2) by converting a fourth-and-inches from its own 29 with 1:29 remaining.

The Sooners won their fourth straight in coach Bob Stoops’ 100th game at Oklahoma.

Maryland 13, (19) Clemson 12: At Clemson, S.C., Dan Ennis kicked a 31-yard field goal as time ran out, lifting Maryland to its fourth straight victory.

The Terps (7-2, 4-1 ACC) looked down and out after Jad Dean kicked his fourth field goal with 2:25 left to put the Tigers (7-3, 4-3) ahead 12-10.

But Sam Hollenbach drove Maryland 54 yards to Clemson’s 12 to set up Ennis’ game-winner.

(20) Georgia Tech 31, N.C. State 23: At Raleigh, N.C., Reggie Ball threw four touchdown passes – two to Calvin Johnson – and the Yellow Jackets (7-2, 5-1 ACC) defeated the Wolfpack (3-6, 2-4).

Tashard Choice had a career-high 164 yards rushing on 34 carries and Johnson had nine catches for a personal-best 168 yards.

(23) Virginia Tech 17, Miami 10: At Miami, Brandon Ore ran for two touchdowns, including an 8-yard game-winner with 1:39 left to carry the Hokies (7-2, 4-2 ACC) past the Hurricanes (5-4, 2-3).

Both of Ore’s scores were set up by Miami interceptions, one thrown by Kirby Freeman in the second quarter, the other off a Kyle Wright pass with 3:33 left.