Oct 17, 2015 6 min read

Jalen Watts-Jackson grabbed the ball on a flubbed punt attempt and lumbered 38 yards into the end zone for a touchdown on the final play, giving No. 7 Michigan State a 27-23 victory over No. 12 Michigan in one of college football’s most unlikely endings.

With the Wolverines up 23-21 with 10 seconds left in the game played in Ann Arbor, punter Blake O’Neill bobbled a low snap, and spun around to try and make the kick. But he was hit, the ball popped free and Watts-Jackson caught it, broke a few tackles in the final yards and made it into the end zone.

Michigan State (3-0 Big Ten, 7-0) has won seven of eight in the series, its best stretch in more than a half-century. Michigan (2-1, 5-2) lost for the first time since an opening setback at Utah.

“Football is a crazy, crazy game,” Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said. “You can’t hardly explain it.”

The Wolverines were seconds away from sealing the win after Sione Houma ran for two TDs, Kenny Allen kicked three field goals and forcing the Spartans to turn it over on downs with 1:47 left at its 45.

The Spartans had only one timeout left and used it after the next snap. Michigan had two and coach Jim Harbaugh used both, including one with 10 seconds left to set up the final punt and discuss all options.

“A mistake was made,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said somberly. “Mistakes were made. It’s very unfortunate circumstances.

“If you go for it, you leave them with a Hail Mary opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “We could protect and throw a long pass. We ran through the scenarios and felt like the best decision was to punt. They didn’t have any returners. It was a matter of punting it. We messed up.”

Connor Cook was 18 of 39 for 328 yards and a TD for Michigan State, and Aaron Burbridge had nine receptions for 132 yards. Michigan’s Jake Rudock was 15 of 25 for 168 yards.

No. 10 Alabama 41, No. 9 Texas A&M 23: Derrick Henry ran for a career-high 236 yards and two scores and Alabama added a school-record three touchdowns on interception returns.

Alabama (3-1 SEC, 6-1) built a 28-6 lead in the second quarter on Henry’s 55- and 6-yard touchdown runs, Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 33-yard interception return and Eddie Jackson’s 93-yard interception return.

Christian Kirk returned a punt 68 yards for a score just before halftime and Texas A&M (2-1, 5-1) added another touchdown on a 3-yard reception by Ricky Seals-Jones after a fumble early in the third to cut it to 28-20. But Alabama kicked two field goals before Fitzpatrick’s 55-yard interception return for a score made it 41-23 and sealed the victory.

No. 11 Florida State 41, Louisville 21: Everett Golson threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and Florida State rallied in the second half to beat Louisville.

It is the eighth 300-yard game of Golson’s career and his second since transferring from Notre Dame this year. A 70-yard touchdown pass to Kermit Whitfield, who had nine receptions for 172 yards, gave the Seminoles a 20-14 lead with 8:05 remaining.

The win gives Florida State a 6-0 record for the third straight season. The Seminoles are 4-0 in the ACC. The Cardinals dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.

Memphis 37, No. 13 Mississippi 24: Paxton Lynch threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns and Memphis stunned Mississippi.

Memphis (6-0) has won 13 straight games dating to last season – the third longest streak in the nation. It was the first win for the Tigers over a ranked opponent since 1996.

Ole Miss (5-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than 6 minutes into the game – partly thanks to a 68-yard touchdown pass by receiver Laquon Treadwell on a trick play – but Memphis responded with 31 unanswered points to take a 31-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Lynch was superb, completing 39 of 53 passes.

No. 17 Iowa 40, Northwestern 10: Reserve running back Akrum Wadley ran for 204 yards and tied Iowa’s school record with four rushing touchdowns.

With leading rusher Jordan Canzeri sidelined in the first quarter with an ankle injury, Wadley took over for Iowa (3-0 Big Ten, 7-0). The injury occurred following a short run when linebacker Jaylen Prater landed on Canzeri, folding his ankle under a pile of players.

Wadley, who had only eight carries coming into the game, scored his third touchdown on a 2-yard run with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter, extending Iowa’s lead to 23-10. His record-tying fourth scoring run, which followed a Northwestern fumble on the Wildcats ensuing drive, came on a 4-yard run that.

Northwestern (1-2, 5-2) lost for the second straight week after five consecutive victories.

No. 19 Oklahoma 55, Kansas State 0: Baker Mayfield threw five touchdown passes and Oklahoma bounced back from its upset loss to Texas to beat Kansas State, the first time the Wildcats have been shut out since 1996.

Kansas State had delivered serious scares to Top 25 opponents the previous two weeks, but the Wildcats (0-3 Big 12, 3-3) were helpless against the Sooners (2-1, 5-1). Oklahoma set the tone early, taking only 1:04 to score on its opening drive on a 22-yard pass from Mayfield to Sterling Shepard.

The Sooners took a 35-0 lead into halftime and just kept rolling in the second half.

No. 22 Toledo 63, Eastern Michigan 20: Phillip Ely threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns to help Toledo improve to 6-0 for the first time since 1997.

The Rockets (2-0 Mid-American Conference, 6-0) led 28-6 at halftime, and then Ely really warmed up. He threw touchdown passes on Toledo’s first two possessions of the second half, connecting with Corey Jones for a 55-yard score and then with Cody Thompson on an 88-yarder four minutes later.