Oct 12, 2019 7 min read

Jake Fromm knew better than to blame Georgia’s first loss on Rodrigo Blankenship’s missed 42-yard field goal that ended the game.

It was four turnovers – on the usually rock-solid Fromm’s three interceptions and lost fumble – that put a big dent in the Bulldogs’ championship hopes.

Israel Mukuamu returned the first of his three interceptions 53 yards for a touchdown and South Carolina took advantage of the turnovers to beat No. 3 Georgia 20-17 in double overtime on Saturday.

Parker White’s 23-yard field goal in the second overtime proved to be enough when Blankenship was wide left from 42 yards. Blankenship’s second miss of the game sent South Carolina players charging onto the field to celebrate the upset.

White missed a 33-yard attempt in the first overtime.

It was a humbling loss for Georgia (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), which suffered a big hit to its national championship hopes. The Bulldogs were favored by 24½ points.

One of Mukuamu’s picks came on a pass Fromm was trying to throw out of bounds. Another, on the second play of overtime, bounced off the hands of wide receiver Tyler Simmons. White’s miss from 33 yards kept the game alive.

South Carolina led 17-10 before Fromm led Georgia on a tying 96-yard touchdown drive capped by his 6-yard scoring pass to Demetris Robertson with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

White, who made a 49-yard field goal in the first half, missed a 57-yarder with 40 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs one final possession in regulation.

Fromm moved the Bulldogs to the South Carolina 38, in possible position for Blankenship to attempt a game-winning field goal. An illegal shift penalty pushed Georgia back five yards, ending the field-goal possibility as regulation ended.

South Carolina (3-3, 2-2) got its first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 18 Tennessee in 2016.

Oklahoma 34, Texas 7: Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma’s defense sacked Sam Ehlinger nine times and the No. 6 Sooners never trailed in a 34-27 victory over 11th-ranked Texas.

The Sooners harassed Ehlinger into minus-9 yards rushing while holding the quarterback with the three highest total yardage outputs for Texas against Oklahoma almost 200 yards below that 387-yard average.

The Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) stayed on track for a third straight trip to the College Football Playoff and avenged last year’s loss in Cotton Bowl Stadium in the middle of the Texas state fair, a victory that came in a rematch of the Big 12 championship game.

The Longhorns (4-2, 2-1) are likely relegated to a spoiler role if there’s a second consecutive Big 12 title game between the rivals.

Both teams played under the threat of an ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct after referee Mike Defee flagged everyone 30 minutes before the game when clusters of players got too close at midfield while wrapping up warmups and started jawing at each other.

The only ejection was Texas defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, and it wasn’t for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was flagged for targeting while hitting Lamb helmet-first and late two plays before Lamb weaved through Texas defenders on a flea-flicker pass on a 51-yard score.

Lamb had 10 catches for 171 yards, tip-toeing on the sideline to stay inbounds on the 27-yarder for his final TD. Hurts threw for 235 yards and had 131 more on the ground, including a punctuating 3-yard touchdown for a 34-20 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Alabama 47, Texas A&M 28: Tua Tagovailoa threw four touchdowns and Alabama’s offense kept rolling in the Tide’s first game at No. 1 this season.

Tagovailoa threw his first interception of the season but became Alabama’s career passing touchdowns leader with his first one of the game, breaking his tie with A.J. McCarron. The junior now has 81 for his career and leads the nation with 27 on the season.

Alabama (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed briefly in its first game this season against a ranked opponent when Texas A&M scored a touchdown on its first possession.

Tagovailoa then engineered four consecutive scoring drives, which included three touchdown passes that all came on third down, and the Tide were on cruise control against the best pass defense they had faced so far this season. The only blemish was the interception thrown in the Texas A&M end zone late in the second quarter.

Kellen Mond passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score for the Aggies (3-3, 1-2).

Clemson 45, Florida State 14: Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, two to Justyn Ross, and No. 2 Clemson answered any lingering questions from its close call at North Carolina, winning its 21st straight game.

Clemson (4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) started 6-0 for a fifth straight year and beat the Seminoles (3-3, 2-2) for the fifth straight year.

Lawrence completed 17 of 25 passes for 170 yards, including 10- and 8-yard TD throws to Ross. Lawrence also ran for a touchdown, the 6-foot-6 sophomore extending his full body to get over the goal line.

Etienne ran for 127 yards and caught one of Lawrence’s scoring throws.

FSU quarterbacks James Blackman and Alex Hornibrook both threw first-half interceptions and the Seminoles managed only 63 yards in the first half. Things didn’t get better after halftime as Blackman threw another pick that went for Derion Kendrick’s 38-yard return score.

Florida State star Cam Akers’ struggles against the Tigers continued. He had gained just 47 total yards vs. Clemson the past two games and ended with 34 yards on nine carries here.

Wisconsin 38, Michigan State 0: Jonathan Taylor rushed for two touchdowns and No. 8 Wisconsin’s defense posted its fourth shutout of the season.

The Spartans’ defense held Taylor to 80 yards on 26 carries, marking the first time this season the Heisman Trophy hopeful was held under 100.

But Michigan State was held to 149 yards, 30 rushing, and couldn’t find any rhythm as the Badgers dominated time of possession 39:10 to 20:50.

Jack Coan completed his first seven passes for Wisconsin (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) and finished 18 of 21 for 180 yards and a touchdown to win his eighth straight start since last season.

The Spartans (4-3, 2-2) lost back-to-back games against AP top-10 Big Ten opponents. Michigan State lost at then-No. 4 Ohio State 34-10 last week.

Brian Lewerke was 7 of 16 for 53 yards and an interception and sacked twice before getting pulled in the fourth quarter for backup Rocky Lombardi.

The Badgers last had four shutouts in 1930, when they had five.

Michigan 45, Illinois 25: Hassan Haskins ran for 125 yards and a touchdown, Zach Charbonnet added 116 yards rushing, and No. 16 Michigan needed a late surge to put away Illinois.

The Wolverines (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) built a 28-0 lead by halftime, but turnovers and ineffective offense helped the Illini (2-4, 0-3) cut the lead to 28-25 with 12:50 left. Dre Brown ran in from a yard out and then converted a 2-point conversion for the Illini.

Michigan responded with a long drive capped by Shea Patterson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones. Patterson ran for a score after Michigan forced a turnover at the Illini 1 to seal it for Michigan.

Matt Robinson, starting for the injured quarterback Brandon Peters, a graduate transfer from Michigan, was 16 of 25 for 192 yards and one touchdown for Illinois. He also ran for a score.

Arizona State 38, Washington State 34: Jayden Daniels scored on a 17-yard scramble with 34 seconds left and threw three touchdown passes to ailing Brandon Aiyuk to lead No. 18 Arizona State in a comeback win.

Arizona State (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) trailed by three after Blake Mazza made a 31-yard field goal with 2 1/2 minutes left. Taking over at their own 25-yard line, the Sun Devils moved quickly down the field behind Daniels’ pinpoint passing.

The freshman capped the drive with his scramble, helicoptering off a defender into the end zone.

Daniels threw for 363 yards on 26-of-36 passing. Aiyuk had seven catches for 196 yards despite an illness that kept him out for portions of the game.

Anthony Gordon threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, but Washington State (3-3, 0-3) was again let down by its defense.