IOWA CITY, Iowa — Ricky Stanzi threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns and No. 12 Iowa survived yet another close call, beating Michigan 30-28 Saturday night for its best start since 1985.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez pulled quarterback Tate Forcier in the fourth quarter. Fellow freshman Denard Robinson led a touchdown drive capped by his own 3-yard run, and Michigan got the ball back with 1:30 left. But Robinson was intercepted by Brett Greenwood with 46 seconds left, keeping the Hawkeyes (6-0, 2-0) the only unbeaten team left in the Big Ten.
“We made a change to get a spark,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve said it for six games now. Denard Robinson will play.”
Michigan had a season-worst five turnovers. Forcier was 8-of-19 for 94 yards and an interception.
Tony Moeaki had two wide-open TD catches for Iowa, but nothing else came easily for the Hawkeyes.
“We’re going to have to fight adversity, and we’ve had to do that a lot in our football games, and that’s just going to help build character,” Stanzi said. “We’re excited about the record, but there’s still a lot of football left.”
Michigan was trailing 23-21 when it stuffed Iowa on a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter. But Iowa’s defense then forced a three-and-out, and Stanzi found Moeaki for a 42-yard touchdown pass on the first play after the punt to make it 30-21 with 12:56 left.
No. 3 Alabama 22, No. 20 Mississippi 3
OXFORD, Miss. — Mark Ingram rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown for the Crimson Tide, and Jevan Snead threw four interceptions for Ole Miss, tying a career high.
The Crimson Tide held the Rebels to 19 yards and one first down in the first half on the way to a 16-0 lead and allowed them past the 50 just four times overall.
No. 5 Virginia Tech 48, Boston College 14
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Tyrod Taylor threw two early touchdown passes, and Ryan Williams ran for 159 yards and a TD as the Hokies ended a three-game regular-season skid to the Eagles.
At halftime, Virginia Tech had 293 yards and the Eagles had only 3.
No. 9 Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 13
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kurt Coleman and Jermale Hines returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Ray Small brought a kickoff back 96 yards, dealing the Badgers their first loss of the season.
No. 11 Miami 48, Florida A&M 16
MIAMI — Jacory Harris led his team to 31 points playing only the first half, and the Hurricanes made the most of the mismatch facing an unranked team for the first time this season. Florida A&M (4-1) lost to Miami for the seventh time in a row.
No. 13 Oregon 24, UCLA 10
PASADENA, Calif. — Kenjon Barner returned the second-half kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown, and Talmadge Jackson returned an interception 32 yards for another TD just 13 seconds later.
Jeff Maehl took a short reception 20 yards for the Ducks’ third touchdown in less than four minutes during a spectacular opening to the second half of their fifth straight win.
No. 14 Penn State 52, Eastern Illinois 3
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Daryll Clark threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, Jared Odrick led a menacing defense with two sacks and linebacker Navorro Bowman returned a fumble 91 yards for a touchdown.
Arkansas 44, No. 17 Auburn 23
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Michael Smith rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Arkansas held off a late rally to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.
Arkansas jumped out to a 34-3 lead before Auburn responded with a three-touchdown flurry toward the end of the third quarter. Dennis Johnson helped the Razorbacks regain momentum with a 70-yard kickoff return, and Arkansas shut out the Tigers in the fourth.
No. 18 BYU 59, UNLV 21
LAS VEGAS — Harvey Unga ran for three touchdowns, quarterback Max Hall completed 21-of-27 passes for 320 yards and two more scores, and the Cougars’ offense tallied 611 yards.
No. 22 Georgia Tech 49, Florida State 44
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Josh Nesbitt ran for three touchdowns and threw for another, handing the reeling Seminoles their third straight loss amid growing pressure for coach Bobby Bowden to retire at the end of the season.
Tailback Jonathan Dwyer also ran for two scores for the Yellow Jackets (5-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won for the first time in Tallahassee, where the Seminoles have now lost five straight to Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.
No. 25 South Carolina 28, Kentucky 26
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Stephen Garcia threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and South Carolina stopped a potential tying two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, keeping coach Steve Spurrier a perfect 17-0 against the Wildcats.
Wildcats quarterback Mike Hartline left the game with a sprained left knee early in the third quarter after leading Kentucky to a 17-14 halftime lead.
