Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder runs from Notre Dame’s JD Bertrand during the Bearcats’ 24-13 win on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana. Darron Cummings/Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and ran for score late in the fourth quarter as No. 7 Cincinnati capitalized on its big opportunity and beat No. 9 Notre Dame 24-13 Saturday in a game the Bearcats hope can be the centerpiece of College Football Playoff resume.
Cincinnati (4-0) wanted to use its first Top 10, regular-season matchup as a statement game, heading into its American Athletic Conference schedule. No team from outside the Power Five conferences has ever reached the playoff. Never even came close.
To break that barrier Bearcats almost certainly needs to go undefeated and this trip to Notre Dame (4-1) stood as the toughest test on the schedule. Not to mention the biggest stage they’ll appear on this season.
The Bearcats were not quite dominant, but they were plenty good enough in their first trip to South Bend since 1900 to snap Notre Dame’s 26-game home winning streak.
(1) ALABAMA 42, (12) MISSISSIPPI 21: Brian Robinson Jr. rushed for career highs of 171 yards and four touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 SEC) mostly throttled the nation’s top offense in a win over the Rebels (3-1, 0-1) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Bryce Young passed for a couple of touchdowns for the Crimson Tide but the ‘Bama defense and ground game stole some of the thunder from a matchup of the two leading Heisman Trophy contenders coming into the game.
Alabama turned to Robinson to play keep away from Matt Corral and the offense of the Rebels, who had breezed through three nonconference games before an open date.
(2) GEORGIA 37, (8) ARKANSAS 0: Zamir White rushed for two touchdowns and recovered a blocked punt for another score, and the Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0 SEC) pounded the Razorbacks (4-1, 1-1) in Athens, Georgia in the Bulldogs’ second consecutive shutout.
Georgia (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) raced to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter despite playing without quarterback JT Daniels, who was held out with a right lat injury.
Stetson Bennett filled in for Daniels and passed for only 72 yards as the Bulldogs relied on their running game and top-rated defense to beat Arkansas (4-1, 1-1).
Georgia, leading the nation in total defense and scoring defense following last week’s 62-0 win at Vanderbilt, held Arkansas to 10 first downs and 156 yards.
STANFORD 31, (3) OREGON 24: Tanner McKee threw a TD pass on an untimed down at the end of regulation to tie the game and another on the opening possession of overtime to lead the Cardinal (3-2, 2-1 Pac-12) to a win over the Ducks (4-1, 1-1) in Stanford, California.
McKee came back after leaving for a play on the final drive of regulation with an injury to tie it on a 2-yard pass to Elijah Higgins after a holding penalty by Oregon in the end zone extended the game one play.
McKee then gave the Cardinal the lead with a 14-yarder to John Humphreys in overtime. Stanford then forced Anthony Brown to throw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-8 to seal its fourth win against an Oregon team ranked in the top 10 since 2009.
(6) OKLAHOMA 37, KANSAS STATE 31: Spencer Rattler threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) had two crucial calls overturned in its favor after video reviews, and the sixth-ranked Sooners recovered an onside kick with just over a minute left to hold off the Wildcats (3-2, 0-1) in Manhattan, Kansas.
Kennedy Brooks added 91 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Jeremiah Hall reached the end zone twice, as the Sooners overcame a slew of penalties on their offensive line to beat the Wildcats for the first time in three tries.
Skylar Thompson returned from a knee injury to throw for 320 yards and three scores for the Wildcats. Deuce Vaughn had 51 yards rushing to go with 10 catches for 104 yards and a score, and Malik Knowles returned a kick 93 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 remaining for the final margin.
(11) OHIO STATE 52, RUTGERS 13: C.J. Stroud threw for 330 yards and a career-high five touchdowns after sitting out a game to rest his shoulder and the Buckeyes (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) won their 20th straight Big Ten game, beating the Scarlet Knights (3-2, 0-2) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Stroud connected with Chris Olave on touchdown passes of 56 and 11 yards, found Garrett Wilson on a 32-yard catch and run and hit tight ends Jeremy Ruckert and Mitch Rossi on scoring passes of 19 and 1 yard, respectively. The freshman, who threw four TD passes against Minnesota in the opener, finished 17 of 23 and did not throw an interception. Olave finished with five catches for a team-high 119 yards.
Ohio State has beaten Rutgers eight times in as many games. The Buckeyes outgained the Scarlet Knights 530-346, flowed through a defense that had give up 54 points in its first four games and intercepted Noah Vedral three times.
(14) MICHIGAN 38, WISCONSIN 17: Cornelius Johnson caught both of Cade McNamara’s touchdown passes and the Wolverines (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) remained unbeaten with a victory over the Badgers (1-3, 0-2) in Madison, Wisconsin, which lost starting quarterback Graham Mertz to a chest injury.
Wisconsin trailed 13-10 and had the ball to start the third quarter when Mertz was sacked by Daxton Hill on a third-and-9 play. Mertz and tight end Jake Ferguson both went to the locker room with chest injuries after that play, and neither returned to the game.
(16) COASTAL CAROLINA 59, LOUISIANA MONROE 6: Grayson McCall threw for 212 yards on 13-of-13 passing with two touchdowns to Isaiah Likely as the Chanticleers (5-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) a rolled to a victory over the Warhawks (2-2, 1-1) in Conway, South Carolina.
The Chanticleers started 5-0 for a second straight season and have won 16 of their past 17 the last two seasons.
McCall was already the FBS leader in completion percentage and had little trouble keeping that going against the Warhawks (2-2, 1-1). He led Coastal Carolina to scores on all five first-half possessions for a 38-3 lead at the break, then watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.
(24) WAKE FOREST 37, LOUISVILLE 34: Nick Sciba kicked a 29-yard field goal with 22 seconds left and the Demon Deacons (5-0, 3-0 ACC) beat the Cardinals (3-2, 1-1) in Winston-Sale, North Carolina, to remain unbeaten.
Sam Hartman threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense for the Demon Deacons, who got a huge boost late from Justice Ellison with several patient and chain-moving runs on the go-ahead drive.
RHODE ISLAND 27, STONY BROOK 20: Andre Blackett stuffed Ty Son Lawson on a fourth-and-1 play from the 2-yard line for the Rams (4-0, 2-0 CAA) to secure Rhode Island’s first-ever win over the SeaWolves (1-4, 0-2), in overtime, in Kingston, Rhode Island.
ELON 20, RICHMOND 7: Davis Cheek threw a go-ahead touchdown pass and McKinley Witherspoon added a fourth-quarter scoring run as the Phoenix (2-3, 1-1 CAA) spotted the Spiders (2-3, 0-2) an early lead before cruising to a win in Richmond, Virginia.
JAMES MADISON 23, NEW HAMPSHIRE 21: Cole Johnson threw three touchdown passes and Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey intercepted a pass with 1:45 to play as the Dukes (4-0, 2-0 CAA), the second-ranked FCS team, held off the Wildcats (3-2, 2-1) in Durham, New Hampshire.
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