College Football Scores: Oregon, Oklahoma Pull Away; Clemson Avoids Upset

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, sophomore running back Giovani Bernard took an NC State punt 73 yards to the house, completing a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback and 43-35 victory. The Davie, Fla., product had 303 all-purpose yards on the day, with 135 coming on the ground.

But the Tar Heels weren’t done. North Carolina outscored the Wolfpack 18-0 in the fourth quarter, assuring their third win in the ACC and bringing their overall record to 6-3. NC State drops to 5-3 and is just 2-2 in ACC play.

Week Seven’s Big Winners: Washington, SMU, And Fans Of Bad Offense Great Defense.

Week Seven’s Big Losers: The Big East And Everybody Associated With It.

I swear, no conference has more week-to-week variance than the ACC. Georgia Tech’s great, then terrible. Maryland’s great, then terrible, then both in the same game. Miami is both spry and lifeless. Florida State is a disappointment and a favorite. Virginia Tech is alternately explosive and inept on offense.

The Oregon Ducks limped away from Saturday’s matchup with the Arizona State Sun Devils looking worse for wear physically, despite a 41-27 win. In the process, though, Oregon lost Darron Thomas to what’s being called a “tweaked knee,” with his status for next week unclear. Kenjon Barner and Eddie Pleasant also limped off, though the former returned.

Oregon headed into the half with a narrow, 21-17 lead at the half, thanks to Thomas’ late touchdown pass to David Paulson. Arizona State scored early in the second to reclaim the lead, only to see the Ducks hit the afterburners and pull away with 14-straight points.

The Stanford Cardinal bounced back from a lackluster first half, dominating the final two frames en route to a 44-14 win. Andrew Luck threw for over 300 yards and the Cardinal piled on 34 second half points, turning a close one into a blowout.

Luck finished with 336 yards and four touchdowns while throwing just one interception -- which came in the first half. Stepfan Taylor rushed for 100 yards and also caught a touchdown pass out of the backfield. Levine Toilolo caught two touchdown passes -- both in the third quarter -- and Coby Fleener added another. Fleener left the game on the final play -- a kick return touchdown -- with an apparent injury.

This was the game we’d all been waiting for. Clemson is supposed to sneak up and pick off a big win, and it’s not that shocking to see them do it more than once. But Clemson is supposed to blow it against lesser competition. And when they trailed by three scores in the second half, everyone assumed this was the game.

The Clemson Tigers are in trouble at the half in Maryland, trailing the Terrapins by a 28-17 margin. The Tigers have been unable to slow the Maryland offense early, and also added a costly mistake to give the Terps a shot in the arm.

Clemson took an early 3-0 lead, hitting an 18-yard field goal after failing to punch it in. But Maryland answered back with a touchdown, taking a 7-3 lead as Davin Megett punched it in from eight yards out. Tajh Boyd handed the Terps a gift on the next possession as Maryland intercepted him and took it back to the house. Andre Ellington capped the first quarter with a score for Clemson.

Worth noting the Red Raiders came into this game five points away from themselves being undefeated.

While being interviewed by Holly Rowe before hitting the locker room, Florida coach Will Muschamp likened the game to 1985. Do with that what you will.

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Hey, look, college football has an inferior version of soccer’s tifos! Before Saturday night’s game against Northwestern, Iowa fans proved, once again, that they can successfully hold up cards to make designs; that’s technically a card stunt, not a tifo, though I would argue that these things are, at worst, cousins. Kind of like soccer and American football! Photos after the jump.

First, a black-and-yellow Wiz Khalifa tribute display of support, via @mengelbert.

After Texas got thoroughly blown to smithereens by Oklahoma last week, many expected Oklahoma State to be able to similarly destroy the Longhorns this Saturday. And the Cowboys do have a comfortable lead, but just that, ahead 21-10 going into halftime.

For more on the Pokes, head over to Oklahoma State blog Cowboys Ride For Free. Longhorns fans can keep up with their team at Texas blog Burnt Orange Nation.

Georgia Tech entered ACC play with one of the finest offenses in the country. Thus far in conference action, the Yellow Jackets have to be wondering where it went — and today against Virginia, they must be worried about a loss if it doesn’t come back soon. The Cavaliers have a 24-14 lead at halftime, and have done a number on Georgia Tech’s offense.

Virginia’s own offense, which hasn’t scored 35 points against an FBS team in 2011, is outgaining the Yellow Jackets by more than 100 yards. This is decidedly not what Georgia Tech fans envisioned for this game.

After combining for a grand total of 16 points in the first half, Purdue and Penn State let their hair down and scored 25 in the second half en route to a 23-18 Penn State win. Feel the excitement of Big Ten football!

Fera followed that up with a field goal a bit more than midway through the four quarter, and that was the last time either team scored. The game, mercifully for its viewers, ended.

via 30fps.mocksession.com

Baylor scored first against Texas A&M. Then Ryan Tannehill and the Aggies scored often, pulling away in the second half for a dominant 55-28 victory.

Tannehill threw six touchdown passes — including four to Ryan Swope, who set a school record for touchdown receptions in a game — and helped Texas A&M score 14 or more points in each of the final three quarters after a first quarter interception helped Baylor take an early lead. The Aggies ran up a jaw-dropping 681 yards of total offense, and divided it between Tannehill’s passing attack (415 yards) and a running game (266 yards) that leaned on Christine Michael (105 yards on 21 carries) but got more than 30 yards from five separate players.

On a crucial fourth-and-22 that was essentially Michigan’s last chance, Gardner ran about 11 yards, backtracked and looked to be considering a throw before he was brought down. I don’t think that’s legal. Wish he would’ve tried it.

Wilson was 12-of-17 for 166 yards and a touchdown passing. He also ran for 42 yards and caught a 25-yard touchdown reception. But for the most part, the Badgers were content to hammer away at Indiana with a ground game that rolled up 331 yards on 42 carries.

For more on the Badgers, head over to Wisconsin blog Bucky’s 5th Quarter. Hoosiers fans can chew over the loss atIndiana blog The Crimson Quarry.

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For more on the Wolverines, head over to Michigan blog Maize ‘n’ Brew. Michigan State blog The Only Colors has an eye on Sparty.

For more on the Bulldogs, head to Mississippi State blog For Whom The Cowbell Tolls. All your Gamecocks news and commentary is at South Carolina blog Garnet And Black Attack.

For more on the Aggies, head over to the SB Nation blog I Am The 12th Man. For more on the day in college football, check out SB Nation’s Week 7 StoryStream.

For more on the Spartans, head over to the SB Nation blog The Only Colors. For more on the Wolverines, check out Maize ‘n Brew.

Game date, time:12:01pm ET, Saturday, October 15, 2011

Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania