TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Carson Beck threw four touchdown passes — two apiece to Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels — and No. 3 Miami held off No. 18 Florida State 28-22 on Saturday night. Miami’s offensive line mostly kept Beck’s jersey clean, and the senior completed 20 of 27 passes for 241 yards. A true freshman, Toney caught seven passes for 107 yards for the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They won their first road game of the season and captured a third win over an Associated Press Top 25 team (Notre Dame, South Florida and Florida State). Florida State’s Tommy Castellanos threw two interceptions, both leading to drives where Miami scored touchdowns. The Seminoles (3-2, 0-2) also fumbled, although the turnover didn’t lead to any points.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — J’Mari Taylor’s 2-yard run in overtime gave No. 24 Virginia a 30-27 victory over Louisville on Saturday. The Cavaliers (5-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), off to their best conference start since 2007, won despite the nation’s fifth-best offense, averaging 539.6 yards per game, being limited to 237 yards. A pair of defensive scores offset the sputtering offensive performance. Taylor, who ran 16 times for 68 yards, took a direct snap on a third-and-1 and ran up the middle for the game-winning score. On the previous play, starting quarterback Chandler Morris ran for seven yards, but he was knocked out after suffering an injury on the play.
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Duke quarterback Darian Mensah passed for 265 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Blue Devils rally and beat California 45-21. Wide receiver Que’Sean Brown caught six passes for a career-high 104 yards and a touchdown, helping Duke (4-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to the win on its first trip to Memorial Stadium since 1963.
DALLAS (AP) — Kevin Jennings passed for 285 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as SMU beat Syracuse 31-18 in the Mustangs’ ACC opener. Jennings, who completed 29 of 35 passes with one interception, threw scoring passes of 15 yards to Yamir Knight, 16 yards to RJ Maryland, 14 yards to Derrick McFall and 9 yards to Jordan Hudson as SMU (3-2, 1-0 ACC) broke to a 31-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. Sam Keltner added a 26-yard field goal for SMU after the Mustangs’ Brandon Miyazono intercepted Rickie Collins. Collins ran for a 6-yard touchdown and threw an 11-yard TD pass to Johntay Cook II for Syracuse (3-3, 1-2),
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Antonio Williams threw a 75-yard trick-play touchdown pass to T.J. Moore on the first offensive snap to start Clemson’s dominating show in a 38-10 win at North Carolina on Saturday. The coaching matchup of Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and North Carolina’s Bill Belichick became a quick romp by the Tigers. Clemson scored 28 points while averaging 15.8 yards per play in the opening quarter. Cade Klubnik threw four TD passes by halftime. Benjamin Hall ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown for the Tar Heels with the outcome long decided.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney found reason for optimism while North Carolina coach Bill Belichick found only more of the same struggles in Saturday's meeting. Clemson won 38-10 on the road. That included scoring 28 points in the first quarter. Both teams were coming off an open date after struggles in September. It marked UNC's third blowout loss to a power-conference opponent in as many games this year for the 73-year-old Belichick. It marked the second time this year that the Tar Heels played much of the second half in a largely empty home stadium due to a lopsided score.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jimbo Fisher was brought to tears while returning to Florida State’s campus for the first time since resigning to take the Texas A&M coaching job in 2017. Fisher, now an ACC Network analyst, was wildly cheered at the start of the league’s pregame show outside Doak Campbell Stadium. He turned in his chair, did the tomahawk chop to the crowd of garnet-clad fans and started to cry. He said it “bring tears to my eyes.” Fisher coached at Florida State for 10 years, first as an offensive coordinator and then as head-coach-in-waiting before taking over for legend Bobby Bowden in 2010. He won a national title in 2013.
UNDATED (AP) — Penn State has suffered another tough loss, this time to UCLA, in what so farf is the upset of the year in college football. The Nittany Lions, who were ranked No. 7, may drop out of the AP Top 25 after this 42-37 defeat. Texas, ranked No. 9, lost to Florida and also could be knocked out of the rankings. Alabama and Georgia are expected to move up in the rankings. Illinois and Notre Dame also had strong performances, while South Florida and Cincinnati are making a case to enter the Top 25.
