RALEIGH, N.C. — Third-ranked Florida State spent the first half looking every bit like the team picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, from a dominating defense to a running game that kept moving the chains to silence a hostile crowd.
Then North Carolina State figured out a way to shake up the race for both the conference and national championship.
Mike Glennon found Bryan Underwood for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 16 seconds left, helping the Wolfpack rally to beat the Seminoles 17-16 on Saturday night.
On a night when the Seminoles (5-1, 2-1 ACC) appeared poised to strengthen their grip on their division, they instead found themselves struggling to figure out how N.C. State (4-2, 1-1) had turned the game around and possibly ended FSU’s hopes of contending for a BCS title.
“We still control our own destiny in the ACC," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We have to refocus and not let this loss become two in a row. We let this one slip away from us."
Florida State — carrying its highest ranking since 2003 — led 16-0 at halftime, but couldn’t stop Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon in the fourth quarter and watched this one slip away in stunning fashion.
Also on Saturday:
No. 10 Florida 14
No. 4 LSU 6
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Gillislee ran for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns, bringing Florida to life in the second half to beat LSU. Led by Gillislee and a dominant defense, Florida’s grind-it-out victory provided a signature win for coach Will Muschamp in his second season in Gainesville. It was the program’s first win against a ranked team since beating rival Georgia in 2010. The Gators (5-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) wore down the Tigers (5-1, 1-1) in the second half — no surprise because Florida has been doing that all season. Florida, which trailed 6-0 at halftime, also came from behind to beat Texas A&M and Tennessee on the road last month.
No. 6 South Carolina 35
No. 5 Georgia 7
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Shaw threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and Ace Sanders had a dazzling 70-yard punt return touchdown. The Gamecocks (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) won their school-record 10th straight game with a performance that certainly marked them an Eastern Division front-runner — and maybe showed they’re capable of even more. Those tests come soon as South Carolina travels to once-beaten LSU next week and then to Florida on Oct. 20. It’d be hard to pick against the Gamecocks after this one.
No. 7 Kansas State 56
Kansas 16
MANHATTAN, Kan. — John Hubert ran for 101 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries, and Collin Klein had two touchdowns running and throwing as Kansas State routed Kansas. Klein finished with 129 yards passing and 116 yards rushing to help the Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) pile up more than 50 points for the third straight year against their biggest rival. They’ve won four straight against the Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2) since Bill Snyder returned as coach. The longtime Kansas State coach probably had some choice words for his team at halftime, when a slew of mistakes resulted in a modest 21-14 lead. But the Wildcats scored four touchdowns in the third quarter, three in a span of about 5 minutes, to put the game away.
No. 8 West Virginia 48
No. 11 Texas 11
AUSTIN, Texas — Geno Smith passed for four touchdowns, leading West Virginia to another wild shootout win in the Big 12. Smith, who has 24 touchdown passes this season without an interception, hit Stedman Bailey with a 6-yard score with 10:50 left to play. Andrew Buie ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns, the second giving the Mountaineers a critical 10-point lead late. West Virginia (5-0, 2-0) didn’t seal the win until recovering an onside kick with 14 seconds left after Texas scored a touchdown on a pass from David Ash to Marquise Goodwin.
No. 9 Notre Dame 41
Miami 3
CHICAGO — Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III gave Notre Dame its first 100-yard rushing duo in a decade, and Everett Golson came off the bench in what was a very tame sequel to the famed “Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry. Wood rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Atkinson added 123 yards and another score.
No. 12 Ohio St. 63
No. 20 Nebraska 38
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Braxton Miller rushed for 186 yards, zig-zagging 72 yards for one score and passing for another, to lead Ohio State past Nebraska before the largest crowd ever at Ohio Stadium. Miller broke his own QB rushing mark at Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten).
No. 15 Clemson 47
Georgia Tech 31
CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for a career high 397 yards and DeAndre Hopkins had 173 yards receiving to lead Clemson over Georgia Tech. The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) gained 601 yards, while the Yellow Jackets (2-4, 1-3) gained 483.
Iowa State. 37
No. 15 TCU 23
FORT WORTH, Texas — Jared Barnett threw three touchdowns to Josh Lenz, who later had a scoring toss of his own on a trick play, as Iowa State ended TCU’s FBS-best 12-game win streak. It was the first Big 12 home game for conference newcomer TCU (4-1, 1-1), which played without suspended quarterback Casey Pachall. Barnett was 12-of-21 passing for 183 yards and ran nine times for 30 yards in his first start this season for the Cyclones (4-1, 1-1).
No. 17 Oklahoma 41
Texas Tech 20
LUBBOCK, Texas — Landry Jones passed for two touchdowns, Blake Bell ran for two more and Oklahoma beat Texas Tech to avenge a home loss to the Red Raiders last season. The win was crucial for Oklahoma to remain in the conversation for the Big 12 title.
Mississippi State 27
Kentucky 14
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tyler Russell passed for two touchdowns and Mississippi State held Kentucky to just 228 yards on offense in the victory. LaDarius Perkins carried 25 times for 110 yards, including a 31-yard score, and Devon Bell kicked field goals of 20 and 37 yards as Mississippi State moved to 5-0 for the first time since 1999.
No. 22 Rutgers 19
Connecticut 3
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jawan Jamison ran for 110 yards and Wayne Warren returned an interception 25 yards for a scores as Rutgers suffocated UConn to remain undefeated. The Scarlet Knights (5-0, 2-0 Big East) are off to their best start since 2007, and they avenged a bitter loss to the Huskies that ended last season and kept Rutgers from sharing the conference title.
Penn State 39
No. 24 Northwestern 28
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Quarterback Matt McGloin scored on a 5-yard run with 2:37 left and Penn State rallied from 11 points down in fourth quarter to beat Northwestern. The Nittany Lions scored three times in the final 9:49, starting with McGloin’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson as the receiver dragged along the back line of the end zone.
