PITTSBURGH -- Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10 on Saturday.
Dion Lewis ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for the freshman's sixth 100-yard game, tight end Dorin Dickerson caught his 10th touchdown pass this season and the Panthers (8-1, 5-0 in Big East) won their fifth in a row heading into next Saturday's game against No. 19 Notre Dame.
Bill Stull was 16 of 23 for 225 yards and no interceptions as the Panthers, who last were 8-1 during Dan Marino's senior season 27 years ago, set themselves up for a possible Big East title-deciding game against No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 5.
If the Bearcats defeat Connecticut on Saturday night and West Virginia on Friday, the Cincinnati-Pitt game will determine the conference's BCS bowl participant regardless of what happens in the Pitt-West Virginia game on Nov. 27.
Pitt played much of the first half as if it was looking ahead to those three upcoming games, stalling offensively while leading only 6-3 on two Dan Hutchins field goals -- until Williams returned a Greg Paulus pass tipped by Jabaal Sheard for his third career touchdown with 1:20 left in the half. Pitt outscored Syracuse 24-7 in the second half, with the Orange's only TD coming with barely a minute remaining.
Paulus to Williams normally is a productive combination for Syracuse (3-6, 0-4), which lost its 29th in its last 32 Big East games. But the Orange clearly missed leading receiver Mike Williams, who quit the team on Monday after averaging 106.6 yards receiving per game.
Neither Paulus (12 of 18, 120 yards, 2 interceptions) nor backup Ryan Nassib (5 of 16, 21 yards, 1 interception) did much as Delone Carter's 143 yards rushing represented most of Syracuse's offense, which came into the game ranked 106th nationally. Full story
No. 12 Southern California 14, Arizona State 9
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Will Harris returned an interception 55 yards for a score, Matt Barkley threw a 75-yard pass to Damian Williams for another score, and the Trojans held on for a shaky victory over the Sun Devils.
Coming off the worst loss in the Pete Carroll era, the Trojans (7-2, 4-2 Pac-10) barely survived on a night they produced little on offense. The victory kept the Trojans in the hunt for an eighth straight Bowl Championship Series berth.
USC's defense was the reason the Trojans beat ASU (4-5, 2-4) for the 10th straight time.
Sun Devils freshman Brock Osweiler came off the bench and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Chris McGaha. But Harris ended ASU's upset bid by picking off Osweiler's last-gasp pass in the end zone as time expired.
No. 16 Miami 52, Virginia 17
MIAMI -- Graig Cooper rushed for a career-best 152 yards and a touchdown, Damien Berry ran for a pair of second-half scores and the Hurricanes eased past the struggling Cavs.
Thearon Collier had a 60-yard punt return for the go-ahead touchdown, and Jacory Harris finished 18 of 31 for 232 yards with two TDs for the Hurricanes (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). The 35-point margin of victory was Miami's biggest in an ACC game since beating Duke 52-7 in 2005.
Rashawn Jackson had a 34-yard rushing touchdown for Virginia (3-6, 2-3), which has lost 10 of 13 starting with an overtime defeat to Miami last season, a slide that's placed coach Al Groh's future at his alma mater in doubt. The Cavaliers were outgained 515-149 and played without starting quarterback Jameel Sewell, who warmed up but was eventually ruled out with a shoulder injury.
Cooper, who also had a career-long 70-yard carry, now has 2,001 yards in his Miami tenure.
No. 17 Utah 45, New Mexico 14
SALT LAKE CITY -- Jordan Wynn passed for 297 yards and two touchdowns in his first college start and Eddie Wide set a school record with his sixth straight 100-yard rushing game as the Utes beat the winless Lobos.
The Utes (8-1, 5-0) won their sixth straight and scored their most points since a 48-24 win over BYU last year to end the regular season. Utah also remained unbeaten in the Mountain West Conference, setting up a first-place showdown next week at No. 6 TCU.
Wide gained 122 yards in the third quarter alone as the Utes blew open the game with three touchdowns.
Wide's 35-yard run to put Utah up 38-7. He finished with 145 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns and Sausan Shakerin (saw-sawn shah'-kar-een) added 100 yards on 16 carries.
No. 18 Oklahoma State 34, Iowa State 8
Iowa -- Keith Toston ran for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns, Zac Robinson threw a touchdown pass and the Cowboys bounced back from their drubbing by Texas with a victory over the Cyclones.
Oklahoma State (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) controlled the game with a solid performance on both sides of the ball and reached seven victories for the fourth straight season, the first time in school history that has happened.
After throwing four interceptions in the 41-14 loss to Texas, Robinson was on the mark in this one and replaced his coach, Mike Gundy, as Oklahoma State's career passing leader.
Iowa State (5-5, 2-4) was outgained 334-145 through three quarters and didn't score until 11:50 remained in the game.
Nebraska 10, No. 20 Oklahoma 3
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Matt O'Hanlon had three of Nebraska's five interceptions against Landry Jones and the Cornhuskers squeezed enough production out of their struggling offense to upset the Sooners.
The Sooners (5-4, 3-2 Big 12) failed to score a touchdown for the first time since a 29-0 loss to Texas A&M in 1998.
The Cornhuskers (6-3, 3-2) won despite getting just seven first downs and 180 total yards. They were able to get a yard when they really needed it, after Prince Amukamara returned an interception to the OU 1 in the second quarter. Zac Lee threw a short pass to Ryan Hill for the only touchdown of the game.
Oklahoma's last two possessions ended on interceptions, including O'Hanlon's third.
No. 21 Arizona 48, Washington State 7
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Travis Cobb returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to set the tone for the Wildcats.
Arizona scored the first seven times it had the ball.
Arizona led 34-0 at the half, then William "Bug" Wright returned a punt 86 yards for a score the first time the Wildcats touched it in in the third quarter.
Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Pac-10) stayed in the thick of the Pac-10 race. The Wildcats are the only team in the conference never to play in the Rose Bowl.
No. 24 Wisconsin 31, Indiana 28
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Badgers followed the same old script to grind down the Hoosiers.
John Clay ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, Montee Ball scored two TDs and the Badgers held off the Hoosiers' fourth-quarter rally for a 31-28 victory Saturday.
The Badgers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) have now won two straight and still have not lost to an unranked team this season.
Indiana's fading bowl hopes took another hit. The Hoosiers (4-6, 1-5) must now win their final two games -- at No. 11 Penn State and home against rival Purdue -- to become eligible. They have lost three straight and six of seven.
No. 25 BYU 52, Wyoming 0
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Max Hall threw for 312 yards and four touchdowns in just over two quarters, and the Cougars won their sixth straight over the Cowboys.
BYU (7-2, 4-1 Mountain West) recorded its first shutout of the season and second consecutive against the Cowboys. The Cougars beat Wyoming 44-0 last year.
Hall now has 28 career wins, one behind the school record held by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, who played at BYU from 1988-91.
Against Wyoming, he was 20 of 22 and had TD passes of 44, 2, 79 and 15 yards. He completed passes to seven different receivers before taking a seat midway through the third quarter.
