No. 1 Alabama holds on
Trailing on the road against one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, No. 1 Alabama escaped by doing what it does best: making big plays on defense and giving the ball to Mark Ingram.
The Heisman Trophy winner ran for 157 yards and scored on a 1-yard run with 3:18 to play, and two first-year starters in the 'Bama secondary made late interceptions to help the top-ranked Crimson Tide rally from a 13-point deficit and beat No. 10 Arkansas 24-20 on Saturday.
Robert Lester set up the winning score with his second interception of the day against Ryan Mallett, and Dre Kirkpatrick's pick put the Tide (4-0, 1-0 SEC) in position to run out the clock on their 18th straight victory. Mallett put up 357 yards on 25-for-38 passing for Arkansas (3-1, 0-1).
Boise St. 37, Oregon St. 24: Kellen Moore threw for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns, Doug Martin rumbled for 138 yards, and host No. 3 Boise State overcame a bunch of mistakes to beat No. 24 Oregon State. With a national audience watching again, the Broncos (3-0) failed to put away the Beavers (1-2) multiple times thanks a combination of special teams flaws and costly penalties.
Nebraska 17, South Dakota St. 3: Rex Burkhead and Kyler Reed scored on consecutive series in the first half, but host No. 6 Nebraska turned in an uninspired performance in a win over South Dakota State. The Cornhuskers (4-0) are off to their best start since 2005, but backups who figured to get lots of playing time against the Jackrabbits (0-3) of the FCS watched while most of Nebraska's starters went the distance.
UCLA 34, Texas 12: Johnathan Franklin rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown, and UCLA (2-2) stunned host No. 7 Texas (3-1). Thirteen years after the Bruins walloped the Longhorns 66-3 in the same stadium, UCLA sent Texas fans heading to the exits early by forcing 4 first-half turnovers, then letting its grinding ground game chew up the second.
Oklahoma 31, Cincinnati 28: Landry Jones threw for 370 yards and 2 touchdowns, and No. 8 Oklahoma (4-0)withstood a Cincinnati (1-3) rally for a road win. Jones' only interception helped Cincinnati (1-3) make a late charge.
Florida 48, Kentucky 14: Trey Burton scored 6 touchdowns, breaking former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow's school record, and host No. 9 Florida beat visiting Kentucky for the 24th consecutive time.