Florida hangs on by a thread

GAINESVILLE, FLA. —  Jarvis Moss jumped as high as he could, extending his arms toward the sky.

The Florida defensive end blocked a 48-yard field-goal attempt as time expired to give the sixth-ranked Gators a 17-16 victory over South Carolina on Saturday, keeping their national title hopes intact and sending Steve Spurrier home a loser in his return to the Swamp.

Moss also blocked an extra-point try that was equally important.

“It felt good not to let the guys down,” Moss said. “I think we’ve got something special going on.”

The Gators, 9-1 overall and 7-1 in the Southeastern Conference, were fourth in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings, right behind Louisville and just in front of Texas. But with the Cardinals losing at Rutgers on Thursday night and with No. 1 Ohio State playing No. 2 Michigan next Saturday, the Gators believe they have as good a chance as anybody of getting to the national championship game as a one-loss team.

Their former coach agreed.

“This could be the year of the Gators,” Spurrier said.

Spurrier stood near the 31-yard line with his legs crossed as Ryan Succop lined up for the game-winner. Succop’s kick cleared the line of scrimmage but didn’t get over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-6 Moss.

It was the third blocked kick of the game for Florida.

Moss batted down Succop’s extra-point attempt earlier in the fourth quarter, leaving the Gamecocks (5-5, 3-5) with a 16-10 advantage following Mike Davis’ second touchdown run.

Defensive tackle Ray McDonald also blocked a 47-yard field-goal attempt in the first half.

“You’ve got to find a way to win football games,” defensive coordinator Charlie Strong said. “We found a way.”

After Davis’ score, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow teamed up to put the Gators ahead. Tebow picked up six yards on fourth and one in Florida territory, Leak ran for 17 a few plays later and then had an eight-yard scramble on third down.

Tebow scored on the next play from 12 yards. Florida then made the extra point, which turned out to be the difference in the game.

“It came down to they can kick extra points and we didn’t,” Spurrier said.

Leak completed 19 of 27 passes for 254 yards.

*

SOUTHEASTERN

at No. 11 Arkansase 31, No. 13 Tennessee 14: Darren McFadden ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass, leading the Razorbacks (9-1, 6-0) to a convincing victory over the Volunteers (7-3, 3-3) at Fayetteville. Arkansas can clinch a spot in the SEC title game with a win next weekend at Mississippi State. They’ve won nine straight since a season-opening loss to USC -- their longest streak since 1988 -- and when this one was over, the crowd began chanting “BCS.” “It’s in the back of our minds,” offensive lineman Zac Tubbs said of the Razorbacks’ place in the Bowl Championship Series picture. “But one thing this year -- everybody’s had such great focus just taking it week by week, game by game. If it works out that way, that’s going to be great.”

at No. 12 Louisiana State 28, Alabama 14: JaMarcus Russell threw three touchdown passes and the Tigers (8-2, 4-2) kept their slim hopes for an SEC West Division title alive with a victory over the Crimson Tide (6-5, 2-5) at Baton Rouge. Russell was an efficient 18-of-21 passing for 207 yards and took only one sack. He connected with Early Doucet, Dwyane Bowe and Jacob Hester for scores. Freshman running back Keiland Williams gave the Tigers an early lead on a 38-yard touchdown run. Alabama struggled to run, gaining only 78 yards on the ground. LSU rushed for 211 yards, led by Williams with 79 and Hester with 64. Doucet had seven catches for 101 yards.

at Kentucky 38, Vanderbilt 26: Andre Woodson threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns -- two to Keenan Burton -- as the Wildcats (6-4, 4-3) defeated the Commodores (4-7, 1-6) at Lexington to become eligible for its first bowl game since 1999. Kentucky trailed, 20-17, going into the final quarter, but tailback Rafael Little gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a two-yard touchdown run.

From the Associated Press

*

BIG TEN

No. 1 Ohio State 54, at Northwestern 10: James Laurinaitis set the tone when he forced a fumble on the opening possession, Troy Smith threw four touchdown passes and the Buckeyes (11-0, 7-0) tuned up for their showdown against Michigan with a blowout over the Wildcats (3-8, 1-6) at Evanston, Ill. Now, finally, the Buckeyes can turn their attention to the second-ranked Wolverines and a game that will determine who plays for the Bowl Championship Series title. “It’s the biggest rivalry in college football,” running back Antonio Pittman said. “And it’s been talked about for the last six weeks.” The 54 points were the most for Ohio State since a 72-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Sept. 21, 1996. The defense forced four turnovers and the Buckeyes also blocked a punt.

No. 2 Michigan 34, at Indiana 3: Steve Breaston scored on an 83-yard punt return and a 62-yard reception and Mike Hart had a touchdown run to lead the Wolverines (11-0, 7-0) to a rout of the Hoosiers (5-6, 3-4) at Bloomington. Michigan heads to Ohio State with 15 wins in its last 16 regular-season games -- the only loss a 25-21 decision to Ohio State last season. “It’s going to be the biggest game of probably everybody’s life on this team,” Hart said. “We’re undefeated, they’re undefeated, we’re playing for a Big Ten championship and a chance to go to the national championship, so I don’t think there’s a bigger game out there.” Against Indiana, quarterback Chad Henne was 11 for 15 for 159 yards. Michigan’s defense gave up only 131 total yards.

No. 16 Wisconsin 24, at Iowa 21: Tyler Donovan stepped in for injured John Stocco and threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Badgers (10-1, 7-1) over the Hawkeyes (6-5, 2-5) at Iowa City. Luke Swan had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown for Wisconsin, which ended a four-game losing streak against Iowa and reached 10 regular-season wins for only the second time.

Minnesota 31, at Michigan State 18: Bryan Cupito became Minnesota’s all-time leading passer and threw two second-half touchdowns to help the Golden Gophers (5-6, 2-5) defeat the Spartans (4-7, 1-6) at East Lansing. Cupito, who was 16 of 28 for 243 yards, has 6,916 yards in his career, breaking the record set by Cory Sauter, who had 6,834 from 1994 to ’97.

Purdue 42, at Illinois 31: Quarterback Curtis Painter ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Boilermakers (7-4, 4-3) over the Illini (2-9, 1-6) at Champaign. Purdue defensive end Alex Magee recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and set up two other scores with an interception and forced fumble.

at Penn State 47, Temple 0: Tony Hunt had 167 yards rushing and four touchdowns and Derrick Williams scored on a 75-yard punt return to lead the Nittany Lions (7-4) over the Owls (1-10) at State College. Penn State Coach Joe Paterno missed his first game since 1977 because he was recovering from left leg surgery.

From the Associated Press

*

BIG EAST

at No. 10 West Virginia 42, Cincinnati 24: Pat White ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and Steve Slaton had two scoring runs as the Mountaineers (8-1, 3-1) defeated the Bearcats (5-5, 2-3) at Morgantown, W.Va. Slaton ran for 148 yards in only 12 carries to help West Virginia bounce back from its loss to Louisville. West Virginia, the nation’s second leading rushing offense, compiled 313 yards.

at Connecticut 46, Pittsburgh 45: D.J. Hernandez escaped a furious rush and scrambled into the end zone for a two-point conversion in the second overtime to lead the Huskies (4-5, 1-3) over the Panthers (6-4, 2-3) at East Hartford.

at South Florida 27, Syracuse 10: Matt Grothe threw for a school-record 364 yards and two touchdowns, and Delbert Alvarado kicked a conference-record 56-yard field goal to lead the Bulls (7-3, 3-2) over the Orange (3-7, 0-5) at Tampa. Syracuse has lost 12 consecutive conference games.

From the Associated Press