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Carr Sparks Second-Half Comeback as Michigan Tops Penn State 21-18

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Michigan running back Savion Hiter in action against Penn State at Michigan Stadium.

Michigan benched its starting quarterback, turned to a freshman, and saved its season on Saturday, rallying to beat Penn State 21-18 at Michigan Stadium for the Wolverines’ first Big Ten win of the year.

The first half was a nightmare: Michigan (4-2) managed only 80 yards and was shut out, and Bryce Underwood threw two interceptions on 5-of-11 passing for 43 yards before being benched. Freshman Tommy Carr changed everything. Carr went 5-of-7 for 47 yards and ran four times for 36 yards, scoring the winning touchdown himself on a 12-yard run with 2:58 remaining.

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Bryson Kuzdzal’s 43-yard touchdown run opened Michigan’s scoring and Jordan Marshall added a 1-yard score as the Wolverines piled up 211 rushing yards. Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht threw two interceptions and lost a late fumble — Chris Bracy’s strip-sack, recovered by Enow Etta — and although Chase Sowell (11 catches, 151 yards) caught a touchdown pass with 1:11 left to pull the Nittany Lions within three, Michigan recovered the onside kick to close it out before 110,731 fans.

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Saturday of Chaos: Five of the AP Top Seven Fall for the First Time Since 1936

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Tennessee celebrates its 26-10 win over Alabama — the signature result on a Saturday when five of the AP top seven lost.

College football has been playing with an AP poll since 1936. It had never seen a Saturday like this one: five of the top seven teams in the country — No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas — all lost on the same regular-season day, and the top two teams lost on the same day for the first time since Nov. 17, 2012. For the second straight week, the nation’s No. 1 team fell to an unranked opponent, something that hadn’t happened since 1990.

The carnage: Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Athens on a field goal as time expired, the Tigers’ first win there in 31 years. BYU toppled No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo behind four total touchdowns from Bear Bachmeier, ending the Irish’s 16-game winning streak. Ohio State survived Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington, snapping the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak — but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to a shoulder injury. Tennessee’s defense strangled No. 6 Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, holding the Crimson Tide to 201 yards. And Florida went into Austin and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 behind first-time starter Tramell Jones Jr.

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The survivors: No. 3 Miami needed two overtimes to escape Florida State 43-35 in a rivalry classic. No. 9 Ole Miss routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, LSU blanked No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0, No. 10 Texas Tech hung 53 on Arizona State, and No. 15 Kentucky rallied to win 21-13 at Oklahoma. Michigan benched Bryce Underwood and still beat Penn State 21-18. Elsewhere, Utah edged Colorado 27-24, UCLA beat Wisconsin 17-7, Houston outlasted Oklahoma State 35-32, SMU topped Virginia 23-13, Wake Forest routed Cal 41-7, Oregon held off Nebraska 17-14, and Washington beat Purdue 38-26 on Friday night.

The new AP Top 25 tells the story of the shakeup: Miami is No. 1 with 40 first-place votes, BYU is No. 2 (20 first-place votes) and Ohio State No. 3 (9). Notre Dame sits fourth, Georgia fifth, Indiana sixth, followed by Ole Miss, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah. Tennessee climbs to No. 11 and Kentucky to No. 12, while Alabama tumbles to No. 13, LSU rises to No. 18, Texas falls to No. 19 and Florida cracks the poll at No. 20. Missouri (No. 22), SMU (No. 23), Northwestern (No. 24) and Arizona (No. 25) round out the rankings.

Week 8 has a lot to live up to.

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