SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija added another chapter to Notre Dame's storied history.

This great finish did more than just contribute another memory to the lore of the Golden Domers, however. It also kept alive the Bowl Championship Series hopes of the 10th-ranked Fighting Irish.

Quinn, under pressure all day by a relentless UCLA defense, completed three straight passes in the final 62 seconds, capped by a 45-yard TD pass to Samardzija with 27 second left, to lead the Irish to a 20-17 come-from-behind victory over the Bruins yesterday.

"Good teams win games like that," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "Good teams at the end of the game somehow, good teams make a play at the end of the game to win."

The victory was just the third time the Irish (6-1) won with a touchdown in the final 30 seconds.

The Irish had to overcome a UCLA defense that had shut them down for most of the game. Notre Dame managed just 41 yards rushing and had just 224 yards passing until the final drive.

It seemed Notre Dame had squandered its last chance to win when Quinn was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 from the Notre Dame 35 with 2:25 left. But the Irish held UCLA (4-3) to three-and-out on three straight runs to give Quinn one last chance.

"We would have loved to have finish the game on offense, no question about that," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "We made them exhaust all their timeouts but we didn't finish with the first down. We needed one first down to finish the game and we didn't do that."

Quinn hit Samardzija with a 21-yard pass and David Grimes with a 14-yard pass to move to the UCLA 45. He then threw the TD pass to Samardzija, who cut inside safety Dennis Keyes at the 15-yard line, keeping the Irish's hopes for a berth in the BCS alive. Notre Dame likely would have had no shot at a major bowl with two losses.

Quinn completed 27 of 45 passes for 304 yards and two TD passes to Samardzija.

NO. 1 OHIO STATE 44, INDIANA 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Despite incompletions on his first four attempts, Troy Smith was 15 of 23 for 230 yards and four first-half touchdown passes, and Ted Ginn Jr. threw one and caught another as the Buckeyes (8-0, 4-0) rolled past the Hoosiers (4-4, 2-2).

Smith's scoring strikes covered 23 yards to Rory Nicol, 31 yards to Ginn, 5 yards to Anthony Gonzalez and 1 yard to Jake Ballard — giving Smith 21 TD passes this season with just two interceptions as the Buckeyes won their 15th in a row, the longest streak in the nation.

NO. 2 MICHIGAN 20, IOWA 6

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Mike Hart rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and the Wolverines (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) held the Hawkeyes (5-3, 2-3) to just 41 yards rushing and only two field goals.

Hart put the capper on the game with a 9-yard TD run with 3:59 left. With Northwestern, Ball State and Indiana coming up for Michigan, the Hawkeyes appeared to be the only serious stumbling block between the Wolverines and an undefeated record going into the Ohio State game on Nov. 18.

NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 28, SYRACUSE 13

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kolby Smith rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns and Anthony Allen scored on two short runs as the Cardinals (7-0, 2-0 Big East) handed the Orange (3-5, 0-3) their 10th straight conference loss.

Brian Brohm was 18 for 26 for 203 yards and an interception as Louisville totaled 421 yards on offense in preparation for its showdown with No. 4 West Virginia in 12 days.

NO. 8 AUBURN 38, TULANE 13

AUBURN, Ala. — Brandon Cox completed 16 of 19 for 212 yards and three touchdowns, and freshman Ben Tate rushed for 156 yards to power the Tigers (7-1) past the Green Wave (2-5).

Auburn tailback Kenny Irons was held out of the game to rest a gimpy ankle. Brad Lester started but played only sparingly, catching a 36-yard pass and rushing for a 2-yard touchdown on the opening drive.

NO. 11 CALIFORNIA 31, WASHINGTON 24

BERKELEY, Calif. — Marshawn Lynch ran for 150 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown in overtime, and Desmond Bishop made a game-ending interception as the Golden Bears (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) held off the Huskies (4-4, 2-3) for their seventh straight victory.

Lynch scored on a 17-yard run with 1:52 to play to give Cal a 24-17 lead. But quarterback Carl Bonnell, who threw five interceptions, drove the Huskies 48 yards to the Cal 40, where he threw to the end zone with 6 seconds left. Bishop or Robert Peele could have knocked it down, but instead deflected the ball to Marlon Wood, who caught it and lunged over the goal line.

NO. 12 CLEMSON 31, NO. 13 GEORGIA TECH 7

CLEMSON, S.C. — James Davis ran for a career-high 216 yards, C.J. Spiller scored two 50-yard touchdowns and the Tigers (7-1, 4-1 ACC) held Calvin Johnson without a catch for the first time in his career in a surprisingly easy victory over the Yellow Jackets (5-2, 3-1).

Davis, the ACC's leading rusher, scored on a 2-yard TD run. Spiller added a 50-yard scoring run in the third quarter and had a 50-yard TD catch to help Clemson to its sixth straight victory.

NO. 15 ARKANSAS 38, MISSISSIPPI 3

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Felix Jones returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and the Razorbacks (6-1, 4-0 SEC) also scored on their first offensive possession to romp past the Rebels (2-6, 1-4) and remain the only team with a perfect Southeastern Conference record.

The Razorbacks made it 14-0 after the first 5:17 on a 4-yard run by Darren McFadden and took a 21-3 lead into intermission on Peyton Hillis' 1-yard run in the second quarter.

WASHINGTON STATE 34, NO. 16 OREGON 23

PULLMAN, Wash. — Jed Collins caught a touchdown pass and rushed for another score as the Cougars (5-3, 3-2 Pac-10) dealt a blow to the Ducks' (5-2, 3-2) hopes for a BCS bowl appearance.

Alex Brink threw touchdown passes to Collins and Jason Hill, and Washington State's defense held the league's top offensive team without an offensive touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter.

NO. 19 RUTGERS 20, PITTSBURGH 10

PITTSBURGH — Ray Rice's 63-yard run set up his own 1-yard touchdown run with 11:13 to play for a 20-10 lead as the Knights (7-0, 2-0 Big East) won their first big test of the season by beating the Panthers (6-2, 2-1).

Rice, the nation's No. 4 rusher, carried 39 times for 225 yards and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in as many seasons — he now has 1,124 yards.

NO. 20 OKLAHOMA 24, COLORADO 3

NORMAN, Okla. — Allen Patrick ran for 110 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown to lead the Sooners (5-2, 2-1 Big 12) over the Buffaloes (1-7, 1-3) in their first game without Adrian Peterson, who broke his collarbone last week.

Paul Thompson added a touchdown pass to Manuel Johnson for Oklahoma.

NO. 21 WISCONSIN 24, PURDUE 3

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — P.J. Hill ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and John Stocco completed 13 of 21 passes for 201 yards to lead the Badgers (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) past the Boilermakers (5-3, 2-2).

Wisconsin, which entered the game with the nation's sixth-ranked defense, held the nation's fourth-ranked offense to 286 yards, 185 below its average. It was the first time since a 31-3 loss to Michigan on Oct. 25, 2003, that Purdue failed to score at least 10 points.

NO. 22 B.C. 24, FLORIDA STATE 19

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — DeJuan Tribble's 36-yard interception return for a touchdown capped a 21-point second quarter and Larry Anam intercepted a desperation throw in the end zone on the game's final play to preserve the Eagles' (6-1, 3-1 ACC) victory over the Seminoles (4-3, 2-3).

Boston College scored two touchdowns in the final 51 seconds of the first half to take a 21-10 halftime lead. Steve Aponavicius' 26-yard field goal boosted the lead to 24-10 after three.

NO. 23 TEXAS A&M 34, OKLAHOMA STATE 33

STILLWATER, Okla. — Stephen McGee threw a 2-yard touchdown pass with 3 seconds left in regulation and Red Bryant blocked an extra-point attempt in overtime, helping the Aggies (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) beat the Cowboys (4-3, 1-2).

The Aggies forced overtime on a 2-yard TD pass from McGee to tight end Joey Thomas and scored first in overtime on Jorvorskie Lane's one-yard plunge. Oklahoma State answered as backup quarterback Zac Robinson threw a 15-yarder to Adarius Bowman, but Bryant batted down Jason Ricks' kick.

NO. 24 MISSOURI 41, KANSAS STATE 21

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Linebacker Zach Diles scooped up a fumble and ran 43 yards for touchdown on the first offensive play to give the Wildcats (4-4, 1-3 Big 12) the lead, but the Tigers (7-1, 3-1) rallied behind Chase Daniel's four touchdown passes.

Daniel has a team-record 19 touchdown passes this season, helping Missouri match its best start since 1969. Kansas State has lost four of five after starting the season 3-0.

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