SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jimmy Clausen completed a career-best 29 passes for Notre Dame against Stanford, and none pleased his coach more than a throw that went about 3 yards.

"It's a miracle," Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis said.

That Armando Allen turned Clausen's dump-off into a 21-yard touchdown wasn't what had Weis rejoicing. He was just thrilled to know all the time he's spent hammering Clausen about checking down to the tailback when the deep receivers aren't open is finally paying off.

Clausen did a good job going down the field, too, passing for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdowns as the Irish held on yesterday for a 28-21 victory over Stanford.

"I think it's a major step when the quarterback doesn't force balls down the field and is willing to throw to his flair control," Weis said. "I think that's a major step."

Clausen, the most heralded recruit Weis has lured to South Bend, went 29-for-40, had his second straight three-touchdown game and his second straight career-best performance after throwing for 275 yards a week earlier against Purdue.

Emotions were high because Notre Dame's seventh straight victory over the Cardinal (3-3) went from being an apparent rout when the Fighting Irish (4-1) were up 28-7 in the fourth quarter to a close game. Stanford made a late run behind Tavita Pritchard. He threw a 1-yard pass to Jim Dray and a 10-yard TD pass to Doug Baldwin with 6 minutes left to close to within a touchdown.

The Cardinal got the ball back on their own 2 with 3:34 left, but couldn't mount a drive.

ACC

Florida State 41, Miami 39: Antone Smith rushed for a career-best four touchdowns, including a game-clinching 20-yarder with 3:57 remaining, and the visiting Seminoles (4-1, 1-1 ACC) wasted most of an early 24-point lead before hanging on to beat the Hurricanes (2-3, 0-2).

Boston College 38, N.C. State 31: Chris Crane scampered around the left side for a 13-yard touchdown with 22.8 seconds left to help the visiting Eagles (4-1, 1-1 ACC) beat the Wolfpack (2-4, 0-2), who rallied from a 31-17 deficit.

Georgia Tech 27, Duke 0: Jaybo Shaw had 230 yards passing on nine completions, all to Demaryius Thomas, Jonathan Dwyer ran for a career-best 159 yards and the host Yellow Jackets (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) shut out the Blue Devils (3-2, 1-1)

Virginia 31, Maryland 0: Marc Verica threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the host Cavaliers (2-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), outscored 128-20 in three previous games against Bowl Subdivision teams, rolled past the Terrapins (4-2, 1-1).

BIG EAST

West Virginia 24, Rutgers 17: Pat White threw two touchdown passes before leaving the game late in the third quarter after getting hit in the head at the end of a 10-yard run as the host Mountaineers (3-2, 1-0 Big East) improved to 16-0 at home against the Scarlet Knights (1-4, 0-1).

BIG TEN

Illinois 45, Michigan 20: Quarterback Juice Williams threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 121 yards and two scores without making a mistake, leading the visiting Fighting Illini (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) over the Wolverines (2-3, 1-1).

Michigan State 16, Iowa 13: Linebacker Adam Decker stopped Shonn Greene on fourth-and-1 from the Spartans' 21-yard line as host Michigan State (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) held off the Hawkeyes (3-3, 0-2), who passed up what could have been a game-tying field-goal attempt to go for it on fourth down.

Minnesota 16, Indiana 7: Eric Decker tied a school record with 13 catches for 190 yards and withstood a vicious blow to the head in the fourth quarter to get coach Tim Brewster his first career Big Ten victory as the host Gophers (5-1, 1-1) beat the Hoosiers (2-3, 0-2).

CONFERENCE USA

CENTRAL FLORIDA 31, SMU 17: Mchael Greco came off the bench to throw two touchdown passes and Ronnie Weaver rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown as the host Knights (2-4, 1-1 Conference USA) ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Mustangs (1-5, 0-3).

Army 44, Tulane 13: Collin Mooney ran for 187 yards and four touchdowns, and the visiting Black Knights (1-4) beat the Green Wave (2-3), who were playing their first game at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans in four years.

UTEP 40, Southern Miss. 37: Trevor Vittatoe threw four touchdown passes, including a 7-yarder to Chris Adams in the second overtime, to lift the visiting Miners (2-3, 2-0 Conference USA) over the Golden Eagles (2-3, 0-2), who took a 37-34 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Britt Barefoot.

Tulsa 63, Rice 28: David Johnson threw for 177 yards and four touchdowns, and A.J. Whitmore ran for 83 yards and two scores as the host Golden Hurricane (5-0, 2-0 Conference USA) broke away from a 21-14 halftime lead to rout the Owls (3-3, 2-1).

MID-AMERICAN

Temple 28, Miami (Ohio) 10: Chester Stewart threw three touchdown passes — two to Bruce Francis in the fourth quarter — and the visiting Owls (2-4, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) recovered three fumbles and intercepted a pass in beating the RedHawks (1-4, 0-2).

Eastern Michigan 24, Bowling Green 21: Andy Schmitt hit Tyler Jones on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds left to push the visiting Hurons (2-4, 1-2 MAC) past the Falcons (2-3, 0-1), who had taken a 21-17 lead on Tyler Sheehan's 8-yard run with 5:11 to play.

Akron 30, Kent State 27: Igor Iveljic kicked three field goals, including a 25-yarder in the second overtime, to lift the visiting Zips (3-3, 1-1 MAC) over the Golden Flashes (1-5, 0-2) when Nate Reed missed wide right on a 23-yard attempt to end the game.

Western Michigan 41, Ohio 20: Tim Hiller threw for a season-high 347 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Brandon West scored three touchdowns, leading the host the Broncos (5-1, 3-0 MAC) over the Bobcats (1-5, 0-2).

Ball State 31, Toledo 0: MiQuale Lewis rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and the visiting Cardinals (6-0, 3-0 MAC) broke away from a 3-0 halftime lead to hand the Rockets (1-4, 1-1) their first shutout in 15 years by a MAC opponent.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Navy 33, Air Force 27: The defense blocked two punts for touchdowns, Matt Harmon tied a school record with four field goals and the visiting Midshipmen (4-2), playing without injured quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (a Kapolei High alum from Hawai'i) beat the Falcons (3-2) for a sixth straight time.

Colorado State 41, UNLV 28: Gartrell Johnson scored on a 10-yard run with nine seconds left, and John Mosure returned a fumble seven yards on the ensuing kickoff for another score as the host Rams (3-2, 1-0 MWC) handed the Rebels (3-3, 0-2) their 17th straight conference road loss.

TCU 41, SAN DIEGO STATE 7: Backup quarterback Marcus Jackson rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns and went 10-of-19 for 115 yards in his first start this season to help the Horned Frogs (5-1, 2-0 MWC) roll past the Aztecs (1-4, 0-1).

New Mexico 24, wyoming 0: Frankie Solomon returned an interception 13 for a score on the first play of the game and freshman James Wright scored on a 1-yard run for a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter and the host Lobos (3-3, 1-1 MWC) beat the Cowboys (2-4, 0-3).

PACIFIC-10

California 24, Arizona State 14: Nate Longshore, who lost his starting job in spring practice, passed for 198 yards and three touchdowns in his return to the starting lineup as the host Bears (4-1, 2-0 Pac-10) held off the Sun Devils (2-3, 1-1).

Arizona 48, Washington 14: Rob Gronkowski tied a school record with three touchdown catches, Nic Grigsby ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and the host Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 Pac-10) routed the Huskies (0-5, 0-3).

SEC

South Carolina 31, Mississippi 24: Chris Smelley threw three touchdown passes and the visiting Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) held the Rebels (3-3, 1-2) to just a field goal in the second second half.

Tennessee 13, Northern Illinois 9: Nick Stephens, getting his first start of the season, threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore in the third quarter for a 13-3 lead as the host Volunteers (2-3) held off the Huskies (2-3).