COLUMBUS, Ohio — A late turnover and a second-team quarterback made the difference for Penn State. For a change, everything went right for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium.

Pat Devlin came off the bench for injured starting quarterback Daryll Clark in the fourth quarter and led two scoring drives, sneaking in for the go-ahead touchdown to give No. 3 Penn State a 13-6 victory over No. 10 Ohio State last night.

"How many times have I told you Pat Devlin is a heck of a quarterback?" coach Joe Paterno said after his 381st career victory. "We're lucky to have two quarterbacks."

Devlin was stunned to be called upon.

Asked what was wrong with Clark, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have no idea. They just told me to go in."

The win put the Nittany Lions (9-0, 5-0) in command in the Big Ten and severely crimped the chances of the Buckeyes (7-2, 4-1) grabbing an unprecedented third consecutive outright league title and a piece of their fourth conference championship in a row.

Penn State, with Paterno coaching from the press box for the fourth straight game, solidified its position as a national championship contender and also erased the ugly memories of an 0-7 mark in Columbus since joining the Big Ten in 1993. Penn State's previous victory in Columbus came in 1978 — also when a freshman quarterback (Art Schlichter) made critical mistakes and the Nittany Lions pounced on them.

"One turnover was the ballgame," Paterno said. "We played the game we had to play."

Defenses controlled most of the game before an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,711.

NO. 2 ALABAMA 29, TENNESSEE 9

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — John Parker Wilson passed for 188 yards and ran for a touchdown, and the Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) outgained the Volunteers (3-5, 1-4), 366-173 in cruising to an easy victory.

The win gives the Crimson Tide their first back-to-back victories over the Volunteers in a usually streaky "Third Saturday in October" series since the 1991-92 seasons.

NO. 4 OKLAHOMA 58, KANSAS STATE 35

MANHATTAN, Kan. — DeMarco Murray had 167 total yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half, and the Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) withstood a 21-point Wildcats' (4-4, 1-3) rally in the highest-scoring first half in school history.

Sam Bradford added three touchdown passes in a wild first half in which the Sooners gave up a 28-7 lead before taking control with 27 consecutive points of their own. The capper was a 68-yard punt return touchdown by redshirt freshman Ryan Broyles that gave the Sooners a 55-28 halftime lead.

NO. 5 FLORIDA 63, KENTUCKY 5

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores to help the Gators (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) extend their winning streak in the series with the Wildcats (5-3, 1-3) to 22 games.

Now, the Gators can focus on the game they've been looking forward to for a year: Georgia, a hated rival that stomped its way to a victory last season that essentially knocked Florida out of the Southeastern Conference race.

NO. 6 USC 17, ARIZONA 10

TUCSON, Ariz. — Mark Sanchez threw for 216 yards and a touchdown, and the Trojans (6-1, 4-1 Pac-10) used their dominant defense to hold the Wildcats (5-3, 3-2) to a season-low 188 yards and keep its national title hopes alive.

A fluke play helped the Trojans escape a tight spot in the final three minutes. On first-and-10 at USC's 3, Stafon Johnson fumbled at the 10. But USC tight end Anthony McCoy recovered and rumbled 29 yards to the 39.

NO. 8 TEXAS TECH 63, NO. 19 KANSAS 21

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Graham Harrell passed for 386 yards and five touchdowns, the Red Raiders (8-0, 4-0 Big 12) scored on eight of their first nine possessions, and Darcel McBath intercepted three passes in rolling past the Jayhawks (5-3, 2-2).

Harrell, the nation's leader in yards passing, also scored on a 1-yard run for the Red Raiders, who have matched their best start in 32 years. Texas Tech rolled up 556 total yards to kick off a brutal four-week stretch that'll include No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Oklahoma.

NO. 9 GEORGIA 52, NO. 11 LSU 38

BATON ROUGE, La. — Knowshon Moreno quieted one of the loudest crowds (92,904) in college football, running for a 68-yard score and linebacker Darryl Gamble returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns of 37 and 53 yards as the Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1 SEC) routed the Tigers (5-2, 3-2).

LOUISVILLE 24, NO. 14 SOUTH FLORIDA 20

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hunter Cantwell threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Scott Long with 7:07 left to play to help the Cardinals (5-2, 1-1 Big East) upset the penalty-plagued Bulls (6-2, 1-2), who committed 14 penalties for 109 yards.

NO. 15 TCU 54, WYOMING 7

FORT WORTH, Texas — Jimmy Young had a school-record 226 yards receiving and caught scoring passes of 60, 55 and 39 yards, and hauled in a 65-yarder to set up another touchdown as the Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West) routed the Cowboys (2-6, 0-5).

NO. 16 MISSOURI 58, COLORADO 0

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Chase Daniel matched his school record with five touchdown passes, including two to Jeremy Maclin as the Tigers (6-2, 2-2 Big 12) handed the Buffaloes (4-4, 2-2) their first shutout since 1988.

RUTGERS 54, NO. 17 PITTSBURGH 34

PITTSBURGH — Mike Teel, booed at times by his own fans this season, threw five of his school-record six touchdown passes in the first half as the Scarlet Knights (3-5, 2-2) mangled the Panthers (5-2, 2-1), the Big East's top-ranked and nation's 10th-rated pass defense.

NO. 18 BYU 42, UNLV 35

PROVO, Utah — Max Hall threw for four touchdowns and Austin Collie had his sixth straight 100-yard receiving game for the Cougars (7-1, 3-1 Mountain West), who were matched nearly score-for-score by the Rebels (3-5, 0-4) until the final drive.

NO. 20 BALL STATE 38, EASTERN MICHIGAN 16

MUNCIE, Ind. — Nate Davis caught the first touchdown pass of his career and threw two more as the Cardinals (8-0, 4-0 Mid-American) continued their best start in 43 years by beating the Eagles (2-6, 1-4).

VIRGINIA 24, NO. 21 GEORGIA TECH 17

ATLANTA — Cedric Peerman rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including a 3-yarder with 3 1/2 minutes left, lifting the Cavaliers (5-3, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) over the Yellow Jackets (6-2, 3-2) for their fourth straight victory.

NORTH CAROLINA 45, NO. 23 B. COLLEGE 24

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Hakeem Nicks had three second-quarter touchdown catches and ran for a score in the fourth quarter, and Trimane Goddard added an interception return for a touchdown to lead the Tar Heels (6-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) to an upset of the Eagles (5-2, 2-2).

NO. 24 FLORIDA STATE 30, VIRGINIA TECH 20

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Greg Carr made two fingertip catches on long pass plays to set up touchdowns in the third quarter as the Seminoles (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat the Hokies (5-3, 2-2).

NO. 25 MINNESOTA 17, PURDUE 6

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Adam Weber passed for a touchdown and ran for another as the the Golden Gophers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (2-6, 0-4), who lost quarterback Curtis Painter (hurt throwing shoulder) to injury in the first half.