College Football | Eastern defeats Northern Arizona 49-45, hopes to get playoff berth Sunday

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Matt Nichols threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Overbay with 3:30 remaining to lift Eastern Washington to a 49-45 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday.

The winning score culminated a five-play, 74-yard drive by the Eagles (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky), who kept hope alive for a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The 16-team field will be announced today.

The Lumberjacks (5-6, 4-4) threatened to respond, but their drive stalled when Michael Herrick's pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-three from the EWU 32-yard line.

Nichols finished 22 of 33 for 408 yards and five touchdowns.

Herrick set a school game passing record, throwing for 574 yards and four TDs.

Top 25 games

No. 13 Penn State 42, at Michigan State 14

Daryll Clark passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions will now see whether it did enough to earn a BCS bowl bid.

Clark moved into first place in the school's record book with 23 TD passes in a season and 42 in a career. Evan Royster added 114 yards on 13 carries for Penn State (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten).

At No. 15 Iowa 12, Minnesota 0

James Vandenberg threw for 117 yards, fellow freshman Brandon Wegher ran for a touchdown, and the Hawkeyes (10-2) kept alive their hopes for a BCS bowl berth.

At No. 16 Virginia Tech 38, North Carolina State 10

Ryan Williams ran for 120 yards and four touchdowns and helped the Hokies (8-3) to the victory.

At Northwestern 33,

No. 17 Wisconsin 31

Mike Kafka hit Andrew Brewer with two first-half touchdown passes and Brian Peters and Jordan Mabin made key defensive plays late for Northwestern (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) in a win over the Badgers (8-3, 5-3).

At No. 19 BYU 38,

Air Force 21

Max Hall threw for five touchdowns and set a school record with his 30th career win, and the Cougars (9-2, 5-1 MWC) won their sixth straight over Air Force (7-5, 5-3).

At No. 21 Miami 34, Duke 16

Jacory Harris threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns, and Darryl Sharpton had a 73-yard interception return for a score for Miami (8-3).

At No. 23 Utah 38,

San Diego State 7

Eddie Wide ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns for the Utes (9-2, 6-1 MWC).

At No. 24 Houston 55, Memphis 14

Case Keenum threw for 405 yards and five touchdowns in just more than two quarters, breaking David Klingler's school record with 94 career touchdown tosses.

At Syracuse 31,

No. 25 Rutgers 13

Greg Paulus had 142 yards passing and the Syracuse (4-7) defense racked up nine sacks to match a school record in a win over Rutgers (7-3)

Notes

• Connecticut coach Randy Edsall called the Huskies' 33-30 double-overtime victory against Notre Dame the program's "best win."

On the other side, Charlie Weis was left to try to explain another jarring loss on senior day and wonder if it will be his last game at Notre Dame Stadium as Fighting Irish coach. Andre Dixon scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime to give the Huskies a victory, their first since cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death last month.

"Jazz this is for you," Edsall said, referring to Howard by his nickname. "Best win we have ever had."

Edsall said beating the Irish (6-5) was big, but getting the first win after the death of Howard was much bigger.

"You've got to understand what this team has gone through," he said. "A couple of close games, and then you lose a teammate, you lose a brother, you lose a son, and you're trying so hard to honor him by winning on the field. We hadn't done that."

• Zach Amedro threw for 540 yards and six touchdowns, Kevon Calhoun ran for 173 yards and four more scores, and West Liberty outscored Edinboro 84-63 in the second round of the Division II playoffs. The teams combined for 1,394 yards of total offense, breaking the division record of 1,369 set in Chadron State's 76-73 triple-overtime win over Abilene Christian on Nov. 23, 2007.