Quarterback Andrew Luck #12 of the Stanford Cardinal hands the ball to a referee after scoring on a two yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 29, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
(October 28, 2011 – Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images North America)

(PhatzRadio /AP / USA Today) — LOS ANGELES – Stanford had methodically marched through an easy schedule to a 7-0 record, a No. 3 national ranking, a rousing Heisman Trophy candidacy for quarterback Andrew Luck and all kinds of gaudy statistics that suggested a potential national championship shot.

And then came the Cardinal at once-beaten, Southern California before a national TV audience and a sellout crowd of 93,607 at the L.A. Coliseum.

Now this was a challenge.

It turned out to be messy and gut-wrenching, sloppy and dramatic, heroic and exhausting and, when it was over, Luck was again on top, leading Stanford to a 56-48 triple-overtime victory Saturday night that lasted four hours and 15 minutes.

BOX SCORE: Stanford 56, Southern California 48
BLOG: Kiffin disappointed in officials after loss
PHOTOS: Images from around the country

Asked where this one ranked in his career, Luck took a breath and said, “I might need a couple of minutes to digest it, but it’s definitely up there. More than anything, it’s a win.”

Being behind, this was something new for Luck and the Cardinal.

None of Stanford’s previous seven opponents, not exactly a Murderer’s Row of college football powerhouses, had managed to take a lead against the Cardinal.

“It shows we’re resilient,” Luck said. “The guys on this team, we believe in each other.”

And throwing a potential game-losing interception, this was something new for Luck, too, at least this season.

Trying to lead the Cardinal to a game-winning drive to break a 27-27 tie, Luck threw a pass intended for Chris Owusu, but it hung in the air too long. USC cornerback Nickell Robey picked it off and ran it 32 yards into the end zone to give the Trojans a 34-27 lead with 3:08 to play.

“You have to understand Andrew is the most competitive guy on this team,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “When he made that bad throw, he was completely down in the dumps. But then he flushed it, and he got that look in his eye like, ‘We are gonna get this done.’

“That’s what he said. He went up and down, telling the guys, ‘We’re gonna get this done.’”

Said Luck: “I was really disappointed in myself. For a couple of seconds, I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself. But then I looked at the clock and just had a belief that there was enough time.”

On the ensuing possession, Luck faced third-and-6 at his own 40 and threw incomplete to Owusu. But Trojan safety T.J. McDonald’s unnecessary roughness penalty on Owusu gave Stanford the ball at the USC 45. It was just USC’s second penalty of the game.

Stanford gobbled up the opportunity and moved it into the end zone, scoring the tying touchdown with 38 seconds left.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley completed three passes that got USC into Stanford territory as the last seconds ticked down, the last one going to Robert Woods, who ran nearly the width of the field before trying to get out of bounds to stop the clock. But his knee was ruled down in-bounds and the clock ran out, sending the game to overtime.

USC coach Lane Kiffin argued unsuccessfully that the Trojans called time out and should have been able to attempt a field goal.

Overtime, this was new to Stanford, too.

Turns out Luck was good at that, too, to no one’s surprise.

“We just put the ball in our quarterback’s hands,” Shaw said. “We put it on his shoulders, and the guy comes through.”

The teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtimes, to make it 48-48.

In the third overtime, Stanford scored another touchdown, a 5-yard run by Stepfan Taylor. By rule in the third overtime, Stanford had to go for two, and Luck hit tight end Coby Fleener wide open in the end zone for a 56-48 lead.

USC responded by getting down to the 4-yard line on a pass from Barkley to Marqise Lee. But on first and goal, small-but-mighty (5-7, 180) tailback Curtis McNeal, who had an otherwise fabulous game with 145 yards and two touchdowns, fumbled the ball into the end zone, where Stanford recovered.

That was the game, as Stanford (8-0) kept its national title hopes alive and Luck looked every bit the Heisman Trophy winner and No.1 NFL draft pick.

Luck completed 28 of 39 for 302 yards, three TDs and the one interception. He also ran for 39 yards and a touchdown.

USC, down 10-6 at halftime, stormed into a 20-10 third-quarter lead on touchdown runs of 61 and 25 yards by McNeal.

How would Luck and Stanford respond?

Pretty impressively, putting together drives of 75 and 86 yards, scoring touchdowns on a short toss from Luck to Ryan Hewitt and on a scramble into the end zone by Luck himself.

That put Stanford back in front 24-20.

Then Barkley moved the Trojans down the field and hit Lee for a 28-yard TD that put the Trojans back in front with 13:04 left in the game.

Then Stanford tied it up 27-27 on a 29-yard field goal by Eric Whitaker with 5:10 left.

And so we headed into the final minutes with either team one big drive or play away from a statement victory.

Turns out there were lots of big plays left, and the biggest statement was made by Stanford and Luck.

Looming ahead: Oregon at Stanford, Nov. 12.

No. 8 Arkansas rallies again, beats Vandy 31-28

Nashville, Tenn. (AP) — Zach Hocker kicked a 42-yard field goal with 6:53 left, and eighth-ranked Arkansas rallied yet again to beat Vanderbilt 31-28 Saturday for the Razorbacks’ fourth straight win.

This was the third time this season the Razorbacks (7-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed by double digits. They didn’t trail by 18 as they did against Texas A&M or 17 last week before beating Mississippi. This time, Vanderbilt led by 21-7 with 1:39 left in the first half.

No. 11 Sooners roll over No. 10 K-State, 58-17

Manhattan, Kan. (AP) –Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles helped No. 11 Oklahoma get back on track and spoil 10th-ranked Kansas State’s dream season.

Jones threw for a school-record 505 yards and five touchdowns, his All-American wide receiver caught 14 passes for 171 yards and a score, and the Sooners bounced back from a stunning defeat to beat the previously unbeaten Wildcats 58-17 Saturday.

Kenny Stills added four catches for 101 yards, Roy Finch finished with 73 yards rushing and another 69 through the air, and the Sooners’ potent, fast-paced attack managed 690 yards of total offense against the league’s top-ranked defense.

Jones’ passing total shattered the previous record of 468 yards he shared with Sam Bradford, while Broyles moved into first place on the Big 12′s career list with 4,499 yards receiving.?

No. 13 Nebraska beats No. 9 Spartans 24-3

Lincoln, Neb. (AP) — Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns and ran for 130 yards on 35 carries, and No. 13 Nebraska defeated ninth-ranked Michigan State 24-3 Saturday to take control of the Big Ten Legends Division.

Burkhead, who went over 100 yards for the fifth time in six games, scored at the end of 80- and 89-yard drives in the third quarter to put Nebraska up 24-3.

Taylor Martinez completed 6 of 7 passes for 80 yards in the third quarter after going 1 for 6 in the first half.

Michigan State (6-2, 3-1), coming off the incredible finish to its win over Wisconsin last week, managed just 187 yards against Nebraska’s improving defense. Kirk Cousins was 11 of 27 for 86 yards, with an interception that set up the Huskers’ first score.

No. 15 Va Tech holds on to beat Duke, 14-10

Durham, N.C. (AP) –David Wilson rushed for 148 yards and No. 15 Virginia Tech overcame a sloppy performance to beat Duke 14-10 on Saturday for its Atlantic Coast Conference-record 11th straight road victory.

Logan Thomas was 17 of 28 for 190 yards with two interceptions and a 2-yard touchdown pass to Eric Martin. Josh Oglesby added a 1-yard scoring run for the Coastal Division-leading Hokies (8-1, 4-1).

They entered as 15-point favorites, were sluggish and inefficient throughout, yet came up with enough plays to claim their fourth straight victory. Virginia Tech rolled up 433 yards yet gave up 326 to Duke.

?Missouri beats No. 16 Texas A&M 38-31 in OT

College Station, Texas (AP) — James Franklin’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Lucas in overtime lifted the Missouri Tigers to a 38-31 win over No. 16 Texas A&M on Saturday.

Texas A&M got the ball after the score, but Ryan Tannehill’s pass on fourth down was deflected.

The Tigers had a chance to win it in regulation, but a 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired.

Missouri (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) got the ball when Jacquies Smith caused a fumble by Tannehill, which was recovered by Dominique Hamilton.

The Aggies led by 11 at halftime, but Missouri took a 31-28 lead on an 11-yard run by Henry Josey with about eight minutes left. Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2) tied it on a 35-yard field goal about four minutes later.

Toussaint leads No. 17 Michigan over Purdue 36-14

Arbor, Mich. (AP) — Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for a career-high 170 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 17 Michigan to a 36-14 win over Purdue on Saturday.

The Wolverines (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) gave up a TD on the opening drive of the game, then scored 36 straight points to bounce back from their first loss of the season, two weeks ago at Michigan State.

The Boilermakers (4-4, 2-2) haven’t won or lost consecutive games this year.

Notre Dame runs over Navy with 56-14 victory

South Bend, Ind. (AP) — Jonas Gray ran for three of Notre Dame’s seven rushing touchdowns, and Michael Floyd ran for a score and caught another as the Fighting Irish rebounded from a rough week with a 56-14 rout of Navy on Saturday.

The Irish (5-3) finished with 442 yards of total offense. Tommy Rees was 16 of 22 for 237 yards, and his 56-yard scoring pass to Floyd was the longest completion of his career.

The Midshipmen (2-6) were held to a season-low 229 yards of total offense as they lost their sixth straight, and will now have to win out to have any hope of going to a bowl game for a ninth straight year.

Jenkins leads Fordham past Army 55-0

?West Point, N.Y. (AP) — Max Jenkins ran for two touchdowns in his last game at Michie Stadium and Army rushed through an October snowstorm to beat Fordham a 55-0 victory over Fordham Saturday.

In his first career start, Jenkins threw for 30 yards and a touchdown, and Raymond Maples rushed for 159 yards for the Black Knights (3-5). Larry Dixon added a touchdown on 85 rushing yards as Army finished with 544 yards of offense, including 514 rushing.

Darryl Whiting had 36 rushing yards for the Rams (1-7, 0-3 Patriot League), who were held to 86 offensive yards and lost their sixth straight.

DeWitt leads AFA to 42-0 win against New Mexico

Albuquerque, N.M. (AP) — Mike DeWitt scored a career-high four touchdowns, three in the first half, leading Air Force to a 42-0 victory over New Mexico on Saturday.

Air Force (4-4, 1-3 Mountain West) played most of the game without quarterback Tim Jefferson, who went out with an undisclosed injury in the first quarter. But backup Connor Dietz stepped in with a big performance, collecting 87 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

DeWitt finished with 64 yards on 15 carries and backfield mate Asher Clark added 75 yards on 10 carries.

For the Lobos (0-8, 0-3), Crusoe Gongbay rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries.