COLUMBUS, OHIO ? The snap was good. The hold was good. Ohio State’s luck was really good.

The fourth-ranked Buckeyes pulled another magical escape in a tight spot Saturday, beating No. 11 Purdue 16-13 in overtime when Ben Jones missed a 36-yard field goal on the final play.

“It felt good off my foot,” Jones said. “Then I looked up …”

Asked what went wrong, Purdue coach Joe Tiller stared straight ahead and said: “There was nothing. Nothing. We missed it.”

Mike Nugent kicked a 36-yard field goal of his own in overtime, which ended up giving the Buckeyes their third win of the season without scoring an offensive touchdown.

The victory keeps the Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1) tied with No. 5 Michigan for the Big Ten lead heading into their showdown Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines beat Northwestern, 41-10, Saturday.

Purdue (8-3, 5-2) lost its sixth in a row to the Buckeyes in Columbus. A year ago, the Boilermakers led Ohio State 6-3 with less than two minutes remaining at home when the Buckeyes’ Craig Krenzel threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins on fourth-and-one for a 10-6 win.

“This is not an easy one,” Tiller said.

No. 2 USC 45, Arizona 0

Purdue kicker Ben Jones holds his head after missing a field goal in overtime against Ohio State as holder Kyle Smith (7) falls to the field and the Buckeyes celebrate. The 11th-ranked Boilermakers lost to the No. 4 Buckeyes, 16-13, Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Tucson, Ariz. — Mike Williams caught three touchdown passes to break Southern California’s career record for scoring receptions — with two games left in his sophomore season. Williams caught 11 passes for 157 yards, including scoring plays of 15, 22 and 26 yards, and didn’t play the last 11/2 quarters. His three TD catches tied a school record, and gave him 26 in his 23-game college career, breaking the USC career record of 25 touchdown receptions by Kevin Williams from 1977-80.

No. 3 LSU 27, Alabama 3

Tuscaloosa, Ala. — Matt Mauck threw for 251 yards and two TDs, and LSU held Alabama scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Tigers (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) moved within a game of Mississippi in the SEC West heading into next week’s showdown in Oxford and kept pace with Southern California and Ohio State in the BCS standings. The loss assured Alabama (4-7, 2-5) of its third losing season in seven years after having just one in the previous 40 years.

No. 5 Michigan 41, Northwestern 10

Evanston, Ill. — John Navarre passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns, and Michigan forced three turnovers. Michigan (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) is one victory from its league-record 41st conference championship and a likely trip to the Rose Bowl. Michigan plays host to No. 4 Ohio State Saturday.

No. 7 Georgia 26, Auburn 7

Athens, Ga. — Michael Johnson caught a 19-yard touchdown pass, and Georgia finished off Auburn on Odell Thurman’s 99-yard interception return. The Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) beat Auburn (6-5, 4-3) at Sanford Stadium for the first time since 1991 and only the third time in the past 14 meetings at Georgia’s home field.

No. 8 Wash. State 34, Arizona State 19

Pullman, Wash. — Freshman Josh Swogger threw his first collegiate touchdown to help Washington State beat Arizona State. Swogger replaced starter Matt Kegel in the second quarter with the game tied at 10 and led two long scoring drives, keeping the Cougars ahead of No. 2 Southern California atop the Pacific-10.

No. 9 Tennessee 59, Mississippi State 21

Knoxville, Tenn. — Casey Clausen threw five touchdown passes, three to Chris Hannon, and Jabari Davis ran for two scores for Tennessee. The Volunteers (8-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) remained in contention for a trip to the SEC championship game in their most productive offensive showing this season. The Bulldogs (2-8, 1-5) lost their fourth straight game since coach Jackie Sherrill announced he will retire at the end of the season.

No. 10 TCU 43, Cincinnati 10

Fort Worth, Texas — Kenny Boyd returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, linebacker Marvin Patterson pounced on a fumble in the end zone and TCU (10-0, 7-0 Conference USA) remained undefeated. The Horned Frogs won their 12th straight game, and joined Oklahoma, the No. 1 team in every poll, as the only unbeaten teams.

No. 12 Virginia Tech 24, Temple 23, OT

Philadelphia — Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall ran 23 yards for a touchdown in overtime, and Temple missed an extra point on its matching TD. Walter Washington helped Temple (1-9, 0-5 Big East) overcome a 17-0 deficit in the fourth quarter, but Jared Davis was wide left in overtime, setting off a wild celebration for the Hokies (8-2, 4-2).

No. 13 Florida State 50, N.C. State 44, 2OT

Tallahassee, Fla. — Leon Washington’s 12-yard touchdown run gave lifted Florida State past North Carolina State, wrapping up the Seminoles’ 11th Atlantic Coast Conference title in 12 years. Florida State (9-2, 7-1) also locked up its fourth BCS game in five years after surviving a brilliant performance by North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers. The ACC’s career passing leader, Rivers completed 28 of 38 passes for 422 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score.

No. 14 Miami 17, Syracuse 10

Miami — Tyrone Moss ran for 91 yards in the second half, and No. 14 Miami rebounded from its first two-game losing streak in more than four years to beat Syracuse. Miami (8-2, 4-1 Big East) trailed 10-7 in the fourth quarter before scoring 10 straight points to stay in the hunt for the conference title and a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game.

No. 15 Florida 24,

South Carolina 22

Columbia, S.C. — Ciatrick Fason ran for a career-high 190 yards. Chris Leak scored on a nine-yard run and threw a seven-yard TD pass to Ben Troupe to help the Gators (8-3, 6-2) rally from a 16-7 halftime deficit for their 13th straight win over the Gamecocks (5-6, 2-6).

West Virginia 52,

No. 16 Pittsburgh 31

Morgantown, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Rasheed Marshall outplayed his longtime rival, Pitt’s Rod Rutherford, in the Backyard Brawl for the second straight season, throwing two touchdown passes and running for another score.

No. 20 Iowa 40,

No. 19 Minnesota 22

Iowa City, Iowa — Iowa forced five turnovers, and Nate Kaeding tied his own school record with four field goals. Thanks to the turnovers, Iowa (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) won easily despite giving up 563 yards. Minnesota (9-3, 5-3), playing its regular-season finale, lost three fumbles after driving deep into Iowa territory.

Wisconsin 56,

No. 21 Michigan State 21

Madison, Wis. — Lee Evans tied the Big Ten record with five touchdown catches in Wisconsin blowout victory. Evans, who missed all of last season following two knee surgeries, caught 10 passes for a school-record 258 yards. He teamed with Jim Sorgi on TD plays of 9, 75, 18, 70 and 18 yards to match the Big Ten mark set in 1993 by Minnesota’s Omar Douglas.

Toledo 49, No. 21 N. Illinois 30

Toledo, Ohio — Bruce Gradkowski threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns, leading Toledo and damaging the hopes for a bowl bid for Northern Illinois (9-2, 5-2 Mid-American Conference).

No. 24 Boise State 51, UTEP 21

Boise, Idaho — Ryan Dinwiddie threw two TD passes and ran for another score, leading Boise State to its seventh straight win.

No. 25 Bowling Green 42, Kent State 33

Bowling Green, Ohio — Josh Harris threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green. The Falcons (8-2, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) have a chance to play in their first conference title game since the MAC split into two divisions in 1997. But they still must win at Ball State next week and against Toledo.