Coumbia, S.C. ? Kenny Irons ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns in his return to South Carolina, and No. 2 Auburn knocked away a last-chance pass to keep its unbeaten season alive with a 24-17 victory over the Gamecocks on Thursday night.

Along with Irons’ ground game and their rock-solid defense, the Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) displayed a passing game that helped them take every snap of the third quarter.

“I think that’s a first for me,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. “I haven’t a seen a game where one team had it for the entire quarter.”

Brandon Cox completed nine of 13 passes for 125 passes in the third period to keep Auburn moving and the South Carolina offense off the field.

On the opening drive of the second half, Cox hit Lee Guess for 12 yards on third-and-11. The quarterback later connected with Tommy Trott on an 11-yarder that set up John Vaughn’s 24-yard field goal.

Then, with the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2) feeling good about holding Auburn out of the end zone, coach Tommy Tuberville took a page from Spurrier’s book and stunned the Gamecocks with a perfectly executed onside kick. No South Carolina player was within three yards of the ball when it landed, and Jerraud Powers recovered for Auburn.

BYU 31, No. 17 TCU 17

Fort Worth, Texas – John Beck threw for 321 yards and three second-half touchdowns to lead BYU to a victory that ended TCU’s winning streak at 13 games. The streak was the longest in NCAA Division I-A.