Illinois' Jeremy Leman (47) and Mike Ware (76) celebrate. Illinois toppled No. 1 Ohio State, 28-21, Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus, Ohio ? Top-ranked Ohio State’s national title hopes teetered on a timeout, the ball inches from a first down for Illinois.

Illini coach Ron Zook changed his mind and decided to go for it on fourth down, and that was the beginning of the end for the Buckeyes’ hopes of redeeming themselves in this season’s national championship game.

Juice Williams provided the big plays on the ground and through the air, spurring the Illini to a stunning 28-21 victory on Saturday night and throwing open the national title race for a bunch of teams that needed the Buckeyes to lose.

“I know ‘shock the world’ is overused,” Illini linebacker J Leman said. “It is pretty shocking to most people, but not to the guys in the locker room.”

Marcus Thomas’ interception gave Illinois the ball with 8:09 left at its own 24. And Ohio State never got it back.

The Illini lined up to punt on a fourth-and-inches at their own 34 with 6:53 left while grasping a 28-21 lead, but Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel called timeout, and Zook reconsidered after being prodded by his quarterback.

“I said, ‘Coach, you don’t think we can get a half an inch?'” Williams said amid the uproar of the postgame celebration. “He looked at me and got on the headset to (offensive coordinator Mike) Locksley. He (Zook) said, ‘If you don’t get it, I’ll hurt you.'”

No. 2 LSU 58, Louisiana Tech 10

Baton Rouge, La. – With No. 1 in its sights, LSU had it easy for a change.

Matt Flynn passed for 237 and three touchdown lead the Tigers to a comfortable victory that could lift them back to the top of the national rankings.

Each of the Tigers’ three previous victories – over Florida, Auburn and Alabama – were marked by late-game heroics.

Flynn’s scoring strikes included a career-long 71-yarder to Terrance Tolliver.

Maryland 42, No. 8 Boston College 35

College Park, Md. – The Eagles lost their second straight, yielding 472 yards and five touchdowns to a Maryland team that came in on a three-game losing streak.

It’s hopes for a national championship are over, but Boston College still can earn a berth in the ACC championship game with a win over Clemson next week.

Matt Ryan went 33-for-56 for 421 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice.

No. 9 Arizona State 24, UCLA 20

Pasadena, Calif. – Keegan Herring rushed for 116 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown, and Rudy Carpenter threw for 200 yards and another score to lead the Sun Devils.

Arizona State remained in the thick of the conference race and kept their hopes alive for a BCS bowl, while the Bruins lost for the fourth time in five games.

Carpenter went 16-of-31, including a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams.

No. 10 Georgia 45,

No. 18 Auburn 20

Athens, Ga. – Donning black jerseys for the first time in the modern era, Matthew Stafford threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Knowshon Moreno broke 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game, leading Georgia.

The Bulldogs remained on top of the SEC East with a 5-2 mark, but they need help to reach the title game. Tennessee has only two SEC losses and has the tiebreaker over Georgia.

No. 11 Virginia Tech 40, Florida St. 21

Blacksburg, Va. – Tyrod Taylor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, lifting the Hokies and coach Frank Beamer to his first win in eight tries against the Seminoles.

It was the first time ‘Noles coach Bobby Bowden lost to Virginia Tech in 16 meetings.

No. 12 USC 24, No. 24 Cal 17-

Berkeley, Calif. – Chauncey Washington ran for a career-high 220 yards and a touchdown, and USC beat California in a rain-soaked matchup.

John David Booty passed for 129 yards and a score for the Trojans, who stayed in the conference and BCS races by faring slightly better in the steady precipitation that drenched Strawberry Canyon all night.

Washington finished with 101 more yards rushing than his previous career high.

Wisconsin 37, No. 13 Michigan 21

Madison, Wis. – Tyler Donovan threw for one touchdown and scrambled for another as Wisconsin held off a fourth-quarter rally to snap the Wolverines’ eight-game winning streak.

The Badgers didn’t eliminate the Wolverines from the Big Ten title race, but they have to beat Ohio State next week.

Michigan played without injured running back Mike Hart, and after Chad Henne broke John Navarre’s school record for yards passing, Ryan Mallett relieved ailing starting quarterback in the first quarter.

Cincinnati 27, No. 16 Connecticut 3

Cincinnati – Ben Mauk threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, handing Connecticut its first Big East loss and further scrambling the conference race.

Connecticut was the last unbeaten team in the conference.

No. 17 Florida 51, South Carolina 31

Columbia, S.C. – Tim Tebow accounted for all seven of Florida’s touchdowns, a school-record five rushing and two passing, as the Gators kept alive their hopes of making the SEC title game.

Tebow was 22-for-32 for a career-best 304 yards and ran for 120 yards, accounting for more than three-quarters of the offense for the Gators.

With Florida’s dual-threat receiver Percy Harvin out with sinus problems, Tebow took over, running things so efficiently the Gators didn’t have a play lose yards until things were well in hand midway through the third quarter.

It was another terrible defensive outing for the Gamecocks, who allowed 537 yards.

No. 19 Boise St. 52, Utah St. 0

Logan, Utah – Taylor Tharp threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters for the Broncos, who won their eighth straight.

The overwhelmed Aggies have lost 16 in a row and were down by two touchdowns barely six minutes into the game. The Broncos blocked a punt for a touchdown, blocked a field goal and forced four turnovers, including three interceptions of Jase McCormick.

No. 20 Clemson 44, Wake Forest 10

Clemson, S.C. – Cullen Harper continued his record-setting year with three more touchdown passes for the Tigers.

Clemson won its fourth straight, while Wake Forest lost its second in a row. And this one felt like old times. The Tigers were 45-6-1 against the Demon Deacons from 1950-2002, with several victories coming by blowout margins.

Mississippi St. 17, No. 21 Alabama 12

Starkville, Miss. – Anthony Johnson returned an interception a school-record 100 yards for a touchdown to help Mississippi State become bowl eligible for the first time since 2000.

It was the second straight victory over his alma mater for Sylvester Croom, whose resurgent Bulldogs have won two straight over ranked opponents. The victory gave the Bulldogs a 2-2 record during a streak of four consecutive games against ranked opponents.

No. 22 Tennessee 34, Arkansas 13

Knoxville, Tenn. – Erik Ainge threw for two touchdowns, and Arian Foster ran for another as the Volunteers kept their drive for an SEC Eastern Division title alive.

Tennessee held conference rushing leader Darren McFadden to 117 yards, and Casey Dick completed 12 of 22 passes for 140 yards and two interceptions. Last week, McFadden tied the SEC single-game rushing record with 321 yards against South Carolina.

No. 23 Virginia 48, Miami 0

Miami – Virginia ended Miami’s 70-year stay at the Orange Bowl in stunningly one-sided fashion, dealing the Hurricanes the biggest shutout loss in Orange Bowl history.

Mikell Simpson had a pair of one-yard touchdown runs, and quarterback Jameel Sewell scored twice, as the Cavaliers simply overpowered the Hurricanes.

Sewell completed 20 of 25 passes and 288 yards for Virginia, which led 31-0 at halftime.

No. 24 Kentucky 27, Vanderbilt 20

Nashville, Tenn. – Andre Woodson threw for 222 yards, Rafael Little had 70 yards rushing and the Wildcats kept alive their slim hopes of playing for an SEC title.

Kentucky snapped a two-game losing skid and clinched consecutive seven-win seasons for the first time since 1976-77. Kentucky still plays SEC East rivals Tennessee and Georgia, and has a chance to sneak into the league title game in Atlanta by defeating both.