SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame didn't wait until the last-minute to snap its six-game losing streak against Boston College.

Close, though.

Brian Smith picked off a pass by Dave Shinskie with 98 seconds left to seal Notre Dame's 20-16 victory over Boston College yesterday, the first win for the Fighting Irish over the Eagles since 2000.

Notre Dame's last five games had been decided in the final minute. The Irish (5-2) went 3-2 in those games.

"The story of our season, the game coming down to the last five minutes," said Notre Dame receiver Golden Tate, who caught 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. "It's keeping people at home and making sure they continue to watch the game. I don't know, I can't tell you why, but it says a lot about us. We don't give up."

Jimmy Clausen was 26-of-39 passing for 246 yards.

The Irish defense struggled throughout, but forced five turnovers, including three second-half interceptions — two by Kyle McCarthy.

"We're a high-wire act," B.C. coach Frank Spaziani said. "There's no margin of error. There's no safety net. When we fall off the wire, it's not good. So five turnovers is hard to overcome."

The Eagles (4-3) repeatedly burned the Notre Dame defense as Dave Shinskie threw for a season-high 279 yards and a touchdown. It appeared for a while the 25-year-old Shinskie would become the third freshman quarterback to beat the Irish this season, joining Michigan's Tate Forcier and USC's Matt Barkley.

ACC

Duke 17, Maryland 13: Thaddeus Lewis threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns and the host Blue Devils (4-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed, outgained the Terrapins (2-6, 1-3) by a 394-249 margin.

BIG 12

Iowa State 9, Nebraska 7: Grant Mahoney kicked a 52-yard field goal and Jerome Tiller caught a 47-yard touchdown as the visiting Cyclones (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) stunned the Cornhuskers (4-3, 1-2), who matched a school record with eight turnovers, including four inside the Iowa State 5.

Kansas State 20, Colorado 6: Daniel Thomas ran for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Emmanuel Lamur had two interceptions to lead the Big 12 North-leading Wildcats (5-3, 3-1) over the visiting Buffaloes (2-5, 1-2), who scored on their first drive, but did little else to lose their 10th-straight road game.

BIG EAST

Syracuse 28, Akron 14: Delone Carter rushed for a career-high 170 yards and scored three touchdowns, and Greg Paulus hit Marcus Sales for an 11-yard score as the host Orange (3-4) beat the Zips (1-6) to snap a two-game losing streak.

BIG TEN

Northwestern 29, Indiana 28: Stefan Demos kicked a 19-yard field goal with 21 seconds left as the host Wildcats (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) rallied from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Hoosiers (4-4, 1-3), who used a 70-yard TD run from Darius Willis on the first play from scrimmage and a 93-yard kickoff return from Ray Fisher to build the big lead.

Purdue 24, Illinois 14: Joey Elliott passed for 166 yards and ran for 62 yards and a touchdown as the host Boilermakers (3-5, 2-2) avoided a letdown after upsetting Ohio State last week by handing the Fighting Illini (1-6, 0-5 Big Ten) their sixth straight loss.

CONFERENCE USA

Marshall 27, UAB 7: Brian Anderson threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, and Darius Marshall ran for 133 yards and a TD as the host Thundering Herd (4-3, 3-1 Conference USA) made their 17-7 halftime lead stand up in beating the Blazers (2-5, 2-2).

CENTRAL FLORIDA 49, Rice 7: Brett Hodges was 8 of 13 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, and A.J. Guyton finished with four catches for 113 yards and a touchdown — he also threw a touchdown pass — as the visiting Golden Knights (4-3, 2-2) routed the Owls (0-8, 0-4).

Southern Miss 43, Tulane 6: Martevious Young completed 13 of 15 for 127 yards with touchdown passes of 21 and 6 yards to DeAndre Brown, and the Golden Eagles (5-3, 3-1 CUSA) held the Green Wave (2-5, 0-4) to just 208 yards of offense.

MID-AMERICAN

Central Michigan 24, Bowling Green 10: Dan LeFevour threw two touchdown passes and Antonio Brown scored twice to lead the visiting Chippewas' (7-1, 5-0 Mid-American Conference) past the Falcons (3-5, 2-2) for their seventh straight victory.

Temple 40, Toledo 24: Freshman Bernard Pierce rushed for a career-high 212 yards and three touchdowns as the visiting Owls (5-2, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) romped past the Rockets (4-4, 2-2) for their fifth straight victory.

Northern Illinois 27, Miami (Ohio) 22: Chad Spann rushed for 156 yards and scored on runs of 42 and 40 yards to lead the visiting Huskies (4-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference), who limited the RedHawks (0-8, 0-4) to minus-11 yards on the ground.

Kent State 20, Ohio 11: Spencer Keith threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns and the visiting Golden Flashes (4-4, 3-1 Mid-American) raced to a 20-3 lead in beating the Bobcats (5-3, 3-1), who had minus-9 yards rushing and 164 yards total offense.

MOUNTAIN WEST

San Diego State 42, Colorado State 28: Ryan Lindley threw for 459 yards and a career-best six touchdown passes, and DeMarco Sampson had 15 catches for 257 yards and three TDs, powering the visiting Aztecs (3-4, 1-2 Mountain West) past the Rams (3-5, 0-4).

PACIFIC-10

Arizona 27, UCLA 13: Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes to Juron Criner, while Nic Grigsby and Nick Booth each ran for a touchdown as the host Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) overcame five turnovers to defeat the Bruins (3-4, 0-4).

Stanford 33, Arizona State 14: Andrew Luck threw for 236 yards, Toby Gerhart ran for 125 yards and a touchdown and the host Cardinal (5-3, 4-2 Pac-10) greatly boosted their bowl hopes with a victory over the Sun Devils (4-3, 2-2).

SEC

Mississippi 30, Arkansas 17: Dexter McCluster set career highs in rushing (123 yards) and receiving (137 yards), and Jevan Snead threw for a career-high 332 yards to lead the host Rebels (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) past the Razorbacks (3-4, 1-4).

Kentucky 36, Louisiana-Monroe 13: Randall Cobb ran for a touchdown, caught a pass for a TD and returned a punt 73 yards for another score as the host Wildcats (4-3) defeated the Warhawks (4-3).

ELSEWHERE

Weber State 28, Northern Colorado 20: Cameron Higgins, a Saint Louis alum from Hawaii, threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns and Bo Bolen ran for a career high 207 yards and another score as the visiting Wildcats (5-3, 5-1 Big Sky) held off the Bears (2-6, 1-5).