BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The fireworks cracked and the towel-waving sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium roared to salute an Indiana team that won its 10th game for the first time in team history.

Curt Cignetti, the coach who orchestrated the most impressive first season in recent college football history, embraced his wife and granddaughter, and then his two daughters, as the fans chanted “Cig! Cig!” Indiana, a bottom-rung program that hasn’t even shared a Big Ten title since 1967 and never made the College Football Playoff, improved to 10-0 with a 20-15 win against defending national champion Michigan, which came in as an underdog to the Hoosiers for the first time since 1968.

But there was no field storm Saturday, and Cignetti and many others came away feeling more relieved than triumphant.

An Indiana team that had won each of its first nine games by 14 or more points and entered Saturday leading the nation in scoring margin (419 to 123) received its first true scare, as its 17-3 halftime deficit dwindled to two points and then five in the closing minutes. But Indiana’s defense carried the day, preventing Michigan from gaining a single first down on the game’s decisive possession. The Hoosiers, who debuted at No. 8 in the initial College Football Playoff ranking, dragged down by a schedule that has not included a Top 25 opponent, will take a perfect record to No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 23.

“Not many style points there, not many people banging the drum, saying Indiana ought to be rated higher … and all that good stuff, but the Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0,” Cignetti said.

He later added: “I’m glad we won. I don’t like the way we played.”

Indiana appeared headed for its standard lopsided win, outgaining Michigan 228 to 94 in the first half and getting two touchdown passes from standout quarterback Kurtis Rourke. But the Hoosiers then endured their worst offensive quarter of the season, which included a Rourke interception near the goal line that led to a Michigan field goal, and only seven net yards on seven plays.

Michigan chipped away at the lead and had a chance to tie the score with 9:35 left, before Davis Warren‘s pass on a 2-point conversion attempt went incomplete. An Indiana offense that entered Saturday ranked second nationally in scoring (46.6 points per game) continued to stall, but Ke’Shawn Williams, returning punts only because primary returner Myles Price was injured, had a 22-yard runback to set up an IU field goal.

“I wasn’t too worried or too curious,” said Williams, who led Indiana in receptions (6) and receiving yards (70). “When you perform how we’ve performed all year, there’s never any doubt. We’re never on the sideline, like, ‘Damn, this might be it.’ We know when we get out there we do our thing, you know, we’re going to make some stuff happen.”

A Hoosiers defense that has significantly improved under Cignetti rose up yet again, forcing three incomplete passes and then stopping Michigan’s Peyton O’Leary one yard shy of the marker on fourth-and-10. Indiana held Michigan to 69 rushing yards on 34 carries and just one touchdown, which came on after Michigan had a short field.

Two Indiana runs sealed the win, aided by Michigan’s inexplicable decision not to call timeout immediately after a Ty Son Lawton rush.

“A lot of people will make an argument for Indiana, ‘Where should they be in the rankings? Should they be above this team,'” linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “We’ll leave that to them. That’s not something we really care about. What we care about the end of the day is making sure we’re walking off this field with the fans happy.”

Rourke completed only 3 of 10 passes for 16 yards and the interception in the second half, well below his production. He said the surgically repaired thumb on his throwing hand did not hinder him and continued to improve, but credited Michigan’s defense, saying Indiana had to be “near-perfect” to build its first-half lead.

“These are games that really test you as a team, see if you can hang on, you can win those tight games,” Rourke said. “We knew eventually that we would come to a game where it would be close. We’d have to see what we’re made of, so I’m really proud of how we handled it. Our defense stepped up in big times. It’s another big moment we’ve got for the season.”

Cignetti noted how Saturday marked the first game this sason where Indiana didn’t win with style points, adding, “Our numbers are through the roof.” Even brief down periods, like a 10-0 deficit last week at Michigan State, were answered with huge surges.

The narrow win against a Michigan team that came in with four losses — three in its previous four games could — cost Indiana in the next CFP rankings. But all of Indiana’s goals, unthinkable outside the program when the season kicked off, are all still on the table.

“Championship teams find a way to win football games,” Cignetti said. “I can’t say enough about these guys. I don’t throw many bouquets out there, but these guys have accomplished quite a bit.”

OXFORD, Miss. — Jaxson Dart threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Antwane Wells Jr. in the third quarter, and No. 16 Mississippi shut down No. 2 Georgia for a 28-10 victory on Saturday.

Caden Davis kicked five field goals as Mississippi (8-2, 4-2 SEC, No. 16 CFP) earned its third consecutive win. Ulysses Bentley IV had a 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

A rain-soaked Ole Miss student section stormed the field with 16 seconds left, leading to a delay. The scene was repeated after Dart’s kneel-down closed it out.

Georgia (7-2, 5-2, No. 3 CFP) scored on a 2-yard run by Nate Frazier early in the first quarter. But Mississippi quickly grabbed control from there.

After the opening series, Ole Miss recorded five sacks and nine tackles for loss, forced four fumbles and intercepted a Carson Beck pass. Jared Ivey and Princely Umanmielen had two sacks apiece and linebackers TJ Dottery and Chris Paul Jr. combined for 19 tackles.

Bentley’s TD run tied it at 7, and Davis connected from 23, 43 and 53 yards to make it 16-7 at the break.

After Peyton Woodring kicked a 23-yard field goal for Georgia, Dart finished an eight-play, 75-yard drive when he found Wells for the TD.

Dart was 13-of-22 passing for 199 yards with an interception. He also rushed for 50 yards as the Rebels finished with 397 total yards.

Davis converted field goals of 24 and 32 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Georgia lost for the second time in a regular season since 2020. The Bulldogs are 1-2 against ranked teams on the road after defeating Texas 30-15 in October.

Beck was 20-of-31 passing for 186 yards. Georgia was limited to 245 yards of total offense.

ATLANTA — Georgia Tech coaches believed the best way to beat Cam Ward and No. 4 Miami was to keep the ball away from the quarterback.

Despite losing their top two running backs and having their starting quarterback operate primarily as a runner, the Yellow Jackets’ game plan was successful.

Ward and Miami finally ran out of second-half comebacks as Haynes King led Georgia Tech to a 28-23 win over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes on Saturday for the Yellow Jackets’ first victory over a top-five team in 15 years.

Fans rushed the field, toppling both goalposts, after the game.

Miami (9-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) was denied its first 10-0 start since 2017. Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3) became bowl-eligible and ended a two-game losing streak.

“We just didn’t play Miami football,” safety Mishael Powell said. “We didn’t do a good job getting turnovers today.”

King rushed for 93 yards and ran and passed for touchdowns as Georgia Tech held the ball almost 10 minutes longer than Miami. The Yellow Jackets held the Hurricanes to a season low in points — less than half of their top-ranked average of 47.4.

King threw only six passes, completing them all for only 32 yards, in his return after missing two games with a right shoulder injury. The Yellow Jackets outrushed the Hurricanes 271-88.

“The way they ran the football, knowing that they were banged up at quarterback, they did a better job than we did,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.

“Extremely, extremely disappointing. I think, as you can imagine, the entire locker room is really sad, down, disappointed. You have to own it.”

The Yellow Jackets overcame 347 passing yards and three touchdown passes by Ward, a Heisman Trophy contender.

“Good football game, if you believe in running the ball and stopping the run and time of possession,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said. “Those type of things still work.”

The Yellow Jackets held the ball for 17 plays on a monstrous 75-yard touchdown drive capped by King’s 5-yard screen to Malik Rutherford in the second quarter. The drive put Tech up 14-10 and chewed 10 minutes, 45 seconds off the clock.

Ward’s 38-yard scoring pass to Xavier Restrepo cut the lead to 28-23 in the fourth quarter. Miami’s final possession started at its 19 with 1:52 left. Ward fumbled when sacked by Romello Height, and Jordan van den Berg recovered for Georgia Tech.

“Our guys played,” Key said. “They didn’t bat an eye. They didn’t flinch.”

Georgia Tech’s Jamal Haynes broke through Miami’s defensive front for a 65-yard run on the second play of the game and added a 16-yard scoring run two plays later as the Yellow Jackets took a 7-0 lead.

Ward answered with a record-setting 74-yard scoring pass to Elijah Arroyo. It was Ward’s school-record 30th touchdown pass of the season. Ward had been tied with Steve Walsh, who threw 29 scoring passes in 1988.

Injuries at running back

Haynes left the game following a big hit from safety Jaden Harris in the first quarter and didn’t return. Haynes’ backup, Chad Alexander, left with an apparent left leg injury late in the first half.

Another backup running back, Trey Cooley, lost his helmet on a hit from Miami defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. late in the third quarter. Moten was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game.

Comeback magic ends

Miami’s unbeaten run through its first nine games included three second-half comebacks. Miami beat Duke 53-31 last week after the Blue Devils led 28-17 in the third quarter. Against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes’ only lead was 10-7 and they trailed after the Yellow Jackets went up 14-10 in the second quarter.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.