ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.
The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.
“We’re going to win with humility,” Day said, choking up, on the field in an interview with Fox.
The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.
NO. 5 OREGON 26, WASHINGTON 14
SEATTLE (AP) — Malik Benson had a season-long 64-yard touchdown catch with 7:55 to go in regulation and Oregon beat Washington to all but cement a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The wide receiver caught a pass from Dante Moore around midfield, split two Huskies defenders and raced to the end zone to give Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten, No. 6 CFP) a 26-14 lead.
Demond Williams Jr. threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Boston with 8:54 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit for Washington (8-4, 5-4) to 19-14. But the Ducks responded quickly with Benson’s catch-and-run.
Aside from the fourth quarter, it was an offensively challenged game on a cool fall day in the Pacific Northwest.
Oregon’s Atticus Sappington made four field goals, one from a career-long 51 yards. Sappington got the Ducks on the board with a 46-yard field goal to cap Oregon’s first drive of the game, and he converted another kick with 3:18 to go before halftime. Those kicks sandwiched Moore’s one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Moore completed 20 of 29 passes for 286 yards.
NO. 7 TEXAS TECH 49, WEST VIRGINIA 0
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Behren Morton threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez scored his second offensive TD in as many games, and Texas Tech beat West Virginia on Saturday in the Red Raiders’ final tuneup before the Big 12 championship game.
Texas Tech (11-1, 8-1 Big 12, No. 5 CFP) had already clinched a spot in the title game against No. 11 BYU in Arlington, Texas, when Arizona State lost to Arizona on Friday night. But the Red Raiders had plenty of motivation, needing a win over the Mountaineers to continue their trajectory toward at least hosting a first-round home game in the College Football Playoff.
Texas Tech was dominant from the start, scoring touchdowns on four of their first five drives.
NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 17, LSU 13
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — John Mateer passed for 318 yards, including a game-winning touchdown pass with just over four minutes remaining, and Oklahoma defeated LSU to all but clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Mateer’s 58-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna with 4:16 remaining allowed him to overcome three interceptions. Sategna caught nine passes for 121 yards for the Sooners, who won their fourth straight and are in position to host a first-round game.
The Sooners (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 8 CFP) held the Tigers to 198 total yards and came up with a late stop to hold on. LSU converted on just two of 14 third downs.
LSU (7-5, 3-5) played through rumors about its coaching situation. Brian Kelly was fired earlier in the season and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been rumored to be his replacement. Kiffin was expected to make an announcement about where he would coach next season, but had not done so before LSU’s game ended.
Michael Van Buren Jr. started at quarterback for LSU with Garrett Nussmeier still recovering from an abdominal injury. Van Buren passed for 96 yards and rushed for 33.
NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 49, STANFORD 20
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Luke Talich scored on an 84-yard fake punt pass and Notre Dame won its 10th straight, routing Stanford after a scary moment for star running back Jeremiyah Love.
The fourth-leading rusher in the nation and a Heisman Trophy contender, Love was shaken up after running for a short gain midway through the first quarter. He remained down for a few moments, walked to the locker room and didn’t return until the second half.
Love finished with 66 yards (8 after returning) and scored his 21st touchdown of the season, breaking Jerome Bettis’ school record for overall TDs while tying Audrice Estime’s record of 18 rushing touchdowns in a season.
Backups Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams combined for 178 total yards of offense and four touchdowns.
CJ Carr threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns as Notre Dame (10-2) retained the Legends Trophy.
Elijah Brown passed for 204 yards and a touchdown with one interception for Stanford (4-8). Emmett Kenney added two field goals
NO. 10 ALABAMA 27, AUBURN 20
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Ty Simpson and Isaiah Horton connected three times for touchdowns, and Alabama escaped Auburn with a victory in the rivalry known as the Iron Bowl.
The Crimson Tide advanced to face fourth-ranked Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game next week in Atlanta. Alabama (10-2, 7-1) beat Georgia 24-21 on the road in the regular season.
The Tide were on the ropes again at Jordan-Hare Stadium. After leading 17-0 early in the second quarter, they found themselves tied in the waning minutes.
But Simpson found Horton on a fourth-and-2 play from the Auburn 6 with 3:50 remaining. It was their third hookup of the night, including 6- and 3-yard scores in the first half.
Simpson completed 19 of 35 passes for a season-low 122 yards. Horton finished with five catches for 35 yards, with all three scores coming in the red zone. Alabama won despite totaling 276 yards.
Alabama’s Jam Miller ran for 83 yards before leaving with an injury.
Ashton Daniels led Auburn (5-7, 1-7) with 259 passing and 108 yards rushing. Malcolm Simmons hauled in two long passes, including a 64-yarder for a touchdown and a 66-yarder that set up a score.
NO. 11 BYU 41, UCF 21
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Bear Bachmeier threw for 289 yards and a touchdown to help BYU beat UCF.
LJ Martin added 95 yards and three touchdowns on the ground for the Cougars (11-1, 8-1 Big 12, No. 11 CFP) who clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game next Saturday. Parker Kingston added 181 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Tayven Jackson threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns to lead UCF. The Knights (5-7, 2-7 Big 12) did not qualify for a bowl game for a second straight season after giving up 31 unanswered points to the Cougars.
NO. 12 VANDERBILT 45, NO. 18 TENNESSEE 24
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Diego Pavia threw for 268 yards and a touchdown and ran for 165 yards and another score to lead Vanderbilt to a win over Tennessee.
Sedrick Alexander rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns and Vanderbilt (10-2, 6-2 SEC, No. 14 CFP) generated 582 yards of total offense against its in-state rival while keeping its hopes for a berth in the College Football Playoff alive.
Joey Aguilar threw for 299 yards and a TD for the Volunteers (8-4, 4-4, No. 19 CFP). DeSean Bishop had 97 rushing yards and two scores.
NO. 13 MIAMI 38, NO. 24 PITTSBURGH 7
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Carson Beck passed for 267 yards with three touchdowns and an interception as Miami beat Pittsburgh to keep its slim hopes for a spot in the ACC title game alive, at least for a few hours.
The Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) need several other outcomes across the league to go their way later Saturday to earn a spot in the conference championship next week in Charlotte.
Beck connected on 23 of 29 passes to finish the regular season with a 74.7% completion percentage, tops in the FBS and a new program record.
The Georgia transfer added an exclamation point at the end, a 33-yard heave to CJ Daniels in the final minute with victory well in hand in hopes of adding some style points against a team ranked No. 22 in this week’s CFP rankings.
Malachi Toney caught 13 passes for 126 yards and added a 9-yard lob to Elija Lofton for a score in the second quarter that gave the Hurricanes a lead they never came close to squandering.
Pitt (8-4, 6-2) came in with its own hopes of reaching the ACC championship. They evaporated in the late November chill as Miami hounded Panthers freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel and wore Pitt’s defense down in the second half.
Heintschel, whose promotion to starter in early October coincided with the start of Pitt’s six-game ACC winning streak, was sacked on the game’s first play, and the Hurricanes never really let up. He shook off a leg injury late in the first half to return for the second but completed just 22 of 32 for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
NO. 17 VIRGINIA 27, VIRGINIA TECH 7
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — J’Mari Taylor became the first Atlantic Coast Conference running back since 2021 to run for a touchdown and throw for a score in the same game as Virginia beat Virginia Tech to clinch a spot in the conference championship game.
Taylor ran for 80 yards and a score and quarterback Chandler Morris threw for 182 yards and ran 8 yards for a touchdown as the Cavaliers beat the Hokies for just the second time in the last 21 meetings between the schools.
Virginia (10-2, 7-1 ACC) turned an interception off a deflected pass on Tech’s first possession into a touchdown and never looked back.
The Cavaliers’ defense held Tech to a season-low 197 total yards in front of 58,832, the largest crowd at Scott Stadium since 2011.
Virginia linebacker Maddox Marcellus, playing in place of injured star Kam Robinson, had nine tackles, an interception and was in on a sack.
The Hokies (3-9, 2-6) got a 57-yard touchdown pass from Kyron Drones to Shamarius Peterkin with 4:20 left to play to get on the scoreboard.
NO. 19 SOUTHERN CAL 29, UCLA 10
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Makai Lemon caught a 32-yard touchdown pass after being benched for the first quarter, and King Miller rushed for 124 yards and two scores in Southern California’s victory over UCLA.
Jayden Maiava passed for 257 yards and hit Lake McRee with a TD pass in the fourth quarter for the Trojans (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten), who finished an unbeaten season at the Coliseum by pulling away from their archrivals to win the crosstown showdown for the third time in Lincoln Riley’s four years as coach.
Riley benched Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, his top two receivers, for the Trojans’ first two offensive series without disclosing the reason. Both receivers then made key plays in the second half as USC pulled away, and Miller iced it with his 41-yard TD run with 2:29 left.
Nico Iamaleava passed for 200 yards for the Bruins (3-9, 3-6) in their final game under interim coach Tim Skipper, who replaced DeShaun Foster two games into his second season. Kwazi Gilmer caught an early TD pass, but UCLA was shut out in the second half.
NO. 20 JAMES MADISON 59, COASTAL CAROLINA 10
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Alonza Barnett III threw three touchdown passes, Jobi Malary ran for 154 yards a score and James Madison completed a perfect Sun Belt regular season with a victory over Coastal Carolina.
James Madison (11-1, 8-0) will host Troy in the Sun Belt title game Friday night. The Dukes have won 10 straight.
Barnett was 15 of 21 for 207 yards, and backup Matthew Sluka completed his only attempt for a 32-yard touchdown pass to Michael Scott. Malary had a 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 45-10.
Tad Hudson was 16 of 38 for 148 yards and a touchdown for Coastal Carolina (6-6, 5-3). He also threw a fourth-quarter interception that KJ Flowe scored on.
NO. 22 TULANE 27, CHARLOTTE 0
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jake Retzlaff ran for two short scores, setting a Tulane single-season record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback, and the Green Wave clinched a tie for first place in the American Conference with a victory over Charlotte.
The victory also ensured Tulane would host the American title game next week. The league uses the College Football Playoff rankings as a tiebreaker in the standings, and Tulane (10-2, 7-1, CFP No. 24) was the conference’s only team with such a ranking.
Tulane will host North Texas, which along with Navy finished the regular season in a three-way tie with Tulane atop the American. North Texas beat Navy this season.
CALIFORNIA 38, NO. 25 SMU 35
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Kendrick Raphael ran in from 2 yards out with 43 seconds left and California upset SMU, to spoil its hopes of making the Atlantic Coast Conference championship for a second straight year.
The Mustangs (8-4, 6-2 ACC) had clawed their way back into the game and took the lead when T.J. Harden scored from a yard out with 2:22 remaining.
Cal (7-5, 4-4) responded immediately, though, as quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele marched the Bears 75 yards in seven plays, capped by Raphael’s 12th rushing touchdown of the season.
The Bears were playing their first game under interim coach Nick Rolovich, who was appointed after Justin Wilcox was fired last Sunday.
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