Alabama football proves its worth again; top 25 college football roundup
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Blake Sims, T.J. Yeldon and No. 4 Alabama's relentless defense delivered on a big stage, and the Crimson Tide held off No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday 25-20.
The Tide (9-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 5 CFP) reasserted itself as a national title contender with a dominant first half and some clutch play in the fourth quarter.
Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs (9-1, 5-1, No. 1 CFP) kept fighting to keep their first-ever reign going for a sixth week. They couldn't conquer Alabama at raucous Bryant-Denny Stadium, though.
Mississippi State scored early in the fourth to make it a six-point game but Sims and Yeldon answered with a steady march to the end zone. The Bulldogs produced a touchdown with 15 seconds left after a drive that took 3 precious minutes off the clock.
Alabama recovered the onside kick to secure its seventh straight win in the series.
The win puts Alabama in the driver's seat to secure a guaranteed college football playoff spot out of the incredibly tough SEC West, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Solomon.
"The SEC West is now Alabama's to win or lose," Solomon writes. "If the Crimson Tide beats Auburn on Nov. 29 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama wins the SEC West and becomes the league's favorite to reach the playoff. An Alabama loss in the Iron Bowl would open the door to Mississippi State or Ole Miss possibly winning the West. "
NO. 2 FLORIDA STATE 30, MIAMI 26
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Dalvin Cook ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score late in the fourth, and Florida State erased a 16-point deficit in another impressive rally.
Jameis Winston completed 25 of 42 passes for 304 yards for the Seminoles (10-0, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 3 CFP), who extended their winning streak to 26 games and beat Miami for the fifth straight time.
The Seminoles clinched the ACC's Atlantic Division title earlier in the day when Clemson lost. They were down 16-0 and 23-7 before outscoring the Hurricanes 23-3 in the final 2 1/2 quarters.
Brad Kaaya threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns for Miami, which got to the Florida State 43 on their final drive but fell short when Jalen Ramsey intercepted a fourth-down pass with 39 seconds left.
Duke Johnson rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes (6-4, 3-3).
NO. 5 TCU 34, KANSAS 30
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Aaron Green ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns for TCU, and Cameron Echols-Luper returned a punt 69 yards for another score.
Trevone Boykin added 330 yards passing and a touchdown for TCU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 4 CFP), which trailed 27-17 midway through the third quarter before a big finishing kick that kept the Horned Frogs in playoff contention.
Chris Hackett's interception with 3:26 left in the game sealed the victory.
Michael Cummings had 332 yards and two touchdowns passing for the Jayhawks (3-7, 1-6), who were trying for their first regular-season win over a top-five team since beating Colorado in 1995.
OREGON STATE 35, NO. 7 ARIZONA STATE 27
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Sean Mannion's 66-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter gave Oregon State the lead and Michael Doctor's 35-yard interception return for a score with 1:38 left sealed the win for the Beavers.
Mannion threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns as Oregon State (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12) snapped a four-game losing streak. Mannion hit Jordan Villamin with a 66-yard scoring pass with 10:55 left to put the Beavers up 28-27 after trailing 24-14 at the half.
The Sun Devils (8-2, 5-1 Pac-12), ranked No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, snapped a five-game winning streak. The loss to the slumping Beavers hurt Arizona State's shot at a second straight berth in the Pac-12 championship game.
Villamin had four catches for 127 yards, while Terron Ward ran for 148 yards and an early touchdown for the Beavers.
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 31, MINNESOTA 24
MINNEAPOLIS - J.T. Barrett threw for three touchdowns and ran for an Ohio State quarterback-record 189 yards and another score, helping the Buckeyes overcome three turnovers and wintry weather.
Barrett completed 15 of 25 passes for 200 yards and one interception in another stellar performance for the freshman following last week's rout of Michigan State.
Barrett's rushing total topped Braxton Miller's 186 yards against Nebraska on Oct. 6, 2012, and Ohio State stayed on track in pursuit of a place in the College Football Playoff.
NO. 16 GEORGIA 34, NO. 9 AUBURN 7
ATHENS, Ga. - Nick Chubb shared the spotlight in Todd Gurley's return, with both Georgia backs rushing for more than 100 yards.
Georgia (8-2, 6-2, No. 15 CFP) dominated the latest edition in Deep South's oldest rivalry, handing the Tigers (7-3, 4-3, No. 9 CFP) their second straight loss and finishing off any hopes they had of repeating as Southeastern Conference champions.
But there were a couple of things that didn't go Georgia's way: Missouri beat Texas A&M 34-27 to stop the Bulldogs from clinching the SEC East, and Gurley went down late in the game with an injured left knee. The star running back hobbled out of the stadium in the closing minutes, his knee iced down. Coach Mark Richt said he wasn't sure about the extent of the injury.
Gurley returned to Georgia's backfield after serving a four-game suspension for taking more than $3,000 for autographs.
Chubb rushed for 144 yards on 19 carries and went over 1,000 yards for the season. Gurley carried 29 times for 138 yards.
NO. 22 WISCONSIN 59, NO. 11 NEBRASKA 24
MADISON, Wis. - Melvin Gordon rushed for a major college-record 408 yards and four touchdowns and Wisconsin overcame three early turnovers to take control of the Big Ten West.
Gordon eclipsed the single-game mark held since 1999 by TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson by 2 yards, setting the new standard on a 26-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter and his last carry of the game.
Outdueling Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah in a matchup of star running backs, Gordon overcame two fumbles to help the Badgers (8-2, 5-1, No. 20 CFP) roar past the Cornhuskers (8-2, 4-2, No. 16 CFP) with 49 unanswered points.
The star junior torched what had been a staunch Nebraska defense on 25 carries and delivered an emphatic statement in the Heisman Trophy race.
Abdullah finished with 69 yards on 18 attempts.
NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 37, MARYLAND 15
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Jeremy Langford ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and Michigan State received a strong performance from its defense.
Riley Bullough scored on a 22-yard interception return to help the Spartans (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 12 CFP) bounce back from last week's disheartening 49-37 loss to Ohio State.
Michigan State picked off three passes, allowed only 6 yards rushing and sacked Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown three times.
Playing in its first season in the Big Ten, Maryland (6-4, 3-3) has lost to Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State by a combined 141-46 score.
NORTHWESTERN 43, NO. 15 NOTRE DAME 40, OT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Northwestern's Jack Mitchell kicked a 45-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to force overtime and then kicked a 41-yard field goal for the win.
The Wildcats closed to 40-37 with 4:10 left on a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trevor Siemian and a 2-point conversion on a run by Warren Long after Notre Dame (7-3, No. 18 CFP) was called for pass interference.
Both teams turned the ball over four times in a sloppy game. Notre Dame's final turnover occurred with 1:28 when the Irish were trying to run out the clock and the usually reliable Cam McDaniel fumbled at the Northwestern 33-yard line when he was stripped by safety Ibraheim Campbell.
Northwestern (4-6), which had minus-9 yards rushing last week against Michigan, rushed for 263 yards and had 547 yards of total offense, both season highs.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 27, WASHINGTON 26
TUCSON, Ariz. - Casey Skowron kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired to give Arizona a wild victory over Washington.
Skowron, who also had an 18-yard touchdown run on a fake field goal, missed a first attempt wide right but the Huskies called timeout just before the kick and he got another try.
The kicker gained redemption after missing the go-ahead 36-yarder in the final minute of a loss to Southern California.
Washington (6-5, 2-5 Pac-12) was running out the clock when Tra'Mayne Bondurant knocked the ball out of running back Deontae Cooper's hands and Derrick Turituri recovered for Arizona (8-2, 5-2, No. 14 CFP) at the Washington 45 with 1:23 to go.
The Wildcats moved to the 30 and left it up to Skowron.
NO. 24 GEORGIA TECH 28, NO. 18 CLEMSON 6
ATLANTA - Georgia Tech's Jamal Golden returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown, and fans rushed the field after the win.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson did not return after a first-quarter knee injury. Cole Stoudt threw three interceptions after replacing Watson, including one Chris Milton returned 62 yards for a touchdown.
With the loss by Clemson (7-3, 6-2), No. 2 Florida State clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division before playing Miami on Saturday night.
Justin Thomas' 65-yard run set up his 5-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Smelter in the third quarter as Georgia Tech (9-2, 6-2) earned its fourth straight win and kept its hopes alive in the ACC's Coastal Division.
VIRGINIA TECH 17, NO. 19 DUKE 16
DURHAM, N.C. - Michael Brewer threw two touchdown passes and Virginia Tech held on for the upset.
Brewer was 12 of 23 for 138 yards with touchdowns of 15 yards to Bucky Hodges and 10 yards to Isaiah Ford.
The Hokies (5-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) avoided their first in-season four-game losing streak since 1992 and earned their second road victory over a ranked team this year.
Duke (8-2, 4-2) had two late chances to reclaim the lead, but Ross Martin missed a 40-yard field goal with 2:26 left and the Blue Devils were stopped on downs at their 40 with 43 seconds left.
Anthony Boone was 18 of 40 for 181 yards with two interceptions and Josh Snead scored the lone touchdown for the mistake-prone Blue Devils, who began the day alone atop the Coastal Division.
ARKANSAS 17, NO. 20 LSU 0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Brandon Allen threw for 169 yards and Arkansas snapped a 17-game Southeastern Conference losing streak.
The conference win is the first for the Razorbacks (5-5, 1-5) since 2012, and it's second-year coach Bret Bielema's first SEC win after 13 straight losses.
Arkansas' shutout is the school's first since a 20-0 win over Utah State in 2006.
Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins ran for touchdowns for the Razorbacks, who held the Tigers (7-4, 3-4, No. 17 CFP) to 36 yards rushing on 32 attempts.
It's only the second time LSU has lost back-to-back games under coach Les Miles.
NO. 21 MARSHALL 41, RICE 14
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Rakeem Cato threw four touchdown passes, Devon Johnson rushed for 199 yards and a score, and Marshall improved to 10-0 for the first time since it finished 13-0 in 1999.
The Thundering Herd (6-0 Conference USA) limited Rice to 180 yards and ended the Owls' six-game winning streak.
Cato had scoring tosses of 2, 25, 30 and 7 yards to give him 117 for his career, surpassing Chad Pennington's school record of 115 set from 1995-1999.
Rice (6-4, 4-2) entered the game allowing an average of only 135 yards on the ground, but Marshall had matched that number by halftime. Johnson went over 100 yards for the eighth time this season since converting from tight end in preseason camp.
NO. 25 UTAH 20, STANFORD 17
STANFORD, Calif. - Travis Wilson threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Scott in the second overtime, leading Utah to a road win.
Kaelin Clay caught a 25-yard TD pass on the first play of overtime before the Cardinal came back with the tying score. Jordan Williamson kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal - the same one Stanford passed up late in the fourth quarter - to start the second session, setting the stage for the Utes' dramatic finish.
Wilson found Scott on an inside slant on third-and-1. Scott jumped up, lifted his arms in the air and was swarmed by teammates streaming into the end zone, spoiling Stanford's Senior Day celebration.
Utah (7-3, 4-3 Pac-12) snapped a two-game losing streak. The Cardinal (5-5, 3-4) dropped consecutive games for the first time since October 2009.