Alabama posts second straight shutout

Top-ranked Tide rolls; Michigan routs Rutgers

Josh Jacobs ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass and No. 1 Alabama had its second straight shutout in a 24-0 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday.

With quarterback Tua Tagovailoa still battling a gimpy right knee, the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0) turned to defense for another vintage performance.

The offense raced to a fast start but mostly stalled from there against the Bulldogs (6-4, 2-4) and the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense.

Tagovailoa started the fourth quarter on a stationary bike after getting his right knee checked out in the medical tent following a hard hit. He didn’t return and wasn’t needed.

Fresh from a 29-0 victory over No. 9 LSU, the Tide defense hasn’t allowed a point in nine-plus quarters. Alabama had five sacks and Mississippi State had four in a rough day for both quarterbacks.

Tagovailoa was 14 of 21 for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also lost a fumble on a botched exchange with Damien Harris. Backup Jalen Hurts missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. Jacobs ran for 97 yards on 20 carries as Alabama. He scored on a 1-yard run and a 14-yard catch.

NO. 4 MICHIGAN 42, RUTGERS 7: Shea Patterson threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, Karan Higdon had two 1-yard scoriung runs and Michigan kept its national championship hopes intact.

The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten) have won nine straight and remain in first place in the conference’s East Division. They have a final tuneup against Indiana next week at the Big House before closing the regular season at No. 8 Ohio State.

Rutgers (1-9, 0-7) didn’t have a yard passing until the third quarter.

NO. 5 GEORGIA 27, AUBURN 10: Georgia struck for a pair of touchdowns late in the first half to take control and D’Andre Swift finished off Auburn with a 77-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter.

Swift rushed for 186 yards to power another big game by Georgia’s running attack, which finished with 303 yards. Having already locked up a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1) couldn’t afford to slip up against the Tigers.

NO. 9 WEST VIRGINIA 47, TCU 10: Will Grier threw three touchdown passes for West Virginia.

Chasing a berth in the Big 12 championship game, West Virginia (8-1, 6-1) had no trouble against the injury-riddled Horned Frogs (4-6, 2-5).

Grier was 25 of 39 for 343 yards. TCU was held to a season-low 222 yards of offense, the third time in four games it has had fewer than 300.

NO. 10 OHIO STATE 26, NO. 18 MICHIGAN STATE 6: Drue Chrisman kept Michigan State pinned back with a sensational second half of punting, and Ohio State eventually pulled away.

The Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) enjoyed a huge advantage in field position during the second half. Chrisman’s punts forced Michigan State (6-4, 4-3) to start its first five drives after halftime from its own 5, 6, 3, 1 and 2-yard line.

NO. 8 WASHINGTON STATE 31, COLORADO 7: Gardner Minshew II overcame a slow start and three fourth-down failures to lead Washington State past nose-diving Colorado.

The Cougars (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12, No. 8 CFP) won their sixth straight, but it wasn’t as easy as expected against the Buffaloes (5-5, 2-5), who lost their fifth straight despite the return of star receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.

Minshew was 35 of 58 for 335 yards and two TDs. He had a 10-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

Shenault was rusty in his return from a right turf toe injury. He caught 10 passes for 102 yards but cost his team dearly with back-to-back drops and a lost fumble in the second half.

TENNESSEE 24, NO. 11 KENTUCKY 7: Jarrett Guarantano threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway on the final play of the first half and Darrell Taylor had four sacks for Tennessee.

Taylor also forced and recovered a fumble to help Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) beat Kentucky (7-3, 5-3) at Neyland Stadium for a 17th straight time.

Guarantano was 12 of 20 for 197 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Wood-Anderson that extended Tennessee’s advantage to 24-0 in the third quarter.

NO. 14 UTAH STATE 62, SAN JOSE STATE 24: Jordan Love threw for a career-high 491 yards and five touchdowns on 32-of-42 passing in just three quarters, and Utah State totaled 804 yards in offense.

Love's 491 passing yards were the thirdhighest single game total for a Utah State quarterback. Darwin Thompson had 140 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries along with 115 yards and a pair of scores on four receptions for the Aggies (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West). They became the 17th team in NCAA history to gain at least 800 total yards in a game. The 804 yards and 33 first downs were both school records.

Josh Love threw for 210 yards and a touchdown for Jose State (1-9, 1-5). Tre Walker added a career-high 209 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.

NO. 15 FLORIDA 35, SOUTH CAROLINA 31: Feleipe Franks silenced the home crowd twice after touchdown runs, seemingly sending a message after getting benched last week and booed earlier in the game, and Florida rallied to beat South Carolina to end a two-game losing streak.

Franks dived across the goal line on a fourth-down play from inside the 1 with 4:09 to play, putting the Gators (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) ahead for the first time. Florida overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat the Gamecocks (5-4, 4-4).

NO. 20 PENN STATE 21, WISCONSIN 10: Trace McSorley tied the Penn State record for victories by a quarterback with 29, leading the Nittany Lions past Wisconsin.

Miles Sanders ran for 159 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and McSorley completed 19 of 25 passes for 160 yards and a TD while matching Todd Blackledge’s victory total from 1980-82.

DeAndre Thompkins caught a touchdown pass for Penn State (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten). The Nittany Lions held the Badgers (6-4, 4-3) to 125 yards in the second half and sacked backup quarterback Jack Coan five times. Jonathan Taylor ran 20 times for 185 yards and a touchdown for Wisconsin.

NO. 22 IOWA STATE 28, BAYLOR 14: Brock Purdy threw for a touchdown and ran for another score, and Iowa State topped Baylor after a skirmish in the third quarter.

Purdy threw for 230 yards as Iowa State (6-3, 5-2, No. 22 CFP) won a fifth straight Big 12 game in the same season for the first time. Deshaunte Jones caught a TD pass and threw for a 2-point conversion.