Central Florida wins, but quarterback hurt
TAMPA, Fla. — Eighthranked Central Florida lost quarterback McKenzie Milton to injury but still trounced South Florida 38-10 Friday to extend the nation’s longest winning streak in college football to 24 games and complete a second consecutive undefeated regular season.
Milton hurt his right knee when he was tackled at the end of a 5-yard run in the second quarter. Darriel Mack Jr. replaced him and may make his second start of the year when the Knights (11-0, 8-0) face Memphis next weekend in the American Athletic Conference title game.
Players from both schools, which are located about 100 miles apart via Interstate 4, kneeled on one knee while a cart was rolled onto the field and Milton received medical attention in front of the South Florida bench. The entire Central Florida squad left its sideline at one point to form a crowded circle around Milton, who was placed on the cart and taken to the locker room and later a nearby hospital.
Milton finished 5-of10 passing for 86 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown toss to Gabriel Davis for the game’s first score. The Knights kicked a field goal on the first play after the quarterback departed to make it 10-0.
Greg McCrae scored on runs of 40, 39 and 31 yards, with the second of the three touchdowns re-establishing a 14-point after South Florida briefly pulled to 17-10 on Johnny Ford’s 34-yard catch-andrun and the extra-point kick. McCrae finished with 181 yards on 16 carries for the Knights, who amassed 558 yards of total offense and have scored at least 30 points in 24 consecutive games.
South Florida (7-5, 3-5) finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak.
› No. 11 Texas 24, Kansas 17 LAWRENCE, Kan. — Sam Ehlinger threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score as Texas held off Kansas to reach the Big 12 title game.
The Longhorns opened a 24-7 lead on Cameron Dicker’s 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but the lowly Jayhawks responded with Peyton Bender’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Daylon Charlot and recovered the ensuing onside kick.
After Gabriel Rui made it a one-score game with a 45-yard field goal with 1:37 remaining, Kansas was unable to recover another onside kick and Texas (9-3, 7-2) closed out its third consecutive victory. Tre Watson finished with 79 yards on 14 carries as Texas continued its strong second season under coach Tom Herman.
Kansas (3-9, 1-8) dropped its last four games in David Beaty’s final season as Jayhawks coach. Les Miles was hired Sunday to replace Beaty, who was fired with two games left but was allowed to coach out the string.
› No. 25 Mississippi State 35, Ole Miss 3
OXFORD, Miss. — Nick Fitzgerald ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score late Thursday night to lead the Bulldogs to victory in an Egg Bowl rivalry game marred by a fight in the second half that led to four ejections.
Mississippi State looked as though it would cruise to a fairly uneventful win before Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown appeared to score a touchdown at the end of the third quarter. Players immediately started shoving, and the fight spilled into the end zone as both benches emptied onto the field.
Mississippi State’s Cameron Dantzler, Jamal Peters and Willie Gay Jr. were ejected, along with Ole Miss player C.J. Moore. The referee said every player on both teams received an unsportsmanlike penalty. Gay was ejected because he already had one unsportsmanlike penalty earlier in the game.
Brown’s touchdown was called back because time had expired in the third quarter before the play began.
As for the game, Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4 SEC) won by sticking to what it’s done best all year: running the ball effectively and playing terrific defense. The Bulldogs rushed for 122 yards in the first quarter to set the tone and built a 14-0 lead by early in the second quarter.
Ole Miss (5-7, 1-7) ended the season on a five-game losing streak.
› Missouri 38, Arkansas 0 COLUMBIA, Mo. — Playing his final home game, Missouri senior quarterback Drew Lock rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Tigers topped the Razorbacks on a damp and dreary day.
Lock completed 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards, surpassing the 3,000-yard mark for the third straight season. Emanuel Hall caught both touchdown passes and finished with six catches for 153 yards. Larry Rountree rushed 29 times for 119 yards to exceed 1,000 yards for the season.
The Tigers (8-4, 4-4 SEC) took advantage of two turnovers to take control early in the second quarter.
It was a forgettable end to a difficult debut season for Arkansas coach Chad Morris. The Razorbacks (2-10, 0-8) managed just 187 total yards.
› Memphis 52, Houston 31
MEMPHIS — Junior running back Darrell Henderson went for two touchdowns and 178 yards — setting a conference rushing record — as Memphis rallied past Houston to set up a rematch of last season’s AAC title game with Central Florida.
Henderson set the single-season rushing record, passing the previous mark of 1,629 by Tulsa’s James Flanders in 2016.
Memphis (8-4, 5-3) trailed Houston 21-17 at halftime, but rushed for five touchdowns in the second half and scored 21 unanswered points to close it out. The Tigers rushed for 401 yards, with 277 in the second half.
Memphis lost to Central Florida 62-55 in double overtime in the title game last year and lost 31-30 to the Knights earlier this season.
Gleson Sprewell had two interceptions for Houston (8-4, 5-3), returning one 63 yards to cap the first-half scoring.