Miami uses ‘X’ factor to end skid, trounce Boston College
Miami faced a fourth down in Boston College territory late in the third quarter against a BC team that had begun to show signs of a rally.
That’s when the Hurricanes turned to Xavier Restrepo.
Tyler Van Dyke lofted a pass down the middle of the field, Restrepo dove to haul it in and Miami punched it into the end zone three plays later to put the game away and beat the Eagles 45-20 on Friday in Boston.
“You can always trust X,” said Van Dyke, who was 23 for 36 for 290 yards and two touchdowns. “I mean, he’s always going to find his way open. You’ve just got to get him the ball and he’ll make the play for you.”
Restrepo caught six passes for 117 yards — giving him 993 receiving yards for the season — and Miami snapped a three-game losing streak. Henry Parrish Jr. ran for 111 yards and a pair of scores for the Hurricanes (7-5, 3-5 ACC).
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, but only completed 15 of 25 passes for 151 yards and a TD. After a touchdown on the opening drive, the Eagles (6-6, 3-5) gave up 28 unanswered points.
Top 25 No. 9 Missouri 48, Arkansas 14:
Cody Schrader ran for 217 yards and a touchdown and Missouri (10-2, 6-2 SEC) limited Arkansas (4-8, 1-7) to 87 yards in the first three quarters to help the visiting Tigers win their regular-season finale.
Missouri had it best regular-season record since 2014 to likely secure a berth in one of the New Year’s Six bowl games.
Schrader ran for 194 yards and a TD in the first half as the Tigers built a 20-0 lead against the overmatched Razorbacks
Makhi Hughes rushed for a career-high 166 yards and a touchdown, Tulane’s defense produced five turnovers and a fourth-down stop on its own 10 and the Green Wave (11-1, 8-0) defeated UTSA (8-4, 7-1) at home to secure the right to host the American Athletic Conference title game for a second straight season.
Chris Brazzell caught five passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns to prop up a Green Wave passing game missing leading receivers Lawrence Keys and Jha’Quan Jackson.
Tulane has won 10 straight, with its only loss coming in Week 2 against No. 12 Mississippi — a game Green Wave starting quarterback Michael Pratt missed with a leg injury.
No. 18 Tulane 29, UTSA 16: No. 20 Iowa 13, Nebraska 10:
Backup kicker Marshall Meeder barely cleared the crossbar with a 38-yard field goal as time ran out after Ethan Hurkett’s interception gave Iowa a final possession with 15 seconds left, and the Hawkeyes beat Nebraska in Lincoln.
Meeder, a senior transfer from Central Michigan, was given his first opportunity to kick for Iowa at the most pressure-packed moment after Drew Stevens had two field-goal tries blocked in the first half.
The Hawkeyes (10-2, 7-2, No. 17 CFP), who clinched the Big Ten West title last week, earned a 10th win for the fourth time since 2015 and eighth under 25th-year coach Kirk Ferentz.
The Cornhuskers (5-7, 3-6) lost four straight to end Matt Rhule’s first season as coach.
No. 23 Toledo 32, Central Michigan 17:
Peny Boone rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Toledo beat Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
The Rockets (11-1, 8-0 Mid-American Conference) have won 11 in a row since their 30-28 loss at Illinois in their season opener on Sept. 2. It’s the longest win streak for the program since 1971.
Next up for Toledo is Miami (Ohio) in the MAC championship on Dec. 2 at Ford Field in Detroit. Another win and the Rockets could be in line for a New Year’s Day bowl game, possibly as the highest-ranked team from a Group of Five conference.
Jase Bauer passed for 182 yards and a touchdown for Central Michigan (5-7, 3-5).
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Boise State 27, Air Force 19: Ashton Jeanty went over 100 yards both rushing and receiving and scored two touchdowns to lead Boise State (7-5, 6-2) to a home win over Air Force (8-4, 5-3), keeping the Broncos’ hopes alive for a berth in the Mountain West Conference championship game with their third straight win.
Late Thursday No. 12 Mississippi 17, Mississippi State 7:
Quinshon Judkins rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, and visiting Mississippi (10-2, 6-2 SEC, No. 12 CFP) clamped down on defense to beat rival Mississippi State (5-7, 1-7) in their annual Battle for the Golden Egg.