Stanford stuns Notre Dame
PALO ALTO, Calif. — K.J. Costello threw two of his career-high four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and No. 21 Stanford rallied for a 38-20 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame on Saturday night.
The night couldn’t have gone much better for the Cardinal (9-3), who got the help they needed when Washington beat Washington State 41-14 in the Apple Cup to send Stanford to the Pac-12 title game. The Cardinal finished tied for first in the North with the Huskies but won the head-to-head matchup to take the tiebreaker.
Bryce Love ran for 125 yards, but Costello was the star of the offense for a change by throwing for 176 yards and delivering the four scores. Stanford has won seven of nine in the series, including the last five at home against the Fighting Irish (9-3).
Notre Dame was dealt a serious blow in its hopes for making a New Year’s Six bowl game.
GEORGIA 38 GEORGIA TECH 7
Sony Michel ran for 85 yards and a touchdown, Jake Fromm threw two touchdown passes, and the No. 7 Bulldogs protected its playoff hopes with a dominant win over the Yellow Jackets at Atlanta.
“It was important to us,” Michel said. “It was important to Dawg Nation. By us playing so well today, it means a lot.”
The Bulldogs had 247 yards rushing and 471 total yards as Michel, Nick Chubb and D’Andre Swift ran for touchdowns.
The win gives Georgia (11-1) momentum for next week’s Southeastern Conference championship game against No. 6 Auburn.
Georgia Tech (5-6) was denied the win it needed to become bowl-eligible.
WISCONSIN 31 MINNESOTA 0
Alex Hornibrook threw three touchdown passes without an interception, and the No. 5 Badgers remained unbeaten by overwhelming the Gophers.
Jonathan Taylor rushed for 149 yards on 20 carries for the Badgers (12-0, 9-0), who head to the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State.
WASHINGTON 41 WASHINGTON ST. 14
Myles Gaskin ran for 192 yards and four touchdowns, and the No. 17 Huskies ended the No. 13 Cougars’ hopes for a Pac-12 North title.
The Apple Cup remained decorated in purple for the fifth straight year thanks to a thorough domination by Washington (10-2, 8-2 Pac-12) that was punctuated by Gaskin’s runs and a suffocating defense that made the night miserable for Luke Falk in his final regular season game.
It was a major flop for Washington State (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12), needing only a victory to win its first Pac12 North title and earn a spot in the conference title game Friday against Southern California. Falk was 37-of-55 for 369 yards and a late TD to Tay Martin, helping continue coach Mike Leach’s streak of never being shut out.
PENN ST. 66, MARYLAND 4
Trace McSorley threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score to carry the No. 10 Nittany Lions past the Terrapins at College Park, Md.
Penn State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) built a 31-0 halftime lead and cruised to their third straight victory.
FLORIDA ST. 38 FLORIDA 22
Jacob Pugh and Levonta Taylor turned takeaways into touchdowns to help the Seminoles beat the Gators for the fifth consecutive year.
The Seminoles (5-6) used the defensive scores to build a 24-7 lead against Florida, which lost six of its final seven games.
The Gators (4-7) finish with a losing record for just the second time since 1979.
OREGON 69, OREGON ST. 10
Royce Freeman set a new Pac-12 record for career rushing touchdowns while running for 122 yards and two scores in the Ducks’ rout of the Beavers at Eugene, Ore
NORTHWESTERN 42 ILLINOIS 7
Justin Jackson ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, and the No. 22 Wildcats won their seventh in a row at Champaign, Ill.
FRESNO ST. 28, BOISE ST. 17
Marcus McMaryion threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bulldogs beat the No. 23 Broncos at Fresno, Calif.
UAB 28, UTEP 7
A.J. Erdely passed for two TDs and ran for another, and UAB celebrated its return.
The UAB program was shut down at the end of the 2014 season for financial reasons.
The Blazers (8-4, 6-2 C-USA)sat out the 2015 and 2016 seasons and now await a bowl bid.
SMU 41, TULANE 38
Ben Hicks threw for 375 yards and four TDs, and the Mustangs needed a goal-line stand in the final seconds at Dallas.
From wire reports