OU tops W. Virginia, will play for Big 12 title
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kyler Murray threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, and No. 6 Oklahoma scored two defensive touchdowns as the Sooners beat No. 13 West Virginia 59-56 on Friday night to earn a spot in next week’s Big 12 championship game.
The Sooners (11-1, 8-1) survived a wild and mostly defenseless affair that featured 1,372 yards of offense to earn a rematch Dec. 1 in Arlington, Texas, against No. 11 Texas, which beat Kansas earlier Friday.
Oklahoma also kept its College Football Playoff chances alive.
West Virginia (8-3, 6-3) lost to Oklahoma for the seventh straight time since joining the league in 2012.
Murray finished 20-of-27 for 364 yards and converted a late fourth down to seal a matchup of Heisman Trophy hopefuls. West Virginia’s Will Grier threw for four touchdowns and a career-high 539 yards on 32-of-49 passing. But Grier lost two fumbles, both of which were returned for touchdowns.
WASHINGTON 28 WASHINGTON ST. 15
Myles Gaskin broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and the No. 16 Huskies won their second Pac-12 North Division title in three years, beating the eighthranked Cougars on a snowy night in Pullman, Wash.
On a blustery cold night with snow falling and blanketing the turf at Martin Stadium, Gaskin found enough traction to carry Washington into the Pac-12 title game and ruin yet again the title hopes of Washington State. It was Washington’s sixth straight win over the Cougars and the third straight year the Huskies denied Washington State the North crown. Gaskin rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns, a year after running for 192 yards and four scores against the Cougars.
The Huskies (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) will face Utah in the conference title game next Friday in Santa Clara, Calif. The winner will earn a spot in the Rose Bowl.
Washington State (10-2, 7-2) carried the Pac-12’s last remaining hope of finding a way into the College Football Playoff, but the Air Raid was mostly grounded by a combo of blowing snow and Washington’s sticky secondary.
CENTRAL FLORIDA 38 SOUTH FLORIDA 10
The ninth-ranked Knights lost quarterback McKenzie Milton to injury but still trounced the Bulls in Tampa, Fla., to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 24 games and complete a second consecutive undefeated regular season.
Milton, eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting a year ago, 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 American Athletic Conference) face Memphis next week in the AAC title game.
MISSOURI 38, ARKANSAS 0
In his final home game, quarterback Drew Lock rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Tigers routed the Razorbacks at Columbia, Mo.
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 receptions for 153 yards. Larry Rountree rushed 29 times for 119 yards to exceed 1,000 yards for the season.
Missouri (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) took advantage of two turnovers to take control early in the second quarter against Arkansas (2-10, 0-8).
IOWA 31, NEBRASKA 28
Miguel Recinos drilled a 41yard field goal through a driving rain as time expired, and the Hawkeyes beat the Cornhuskers at Iowa City despite blowing a 15-point lead.
Mekhi Sargent ran for a career-high 173 yards and scored twice for Iowa (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten), which has four in a row over Nebraska (4-8, 3-6) for the first time.
VIRGINIA TECH 34, VIRGINIA 31
Brian Johnson kicked a 42yard field goal in overtime at Blacksburg, Va., as the Hokies Tech pulled out the wildest victory in its 100 meetings with the Cavaliers.
Virginia Tech (5-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its 15th in a row in the series and kept alive its hopes for a 26th consecutive bowl appearance.
OREGON 55, OREGON ST. 15
CJ Verdell ran for 187 yards and four touchdowns and also caught a scoring pass as the Ducks routed the Bears at Corvallis, Ore., in a Civil War victory that was marred by quarterback Justin Herbert’s first-half injury.
CINCINNATI 56, EAST CAROLINA 6
Redshirt freshman Desmond Ridder threw a career-high four touchdown passes in the first half as the Bearcats wrapped up the regular season with 10 victories for the first time since 2012, routing the Pirates at Cincinnati.
Cincinnati (10-2, 6-2 American Athletic) put an exclamation point on a resurgent season under second-year coach Luke Fickell, topping it with a display of big plays and dominating defense.
BUFFALO 44 BOWLING GREEN 14
Tyree Jackson threw a touchdown pass, and the Bulls ran in four scores to beat the Falcons at Bowling Green, Ohio, to claim the Mid-American Conference East Division championship.
Buffalo (10-2, 7-1) will face Northern Illinois in the conference title game Nov. 30 at Detroit’s Ford Field.