CONFERENCE FOOTBALL REPORTS

at No. 12 Michigan State 30, Penn State 27: Payton Thorne threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lift the Spartans. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown in 30 carries as Michigan State bounced back from last week’s 56-7 loss to Ohio State. Sean Clifford threw three touchdown passes, two to Jahan Dotson, for the Nittany Lions, who closed the regular season with five losses in their last seven games. Thorne connected with Jayden Reed on a 20-yard scoring pass on fourth and 15 with 5:10 left to give Michigan State some cushion.

at Minnesota 23, No. 14 Wisconsin 13: Tanner Morgan overcame an interception that was returned for a first-half touchdown, leading the Gophers on three scoring drives after halftime to surge past the Badgers, take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe and give Iowa the Big Ten West Division title. Morgan led Minnesota on a sprint into the end zone to hoist the 73-year-old trophy on their home field for the first time since 2003. Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen was held to 47 yards in 17 carries after having topped the 100-yard mark in each of his previous seven games.

at Purdue 44, Indiana 7: Aidan O’connell tied a career high with four touchdown passes and Zander Horvath ran for another score as the Boilermakers won the Old Oaken Bucket for the first time since 2018. Purdue has won four of five to post its highest single-season victory total since 2006 with eight. The Hoosiers have lost their last eight games and suffered their first winless conference season since 2011.

Maryland 40, at Rutgers 16: The Terrapins earned their first bowl berth since 2016 as quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw three touchdowns and ran for another. Tagovailoa finished 21 of 30 for 312 yards. The yardage gave him 3,595 yards, breaking the single-season school record of 3,499.

at Illinois 47, Northwestern 14: Brandon Peters threw for 242 yards and a touchdown in the rout for the Illini, who are hoping a resounding victory to end the regular season will secure their second bowl bid in five years.

at Louisiana State 27, No. 15 Texas A&M 24: Max Johnson hit Jaray Jenkins with a 28-yard scoring pass down the right sideline with 20 seconds left, and the Tigers knocked off the Aggies to give coach Ed Orgeron a triumphant send-off in his final game in Tiger Stadium. LSU had lost a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and looked to be on the brink of its first losing season since 1999 when Johnson, who’d been sacked six times in the second half, came alive on fourth and six from the LSU 19-yard line.

No. 23 Clemson 30, at South Carolina 0: Will Shipley ran for 128 yards and a touchdown and the Tigers’ defense smothered the Gamecocks for their seventh straight win in the Palmetto State rivalry. Clemson won its fifth straight this season and matched the longest win streak in the series that it set from 1934 to 1940. Clemson’s defense limited South Carolina to 206 yards, its second-lowest output this season.

at Tennessee 45, Vanderbilt 21: Hendon Hooker threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 75 yards to lead the Volunteers to a season-ending victory over the Commodores. Jabari Small rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee grabbed bragging rights over its intrastate rival. Tennessee receiver Cedric Tillman caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

at Florida 24, Florida State 21: Anthony Richardson came off the bench and led the Gators to a victory over their rival Seminoles that made Florida bowl eligible a week after firing coach Dan Mullen. Richardson replaced turnoverprone Emory Jones early in third quarter and played significant snaps for the first time in a month. The dynamic freshman completed five of seven passes for 55 yards.

at No. 8 Baylor 27, Texas Tech 24: Blake Shapen threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for Baylor, and the Bears held off Texas Tech to make the Big 12 championship game for the second time in three seasons. Abram Smith ran for 117 yards and a touchdown for the Bears, who had to wait for the outcome of the game between No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Oklahoma. The Cowboys were already locked into their first Big 12 title game, and their win over the Sooners in Bedlam put Baylor in. The Red Raiders still had one more chance after stopping Baylor on fourth down on its 12 with 1:18 and no timeouts left. They got in position for a 53-yard field goal attempt by Jonathan Garibay, who had plenty of leg but pushed the kick wide left on the final play.

West Virginia 34, at Kansas 28: Jarret Doege threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns, Leddie Brown ran for 156 yards and another score, and the Mountaineers held on to beat the Jayhawks. West Virginia, now bowl-eligible, got two touchdown catches from Winston Wright Jr. and 118 yards rushing from Tony Mathis Jr. The Mountaineers also got two picks in the end zone from Josh Chandler-semedo in beating the Jayhawks for the eighth straight time.

No. 1 Georgia 45, at Georgia Tech 0: Stetson Bennett passed for 255 yards and four touchdowns, including two to tight end Brock Bowers, and the Bulldogs finished their first undefeated regular season since 1982 and gained momentum for next week’s much-anticipated SEC championship game against No. 3 Alabama in Atlanta.

No. 17 Pittsburgh 31, at Syracuse 14: Kenny Pickett threw for four touchdowns to break the Pittsburgh school record for scoring passes in a season and the Panthers won their fourth straight and clinched their first 10-win season since 1981. Pickett boosted his season total to 40 touchdown passes, three more than the previous record set by Dan Marino in 1981 and matched by Rod Rutherford in 2003, and his career total to 79, equaling Marino’s mark. Pickett finished 28 of 38 for 209 yards with one interception.

No. 18 Wake Forest 41, at Boston College 10: The Demon Deacons earned a spot in the ACC championship game, getting three passing touchdowns and one more on the ground from Sam Hartman. Wake Forest will attempt to claim its first league title since 2006 when it faces No. 17 Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Miami 47, at Duke 10: Tyler Van Dyke threw for three touchdowns and 381 yards and the Hurricanes wrapped up the regular season by winning for the fifth time in their last six games. Charleston Rambo, who caught two touchdown passes, set Miami single-season records with 79 receptions and 1,172 receiving yards. Teammate Mike Harley set the single-game school record with 13 receptions, racking up 96 yards.

Virginia Tech 29, at Virginia 24: Braxton Burmeister threw for one touchdown, caught a pass for another and the Hokies held on to win after a wild finish in which the Cavaliers drove to the Virginia Tech nine and failed to convert on fourth and 13. Burmeister, who also ran for 115 yards, hit Tayvion Robinson for a 61-yard touchdown and caught a three-yard pass from Robinson on a double-reverse.

Kentucky 52, at Louisville 21: Will Levis rushed for career highs of four touchdowns and 113 yards, and the Wildcats scored on their first four possessions to cruise past the rival Cardinals to win the Governor’s Cup for the third consecutive time. Levis outgained Louisville by himself (195-144) by halftime and also completed 14 of 18 passes to outshine Louisville counterpart Malik Cunningham.