No. 5 Ohio State pounds No. 7 Michigan State
COLUMBUS, OHIO » C.J. Stroud threw for six touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in the first half and No. 5 Ohio State made it look easy in a 56-7 blowout of No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday.
Stroud finished 32 for 35 against the Spartans’ sketchy pass defense, which had allowed more yards through the air than any in major college football,
Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III, the nation’s leading rusher, was turned into a nonfactor by the Buckeyes. Walker had six carries for 25 yards.
By the time Stroud took a seat late in the third quarter, the redshirt freshman piled up 432 yards for the Buckeyes (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 4), who polished their College Football Playoff resume and served warning to No. 8 Michigan ahead of the rivalry game next week that may end up determining the winner of the Big Ten East.
NO. 1 GEORGIA 56, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 7 » Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and Georgia’s defense was again dominant against Charleston Southern.
Davis, a leader of Georgia’s top-ranked defense, scored on a 1-yard plunge out of the Bulldogs’ jumbo package in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown.
Davis had previously played in the jumbo package as a blocker, but fans roared in anticipation when the 6-foot-6, 340-pound tackle shifted to the backfield. Davis was stopped on his first run from the 2. Fans again cheered when he was given a second carry and scored from the 1.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 42, NO. 21 ARKANSAS 35 » Bryce Young passed for a school-record 559 yards and five touchdowns and Alabama beat
Arkansas to clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
The Crimson Tide (10-1, 7-1, No. 2 CFP) won its 15th consecutive game against the Razorbacks (7-4, 3-4), thanks largely to the Youngto-Jameson Williams deep connection that continues to be the ultimate offensive bailout.
Alabama set up a date with No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta on Dec. 4 after a visit to rival Auburn.
NO. 3 CINCINNATI 48, SMU 14 » Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes, ran for another score and even caught a TD pass to help Cincinnati roll past SMU.
Alec Pierce had a pair of TD catches for the Bearcats (11-0, 7-0 American Athletic). They extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 26 games and keep alive hopes of becoming the first non-Power 5 team to reach the College Football Playoff.
SMU (8-3, 4-3) managed 199 yards of offense after averaging 498 through the first 10 games.
NO. 6 NOTRE DAME 55, GEORGIA
TECH 0 » Jack Coan threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a half and Notre Dame had two defensive touchdowns in winning its sixth straight game.
Coan, a grad transfer from Wisconsin, completed 15 of 20 passes. He had firsthalf touchdown strikes of 52 yards to Michael Mayer and 20 yards to Logan Diggs as the Irish took a 45-0 halftime. Coan exited after one series in the third quarter and was replaced by true freshman Tyler Buchner, who ripped off a 68-yard run on his first play.
With Coan directing the offense, and the Irish defense hounding Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates all afternoon, coach Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish (CFP No. 8) improved to 101, reaching the 10-win level for the fifth straight season by outgaining coach Geoff Collins’ Yellow Jackets (3-8) by a 514-224 yardage margin.
NO. 8 MICHIGAN 59, MARYLAND 18 »
Mike Sainristil made a one-handed catch in the end zone for a secondquarter touchdown, Hassan
Haskins scored two TDs of his own, and Michigan did its part to raise the stakes of next weekend’s showdown with Ohio State.
The Wolverines (101, 7-1, No. 6 CFP) host the Buckeyes next week, and the winner will go to the Big Ten title game. Michigan hasn’t won the conference since 2004 and hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2011.
NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 28, IOWA STATE 21 » Caleb Williams passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Jalen Redmond returned a fumble for a score and Oklahoma held off Iowa State.
Kennedy Brooks ran for 115 yards to help the Sooners (10-1, 7-1 Big 12, No. 13 CFP) bounce back from a loss to Baylor and solidify their chances of reaching the Big 12 title game. CLEMSON 48, NO. 13 WAKE FOREST 27 » Kobe Pace ran for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns and Clemson won its 13th straight over Wake Forest, delaying the Demon Deacons’ run to the ACC Atlantic title.
Will Shipley gained 112 yards with two touchdowns and also threw a 2-yard jump pass for a score to Davis Allen for the Tigers (8-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their 34th straight at home. Clemson also kept its hopes of a seventh straight trip to the ACC title game alive.
NO. 14 BYU 34, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 17 » Jaren Hall had 211 of his 312 yards passing in the first half, Jakob Robinson picked off two passes in the second half and BYU beat Georgia Southern.
Tyler Allgeier, the nation’s seventh-leading rusher, finished with 126 yards on 26 carries to help the Cougars (9-2) win their fourth straight game.
NO. 15 UTSA 34, UAB 31 » Frank Harris threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Oscar Cardenas with three seconds left to lift UTSA past UAB.
The Roadrunners (11-0, 7-0) beat the reigning threetime Conference USA West champion Blazers (7-4, 5-2) to clinch their first division title.
NO. 16 TEXAS A&M 52, PRAIRIE VIEW 3 » Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for three touchdowns before halftime, and Texas A&M routed Prairie View A&M on Saturday.
Texas A&M (8-3) easily bounced back from a loss at Ole Miss. Prairie View (73), an FCS school that plays in the SWAC, just couldn’t keep up with the Aggies.
NO. 18 IOWA 33, ILLINOIS 23 » Charlie Jones had a 100yard kickoff return for Iowa’s first touchdown and the Hawkeyes went on to beat Illinois.
Iowa (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) was trailing Illinois (4-7, 3-5) 10-0 in the first quarter when Jones took the kick near the right corner of the end zone and ran through a hole on the left side for the score.
NO. 19 WISCONSIN 35, NEBRASKA 28 » Braelon Allen ran for 228 yards and three touchdowns — including a tiebreaking 53-yarder with 3:50 remaining — to help Wisconsin outlast Nebraska for its seventh consecutive victory.
Nebraska drove to Wisconsin’s 11 in the final minute but ended up losing the ball on downs at the 21. Faion Hicks broke up Adrian Martinez’s fourthdown pass to Zavier Betts with four seconds left.
NO. 20 PITTSBURGH 48, VIRGINIA 38 » Kenny Pickett threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns — all of them to Jordan Addison — in his final game at Heinz Field and the Panthers claimed their second Coastal title in four years.
The Panthers (9-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned a trip to Charlotte on Dec. 4. Addison’s four scores tied a school record and boosted his season total to 15, tops in FBS. Pitt needed every single one of them.
NO. 22 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 42, LIBERTY 14 » Levi Lewis threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns, Louisiana-Lafayette had five takeaways and seven sacks and the Ragin’ Cajuns beat Liberty in a nonconference game.
Louisiana-Lafayette (101) won its 10 straight game since a season-opening loss at Texas. Liberty dropped to 7-3.
NO. 25 N.C. STATE 41, SYRACUSE 17 »
Devin Leary threw for two touchdowns, Zonovan Knight returned a kickoff for a touchdown and North Carolina State beat Syracuse to keep its hopes alive for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
After neither team scored in the first 22 minutes, the Wolfpack (8-3, 5-2, No. 20 CFP) scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in a matter of less than 3 1/2 minutes. It was all part of N.C. State’s 28-point burst in the last 6:14 of the first half.