Last-play FG keeps TCU unbeaten
No. 4 TCU 29, Baylor 28: Griffin Kell kicked a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game, and TCU (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) beat host Baylor (6-5, 4-4) on Saturday, scoring nine points in the final 2:07 to avoid another potential playoff-busting loss on the banks of the Brazos River.
Emari Demercardo scored on a 3yard TD run with 2:07 left to get the Frogs within 28-26, but he was unable to pull in a pass on the 2-point conversion attempt.
After kicking deep, TCU used all three of its timeouts while forcing a three-and-out, and got the ball back with 1:34 left at its 31. Max Duggan converted one third down with a 12-yard scramble, and after Demarcardo’s thirddown run to the Baylor 23, the field goal unit scrambled onto the field with the clock running. The kick by Kell, who earlier had an extra-point attempt clank off the upright, went through as time ran out.
TCU, which had already clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game, hasn’t been undefeated this deep in a season since 2010, when it finished 13-0 with a Rose Bowl victory and No. 2 national ranking.
When the Frogs played at Mclane Stadium for the first time in 2014, after the facility first opened, they lost 61-58. That was their only loss that season, and they went on to share the Big 12 title with Baylor. They were the first two teams left out of the inaugural fourteam College Football Playoff.
No. 3 Michigan 19, Illinois 17: Jake Moody made a go-ahead, 35-yard field goal with nine seconds left, lifting host Michigan (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) to a win over Illinois (7-4, 5-3).
The Wolverines played much of the second half without star running back Blake Corum, who grabbed his left knee after being tackled just before halftime.
Michigan will now turn all its attention to playing rival and second-ranked Ohio State on the road, where they have not won since 2000 with a spot in the Big Ten champinship game and likely in the College Football Playoff at stake.
The Fighting Illini took a 17-10 lead late in the third quarter on Chase Brown’s 37-yard touchdown run. With a chance to run out the clock, they had to punt to Michigan late in the game and failed to hold on and beat a top-three team for the first time since knocking off top-ranked Ohio State in 2007.
No. 8 Alabama 34, Austin Peay 0: Jase Mcclellan rushed for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns and Jermaine Burton caught a pair of scoring passes from Bryce Young, and host Alabama (9-2) shut out Austin Peay (7-4).
The Crimson Tide took awhile to get going against FCS Austin Peay in a Bryant-denny Stadium that wasn’t much more than half full.
But Mcclellan and Burton had their biggest games for the Tide, which had already been knocked out of Southeastern
Conference contention.
Navy 17, No. 17 UCF 14: Fullback Daba Fonfana rushed for 114 yards, and Navy (4-7, 4-4 American Athletic) beat host UCF (8-3, 5-2) without completing a pass.
Navy dominated possession of the ball and gained 248 yards, all on the ground. Xavier Arline threw incomplete on the team’s only passing attempt.
The loss dropped UCF out of first place in the AAC.
No. 18 Notre Dame 44, Boston College 0: Cornerback Benjamin Morrison had three interceptions, the Notre Dame defense forced two fumbles and the host Fighting Irish (8-3) scored on their first eight possessions to beat Boston College (3-8).
The Fighting Irish won their ninth straight against Boston College, the only other Catholic university playing in the FBS. Notre Dame also extended its regular-season winning streak against Atlantic Coast Conference teams to 28 games. The temperature at game time was 27 degrees, making it the coldest game at Notre Dame in nine years, and heavy snow fell through much of the third quarter.
No. 19 Kansas State 48, West Virginia 31: Will Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, Cincere Mason returned an interception for a TD and Kansas State (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) moved closer to a berth in the Big 12 championship game by beating host West Virginia (4-7, 2-6).
Kansas State can clinch a title game spot alongside No. 4 TCU on Dec. 3 with a win in its regular season finale at home against Kansas.
West Virginia failed to become bowl eligible for the second time under fourth-year coach Neal Brown and for only the fourth time since 2000.
No. 20 Florida State 49, Louisiana 17: Jordan Travis and Treshaun Ward each had a pair of touchdown runs in the first half and host Florida State (8-3) ran for 251 yards, routing Louisiana (5-6).
Florida State scored a season high in points, surpassed 200 rushing yards for a sixth straight time and picked up its fourth straight double-digit victory. The Seminoles last won eight or more games in 2016.
The Seminoles didn’t allow a touchdown through three quarters. They extended their streak to 32 straight drives without a touchdown before Louisiana managed a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns against Florida State’s backups.
No. 25 Oregon State 31, Arizona State 7: Damien Martinez ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns as Oregon State (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) beat host Arizona State (3-8, 2-6).
The Beavers won for just the second time at ASU since 1972; they were 1-19 on the road against the Sun Devils going into the game. The Sun Devils played their final home game of the season, falling to 2-6 under interim coach Shaun Aguano, who replaced Herm Edwards on Sept. 20.