NCAA FOOTBALL ROUNDUP / TOP 25
No. 5 Ohio St. 56, No. 7 Michigan St. 7
C.J. Stroud threw for six touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in the first half and Ohio State made it look easy in a blowout of 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 So. 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-foot6, 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 Young-to-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.
This one wasn't settled until Arkansas's onside kick went out of bounds with 1:02 left.
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.
Tanner Mordecai, the AAC offensive player of the week last week for the fourth time this season, had only 63 yards passing and was sacked three times.
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 first-half 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.
No. 7 Michigan 59, Maryland 18
Mike Sainristil made a one-handed catch in the end zone for a second-quarter 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 (10-1, 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.
No. 14 BYU 34, Georgia So. 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 three-time 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 (7-3), 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 100-yard 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 fourth-down 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 (10-1) 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.