No. 10 WSU wins sixth straight
Gardner Minshew II overcame a slow start and three fourth-down failures to lead No. 10 Washington State past nose-diving Colorado 31-7 on Saturday.
The Cougars (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12, No. 8 CFP) won their sixth straight, but it wasn’t as easy as expected against the Buffaloes (5-5, 2-5), who lost their fifth straight despite the return of star receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.
Washington State led by three at the half and seven heading into the fourth quarter, but they did dominate the clock, limited Colorado to an average possession time of less than 90 seconds on their dozen drives outside of the end-of-first-half series. Minshew finished 35-of-58 passing for 335 yards and two TDs. He made it 24-7 on a 10-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.
NO. 6 OKLAHOMA 48, OKLAHOMA STATE 47 >> A’s draft pick Kyler Murray passed for 349 yards and ran for 66, and the Sooners survived a late twopoint conversion attempt in Norman to beat the Cowboys.
Taylor Cornelius connected with Tylan Wallace on a 24-yard TD pass to cut Oklahoma’s lead to one with 1:03 to play. Oklahoma State went for two, but Cornelius threw short and into coverage, and the pass fell incomplete. Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 6 CFP) recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 24, NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI STATE 0 >> Josh Jacobs ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass, and the Crimson Tide had its second straight shutout.
With quarterback Tua Tagovailoa still battling a gimpy right knee, the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) turned to defense for another vintage performance. The offense raced to a fast start but mostly stalled from there against the Bulldogs (6-4, 2-4) and the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense.
NO. 2 CLEMSON 27, NO. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE 7 >> Trevor Lawrence threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score as the battle for first-place in the ACC Atlantic Division was not much of a fight. The Tigers (10-0, 7-0, No. 2 CFP) wrapped up a fourth straight trip to the ACC title game.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 42, FLORIDA STATE 13 >> Brandon Wimbush threw threefirst half touchdown passes, Dexter Williams ran for a career-high 202 yards as Notre Dame rolled in a game that saw the temperature at 27 degrees.
NO. 4 MICHIGAN 42, RUTGERS 7 >> Shea Patterson threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, Karan Higdon had two 1-yard scoriung runs, and the Wolverines rolled to the road win. The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) have won nine straight and remain in first place in the conference’s East Division. They have a final tuneup against Indiana next week before closing the regular season at No. 8 Ohio State. Rutgers (1-9, 0-7) didn’t have a yard passing until the third quarter.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 27, AUBURN 10 >> Georgia struck for a pair of touchdowns late in the first half to take control and D’Andre Swift finished off Auburn with a 77-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter.
NO. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 47, TCU 10 >> Will Grier threw three touchdown passes to lead the Mountaineers at home. Chasing a berth in the Big 12 championship game, West Virginia (8-1, 6-1, No. 9 CFP) had no trouble against the injury-riddled Horned Frogs (46, 2-5).
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 26, NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 6 >> Drue Chrisman kept the Spartans pinned back with a sensational second half of punting, and the Buckeyes eventually pulled away in East Lansing, Michigan.
NO. 9 LSU 24, ARKANSAS 17 >> Joe Burrow was 15 of 21 for 195 yards and a touchdown and the LSU defense dominated Arkansas a week after a shutout loss to No. 1 Alabama.
NO. 11 UCF 35, NAVY 24 >> McKenzie Milton threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, helping UCF extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 games.
Milton completed 17 of 21 passes without an interception, and the Knights (9-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference, No. 12 CFP) remained one of four unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. TENNESSEE 24, NO. 12 KENTUCKY 7 >> Jarrett Guarantano threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway on the final play of the first half, and Darrell Taylor had four sacks for the Volunteers in the home upset .Taylor also forced and recovered a fumble.
NO. 21 PENN STATE 21, WISCONSIN 10 >> Trace McSorley tied the school record for victories by a quarterback with 29, leading the Nittany Lions past the Badgers. NORTHWESTERN TO PLAY FOR BIG TEN TITLE >> Isaiah Bowser ran for 165 yards and a touchdown, and Northwestern upset Iowa 14-10 on the road to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship.The Wildcats (6-4, 6-1) will now await their opponent for the league title game in Indianapolis next month.
E WASHINGTON GRINDS DOWN UC DAVIS IN FCS SHOWDOWN >> Eastern Washington rolled to a 59-20 win over UC Davis in a Big Sky Conference showdown and matchup of Top 10 FCS teams.