College football Top 25: Freaky fumble return helps Oregon beat Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Joe Walker returned Kaelin Clay’s careless goal line fumble 100 yards for a touchdown, Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 5 Oregon turned back No. 20 Utah 51-27 on Saturday night.

SALT LAKE CITY — Joe Walker returned Kaelin Clay’s careless goal line fumble 100 yards for a touchdown, Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 5 Oregon turned back No. 20 Utah 51-27 on Saturday night.

Mariota was not at his best, but he did nothing to hurt his Heisman Trophy hopes while keeping the Ducks (9-1, 6-1 CFP No. 4) in the thick of the College Football Playoff race. The junior ran for 114 yards and was 17 for 29 for 239 yards passing.

Utah’s Travis Wilson didn’t get the start, but threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns after Kendal Thompson went out with a knee injury. Clay had 152 yards on five catches, but it was the 1 yard he let slip away that will be remembered most.

The Utes (6-3, 3-3) were on their way to taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter as Wilson connected Clay on a deep ball down the middle. Clay was cruising to an easy touchdown when he casually dropped the ball about a yard before he crossed the goal line. The ball sat on the turf for about 4 seconds, right at the feet of Oregon defensive back Erick Dargan.

While Clay celebrated with two teammates in the back of the end zone, Dargan finally picked it up and tried to take it out of the end zone. He got into a scrum with a Utah player and lost the ball. Walker then grabbed it and took off the other way. By then there was a flock of Ducks leading Walker against only one Utah player and Walker chugged in to tie the game at 7.

The Utes and their fans were stunned silent. Clay slumped down on the bench and briefly pulled his black head band down over his eyes.

The play covered 178 yards — 78 one way and 100 the other.

If ever a play killed momentum, this was it.

Oregon scored the next 17 points, including two short touchdown passes by Mariota, to go up 24-7.

Utah gave Thompson his second start of the season, hoping his quickness and ability to run the option would come in handy against the Ducks.

He led the Utes to a touchdown on their first drive, but on the next Thompson’s knee appeared to buckle as he threw a deep pass. The junior went down and needed to be helped off. He left the sideline and returned later in street clothes.

Thompson finished 4 for 5 for 23 yards with 28 yards rushing.

TEXAS A&M 41, NO. 3 AUBURN 38

AUBURN, Ala. — Freshman Kyle Allen threw four touchdown passes in the first half and Texas A&M recovered two late fumbles to secure a victory against No. 3 Auburn, likely ending the Tigers’ playoff hopes.

The Aggies (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference), who came in as 23-point underdogs, pulled off the kind of dramatic finish that had become an Auburn trademark.

The Tigers (7-2, 4-2, No. 3 CFP) twice appeared to be driving toward a go-ahead touchdown before coughing it up on plays that never really got going.

First, Julien Obioha won a scramble for the ball after Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne got tangled up in the backfield.

Then the Tigers drove inside the Texas A&M 30 for one more shot. Marshall appeared to be still calling the play when center Reese Dismukes snapped it. Alonzo Williams recovered with 54 seconds left.

NO. 4 ALABAMA 20, NO. 14 LSU 13, OT

BATON ROUGE, La. — Blake Sims drove Alabama 55 yards in the final 50 seconds of regulation for a tying field goal, and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White in overtime.

With the victory and Auburn’s upset loss to Texas A&M earlier in the day, Alabama (8-1, 5-1, No. 5 CFP) is alone in second place in the SEC West Division with a game against first-place Mississippi State still on its schedule.

Amari Cooper had eight catches for 83 yards and a touchdown while setting Alabama career and single-season records for yards receiving, as well as the school’s single-season mark for catches with 79.

T.J. Yeldon’s fumble deep in Alabama territory set up Colby Delahoussaye’s 39-yard field goal that gave LSU (7-3, 3-3, No. 16 CFP) a 13-10 lead with 50 seconds left.

NO. 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE 45, UT MARTIN 16

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score, leading Mississippi State to the easy win.

The Bulldogs (9-0, No. 1 CFP) extended their winning streak to 12 games, jumping ahead 24-3 by halftime. Prescott completed 14 of 23 passes for 206 yards. It was his school-record ninth 200-yard passing game of the season.

Mississippi State’s Brandon Holloway ran for a 35-yard touchdown and Ashton Shumpert added a 59-yard touchdown run as the Bulldogs amassed 254 yards on the ground.

NO. 2 FLORIDA STATE 34, VIRGINIA 20

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jameis Winston threw for 261 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, rallying Florida State to its 25th straight victory.

Winston and the offense started slowly for the third consecutive game, and two first-quarter interceptions helped the Cavaliers to a 13-7 lead. Virginia, however, had ball control issues of its own, committing three first-half turnovers.

Rashad Greene had a career-high 13 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown for the Seminoles (9-0, 6-0 ACC, No. 2 CFP).

NO. 6 TCU 41, NO. 9 KANSAS STATE 20

FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU’s Trevone Boykin ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another score.

Aaron Green, filling in for an injured B.J. Catalon, ran for 171 yards for the Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-1), including a 65-yard TD.

Boykin set a career high for rushing yards and completed 23 of 34 passes for 219 yards.

The end of Kansas State’s five-game winning streak created a three-way tie atop the Big 12 standings with the Wildcats (7-2, 5-1), TCU and No. 10 Baylor (8-1, 5-1).

In the College Football Playoff rankings, TCU is sixth, a spot ahead of Kansas State.

NO. 13 OHIO STATE 49, NO. 7 MICHIGAN STATE 37

EAST LANSING, Mich. — J.T. Barrett threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more scores, helping Ohio State’s offense to a big performance on the road.

With one overwhelming offensive display, the Buckeyes (8-1, 5-0) re-established themselves as the Big Ten’s dominant team under Urban Meyer, avenged their loss to Michigan State in last year’s conference title game, and boosted their case for a berth in college football’s four-team playoff.

Ohio State came into the game ranked No. 14 by the playoff committee. The Spartans (7-2, 4-1) were No. 8 and will almost surely drop out of contention.

NO. 11 ARIZONA STATE 55, NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 31

TEMPE, Ariz. — Taylor Kelly threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Demario Richard in the fourth quarter and Lloyd Carrington followed with a 58-yard interception return for another score, helping Arizona State hold on for the win.

The Sun Devils (8-1, No. 9 CFB) overwhelmed Notre Dame early with a string of turnovers and big plays, racing to a 24-3 lead by the opening minute of the second quarter.

The Irish (7-2, No. 10 CFB) charged back with 21 straight points, pulling to 34-31 when Everett Golson hit Amir Carlisle with a 25-yard touchdown pass.

But the Sun Devils had a rally of their own, scoring three touchdowns in the final 4:39 to remain firmly in the playoff mix.

NO. 10 BAYLOR 48, NO. 16 OKLAHOMA 14

NORMAN, Okla. — Corey Coleman set career highs of 15 catches and 224 yards to help Baylor get the road win.

Coleman also caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score as the Bears (8-1, 5-1 Big 12, No. 12 CFP) maintained their conference and national title hopes.

Bryce Petty completed 32 of 42 passes for 387 yards and a touchdown. It was Baylor’s first road win in 12 tries against the Sooners (6-3, 3-3, No. 15 CFP), and the Bears’ first road win against a ranked team since Art Briles took over as coach in 2008.

NO. 12 MISSISSIPPI 48, PRESBYTERIAN 0

OXFORD, Miss. — Bo Wallace threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, helping Mississippi snap a two-game losing streak.

Wallace was 11 for 15 for 140 yards, including scoring strikes of 66 and 23 yards to Vince Sanders. He also had a 9-yard touchdown run as the Rebels (8-2, No. 11 CFP) built a 35-0 halftime lead.

Ole Miss finished with 640 yards of total offense, despite playing exclusively with reserves in the second half.

NO. 17 GEORGIA 63, KENTUCKY 31

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hutson Mason threw a career-best four touchdown passes for Georgia, and Nick Chubb rushed for 170 yards and a TD.

Coming off last weekend’s loss to Florida that knocked the Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 20 CFP) from the playoff picture, they responded with their second-highest point total this season to remain in the East division hunt.

NO. 18 UCLA 44, WASHINGTON 30

SEATTLE — Brett Hundley threw for two touchdowns to become UCLA’s career leader in TD passes, and ran for two more scores.

Hundley collected his 69th career touchdown pass on a 57-yard connection with Kenneth Walker III in the first quarter, giving the Bruins a 14-0 lead and passing Cade McNown on the school list. Hundley added touchdown runs of 4 and 6 yards as UCLA (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12, No. 18 CFP) kept alive its hopes of winning the Pac-12 South.

Washington quarterback Cyler Miles was 14-of-24 passing for 155 yards and one interception. Shaq Thompson had 100 yards rushing on 16 carries for the Huskies (6-4, 2-4).

NO. 21 ARIZONA 38, COLORADO 20

TUCSON, Ariz. — Anu Solomon threw for four touchdowns and ran for a career-best 115 yards, and Arizona kept Colorado winless in the Pac-12.

Colorado’s Sefo Liufau threw for 252 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice and lost two fumbles. The sophomore left after a vicious hit while throwing his second interception with 11:16 to play.

Arizona (7-2, 4-2, No. 19 CFP) scored a touchdown after each of the four turnovers by the Buffaloes (2-8, 0-7).

NO. 22 DUKE 27, SYRACUSE 10

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Anthony Boone threw two touchdown passes to Issac Blakeney, Jamison Crowder returned a punt 52 yards for another score, and Duke survived another scare.

Duke (8-1, 4-1, No. 22 CFP) has won four in a row to stay on target to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Boone improved to 18-1 as a starter in the regular season.

NO. 23 MARSHALL 63, SO. MISSISSIPPI 17

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Rakeem Cato threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score, leading Marshall to the road win.

Cato was 13 for 19 for 186 yards, helping the Herd (9-0, 5-0 Conference USA) shake off a slow start. Remi Watson scored four touchdowns.

TEXAS 33, NO. 24 WEST VIRGINIA 16

AUSTIN, Texas — Johnathan Gray scored three touchdowns and Texas inched closer to a possible bowl game in coach Charlie Strong’s first season.

Gray scored on runs of 39, 2 and 15 yards as Texas (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) ended a streak of nine straight home losses to ranked opponents. The Longhorns need to win one of their final two games to be eligible for a bowl.

Clint Trickett passed for 248 yards for West Virginia (6-4, 4-3, No. 23 CFP), but had two turnovers and was tackled in the end zone for a late safety.

NO. 25 WISCONSIN 34, PURDUE 16

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Joel Stave threw two touchdown passes in Wisconsin’s fourth consecutive win, and Melvin Gordon ran for 205 yards.

The Badgers (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten, No. 25 CFP) remained in a three-way tie atop the West Division. Wisconsin has won nine straight in the series.

By wire sources