COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.K. Dobbins rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Ohio State locked up the Big Ten East title Saturday, surviving its first real test of the season with a 28-17 victory over No. 9 Penn State.
The Buckeyes held on after Penn State (9-2, 7-2) took advantage of two second-half turnovers to climb back into the game in the third quarter after going down 21-0. This was a far different scenario for Ohio State, which blew out its first 10 opponents.
The Buckeyes (10-0, 8-0 Big Ten) were clinging to a 21-17 lead early in the fourth quarter when Justin Fields threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave to create some breathing room.
The Ohio State defense, with Chase Young back from a two-game suspension, then shut down two late Penn State drives on fourth down. The last drive included back-to-back sacks of backup quarterback Will Levis by Young and linebacker Baron Browning.
Fields fumbled away the ball twice, once as he was crossing the goal line for an apparent touchdown. But he got critical yards on the ground, rushing for 68 yards on 21 carries and threw beautiful second half touchdown passes to K.J. Hill and Olave.
Dobbins was responsible for both first-half touchdowns, a 4-yard plunge in the first quarter and a 2-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 2 minutes left in the half. He finished the first half with 89 rushing yards.
NO. 4 GEORGIA 19, NO. 24 TEXAS A&M 13
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — George Pickens scored Georgia’s only touchdown, Rodrigo Blankenship booted four field goals and the defense stymied Texas A&M.
Georgia (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 4 CFP) wrapped up its conference schedule and stayed on course to make a run at the College Football Playoff.
NO. 1 LSU 56, ARKANSAS 20
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Joe Burrow passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns, Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for a career-high 188 yards and three TDs and LSU clinched its first trip since to the Southeastern Conference championship game since 2011.
LSU (11-0, 7-0) can finish no worse than a tie for first with Alabama (10-1, 6-1) and owns the tiebreaker by virtue of the Tigers’ 46-41 triumph in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9.
NO. 5 ALABAMA 66, WESTERN CAROLINA 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mac Jones passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in little more than a half and Alabama began life without Tua Tagovailoa with a romp over Western Carolina.
With Tagovailoa watching much of the game from a cart behind the bench, the Crimson Tide (10-1) treated its injured quarterback to a one-sided show against the Catamounts (3-9). Alabama is ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings and hoping to somehow make the field despite failing to win the SEC West.
This one was about taking care of business five days after Tagovailoa underwent surgery on his right hip. It wasn’t the type of game for impressing the selection committee.
NO. 7 UTAH 35, ARIZONA 7
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Zack Moss ran for a season-high 203 yards and Utah rolled against skidding Arizona.
The Utes (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12, No. 7 CFP) have won seven straight games and are the lone Pac-12 team in serious contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff after No. 6 Oregon lost to Arizona State earlier on Saturday.
Utah’s defense was dominant once again, holding an opponent to seven points or fewer for the fifth time in six games. Arizona managed just 196 total yards and a big chunk of those came in the fourth quarter when mostly backups were playing.
NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 28, TCU 24
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Jalen Hurts passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more and Oklahoma beat TCU to clinch a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
Hurts ran for 173 yards and passed for 145. He became the third Oklahoma quarterback to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season.
Kennedy Brooks added 149 yards rushing for the Sooners (10-1, 7-1, No. 9 CFP), who kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Max Duggan rushed for 92 and a touchdown for the Horned Frogs (5-6, 3-5), who missed a chance to become bowl eligible.
Oklahoma won its 20th consecutive November game dating to 2014. The Sooners outgained the Horned Frogs 511 yards to 204, but turned the ball over three times.
NO. 11 MINNESOTA 38, NORTHWESTERN 22
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Tanner Morgan led Minnesota to scores on its first three possessions and finished with four touchdown passes, and the Gophers bounced back from their first loss of the season.
The Gophers (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP), who lost at Iowa last week, strengthened their grip on first place in the West Division.
Morgan, the Big Ten’s leading passer, came out firing following a week in concussion protocol after absorbing back-to-back sacks by the Hawkeyes. The redshirt sophomore, listed as questionable until Saturday morning, has thrown 26 touchdown passes this season to set a school record. Morgan threw three TD passes to Rashod Bateman and one to Tyler Johnson against Northwestern (2-9, 0-8).
Morgan zipped a 19-yard TD pass to Bateman in the corner of the end zone to end a 10-play, 56-yard drive on Minnesota’s first possession. After Shannon Brooks ran in from 9 yards, Morgan hit Bateman for a 10-yard TD and 21-0 lead. Bateman’s other TD catch was a 7-yarder in the third quarter.
NO. 12 MICHIGAN 39, INDIANA 14
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Shea Patterson threw five touchdown passes and Nico Collins scored a career-high three times for Michigan.
The Wolverines (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 13 CFP) have won four in a row overall and 24 straight in the series since 1987.
Patterson was 20 of 32 for 366 yards with one interception.
NO. 13 BAYLOR 24, TEXAS 10
WACO, Texas (AP) — Charlie Brewer accounted for 296 yards and two touchdowns and Baylor wrapped up a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
The Bears (10-1, 7-1 Big 12, No. 14 CFP) have their sixth 10-win season, and fifth since 2011. This one comes just two years after the school’s only 11-loss season in coach Matt Rhule’s debut when he took over in the aftermath of a sprawling sexual assault scandal that led to two-time Big 12 champion coach Art Briles getting fired 3 1/2 years ago.
NO. 14 WISCONSIN 45, PURDUE 24
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Jonathan Taylor ran for 222 yards — the 12th time he’s had at least 200 in his career —and a touchdown for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 12 CFP)extended its winning streak over the Boilermakers to 14 games. Jack Coan completed 15 of 19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns against one interception.
The Boilermakers (4-7, 3-5) dropped their seventh straight at Camp Randall Stadium and failed to qualify for a bowl game. Aidan O’Connell finished with a career-high 289 yards passing with two scores.
NO. 15 NOTRE DAME 40, BOSTON COLLEGE 7
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Ian Book threw three touchdown passes and Notre Dame corralled Boston College star running back AJ Dillon.
The fourth straight victory by the Fighting Irish (9-2, No. 15 CFP) completed their second straight unbeaten season (7-0) at Notre Dame Stadium, where they have won 18 straight. But for the second straight week, the stadium was not filled after a streak of 273 sellouts since 1973. The announced crowd of 71,827 was 5,795 short of capacity.
Leading 16-7 at halftime thanks to Jonathan Doerer’s field goals of 47, 20 and 45 yards, the Irish scored 17 points in the third quarter to bury the Eagles (5-6). Dillon, a 250-pound junior who had 1,451 yards entering the game, was held to 56 yards on 14 carries.
NO. 16 AUBURN 52, SAMFORD 0
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn held Samford to 114 yards and forced four turnovers, JaTarvious Whitlow scored twice and the Tigers tuned up for the Iron Bowl against Alabama with a rain-drenched rout.
Auburn (8-3) forced and recovered a fumble on a fourth-and-4 on Samford’s opening drive, the first of three turnovers and a trio of three-and-outs across Samford’s first six possessions. The Tigers had 13 tackles for loss and held Samford to 2 yards per play, 2 of 13 on third down as Auburn’s defensive starters were benched a few minutes into the third quarter.
Samford (5-7) had scored in 213 straight games.
NO. 17 CINCINNATI 15, TEMPLE 13
CINCINNATI (AP) — Michael Warren II ran 13 yards for a touchdown on a cold, raw night, Coby Bryant went 98 yards with a blocked extra-point attempt and Cincinnati clinched a spot in the American Athletic title game.
The Bearcats (10-1, 7-0) secured the AAC East title and remained the only unbeaten team in league play. They would host the title game if they win next week at No. 18 Memphis, which shares the AAC West lead.
Temple (7-4, 4-3) had won four straight against Cincinnati with its dominant defense, but couldn’t get enough out of its offense until too late on a windy, rainy night with temperatures in the 30s and snow falling in the closing minutes.
NO. 18 MEMPHIS 49, SOUTH FLORIDA 10
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brady White threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Memphis shrugged off two early turnovers to beat South Florida and retain a share of first place in the American Athletic Conference West Division.
The Tigers (10-1, 6-1, No. 18 CFP) have won five straight since their only loss, at Temple, and they can clinch a third straight appearance in the AAC championship game with a home win over No. 17 Cincinnati next week.
NO. 19 IOWA 19, ILLINOIS 10
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nate Stanley threw for 308 yards and Keith Duncan kicked four field goals to set a Big Ten-season mark in Iowa’s victory over Illinois.
The Hawkeyes (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) also forced three turnovers against the team that came into the game leading the nation in turnover margin. Brandon Peters had two passes intercepted and a lost a fourth-quarter fumble for the Illini (6-5, 4-4).
NAVY 35, NO. 21 SMU 28
ANNAPOLS, Md. (AP) —Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry generated 357 yards of total offense and scored the winning touchdown.
Perry found a seam and scampered 70 yards with just over 6 minutes remaining to break a tie. He finished with 195 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns on the ground and completed 9 of 15 passes for 162 yards and another score.
The Midshipmen (8-2, 6-1) still have a shot at the West Division crown of the American Athletic Conference should No. 18 Memphis falter down the stretch. The Tigers own the tiebreaker by virtue of their 35-23 victory over Navy on Sept. 26.
NO. 22 OKLAHOMA STATE 20, WEST VIRGINIA 12
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Dru Brown threw two touchdown passes in his first start, Chuba Hubbard surpassed 100 yards rushing for the ninth consecutive game and Oklahoma State beat West Virginia.
Brown and national rushing leader Hubbard generated just enough offense to help the Cowboys (8-3, 5-3 Big 12, No. 21 CFP) win their fourth straight game. Hubbard ran 26 times for 106 yards, far below his 173-yard average, but he showed off his receiving skills.
NO. 23 APPALACHIAN STATE 35, TEXAS STATE 13
BOONE, N.C. (AP) — Darrynton Evans ran for 154 yards and three second-half touchdowns for Appalachian State.
The victory, combined with Arkansas State’s in over Georgia Southern, guarantees the Mountaineers (10-1, 6-1 Sun Belt) a spot in the Sun Belt Conference championship game for the second straight season.
Zac Thomas threw for 174 yards and two TDs for the Mountaineers.
Tyler Vitt threw for 154 yards and a score for Texas State (3-8, 2-5).
NO. 25 VIRGINIA TECH 28, PITTSBURGH 0
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Hendon Hooker threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns to lead Virginia Tech.
Hooker threw touchdown passes to Tré Turner and Damon Hazelton, and Virginia Tech’s defense scored on a fumble return. The Hokies (8-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) set up a showdown next weekend with Virginia, with the victor claiming the ACC’s Coastal Division title.