Baylor delivers stunning blow
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 13 years, 2 months AGO
Robert Griffin and Baylor created even more chaos in the national championship race with a stunning blow against fifth-ranked Oklahoma.
Griffin threw for 479 yards and four touchdowns, including a 34-yarder to Terrance Williams with 8 seconds left and the 25th-ranked Bears (7-3, 4-3) beat the Sooners for the first time, 45-38 on Saturday night at Waco, Texas.
The Sooners (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) had overcome a two-touchdown deficit to tie the game on Blake Bell's fourth touchdown run, a 6-yarder with 51 seconds left. The Bears then went 80 yards in five plays, with Griffin scrambling for runs of 22 and 8 yards before then finding Williams in the back corner for the end zone.
No. 1 LSU 52, Mississippi 3: At Oxford, Miss., Ron Brooks returned an interception for a touchdown 28 seconds into the game and LSU piled up 353 yards rushing on the way to a rout of Mississippi (2-9, 0-7).
The Tigers (11-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) matched their best start since 1958.
No. 3 Alabama 45, Georgia Southern 21: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Trent Richardson rushed for 175 yards and scored three touchdowns to power Alabama past the FCS Eagles (9-2).
Alabama (10-1) needed Richardson more than expected against the Eagles. The Heisman Trophy candidate ran 32 times, caught a 4-yard touchdown pass and broke Shaun Alexander's school single-season mark of 19 rushing touchdowns.
No. 6 Arkansas 44, Mississippi State 17: At Little Rock, Ark., Tyler Wilson had a school-record 32 completions as Arkansas (10-1, 6-1 SEC) defeated Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6).
Wilson finished 32 of 43 for 365 yards and three touchdowns.
North Carolina State 37, No. 7 Clemson 13: At Raleigh, N.C., Mike Glennon threw three touchdown passes and North Carolina State shut down Clemson's explosive offense to help the Wolfpack beat the mistake-prone Tigers.
Tobais Palmer had a dazzling 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown to highlight a surprisingly dominating performance by N.C. State (6-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Wolfpack scored 27 points in the second quarter, then increased the lead and never let the Tigers (9-2, 6-2) build any momentum to rally.
No. 11 Houston 37, SMU 3: At Houston, Case Keenum set the Football Bowl Subdivision career record for completions, threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score as Houston (11-0, 7-0 Conference USA) routed SMU (6-5, 4-3).
Keenum completed 30 of 45 passes for 318 yards, a modest day for the nation's leader in total offense and pass efficiency. He set the completions mark on his seventh throw, breaking the previous mark (1,403) set by Texas Tech's Graham Harrell (2005-08).
No. 12 Michigan State 55, Indiana 3: At East Lansing, Mich., Kirk Cousins threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns in just over a half and Michigan State clinched a spot in the inaugural Big Ten championship game with a rout of Indiana (1-10, 0-7).
The Spartans entered the game with a one-game lead in the Legends Division over both Nebraska and Michigan, who were playing at the same time in Ann Arbor. When the Wolverines won, it locked up the division for Michigan State (9-2, 6-1) because of its 28-14 win over Michigan on Oct. 15.
No. 13 Georgia 19, Kentucky 10: At Athens, Ga., Aaron Murray threw a touchdown pass to Marlon Brown on the first play of the fourth quarter, Blair Walsh kicked four field goals and Georgia beat Kentucky (4-7, 1-6) to clinch a spot in the SEC championship game.
Georgia (9-2, 7-1) struggled on offense after losing top rusher Isaiah Crowell to a left ankle injury after only two carries. Crowell's top backup, Carlton Thomas, was not at the game for personal reasons.
No. 14 South Carolina 34, The Citadel 20: At Columbia, S.C., Connor Shaw threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns, including Alshon Jeffery's first scoring catch in more than a month, and South Carolina defeated The Citadel (4-7).
The Gamecocks (9-2) reached nine victories in back-to-back years for the first time in school history.
No. 15 Wisconsin 28, Illinois 17: At Champaign, Ill., Montee Ball rushed for 224 yards and scored three times, and Wisconsin (9-2, 5-2) forced four turnovers in a comeback victory against Illinois (6-5, 2-5 Big 10).
On a day when stiff winds limited Wisconsin's passing attack, Ball was dominant. He had 164 yards on the ground as Wisconsin scored 21 unanswered points in the second half.
No. 16 Kansas State 17, Texas 13: At Austin, Texas, Collin Klein ran for one touchdown and passed for another and Kansas State (9-2, 6-2) overcame a suffocating Texas (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) defense.
No. 20 Michigan 45, No. 17 Nebraska 17: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Denard Robinson threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores to help Michigan (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) rout Nebraska (8-3, 4-3).
Robinson was 11 of 18 for 180 yards with two TDs and an interception. He ran for 83 yards and two scores in three-plus quarters. Devin Gardner finished the game at quarterback after Fitzgerald Toussaint's second score put Michigan up 45-17. Toussaint had 138 yards rushing and two scores on 29 carries.
No. 19 TCU 34, Colorado State 10: At Fort Worth, Texas, Antoine Hicks, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker ran for touchdowns and Tank Carder returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown, helping TCU win at least a share of the Mountain West title with a 34-10 victory over Colorado State.
Coming off an upset win at Boise State, the Horned Frogs (9-2, 6-0) seemed a bit flat in the first half. They were outgained and had to settle for a pair of field goals, then followed a touchdown by allowing a long drive just before halftime, only to get a stop that forced the Rams (3-7, 1-4) to kick a field goal.
No. 21 Penn State 20, Ohio State 14: At Columbus, Ohio, Stephfon Green ran for two touchdowns and the Nittany Lions' solid defense holding Ohio State (6-5, 3-4) scoreless in the second half.
Penn State (9-2, 6-1) earned a share of the Big Ten's Leaders Division title and set up a division title game next week at Wisconsin. The winner will play in the conference's first championship game on Dec. 3.
Virginia 14, No. 23 Florida State 13: At Tallahassee, Fla., Kevin Parks ran 10 yards for a touchdown with 1:16 left to give Virginia the lead and Florida State's Dustin Hopkins missed a 42-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds as the Cavaliers (8-3, 5-3) upset Florida State (7-4, 5-3) to set up a showdown with intrastate rival Virginia Tech for a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
No. 24 Notre Dame 16, Boston College 14: At South Bend, Ind., Jonas Gray rushed for a touchdown, David Ruffer kicked three field goals and Notre Dame (8-3) recovered an onside kick with just under 2 minutes to play to hold off Boston College (3-8).