STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — With Jim Harbaugh banned by the Big Ten Conference, J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum and No. 2 Michigan played unfazed by a scandal that has hounded the program for weeks — and their toughest opponent yet — grinding past No. 9 Penn State 24-15 Saturday.
Corum ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, McCarthy made few key plays with his arms and legs and the Wolverines (10-0, 7-0, No. 3 CFP) improved to 3-0 since it was revealed the program was under NCAA investigation for a sign-stealing scheme.
The struggles in big games continued for coach James Franklin and Penn State (8-2, 5-3, No. 10 CFP), which scored a combined 26 points in losses to Big Ten East rivals Ohio State and Michigan this season.
In a game Harbaugh no doubt loved from afar, on what turned into a chilly and gray day in Happy Valley, the Wolverines ran the ball on 32 straight plays that counted, starting with the final two of the first half and ending with a couple of kneeldowns.
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No. 1 GEORGIA 52, No. 10 MISSISSIPPI 17
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Carson Beck threw for 306 yards, Kendall Milton ran for 127 yards and Brock Bowers made a triumphant return for Georgia, which punctuated its return to the Southeastern Conference championship game with a rout of Mississippi.
The Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0 SEC, No. 2 College Football Playoff) turned in their most impressive performance of the season on a cool, rainy night in Georgia, seemingly peaking at just the right time to make a run at their third straight national title.
Georgia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, building a 28-14 halftime lead against Ole Miss (8-2, 5-2, No. 9) and cruising the rest of the way to its 27th consecutive victory.
A huge cheer went up from the crowd when Bowers was shown on the video board as one of the starters, just 26 days after his surgical procedure. He didn’t have a huge game — three catches for 34 yards — but the touchdown reception in the opening minute of the fourth quarter was a reminder of what he means to the offense.
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No. 4 FLORIDA STATE 27, MIAMI 20
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Trey Benson ran for two touchdowns, Keon Coleman hauled in a score and Florida State held off rival Miami to maintain its hold on a College Football Playoff berth.
The Seminoles (10-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), like they have several times this season, rallied in the second half to win their 16th consecutive game. This one wrapped up the program’s 10th perfect mark in ACC play.
Miami (6-4, 2-4) controlled both lines of scrimmage and played turnover-free football for most of the game. It still wasn’t enough to overcome FSU, which has won three in a row in the series and 10 of the last 14.
Adding to Miami’s woes, freshman quarterback Emory Williams suffered a significant injury to his left arm in the waning minutes while running for a first down. Williams started in place of struggling junior Tyler Van Dyke.
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No. 5 WASHINGTON 35, No. 13 UTAH 28
SEATTLE (AP) — Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Washington pitched a shut out in the second half to rally for a win over Utah.
The Huskies (10-0, 7-0 Pac-12, No. 5 CFP) extended the second-longest active win streak in the nation to 17 games and reached 10-0 for only the second time in school history. The only other time came in 1991, when the Huskies claimed a share of the national title with Miami.
Penix wasn’t at his best on a blustery day on the shore of Lake Washington. But he made enough big plays in the pass game and allowed Washington’s defense to make key adjustments at halftime after being unable to slow down the Utes in the first half.
Penix hit Rome Odunze on both of his touchdown throws, and ran for a 2-yard TD in the first quarter. Penix was 24 of 42 passing for 332 yards. Odunze had three catches for 111 yards and Dillon Johnson rushed for 104 yards a week after running for 256 yards against Southern California.
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No. 3 OHIO STATE 38, MICHIGAN STATE 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr. caught two of Kyle McCord’s three touchdown passes and rushed for another score, helping Ohio State pound Michigan State.
McCord threw for a career-high 335 yards for the Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP), who overwhelmed the Spartans (3-7, 1-6) with touchdowns on five of their six first-half possessions.
Ohio State’s defense, missing several key players due to injuries, held Michigan State to 182 total yards and two third-down conversions on 14 attempts. Ohio State hosts Minnesota next weekend ahead of the Nov. 25 showdown with No. 2 Michigan, now embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal that led to a suspension for coach Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines beat No. 9 Penn State 24-15 on Saturday.
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No. 7 TEXAS 29, TCU 26
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Quinn Ewers threw for 317 yards and a touchdown in his return from a shoulder injury, helping Texas edge TCU.
The Longhorns also got a big lift from Jonathon Brooks, who rushed for 104 yards and two TDs and set up another score with a 73-yard gain on a short pass before getting hurt late.
Ewers, a sophomore quarterback who missed two games after he got hurt on Oct. 21, completed 22 of 33 passes. He had 244 yards by halftime, and his biggest play of the second half was a 35-yard completion to Adonai Mitchell on third-and-12 from the Texas 13 in the final 2 minutes. Xavier Worthy had 10 catches for 137 yards for the Longhorns (9-1, 6-1 Big 12), who got outscored 20-3 in the second half.
Emani Bailey ran for 98 yards and a touchdown for TCU (4-6, 2-5).
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No 8 ALABAMA 49, KENTUCKY 21
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Jalen Milroe had a career-high six touchdowns, three each rushing and passing, and Alabama cruised past Kentucky to clinch the Southeastern Conference West Division title.
A week after rushing for a career-best four touchdowns in a 42-28 victory over LSU, the sophomore quarterback used his arm and his feet to surpass that total and guide the Crimson Tide (9-1, 7-0 SEC, No. 8 CFP) to an eighth consecutive victory and third conference championship appearance in four seasons.
Milroe passed for his three of four TDs by halftime, including strikes of 26 and 40 yards to Amari Niblack and Kobe Prentice. The first score came after he sat out the game’s sixth snap with an injured left thigh while being tackled on a 16-yard keeper.
Jamarion Miller also ran for a 3-yard TD as Alabama beat Kentucky (6-4, 3-4) for the eighth consecutive time.
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No. 12 OREGON STATE 62, STANFORD 17
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Damien Martinez ran for 146 yards and a career-high four touchdowns to lead Oregon State to a victory over Stanford.
Martinez, the Pac-12 freshman Offensive Player of the Year last year, surpassed 1,000 yards for the season and did most of his damage in the first half with 136 rushing yards and all four touchdowns, including a 59-yard score in the first quarter.
The Beavers (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12, No. 12 CFP) kept their Pac-12 championship game hopes intact and extended their home winning streak to nine games.
Stanford (3-7, 2-6), which was coming off a 10-7 win at Washington State and played No. 5 Washington close at home two weeks ago, couldn’t keep up with the Beavers’ big-play offense.
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No. 16 MISSOURI 36, No. 14 TENNESSEE 7
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Cody Schrader put together one of the most impressive performances in Missouri history Saturday night, running for 205 yards and a touchdown, catching five passes for 116 yards, and leading the Tigers to a rout of Tennessee.
Schrader’s 321 yards from scrimmage were just 12 shy of the school record set by Devin West in 1998.
Brady Cook threw for 275 yards and accounted for two TDs, Luther Burden III had a touchdown catch and Daylan Carnell added a 38-yard pick-6 late in the game, helping the Tigers (8-2, 4-2 SEC, No. 14 CFP) finally beat one of their biggest nemeses.
The Volunteers (7-3, 3-3, No. 13) had won the last four in the series, and in the two since Josh Heupel took over in Knoxville, they had blasted the Tigers and coach Eli Drinkwitz by a combined 128-48.