Oklahoma forced two big turnovers in the third quarter and freshman running back Xavier Robinson ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Sooners to a 24-3 home win over No. 7 Alabama on Saturday.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak in the Southeastern Conference for Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5 SEC) and clinched bowl eligibility for the Sooners for the 26th consecutive season.
Only Georgia has a longer active bowl streak (28).
The Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-3) had their three-game winning snapped and their chances for a berth in the College Football Playoff in serious jeopardy.
The loss was the Crimson Tide’s biggest since their 44-16 loss to Clemson in the 2018 College Football Playoff title game. The Sooners’ coach, Brent Venables, was Clemson’s defensive coordinator in that game.
Alabama’s 234 yards were its fewest since 2014.
Oklahoma led 10-3 at halftime, mostly keeping the ball on the ground with a steady diet of runs by Robinson and quarterback Jackson Arnold.
Arnold finished with a career-high 131 yards on the ground and went 9 of 11 for 68 yards through the air.
The Sooners’ defense blew the game open with two turnovers in the third.
Cornerback Eli Bowen jumped Alabama’s route and picked off Jalen Milroe’s pass on the third play of the second half, returning the ball 25 yards to the Alabama 14.
Five plays later, Robinson’s 1-yard touchdown put Oklahoma up 17-3.
On the next drive, the Sooners’ defense did it themselves.
Linebacker Kip Lewis picked off Milroe and returned it 49 yards for a score.
Alabama drove 75 yards on its second drive of the game, but had to settle for a field goal after replay showed Ryan Williams stepped out of bounds at the 11 on a 30-yard pass play after he was initially credited with a touchdown.
It was the last sustained drive the Crimson Tide would put together until the fourth quarter when the Sooners held a comfortable lead.
Milroe finished 11 of 26 for 164 yards and three interceptions and 15 carries for 7 yards.
Auburn topples Texas A&M in 4OT thriller
Auburn’s Payton Thorne tossed a two-point scoring pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fourth overtime to give the host Tigers a 43-41 upset of No. 15 Texas A&M on Saturday night in Southeastern Conference play.
The Aggies had a chance to force another extra session, but Amari Daniels dropped Marcel Reed’s pass in the end zone.
The setback severely hurts the chances of Texas A&M (8-3, 5-2 SEC) being part of the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
Auburn blew a 21-point lead and later forced overtime on Ian Vachon’s 29-yard field goal with five seconds left in regulation.
Thorne was 19-of-31 passing for 301 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Tigers (5-6, 2-5). Jarquez Hunter rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns on 28 rushes, Cam Coleman had seven receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and Lambert-Smith had 104 receiving yards on two catches for Auburn.
Reed completed 22 of 35 passes for 297 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for the Aggies. Noah Thomas caught five passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, Jahdae Walker had a receiving score and Terry Bussey added a rushing touchdown for Texas A&M.
The Aggies never led until Daniels scored on an 8-yard run up the middle with 4:01 remaining in regulation. Daniels rushed for 90 yards on 27 carries.
Texas A&M had first possession in overtime and scored when Reed tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Walker. Auburn answered with Hunter’s 2-yard scoring run.
The Tigers settled for a 41-yard field goal by Vachon in their second possession. Randy Bond kicked a 42-yard field goal for the Aggies to tie it at 41.
In the third overtime, when teams solely go for two points, both squads threw incomplete passes.
In the fourth overtime, Lambert-Smith made a superb catch to put Auburn ahead, before Daniel couldn’t keep control for Texas A&M.
Auburn was sharp offensively while scoring three touchdowns over the first 17 minutes.
Hunter scored on a 2-yard run and Thorne threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Coleman in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Thorne connected with Coleman on a 15-yard scoring pass for the 21-0 lead.
Bussey scored from the 1 to get the Aggies on the board with 4:13 to go in the first half.
Devin Neal (4 TDs), Kansas set mark with upset of No. 16 Colorado
Devin Neal scored four touchdowns as Kansas upset No. 16 Colorado 37-21 Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas (5-6, 4-4 Big 12) became the first team in college football history with a losing record to win three straight games against ranked opponents. The Jayhawks’ bowl chances seemed all but eliminated after they lost at then-No. 16 Kansas State on Oct. 26 and fell to 2-6. But if they win at Baylor next Saturday, they’ll be bowl-eligible.
Neal had three rushing touchdowns while gaining 207 yards. He also caught four passes for 80 yards and a score. Jalon Daniels was 14-of-21 passing for 189 yards and a TD and rushed for 72 yards on six carries.
Shedeur Sanders was 23-of-29 passing for 266 yards and three touchdowns for the Buffaloes (8-3, 6-2), who rushed for only 42 yards. Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter had eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Trailing by nine at the half, Colorado scored on its first second-half possession when Sanders found Hunter for a 26-yard touchdown. But Neal’s third TD extended Kansas’ lead to 30-21 midway through the third. Neal then punched it in from the 2-yard line for a 37-21 Jayhawks advantage with less than 12 minutes to play.
Colorado got deep in Kansas territory with 6:22 left but turned it over on downs.
Kansas received the opening kickoff and went 73 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead. Daniels hit Neal on a short screen to the left side and Neal went 51 almost untouched for the score.
After forcing a Colorado three-and-out, Kansas drove deep into Buffaloes territory. The drive stalled and the Jayhawks settled for a 24-yard Tabor Allen field goal.
The Jayhawks then stopped Colorado on a fourth-and-2 just past midfield. On the ensuing drive, Kansas went 61 yards in eight plays, capped by Neal’s 9-yard touchdown run. The Buffaloes finally got on the board as Sanders found Hunter on a wide-receiver screen and Hunter went 51 yards for the score with 7:18 left before intermission.
Neal’s 47-yard run set up the Jayhawks at Colorado’s 8-yard line, but the Jayhawks had to settle for another Allen field goal.
Sanders found Drelon Miller on a 19-yard touchdown and Allen hit a 25-yard field goal inside the final two minutes of the second quarter.
Kansas led 23-14 at the break.
Florida owns second half to upend No. 9 Ole Miss 24-17
Montrell Johnson Jr. rushed for the tiebreaking touchdown and Bryce Thornton made two huge interceptions in the final 1:32 to help Florida post a 24-17 victory over No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon in Southeastern Conference play at Gainesville, Fla.
Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries as the Gators (6-5, 4-4 SEC) defeated a ranked team for the second straight week. Florida beat then-No. 21 LSU last week.
The setback was painful for Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3) as the third loss figures to stomp out their College Football Playoff aspirations.
Jaxson Dart completed 24 of 42 passes for 323 yards, two touchdowns and the two costly interceptions for the Rebels. Caden Lee and Tre Harris caught scoring passes for Ole Miss.
DJ Lagway was 10-of-17 passing for 180 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for Florida. Elijhah Badger and Jadan Baugh had scoring receptions, Thornton racked up 14 tackles and Caleb Banks had 2.5 sacks for the Gators.
The Gators moved 67 yards on four plays for the go-ahead score with Johnson capping the drive with a 9-yard scamper with 7:40 left in the contest.
One Rebels chance to tie blew up when Dart threw deep into triple coverage on first-and-10 from the Florida 39-yard line. Thornton easily made the pick in the end zone with 1:32 left.
Ole Miss forced a three-and-out and got another chance. Dart appeared to be picked off by Dijon Johnson with 24 seconds left but a video review showed the ball hit the ground.
Two plays later, Dart made another ill-advised throw and Thornton intercepted it at the Florida 22 with 17 seconds remaining to finish off the upset.
The Gators scored on the first play of the second quarter when Lagway tossed an 8-yard scoring to Badger. Ole Miss tied it when Harris beat double coverage to haul in a 43-yard touchdown pass from Dart with 12:01 left in the half.
The Rebels took the lead less than three minutes later when Dart connected on a 22-yard scoring pass to Lee. Florida tied the score at 14 when Baugh caught a screen pass from Lagway and navigated 25 yards down the right sideline with 6:52 remaining.
Harris went over 1,000 yards with his TD catch but was injured with just over five minutes in the half when he fell to the ground grabbing his hip and groin areas. He didn’t return.
The Gators’ Trey Smack kicked a 53-yard field goal with 10:57 left in the third period.