COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Top 25 games

No. 1 LSU 41, Mississippi 24

OXFORD, Miss. — Trindon Holliday returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and LSU forced two turnovers during goal-line stands to slip past Mississippi. The Tigers (10-1, 6-1 SEC) didn’t play well on offense, but Craig Steltz and the nations’ top-ranked defense helped set a school record with three straight seasons of 10 wins or more. It was LSU’s fourth straight win and the sixth straight against Ole Miss (3-8, 0-7), which is in danger of a winless conference season for the first time since 1982. Steltz had rally-ending interceptions late in each half, and Jacob Hester and Charles Scott each rushed for touchdowns after failed Ole Miss onside kicks in the fourth quarter to ensure the win. Colt David added second-half field goals of 48 and 43 yards as well.

No. 4 Kansas 45, Iowa St 7

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Todd Reesing passed for 253 yards and four touchdowns and the Jayhawks remained undefeated, beating the Cyclones to set up a showdown with sixth-ranked Missouri for the Big 12 North title. The Tigers and Jayhawks (11-0, 7-0 Big 12) will meet in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday in a game that could launch the winner into the national championship game. Reesing hit 19 of his first 20 passes as the Jayhawks romped to their first 11-0 mark in school history. The Jayhawks, picked fourth in the Big 12 North, scored on four straight possessions to take a 28-7 halftime lead. The Cyclones finished 3-9, 2-6 in Gene Chizik’s first year as head coach.

No 6. Missouri 49, Kansas State 32

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Jeremy Maclin scored three touchdowns for Missouri, and had 252 total yards to set the NCAA single-season freshman record for all-purpose yards.

He returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and caught two scoring passes, giving him 2,201 all-purpose yards for the season — 175 more than Terrell Willis of Rutgers had in 1993. Maclin finished with nine catches for 143 yards. Chase Daniel threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns, including two to tight end Martin Rucker, helping Missouri (10-1, 6-1 Big 12) to its first win in Manhattan since 1989. James Johnson ran for 172 yards for Kansas State (5-6, 3-5), and Josh Freeman passed for 243 yards, giving him 3,097 for the season and breaking Michael Bishop’s school record set in 1998.

No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 22 Kentucky 13

ATHENS, Ga. — Knowshon Moreno ran for 124 yards, Matthew Stafford added a 10-yard TD run and No. 8 Georgia overcame four turnovers to keep alive its chances of playing for an SEC championship. The Bulldogs (9-2, 6-2 SEC) clinched at least a tie for first in the Eastern Division and will face top-ranked LSU in the Dec. 1 title game if Tennessee loses one of its last two games. The Wildcats (7-4, 3-4) were trying to win out and claim at least a share of the division crown, though they had no chance of playing in Atlanta. But their high-scoring offense couldn’t take advantage of two interceptions and two fumbles by the Bulldogs. Andre Woodson had a rough afternoon against Georgia’s blitzing defense. He was 24-of-41 for 268 yards, managed only one TD pass and was sacked five times.

No. 10 Virginia Tech 44, Miami 14

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Branden Ore ran for two touchdowns and the Hokies dominated Miami in their final tuneup for a huge game against rival Virginia next weekend. Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1 ACC) moved into a share of first place in the Coastal Division with the Cavaliers. The teams will play on Saturday in Charlottesville with the winner moving on the conference championship game Dec. 1. Ore’s TDs covered 4 and 7 yards, and each time he bulled over a defender to finish the play. Sean Glennon threw a touchdown pass to Justin Harper and Jahre Cheeseman and Carlton Weatherford had scoring runs for the Hokies, who handed Miami (5-6, 2-5) its second consecutive humbling loss.

No. 14 Florida 59, Florida Atlantic 20

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow became the first player in NCAA history with at least 20 touchdowns passing and rushing in the same season, and Andre Caldwell broke the Florida school record for career receptions in a rout of Florida Atlantic. Tebow finished 25-of-34 passing for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. He has 20 rushing touchdowns and 26 TD passes for Florida (8-3), which was eliminated from the SEC title race when Georgia beat Kentucky. His 20th on the ground broke the previous SEC record of 19 held by Georgia’s Garrison Hearst (1992), Alabama’s Shaun Alexander (1999) and LSU’s LaBrandon Toefield (2001). Caldwell caught a career-high 13 passes for 164 yards, giving him 176 career receptions.

No. 17 Boise State 58, Idaho 14

BOISE, Idaho — Taylor Tharp and the Broncos broke open a close game with 41 unanswered points, helping Boise State beat the Vandals for the ninth straight time.

The victory also set up a showdown for the WAC championship next week. The Broncos (10-1, 7-0) have a chance to win their sixth consecutive title when they play at No. 13 Hawaii. Tharp was 22-of-31 for 282 yards and four TDs before leaving early in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. Ian Johnson carried 21 times for 109 yards and two scores and the Broncos rolled up 25 first downs and 556 total yards, extending a winning streak over Idaho (1-10, 0-7) that began in 1999.

No. 19 Tennessee 25, Vanderbilt 24

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Daniel Lincoln kicked a 33-yard field goal with 2:46 left to cap a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback, the Volunteers’ second largest in history, to keep them in control of the SEC East. The Vols were down 24-9 after Vanderbilt’s Mackenzi Adams threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to George Smith with 9:00 left in the third quarter. The Commodores went three-and-out on two drives to set up touchdown passes by Erik Ainge. A 7-yard TD pass to Josh Briscoe was followed by a 5-yard TD pass to Austin Rogers with 7:14 left. A 2-point conversion attempt failed, but a 45-yard punt return by Dennis Rogan set up Lincoln’s field goal.

No. 25 Connecticut 30, Syracuse 7

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Tyler Lorenzen threw for 213 yards and a touchdown, helping the Huskies stay in sole possession of first place in the Big East. Connecticut (9-2, 5-1 Big East) can win its first conference title with a victory at West Virginia next week. UConn finished 7-0 at home, only the second Big East team to do that. UConn’s tailback tandem of Donald Brown and Andre Dixon combined for 151 yards rushing and two scores, and helped the Huskies jumped to an early 21-0 lead that was never really challenged by the Orange (2-9, 1-5). Lorenzen finished 16-of-24 for 213 yards, and no interceptions. He also ran for 28 yards.

Associated Press