TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Saturday’s games

No. 1 Alabama 51, Mississippi State 3

TUSCALOOSA, ALA.

Jalen Hurts passed for career highs of 347 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards in less than three quarters in No. 1 Alabama’s rout of Mississippi State. The freshman quarterback’s prolific performance wiped out any concerns that the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) would have a letdown after a bruising win at No. 19 LSU. Instead, Hurts turned in his best game and the defense denied Mississippi State (4-6, 2-4) the end zone on nine trips across midfield. “It’s one of the things we’ve been wanting to do is try to develop some confidence in the passing game, and obviously he was able to do that very well today,” said Tide coach Nick Saban, who sat down with Hurts for a 1 on 1 film session during the week. Hurts is the first Alabama player to have 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game. The Bulldogs had been riding high after an upset of No. 10 Texas A&M, but didn’t muster a threat in this one. Hurts completed 28 of 37 passes and rushed for a fifth touchdown before being replaced by Cooper Bateman late in the third quarter. The career performance was marred by an interception and fumble, but the Tide’s dominating defense made sure the miscues didn’t matter too much.

Pittsburgh 43, No. 3 Clemson 42

CLEMSON, S.C.

Chris Blewitt made a 48-yard field goal with six seconds left as Pittsburgh stunned No. 3 Clemson, spoiling a record-setting day for quarterback Deshaun Watson and complicating the Tigers’ path back to the College Football Playoff. It was the biggest win for the Panthers (5-4, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) since knocking off No. 2 West Virginia 13-9 in 2007. Watson threw for an ACC record 580 yards and three touchdowns. But his third interception gave Pitt the chance to crawl back from a 42-34 deficit. After Saleem Brightwell’s pick and 70-yard return, James Conner finished the drive with a 20-yard TD run. The Panther defense, which gave up 630 yards, rose up when it counted and stopped Wayne Gallman short on third and fourth down to take the ball with 58 seconds left. Two passes to Scott Orndoff put Pitt within range and Blewitt nailed the kick to send the Panthers into a frenzy.

Southern California 26, No. 4 Washington 13

SEATTLE

Sam Darnold threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and Southern California upset Washington, snapping the Huskies’ 12-game winning streak and damaging their College Football Playoff hopes. Darnold was outstanding against one of the top defenses in the Pac-12, showing why USC has surged since he became the starter. Darnold’s lofted pass over linebacker D.J. Beavers and into the arms of tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe for an 8-yard touchdown strike in the opening moments of the fourth quarter gave USC an 11-point lead that Washington (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12, No. 4 CFP) couldn’t overcome.

No. 5 Louisville 44, Wake Forest 12

LOUISVILLE, KY.

Brandon Radcliff ran for three touchdowns during Louisville’s 41-point second half, and the Cardinals routed Wake Forest despite a relatively quiet night from Lamar Jackson. Louisville (9-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 6 CFP) trailed 12-0 behind three lost first-half fumbles before shutting down the Demon Deacons, holding them to just 37 yards after halftime. That opened the door for Radcliff to run for 141 yards and TDs of 55, 7 and 19 yards. Jackson appeared headed for his first scoreless game since Nov. 14 against Virginia before completing a 2-yard pass to Cole Hikutini with 4:05 left for one of Louisville’s five touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Georgia 13, No. 8 Auburn 7

ATHENS, GA.

Rodrigo Blankenship kicked two fourth-quarter field goals and Georgia’s defense shut down No. 8 Auburn in the second half to beat the Tigers. The loss ends Auburn’s Southeastern Conference championship hopes and knocks the Tigers out of consideration for a spot in the playoff. Auburn (7-3, 5-2 SEC, No. 9 CFP) had been in control of its hopes to win the SEC’s Western Division, with one conference game remaining at No. 1 Alabama. Instead, Alabama clinched the division with Auburn’s loss. The Tigers couldn’t overcome the loss of star running back Kamryn Pettway, the nation’s No. 4 rusher who hurt his left leg on a long run in last week’s win over Vanderbilt. Pettway was with the team but not in uniform. Auburn was held to 32 yards in the second half and 164 overall. Georgia (6-4, 4-4) earned its biggest win under first-year coach Kirby Smart. After Blankenship’s 21-yard field goal with 2:25 remaining, Auburn was stopped on four downs, triggering a celebration in the stands and on Georgia’s sideline. Kerryon Johnson ran for 99 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown in the first quarter, as the fill-in starter for Johnson.

No. 9 Oklahoma 45, No. 25 Baylor 24

NORMAN, OKLA.

Baker Mayfield passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to help No. 9 Oklahoma defeat No. 25 Baylor. The Sooners won their seventh in a row overall and 15th straight in Big 12 play. Joe Mixon had 187 yards from scrimmage and Samaje Perine ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns after missing three games with a pulled muscle in his right leg for Oklahoma (8-2, 7-0 Big 12, No. 11 CFP).

No. 11 West Virginia 24, Texas 20

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Kennedy McCoy ran for two touchdowns and No. 11 West Virginia’s defense withstood a final pass attempt into the end zone to earn a tough win over Texas that kept alive the Mountaineers’ Big 12 championship hopes. Skyler Howard passed for 269 yards and a touchdown for West Virginia (8-1, 5-1, No. 16 CFP), which allowed Texas running back D’Onta Foreman 167 yards rushing but kept him out of the end zone. Texas’ last shot to win came on the final play when Longhorns (5-5, 3-4) quarterback Shane Buechele lobbed a pass high into the end zone but it floated too far and was incomplete. Game officials checked replay to see if West Virginia’s defense had too many players on the field but confirmed the play and the game was over.

No. 17 Oklahoma State 45, Texas Tech 44

STILLWATER, OKLA.

Clayton Hatfield missed the extra point after Quinton White’s 1-yard scoring run for Texas Tech with 1:39 left, and No. 17 Oklahoma State escaped with a victory over Texas Tech. Texas Tech (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) appeared to have overcome a 10-point deficit when White spun into the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1, but Hatfield’s kick sailed wide right, leaving the Red Raiders down by one. After Oklahoma State (8-2, 6-1, No. 13 CFP) recovered the onside kick attempt, the Cowboys marched quickly into the red zone, and resisted Tech’s attempts to let them score before running out the clock. Mason Rudolph threw for 395 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing for Oklahoma State, and Justice Hill had 126 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Georgia Tech 30, No. 18 Virginia Tech 20

BLACKSBURG, VA.

Georgia Tech backup quarterback Matthew Jordan rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets to a upset of No. 18 Virginia Tech. Jordan, who made his first career start in place of an injured Justin Thomas, helped make the Yellow Jackets (6-4, 3-4 ACC) bowl eligible. He repeatedly gashed the Hokies’ defense, carrying the ball 32 times and scoring on runs of 53 and 3 yards.

No. 19 LSU 38, Arkansas 10

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.

Derrius Guice rushed for a career-high 252 yards, Leonard Fournette added three touchdowns and LSU improved to 4-1 under interim coach Ed Orgeron. LSU (6-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 24 CFP) was coming off a 10-0 loss to No. 1 Alabama. Guice rushed for two touchdowns on 21 carries, and his 96-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the longest in school history. Fournette scored on runs of 7, 7 and 3 yards, and had 98 yards rushing. The Tigers outgained Arkansas (6-4, 2-4, No. 25 CFP) 547-291 in total yardage, and LSU quarterback Danny Etling finished 10-of-16 passing for 157 yards.

No. 22 Florida 20, South Carolina 7

GAINESVILLE, FLA.

Austin Appleby threw two touchdown passes, Jordan Scarlett ran for a career-high 134 yards and No. 22 Florida beat South Carolina and former coach Will Muschamp, moving closer to clinching the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division. The banged-up Gators (7-2, 5-2) can secure a spot in the league title game by winning at 19th-ranked LSU next week. It might be a long shot given Florida’s injury situation. Coach Jim McElwain lost nine starters the last two weeks, including four against the Gamecocks (5-5, 3-5). Safety Marcus Maye (shoulder), defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. (ankle), center Tyler Jordan (ankle) and right tackle David Sharpe (leg) all left the game and did not return. Florida did enough to overcome the injuries.

No. 24 Boise St. 52, Hawaii 16

HONOLULU

Brett Rypien passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns for Boise State. The Broncos (9-1, 5-1 Mountain West, No. 22 CFP) racked up a season-high 603 yards of total offense, 403 of them coming before halftime. Jeremy Nichols, the nation’s leading scorer, ran for 153 yards on 16 carries and scored on runs of 36 and 5 yards. Rypien finished 18-of-22 passing.

Associated Press