TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Joe Burrow passed for 393 yards and three touchdowns and No. 1 LSU snapped an eight-game losing streak to No. 2 Alabama with a 46-41 victory Saturday.
The Tigers (9-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 2 CFP) are no longer second fiddle in the SEC West, or maybe in the playoff rankings. And Burrow stamped himself as the Heisman Trophy front-runner with a gutty performance when he answered every challenge from ‘Bama.
The Crimson Tide (8-1, 5-1, No. 3 CFP) rallied from a 33-13 halftime deficit to three times pull within a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The showdown lived up to its billing as a duel between two high-powered offenses and star quarterbacks. Tua Tagovailoa launched an 85-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith with 1:21 left after the Tigers’ own scoring march.
Justin Jefferson recovered the onside kick and LSU ran out the clock.
Burrow completed 31 of 39 passes and ran for 64 yards. Clyde Edwards Helaire ran for three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass.
Tagovailoa, 20 days removed from ankle surgery, was 21 of 40 for 418 yards and four touchdowns with an interception and a fumble.
(3) OHIO STATE 73, MARYLAND 14: Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the first half, and the Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 1) hardly missed suspended defensive star Chase Young in a romp over Maryland (3-7, 1-6) in Columbus, Ohio.
A team that gave the Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 1) headaches last season was no trouble this time, even without the fierce pass rushing of Young. The preseason All-American was suspended Friday while Ohio State investigates a possible NCAA violation involving a loan.
(13) MINNESOTA 31, (5) PENN STATE 26: Minnesota’s Jordan Howden picked off Sean Clifford in the end zone with 1:01 left, the third interception thrown by Penn State’s quarterback, and the Gophers (9-0, 6-0, No. 17 CFP) held on for a victory over the Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1, No. 4 CFP) for their first win over a top-five team in 20 years.
Tanner Morgan passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns to direct a dismantling of Penn State’s staunch defense, as Minnesota not only remained undefeated but stayed on track for its first trip to the Big Ten championship game.
The first sellout crowd for the Gophers at home in four years swarmed the field after the clock ran out, reveling in the biggest step forward yet under coach P.J. Fleck in his third season. The Gophers scrambled the College Football Playoff picture, too, after Penn State emerged with a top-four spot in the first edition of the rankings.
(10) FLORIDA 56, VANDERBILT 0: Kyle Trask threw for a career-high 363 yards and three touchdowns – the best passing performance by a Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow’s college finale – and the Gators (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) overcame a lackluster start to thump the Commodores (2-7, 1-5) in Gainesville, Florida.
Florida was sluggish early, failing to convert a fourth down on the opening possession against the league’s worst defense, missing a field goal and throwing two interceptions. It looked like another version of the “Cocktail Party Hangover,” which seems to happen every year after losing to rival Georgia in the game dubbed the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
(11) BAYLOR 29, TCU 23: Denzel Mims made a leaping 4-yard touchdown catch in the third overtime for the Bears (9-0, 6-0 Big 12), capping another comeback win for Baylor and keeping them undefeated with a win over the Horned Frogs (4-5, 2-4) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Charlie Brewer also threw a 20-yard TD pass to Mims on fourth down in the second overtime to extend the game. Brewer had a 3-yard TD run in the first overtime.
The Bears (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) finally had the win on Grayland Arnold’s game-ending interception of Max Duggan’s fourth-down pass in the end zone. That came six plays, and a facemask penalty that put the ball at the 1, after Duggan’s scramble and spinning move along the sideline on what was initially ruled a 20-yard touchdown before replay review showed he stepped out at the 3.
(16) WISCONSIN 24, (18) IOWA 22: Jonathan Taylor rushed for a season-high 250 yards and Danny Davis ran for a touchdown and caught another as the Badgers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten, No. 13 CFP) outlasted the Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3, No. 18 CFP) in Madison, Wisconsin.
Taylor became the first running back this season to rush for more than 100 yards against Iowa as Wisconsin held on to the Heartland Trophy, given each year to the winner of this game. Wisconsin has beaten Iowa four straight times.
Quintez Cephus caught five passes for 94 yards and a score to help Wisconsin stay in contention for the Big Ten West crown.
After trailing 21-6 at the end of the third quarter, the Hawkeyes outscored the Badgers 16-3 in the fourth but couldn’t come all the way back. Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley was stopped short of the goal line on a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 3:12 remaining.
(17) CINCINNATI 48, CONNECTICUT 3: Desmond Ridder threw for a pair of touchdowns and Michael Warren II ran for two more during a dominant opening half, and the Bearcats (8-1, 5-0) remained the only unbeaten team in American Athletic play by routing the Huskies (2-8, 0-6) in Cincinnati.
The Bearcats retained the inside track for the conference title by ending their recent trend of slow starts . They led 38-0 at halftime against the conference’s lowliest team.
UConn had two players ejected while losing its 17th straight conference game. The Huskies have dropped 24 of their last 25 against FBS teams. They fell to 0-9 all-time at Nippert Stadium.
TEXAS 27, (20) KANSAS STATE 24: Cameron Dicker kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Longhorns (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) to a victory over the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3, No. 16 CFP) as the Longhorns maintained their hopes of returning to the Big 12 championship game, in Austin, Texas.
Dicker has won games on the final play twice this season. His 33-yarder to beat Kansas on Oct. 19 capped a wild 50-48 finish.
Texas had lost two of its previous three games. The victory over the Wildcats made the Longhorns bowl-eligible and kept them in the hunt for a berth in the league championship with three games left.
VIRGINIA TECH 36, (22) WAKE FOREST 17: BHendon Hooker accounted for 311 yards of total offense and ran for a touchdown to help the Hokies (6-3, 3-2 ACC) beat the Demon Deacons (7-2, 3-2) in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The Hokies overcame a 0-6 halftime deficit, scoring 30 second-half points to beat a ranked team for the first time since last year at then-No. 22 Duke.
(23) SMU 59, EAST CAROLINA 51: Shane Buechele threw five touchdown passes, Xavier Jones broke one of Eric Dickerson’s school records and the Mustangs (9-1, 5-1 American Athletic) bounced back from a first loss that dramatically changed the course of its season, beating the Pirates (3-7, 0-6) in Dallas.
The Mustangs played from ahead and kept it that way in a second straight game with more than 1,000 combined yards. SMU had fallen behind and failed to close the gap last week in a 54-48 loss to No. 19 Memphis.
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