UNDATED (AP) — The Pac-12′s best hope for a spot in the College Football Playoff, No. 4 Oregon, has gone down to defeat, falling to No. 24 Utah, 38-7.
Britain Covey returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, giving Utah 14 points in 27 seconds and a 28-0 lead. Tavion Thomas ran for 94 yards and three touchdowns for the Utes.
Utah wraps up a share of the Pac-12 South title and a spot in the conference championship game.
In other Top-25 action:
— Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and No. 1 Georgia’s stout defense was again dominant in a 56-7 rout of Charleston Southern. The 6-foot-6, 340-pound Davis scored on a 1-yard plunge out of the Bulldogs’ jumbo package in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown. Georgia improves to 11-0.
— Bryce Young passed for a school-record 559 yards and five touchdowns and No. 2 Alabama clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game with a 42-35 victory over No. 21 Arkansas. The Crimson Tide won its 15th consecutive game against the Razorbacks, thanks largely to the Young-to-Jameson Williams deep connection that continues to be the ultimate offensive bailout.
— No. 3 Cincinnati rolled past SMU 48-14 to remain undefeated. Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes, ran for another score and even caught a TD pass for the Bearcats. Their home winning streak is now at 26 games.
— C.J. Stroud threw six touchdowns passes as No. 5 Ohio State blew out No. 7 Michigan State 56-7. The freshman threw for 432 yards in less than three quarters. He also became a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, overshadowing Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker, who came in as the nation’s leading rusher. Walker gained just 25 yards.
— Jack Coan threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a half and No. 6 Notre Dame had two defensive touchdowns in winning its sixth straight game, 55-0 over Georgia Tech. The Fighting Irish improved to 10-1, reaching the 10-win level for the fifth straight season.
— Mike Sainristil made a one-handed catch in the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown, Hassan Haskins scored two TDs of his own, and No. 8 Michigan did its part to raise the stakes of next weekend’s showdown with Ohio State, routing Maryland 59-18.
— Dominating defense enabled ninth-ranked Oklahoma State to wrap up its first spot in the Big 12 championship game with a 23-0 victory over Texas Tech. The Cowboys have allowed only one offensive touchdown over their past four games.
— No. 10 Mississippi beat Vanderbilt, 31-17. Ole Miss never trailed, with Matt Corral throwing an 8-yard scoring pass to Jerrion Ealy in the opening minutes. Corral threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns in his home finale.
— No. 11 Baylor leaned on its defense in a 20-10 win over Kansas State. Blake Shapen threw for 137 yards in place of injured quarterback Gerry Bohanon, while Trestan Ebner ran for 86 yards and a touchdown.
— Caleb Williams passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Jalen Redmond returned a fumble for another score, and No. 12 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 28-21. Kennedy Brooks ran for 115 yards for Oklahoma, which solidified its chances of reaching the Big 12 title game and kept alive its slim College Football Playoff hopes.
—Clemson won its 13th straight over No. 13 Wake Forest, a 48-27 victory that prevented the Demon Deacons from winning the ACC Atlantic Division. Wake Forest can still advance to the ACC title game by beating Boston College next Saturday. Clemson remains in the hunt but will need Wake Forest and No. 25 North Carolina State to lose.
— Jaren Hall had 211 of his 312 yards passing in the first half, Jakob Robinson picked off two passes in the second half and No. 14 BYU beat Georgia Southern 34-17. Jaren Hall threw for 312 yards, Tyler Allgeier had 126 yards on 26 carries and Jakob Robinson picked off two passes to help the Cougars win their fourth straight game.
— No. 15 UTSA scored a wild 34-31 victory over UAB. Frank Harris threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Oscar Cardenas with three seconds left to rally the Roadrunners.
— Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for three touchdowns before halftime, and No. 16 Texas A&M cruised to a 52-3 win over Prairie View A&M.
—Charlie Jones had a 100-yard kickoff return for No. 18 Iowa’s first touchdown as the Hawkeyes defeated Illinois 33-23. Iowa was trailing 10-0 in the first quarter when Jones took the kick in the right corner of the end zone and ran through a hole on the left side for the score.
— Braelon Allen rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns – including a tiebreaking 53-yarder with 3:50 remaining – to help No. 19 Wisconsin outlast Nebraska 35-28.
— No. 20 Pittsburgh claimed its second ACC’s Coastal Division title in four years with a 48-38 victory over Virginia. Kenny Pickett threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns — all to Jordan Addison — in his final game at Heinz Field.
— Levi Lewis threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns, Louisiana-Lafayette had five takeaways and seven sacks as the No. 22 Ragin’ Cajuns beat Liberty, 42-14.
— No. 25 North Carolina State beat Syracuse 41-17 to keep its hopes alive for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The Wolfpack scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in a matter of less than 3 1/2 minutes.
