UNDATED (AP) — Cincinnati remains in line for a berth in the CFP semifinals after completing a perfect regular season.
The CFP No. 4 Bearcats are 12-0 following their 35-13 win at East Carolina. Desmond Ridder threw for two touchdowns and was 17-for-28 for 301 yards and two interceptions. Alec Pierce caught eight passes for 136 yards, while Jerome Ford rushed for 85 yards and a score.
Cincinnati gave up only one touchdown and held East Carolina to 54 rushing yards, almost 120 below the Pirates’ season average.
The Bearcats are trying to become the first team outside of a Power Five conference to compete in the four-team CFP. They’ll face Houston at home next week in the AAC title game.
In other top-25 action:
— Cameron Rising threw three touchdown passes and 16th-ranked Utah rushed for 265 yards in its fifth straight win, 28-13 over Colorado. Tavion Thomas ran for 142 yards and a score, while the Utes limited the Buffaloes to 148 yards of total offense ahead of next week’s Pac-12 Championship game.
— No. 17 Iowa scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 28-21 win at Nebraska. The Hawkeyes trailed by 15 in the third quarter and never led until Spencer Petras ran for a two-yard score with 2:58 remaining.
— Jordon Brookshire replaced Lucas Johnson late in the first half and helped No. 22 San Diego State score 24 straight points in a 27-16 win over Boise State. Brookshire passed for 192 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 46 yards and another score, helping the Aztecs claim a Mountain West division title and post the first 11-win regular season in the team’s 99-year history.
— NC State trailed by nine until Devin Leary threw two touchdown passes in a 26-second span during the last two minutes of a 34-30 thriller against North Carolina. Leary finished with 247 passing yards and four touchdowns for the 24th-ranked Wolfpack.
— KJ Jefferson threw for 262 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 58 yards to help No. 25 Arkansas beat Missouri, 34-17. Jefferson engineered four consecutive scoring drives to stretch a four-point halftime lead to 18 with 12 minutes remaining.
