Top 25 roundup: Oklahoma crushes Baylor’s playoff hopes

Sterling Shepard had 14 catches for 177 yards with two touchdowns and No. 12 Oklahoma beat No. 4 Baylor 44-34 on Saturday night in Waco, Texas, to end the Bears’ 20-game home winning streak – and likely their playoff chances.

Baker Mayfield was 24 of 34 for 270 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score to help Oklahoma gain control of its destiny in the Big 12. The Sooners (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) have won five straight since that still hard-to-explain loss to Texas.

Baylor (8-1, 5-1), the first team left out of the initial four-team playoff last season, was sixth in the latest College Football Playoffs as an undefeated team with the toughest part of its schedule left.

The two-time defending Big 12 champion Bears will certainly drop further in the playoff rankings before playing at No. 5 Oklahoma State next Saturday. The Sooners will be in Stillwater the following week for their regular-season finale.

(1) Clemson 37, Syracuse 27: DeShaun Watson had a big day with two touchdowns passing and 101 yards rushing and a score as the top-ranked Tigers held off the Orange in Syracuse, New York.

The win gave Clemson (10-0, 7-0 ACC) at least 10 wins for the fifth straight season and their first 10-0 start since they won their only national championship in 1981.

With 13 straight wins, the Tigers have their longest winning streak in 34 years.

Syracuse (3-7, 1-5 ACC) put up a good fight for embattled coach Scott Shafer, but lost for the seventh time in a row. The Orange are 1-10 in games against the No. 1 team.

Watson was 34 of 47 for 360 yards with one interception. Greg Huegel had three field goals for the Tigers.

(2) Ohio State 28, Illinois 3: Ezekiel Elliott ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns and the Buckeyes pounded out a victory over the Illini in Champaign, Illinois.

Ohio State (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) started slowly and led 7-3 for much of the first half before Elliott picked up the pace. Elliott accounted for 50 of the Buckeyes’ 75 yards on a third quarter drive that opened a 21-3 lead over Illinois (5-5, 2-4).

Quarterback J.T. Barrett, starting again after being suspended for last week’s game, threw for 150 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 74 yards.

Ohio State held the Illini to 20 yards rushing. Illini quarterback Wes Lunt was 23 of 47 for 241 yards.

(3) Alabama 31, (20) Mississippi State 6: Derrick Henry ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns and the Crimson Tide used a season-high nine sacks on defense to beat the Bulldogs in Starkville, Mississippi.

Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC) easily survived its last major test before the Iron Bowl in two weeks. The Tide shook off a slow start thanks to three long touchdowns in the second quarter, starting with a 69-yard punt return by Cyrus Jones.

Calvin Ridley scored on a 60-yard touchdown catch from Jake Coker and Derrick Henry ran for a 74-yard touchdown as Alabama built an insurmountable 21-3 halftime lead.

Henry added a 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Mississippi State (7-3, 3-3, No. 17 CFP) lost to the Tide for the eighth straight season. Dak Prescott threw for 300 yards but the Bulldogs never found the end zone.

(5) Oklahoma State 35, Iowa State 31: Backup quarterback J.W. Walsh threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Carr with 3:06 left to keep the Cowboys in contention with a win over the Cyclones (3-7, 2-5 Big 12) in Ames, Iowa.

Oklahoma State (10-0, 7-0) trailed 24-7 and 31-21 before rallying for a victory that was short on style points but still critical.

Walsh drew the Cowboys to 31-28 with a 16-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and OSU drove 84 yards in 11 plays for the winning score after forcing a punt.

Starter Mason Rudolph got Oklahoma State to the Iowa State 7 and Walsh, usually the team’s running quarterback, took it from here. He hit Carr with a swing pass on the left side and two blocks sprung the freshman to the end zone.

(6) Notre Dame 28, Wake Forest 7: Josh Adams scored on a 98-yard run, the longest scoring play in Irish history, and defensive end Andrew Trumbetti scored on a 28-yard interception as Notre Dame beat the Demon Deacons despite struggling offensively in South Bend, Indiana.

Adams started and ran for 141 yards with Notre Dame’s leading rusher C.J. Prosise sidelined while recovering from a concussion. Adams, who was fourth on the Irish depth chart in the preseason, posted his second straight 100-yard game and third of the season.

DeShone Kizer added touchdown runs of 12 and five yards for the Irish (9-1).

John Wolford scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter for Wake Forest (3-7), but the Demon Deacons squandered three other red-zone opportunities.

The Irish were held to less than 400 yards of total offense for the first time this season as Wake Forest outgained Notre Dame 340 yards to 282.

(8) Iowa 40, Minnesota 35: LeShun Daniels rushed for a career-high 195 yards and three touchdowns and the Hawkeyes held off the Golden Gophers in Iowa City, Iowa, to start 10-0 for the first time in school history.

C.J. Beathard threw for 213 yards and ran for two touchdowns for Iowa (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten).

The Hawkeyes can now clinch the Big Ten West and a spot in the league title game with a win over Purdue next week.

Gophers running back Shannon Brooks threw a 42-yard TD pass to Drew Wolitarsky and ran one in from 3 yards out in the final 5:32.

But Daniels scored from 51 yards out with 2:01 left, and Minnesota’s (4-6, 1-5) onside kick with 1:16 to go squirted out of bounds.

Arkansas 31, (9) LSU 14: Alex Collins ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns to help the resurgent Razorbacks surprise the Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for their fourth straight win.

Combined with Alabama’s victory hours earlier, Arkansas (6-4, 4-2 SEC) eliminated LSU (7-2, 4-2) from contention in the SEC West. Only two weeks earlier, the Tigers were unbeaten and ranked second by the College Football Playoff committee. They were No. 9 in the CFP this week.

LSU running back Leonard Fournette had 127 yards from scrimmage and scored his 17th touchdown this season, but that may have done little to help his Heisman Trophy candidacy on a day when Alabama’s Derrick Henry rushed for 204 yards and two scores.

Brandon Allen passed for 141 yards, including a 52-yard TD throw to Dominique Reed. Jared Cornelius added a 69-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that sent much of the Tiger Stadium crowd to the exits.

(11) Florida 24, South Carolina 14: Jordan Cronkrite had two first-half touchdowns and Kelvin Taylor’s long run in the fourth quarter helped the Gators hold off the Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina.

Florida (9-1, 7-1 SEC) was up 17-0 heading to the fourth quarter, with the defense having allowed only 44 yards.

But South Carolina (3-7, 1-7) rallied with a throwback 17-yard touchdown from receiver Pharoh Cooper to quarterback Perry Orth, followed by Orth’s 38-yard scoring throw to Cooper moments later that cut the lead to 17-14 with 4:49 remaining.

Florida was facing third-and-8 from midfield when Taylor broke free on a 53-yard run to the South Carolina 1. He finished the drive a play later with 2:01 left that closed the door on South Carolina.

Cronkrite scored on a 3-yard run and a 41-yard reception from quarterback Treon Harris.

(13) TCU 23, Kansas 17: Trevone Boykin left with an apparent right ankle injury and the Horned Frogs’ offense did just enough without its Heisman Trophy candidate to hold off the winless Jayhawks in Fort Worth, Texas.

On his second play of the game, Boykin turned awkwardly on his right ankle as he slipped while trying to cut and was tackled by Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. The nation’s total offense leader didn’t return after getting sacked on TCU’s last offensive play of the first quarter.

TCU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) played mostly without Boykin and one of the country’s top receivers in Josh Doctson, who was limited by a left arm and wrist injury from last week’s loss that likely eliminated them from the national title race.

The Jayhawks (0-10, 0-7) didn’t trail at halftime for the first time this year, but couldn’t avoid their 35th straight road loss and 12th overall.

(14) Michigan State 24, Maryland 7: Connor Cook left the game at halftime with an apparent shoulder injury, putting a bit of a damper on the Spartans’ victory over Maryland in East Lansing, Michigan.

Michigan State (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) has been dealing with injuries all season, particularly on the offensive line and in the secondary, but if Cook is limited, the Spartans could be a significant underdog in next weekend’s showdown at Ohio State.

Even with Michigan State’s star quarterback out, Maryland (2-8, 0-6) didn’t pose much of an upset threat. The Terrapins turned the ball over five times.

Cook hurt himself during the first quarter, and although he came back in the game for a bit, backup Tyler O’Connor played the second half.

(15) Michigan 48, Indiana 41 (2OT): Mitchell Paige bobbled a fourth-down pass at the goal line that would have forced a third overtime and the Wolverines fended off the feisty Hoosiers in Bloomington, Indiana, to keep their conference title hopes alive.

Jake Rudock forced overtime with a touchdown pass with two seconds left in regulation and threw two more on back-to-back plays to lead Michigan to the double-overtime win.

Rudock finished 33 of 46 with 440 yards and six touchdowns – four to Jehu Chesson, who caught 10 passes for 207 yards.

Michigan (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) won their third straight.

Indiana (4-6, 0-6) has lost six straight since winning its first four and has dropped 20 straight in what has been a lopsided series.

Jordan Howard ran 35 times for 238 yards and two TDs to lead the Hoosiers.

Nate Sudfeld’s pass on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line was bobbled and broken up by Michigan safety Delano Hill.

(16) Houston 35, (25) Memphis 34: Backup quarterback Kyle Postma rushed for the go-ahead score and threw for a touchdown to rally the host Cougars from 20 points down against the Tigers.

Postma came in just before halftime when Greg Ward Jr. left with what appeared to be a left ankle injury. Postma went 21 of 33 for 236 yards and carried six times for 49 yards.

His 7-yard touchdown run with 1:27 left capped a nine-play, 77-yard drive to give Houston the lead. Jake Elliott missed a 48-yard field goal wide right with 19 seconds left to seal the win for Houston.

Kenneth Farrow had 10 carries for 46 yards and two touchdowns for Houston (10-0, 6-0 American), which trailed 20-0 to Memphis (8-2, 4-2) before Postma entered.

Paxton Lynch was 20-of-31 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers.

(17) North Carolina 59, Miami 21: Marquise Williams accounted for four touchdowns and Ryan Switzer had a 78-yard punt return for a score, leading the Tar Heels’ dominating performance against the Hurricanes in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Williams ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns and threw for a TD for North Carolina (9-1, 6-0 ACC), which won its ninth straight to stay alone atop the Coastal Division and move within a victory of a berth in the league championship game.

Elijah Hood ran for 132 yards and a score for UNC, which didn’t put up the gaudy yardage numbers from last week’s 66-31 rout of Duke. But the Tar Heels took advantage of penalties, turnovers and mistakes by Miami (6-4, 3-3) to turn the game into a romp – complete with Williams and Switzer commandeering Miami’s “The U” handsign in mocking celebrations of first-half scores.

(19) Florida State 37, NC State 17: Sean Maguire came off the bench to rally the Seminoles past the Wolfpack in Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida State (8-2, 6-2 ACC) trailed 17-7 in the second quarter when Maguire replaced Everett Golson. The junior then then led them to four straight scoring drives (two field goals, two touchdowns) to take control.

Maguire, who had started the past two games, was 18 of 28 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Golson had turnovers on three of five drives and finished 5 of 9 for 52 yards and two interceptions.

Dalvin Cook, who set Florida State’s single-season rushing record, had 138 yards on 22 carries, including a 30-yard touchdown.

Jacoby Brissett accounted for 236 all-purpose yards for NC State (6-4, 2-4). He was 27 of 47 for 209 yards and a touchdown along a rushing touchdown.

South Florida 44, (21) Temple 23: Marlon Mack rushed for 230 yards and scored three touchdowns to help the Bulls overpower the Owls in Tampa, Florida, and keep Temple from clinching the American Athletic Conference East Division title.

Mack had scoring runs of 57 and 48 yards and caught a 20-yard scoring pass from Quinton Flowers for USF (6-4, 4-2), which scored on four straight possessions while building a 31-10 halftime lead.

Flowers threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 90 yards and one TD as the Bulls became bowl-eligible for the first time under third-year coach Willie Taggart.

Temple (8-2, 5-1) trimmed its deficit to 11 points in the third quarter but couldn’t get any closer. The Owls still lead the East by one game over USF with home games remaining against No. 25 Memphis and Connecticut.

Jihad Thomas went over 1,000 yards rushing and scored his 16th TD of the season for Temple. P.J. Walker threw for 259 yards, including a 14-yard TD pass to Ventell Bryant.

(22) Navy 55, SMU 14: Keenan Reynolds broke the NCAA record for career rushing touchdowns, upping his total to 81 with four scores as the Midshipmen beat the Mustangs in Annapolis, Maryland, to remain undefeated in the conference play.

Reynolds shattered the mark held by Montee Ball, who ran for 77 TDs with Wisconsin from 2009-12. Ball holds the record for total touchdowns with 83.

Reynolds scored on runs of 4, 43 and 8 yards on Navy’s first three series and added a 32-yard touchdown with 14:19 left to make it 41-14.

(24) Northwestern 21, Purdue 14: Justin Jackson ran for 116 yards and a late touchdown, and Warren Long added two rushing TDs to lead the Wildcats past the Boilermakers in Evanston, Illinois.

With a school record for wins and a spot in a prestigious bowl in reach, Northwestern (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) pulled out another close game.

Jackson plowed in from the 2 with 4:37 remaining to cap a 58-yard drive. The Wildcats converted four third downs, including the TD, on the possession and quarterback Clayton Thorson broke off back-to-back 16-yard runs to put the ball on the 5.

Jackson’s TD lifted Northwestern to its third straight win. The Wildcats beat Nebraska and Penn State in their last two games, both wins by two points.

Purdue (2-8, 1-5) dropped its second straight and remained winless against ranked teams since 2011.