Top 25 football roundup: Tua Tagovailoa injured in Alabama victory

Tua Tagovailoa sustained a season-ending hip injury being dragged down late in the first half on what was likely his final series of the day in No. 4 Alabama’s 38-7 victory over Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi, on Saturday.

Tagovailoa was injured after a scramble when he was tackled from behind by Bulldogs linebacker Leo Lewis. The star quarterback needed help getting to his feet and was carted off the field with 3 minutes left in the second quarter.

The junior had been nursing an ankle injury that needed surgery four weeks ago and caused him to miss a game and a half. Alabama coach Nick Saban said the new injury was unrelated to the ankle. Saban called it a “freak injury.”

Saban told ESPN at halftime the plan was to remove Tagovailoa from the game before the series when the quarterback was injured. Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC) was already up 35-7, but it was decided to let Tagovailoa play one possession to get some work against the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-5) in the 2-minute drill.

(1) LSU 58, Ole Miss 37: Joe Burrow threw for 489 yards and five touchdowns as the Tigers (10-0, 6-0 SEC) built a big lead and held off the Rebels (4-7, 2-5) in Oxford, Mississippi.

Coming off an emotional 46-41 home win at Alabama last week, the Tigers scored on four of their first five possessions to jump out to a 28-0 lead over the Rebels.

(2) Ohio State 56, Rutgers 21: Justin Fields threw for a career-high 305 yards and matched his best with four touchdown passes to lead the Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) to a road win over the Scarlet Knights (2-8, 0-7) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Favored by a whopping 51 points, the Buckeyes rolled to their 16th straight win over the past two seasons. J.K. Dobbins ran for two touchdowns, and cornerback Shaun Wade set up two early TDs with an interception and a forced fumble.

(3) Clemson 53, Wake Forest 3: Trevor Lawrence tied his career high with four touchdowns in an easy victory in Clemson, South Carolina, and the Tigers (11-0, 8-0 ACC) defeated the Demon Deacons (7-3, 3-3) to win their 26th straight game and complete a second straight perfect conference regular season.

The Tigers opened quickly and, after an uncomfortable stretch of four series with just a field goal, turned it on again right before halftime to win their 11th in a row over Wake Forest.

(5) Georgia 21, (13) Auburn 14: Jake Fromm passed for three touchdowns and Georgia’s defense had two late stops, helping the Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1) clinch the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title with a win over the Tigers (7-3, 4-3) in Auburn, Alabama.

Georgia sailed through three quarters with a 21-0 lead before the Tigers rallied in the fourth.

(23) Iowa 23, (7) Minnesota 19: Nate Stanley threw for two touchdown passes and Tyler Goodson ran for a score and the Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-3) handed the Golden Gophers (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) their first loss in Iowa City, Iowa.

The Hawkeyes struck quickly, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions, then held off Minnesota’s charge in the second half for their first victory over a ranked opponent this season.

(9) Penn State 34, (24) Indiana 27: Quarterback Sean Clifford scored three touchdowns, leading the Nittany Lions (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) past the Hoosiers (7-3, 4-3) in State College, Pennsylvania.

Penn State is at No. 2 Ohio State next week with the top spot in the Big Ten East on the line.

(10) Oklahoma 34, (12) Baylor 31: Gabe Brkic kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:45 left after Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes in a big comeback and the Sooners (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) kept their playoff hopes alive and ended Baylor’s (9-1, 6-1) bid for an undefeated season, beating the Bears in Waco, Texas.

While the Sooners were without standout receiver CeeDee Lamb, Hurts was 30-of-42 passing for 297 yards.

(11) Florida 23, Missouri 6: Kyle Trask threw two touchdown passes after a sluggish first half for the Gators (9-2, 6-2 SEC) in a victory over the Tigers (5-5, 2-4) in Columbia, Missouri.

(14) Michigan 44, Michigan State 10: Shea Patterson threw for a season-high 384 yards and four touchdowns and the Wolverines (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) handed the Spartans (4-6, 2-5) their fifth straight loss with a win in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

(15) Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21: Jonathan Taylor ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns, Aaron Cruickshank returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score and the Badgers (8-2, 5-2) beat the Cornhuskers (4-6, 2-5) in Lincoln, Nebraska.

(16) Notre Dame 52, (21) Navy 20: Chase Claypool caught four touchdown passes to match a school record and the Irish (8-2) shut down the Midshipmen’s (7-2) triple-option attack in South Bend, Indiana.

(17) Cincinnati 20, South Florida 17: Sam Crosa killed a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bearcats (8-1, 6-0 American Athletic) a victory over the Bulls (4-6, 2-4) in Tampa, Florida, and at least a share of the conference East Division title.

(18) Memphis 45, Houston 27: Brady White threw for 341 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another score and the Tigers (9-1, 5-1 AAC) overcame a 10-point first-quarter deficit to beat the host Cougars (3-7, 1-5).

(19) Boise State 42, New Mexico 9: Jaylen Henderson passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns, and the Broncos (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West) reeled off 28 points in a row in the first quarter en route to an easy victory over the Lobos (2-8, 0-6) in Boise.

Iowa State 23, (22) Texas 21: Connor Assalley kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired and the Cyclones (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) knocked off the Longhorns (6-4, 4-3) in Ames, Iowa, to snap a two-game losing streak.

(25) Oklahoma State 31, Kansas 12: Chuba Hubbard ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) in a win over the Jayhawks (3-7, 1-6) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.