GAINESVILLE, Fla. — DJ Lagway threw two touchdown passes, Montrell Johnson ran for 127 yards and a score, and Florida upset No. 9 Mississippi 24-17 on Saturday to knock the Rebels out of College Football Playoff contention.
The Gators (6-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference), who topped LSU last week, beat ranked teams in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2008 and became bowl eligible. The late-season spurt provided another vote of confidence for coach Billy Napier, who is expected back for a fourth season.
Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3), which entered the day as a 10-point favorite, lost for the first time in four games and surely will drop out of the 12-team playoff picture. The Rebels ranked ninth in the latest CFP and needed only to avoid stumbling down the stretch against Florida and lowly Mississippi State to clinch a spot in the playoff field.
But coach Lane Kiffin’s team failed to score in three trips inside the red zone and dropped countless passes in perfect weather.
No. 2 OHIO ST. 38, No. 5 INDIANA 15
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, TreVeyon Henderson ran for a score and No. 2 Ohio State beat previously undefeated No. 5 Indiana.
All Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, CFP No. 2) has to do now is beat Michigan at home next Saturday and it will earn a return to the Big Ten championship game for the first time since 2020 and get a rematch with No. 1 Oregon. The Ducks beat Ohio State 32-31 in a wild one back on Oct. 12.
The Hoosiers (10-1, 7-1, No. 5 CFP) had their best chance to beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 1988 but were hurt by special teams mistakes and disrupted by an Ohio State defense that sacked quarterback Kurtis Rourke five times.
Howard finished 22 for 26 for 201 yards. Emeka Egbuka had seven catches for 80 yards and a TD.
No. 3 TEXAS 31, KENTUCKY 14
AUSTIN, Texas — Quinn Ewers threw two first-half touchdown passes to Gunnar Helm and No. 3 Texas beat Kentucky to stay tied for first in the Southeastern Conference in the Longhorns’ first year in the league.
Quintrevion Wisner ran for 158 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown for Texas (10-1, 6-1, No. 3 CFP). The Longhorns can earn a berth in the SEC title game when they face No. 15 Texas A&M next week as that rivalry resumes after a 12-year break.
Texas’ final home game of the regular season also looked like it could be Ewers’ last home game in burnt orange if the Longhorns don’t host a College Football Playoff game. A three-year starter who decided against going to the NFL after last season, Ewers has a year of college eligibility remaining but took part in Texas’ senior day pregame celebrations.
Ewers was 20-of-31 passing for 191 yards in an uneven performance to push his record to 24-7 as as starter.
No. 4 PENN ST. 26, MINNESOTA 25
MINNEAPOLIS — Drew Allar passed for 244 yards and a touchdown, rushed for a score and completed a late fourth-down conversion to help No. 4 Penn State fend off Minnesota and stay on track for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Tyler Warren had eight receptions for 102 yards for the Nittany Lions (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP), who dodged the upset on an afternoon when three other teams in the projected 12-team playoff were beaten.
Dragan Kesich’s third field goal of the game with 5:48 left brought the Gophers (6-5, 4-4) within one after they had first-and-goal from the 7.
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck trusted his defense enough to elect to kick, and the strategy almost paid off until tight end Luke Reynolds ran 32 yards on a fake punt to make up for two special teams gaffes by Penn State in the first half.
No. 8 GEORGIA 59, UMass 21
ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck threw four touchdown passes, Nate Frazier ran for 136 yards with three scores and No. 8 Georgia overwhelmed Massachusetts as the Bulldogs tried to protect their College Football Playoff hopes.
Georgia (9-2, No. 10 CFP) needed the big offense from Beck and Frazier to rescue a defense that gave up 226 rushing yards. UMass (2-9) played its first game under interim coach Shane Montgomery, the offensive coordinator who retained his play-calling duties after replacing fired coach Don Brown on Monday.
Jalen John led the Minutemen with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Georgia extended its streak of consecutive home wins to 30, the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
No. 10 TENNESSEE 56, UTEP 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Nico Iamaleava threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 10 Tennessee to a victory over UTEP.
The Volunteers (9-2) overcame a sluggish start to roll up the impressive win. Both teams were scoreless in the first quarter, but Tennessee found its rhythm. Grad student receiver Bru McCoy, who hadn’t caught a touchdown pass this season, had two. Peyton Lewis also ran for two scores.
Tennessee’s defensive line, which had no sacks in last week’s loss to Georgia, had three against the Miners.
UTEP (2-9) struggled with two missed field goals and three turnovers.
Tennessee’s offense came alive with 28 points in the second quarter. In the final four drives of the quarter, Iamaleava completed 11 of 12 passes for 146 yards and touchdowns to Squirrel White, Ethan Davis and McCoy.
No. 11 MIAMI 42, WAKE FOREST 14
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Cam Ward passed for 280 yards and threw two touchdowns to Jacolby George on another record-breaking day, Mishael Powell ran an interception back 76 yards for a touchdown and No. 11 Miami pulled away late to beat Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 8 College Football Playoff) can clinch a berth in the ACC title game with a win at Syracuse next weekend.
Ward completed 27 of 38 passes, plus ran for a score. He broke two more single-season Miami records, both of which had been held for 40 years by Bernie Kosar — most passing yards in a season and most completions in a season.
Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions this season. Kosar threw for 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984.
Demond Claiborne had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5). Claiborne also rushed for 62 yards for the Demon Deacons, and starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier was 8 of 14 passing for 86 yards and a touchdown.
No. 13 SMU 33, VIRGINIA 7
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Kevin Jennings threw for a career-high 323 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, and No. 13 SMU clinched a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game by routing Virginia.
Isaiah Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte each had two sacks to help the Mustangs (10-1, 7-0, No. 13 CFP) extend their winning streak to eight.
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