In Waco, Texas, Robert Griffin III made himself a serious Heisman Trophy contender, leading No. 25 Baylor to a 45-38 victory against No. 5 Oklahoma.
The Sooners’ second loss of the season, and first in 21 games against the Bears, all but eliminates the preseason No. 1 team from the national title chase.
No. 4 Oregon put together a huge fourth-quarter rally, but it wasn’t enough to beat No. 18 Southern California and Matt Barkley.
The Ducks also took their second loss of the season.
A day after No. 2 Oklahoma State lost at Iowa State, the big winner appeared to be No. 3 Alabama.
The Tide had an easy win against Georgia Southern, but with so many contenders losing, there’s little doubt Alabama will be in second place behind LSU when the latest BCS standings come out Sunday.
If the Tide and Tigers win out, the SEC West rivals will likely play for the second time this season, but this time for the BCS championship.
Meanwhile, the upsets also helped out Arkansas. The Razorbacks, who routed Mississippi State, could move into third place in the BCS standings, and still have to play No. 1 LSU on Friday.
In Oxford, Mississippi, Ron Brooks returned an interception for a touchdown 28 seconds into the game and LSU piled up 353 yards rushing.
The Tigers (11-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), who matched their best start since 1958, built a 35-3 halftime lead.
Quarterback Jordan Jefferson started his second consecutive game, completing 7 of 7 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Alfred Blue led the Tigers with 74 rushing yards while Spencer Ware added 70 yards and a touchdown.
Ole Miss (2-9, 0-7) has lost six straight games and a school-record 13 straight conference games. Barry Brunetti rushed for a team-high 74 yards as the Rebels managed just 195 total yards.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Trent Richardson rushed for 175 yards and scored three touchdowns to power Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (10-1) didn’t win many style points in giving up a season-high 21 points, but the team’s biggest national title boost came the previous night when No. 2 Oklahoma State fell 37-31 at Iowa State in two overtimes.
Alabama needed Richardson more than expected against the FCS Eagles (9-2). The Heisman Trophy candidate ran 32 times, caught a 4-yard touchdown pass and broke Shaun Alexander’s school single-season mark of 19 rushing touchdowns.
In Eugene, Oregon, Matt Barkley threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns and USC held off Oregon when Alejandro Maldonado missed a 37-yard field goal to tie the game with 5 seconds left.
Trailing 24-7 in the third quarter, Oregon mounted a furious comeback and narrowed it to 38-35 with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter. Barkley led his team to the Oregon 15, but Marc Tyler fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Ducks with 2:54 to go.
Oregon marched down the field but Maldondado’s kick, which was brought five yards closer because of a USC penalty, went wide left.
In Waco, Texas, Robert Griffin III threw for 479 yards and four touchdowns, including a 34-yarder to Terrance Williams with 8 seconds left and Baylor beat the Sooners for the first time.
The Sooners (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) overcame a two-touchdown deficit to tie the game on Blake Bell’s fourth touchdown run, a 6-yarder with 51 seconds left.
The Bears then went 80 yards in five plays, with Griffin scrambling for runs of 22 and 8 yards before then finding Williams in the back corner for the end zone.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, Tyler Wilson had a school-record 32 completions for Arkansas and threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns.
It was the seventh straight victory for the Razorbacks (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference), who travel to No. 1 LSU next week for a game with conference and national title implications.
It also clinched the first back-to-back 10-win seasons since 1988-89 for Arkansas, which completed its first undefeated season at home since 1999.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Mike Glennon threw three touchdown passes and North Carolina State shut down Clemson’s explosive offense.
Tbais Palmer had a dazzling 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown to highlight a surprisingly dominant performance by North Carolina State (6-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Wolfpack scored 27 points in the second quarter, then increased the lead and never let the Tigers (9-2, 6-2) build any momentum.
It was North Carolina State’s first win against a top-10 team in five seasons under Tom O’Brien, and it was a surprising outcome considering the Wolfpack needed to win the final two games just to become bowl eligible. Not to mention that Tigers had already wrapped up the league’s Atlantic Division crown and an appearance in the ACC championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 3.
In San Diego, Kellen Moore completed 28 of 40 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns, three to Tyler Shoemaker, and Boise State benefited from three San Diego State turnovers.
The Broncos (9-1, 4-1 Mountain West) bounced back from a 36-35 loss to TCU a week earlier in Boise.
San Diego State (6-4, 3-3) remained winless in 19 games against Associated Press top 10 teams since 1969. Overall, the Aztecs are 6-59 against Top 25 teams.
