TUSCALOOSA, Alabama: Jameis Winston had a quiet day while Florida State was putting up another blowout. Johnny Manziel was spectacular and mistake-prone for Texas A&M.

The Heisman Trophy contenders both started the stretch drive with victories Saturday in the race that appears up for grabs.

Winston threw for 159 yards and two touchdown passes as No. 3 Florida State pounded Wake Forest 59-3. He also threw an interception as the Seminoles’ defense did much of the work with six interceptions in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The 11th-ranked Aggies needed every bit of Manziel’s 446 yards passing and five TDs in a 51-41 victory at home against Mississippi State.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota seemed to be the front-runner for the Heisman, but he had an off night as Stanford beat the Ducks on Thursday. Manziel is trying for his second consecutive Heisman and Winston is trying to become the second straight redshirt freshman to win the award.

Alabama’s AJ McCarron helped his Heisman case by throwing three touchdown passes in a victory against LSU.

No. 1 Alabama 38 No. 10 LSU 17: T.J. Yeldon ran for 133 yards and two scores and Alabama overwhelmed No. 10 LSU 38-17 Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) turned to power football to take control of a game that was tied early in the third quarter. Yeldon carried 18 times in the second half, 25 overall, after catching the game-winning touchdown pass in last season’s meeting with the Tigers (7-3, 3-3).

Alabama scored the final 21 points to brush aside its first challenge since Game 2 against Texas A&M.

McCarron was a workmanlike 14-of-20 passing for 179 yards, letting Yeldon, Kenyan Drake and their blockers assert control.

Zach Mettenberger completed 16 of 23 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown but was also sacked four times.

It was the most points Alabama has scored against LSU since a 41-12 victory in 1947.

No. 3 Florida State 59 Wake Forest 3: In Winston-Salem, N.C., Jameis Winston threw two touchdown passes, and Florida State tied a school record with six interceptions as it clinched ACC a championship game berth.

Nate Andrews took an interception 56 yards for a touchdown and Jalen Ramsey returned a fumble 23 yards for a score on consecutive plays.

The Seminoles (9-0, 7-0) claimed the inside track to a BCS title game berth with No. 2 Oregon’s loss Thursday. They kept firm grasp of it by forcing seven turnovers and breaking the stadium record of 56 points they set in 1994.

Florida State outgained Wake Forest (4-6, 2-5) 296-166 and turned those turnovers into five TDs and a field goal.

No. 11 Texas A&M 51 Mississippi State 41: In College Station, Texas, Johnny Manziel threw for 446 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdown passes to lead Texas A&M to a win in what could be the Heisman Trophy winner’s last home game.

The crowd chanted “One more year! One more year!” late in the game for Manziel, who is eligible for the draft after this season. Whether he comes back remains to be seen, but he went into the stands to celebrate with the student section when the game was over.

Mississippi State cut the lead to 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Manziel threw his fifth touchdown pass to make it 44-27 for A&M (8-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference). The defense grabbed an interception and Ben Malena’s 2-yard TD run extended the lead to 51-27.

Dax Prescott threw for 149 yards and two scores and ran for 154 yards for Mississippi State (4-5, 1-4).

Malcome Kennedy and Travis Labhart had two touchdown receptions each. Mike Evans had 116 yards receiving to break the school single-season record with 1,263.


No. 7 Auburn 55 Tennessee 23: In Knoxville, Tennessee, Nick Marshall gained 214 of Auburn’s 444 yards rushing and the Tigers scored on a punt return and kickoff return against Tennessee.

Marshall ran for two touchdowns on just 14 carries and threw for a third score. Tre Mason rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns as Auburn (9-1, 5-1 SEC) earned its sixth straight victory and averaged 8.4 yards per carry.

Chris Davis put Auburn ahead for good and broke a 13-13 tie in the second quarter with an 85-yard punt return, Auburn’s longest since 1970 and third-longest ever. Corey Grant returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards for another Auburn touchdown.

Auburn won while attempting just seven passes all day. The Tigers had thrown just nine passes last week in a 35-17 victory over Arkansas.


No. 9 Missouri 48 Kentucky 17: In Lexington, Kentucky, Maty Mauk threw five touchdown passes, four to Dorial Green-Beckham, and No. 9 Missouri cruised past Kentucky.

Making his fourth consecutive start in place of the injured James Franklin, the Tigers’ redshirt freshman completed 17 of 28 attempts for 203 yards and took full advantage of 6-foot-6 sophomore Green-Beckham, whose TD receptions set a school record.

Mauk added a 6-yard scoring pass to Henry Josey, who also rushed for two TDs, including an 86-yarder.

Missouri (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) allowed Kentucky (2-7, 0-5) two touchdowns in the third quarter but the Mauk-to-Green-Beckham connection answered both scores with TDs.