Stanford back atop Pac-12 North
Stanford is back on top of the Pac-12 North after Arizona did to Oregon what Southern California did to the Cardinal last week.
Though this upset was far more surprising and emphatic.
The fifth-ranked Ducks had their national championship hopes smashed by Arizona, 42-16 Saturday as No. 10 Stanford was routing California.
The results give Stanford the Pac-12 North title for a second straight season. Oregon (9-2) might be able to get an at-large BCS bid if it can close out with a victory against Oregon State, but it’s looking like a bit of a long shot now.
Oregon lost for the second time in three games. In the last three weeks the Ducks have lost to Stanford to give the Cardinal control of the division, then regained control when Stanford fell to USC, and now have given it away again.
Stanford has a chance to reach back-to-back Rose Bowls for the first time since the 1971 and `72 games.
No. 1 Alabama 49, Chattanooga 0: AJ McCarron passed for two touchdowns and became No. 1 Alabama’s winningest quarterback.
McCarron completed 13 of 16 passes for 171 yards before leaving one drive into the second half of his final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the Crimson Tide (11-0). He improved to 36-2 as a starter, breaking a tie with Jay Barker for the school mark.
No. 2 Florida State 80, Idaho 14: Jameis Winston threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns as No. 2 Florida State broke a school record for points in a game. Florida State (11-0) broke the school record of 77 points scored in 1995 to remain unbeaten.
No. 4 Ohio State 42, Indiana 14: Braxton Miller ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two more Saturday to lead No. 4 Ohio State to a 42-14 victory over Indiana, extending the Buckeyes’ school-record win streak to 23 in a row.
Arizona 42, No. 5 Oregon 16: Ka’Deem Carey ran for 206 yards and four touchdowns while becoming Arizona’s all-time leading rusher.
No. 7 Clemson 52, The Citadel 6: Tajh Boyd threw for five touchdowns and 288 yards in the final home game of his career.
No. 18 LSU 34, No. 9 Texas A&M 10: Terrance Magee rushed for a career-high 149 yards and LSU’s defense pulled the plug on Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M’s video-game offense.
No. 10 Stanford 63, California 13: Ty Montgomery matched a Stanford school record with five touchdowns, scoring the first four times he touched the ball, and the Cardinal clinched a spot in the Pac-12 championship game with Oregon’s loss.
No. 12 South Carolina 70, Coastal Carolina 10: Connor Shaw passed for a touchdown and ran for a score in less than a quarter of work as South Carolina scored the most points in Steve Spurrier’s nine seasons as coach.
No. 13 Michigan State 30, Northwestern 6: Connor Cook threw for a career-high 293 yards, Jeremy Langford ran for 150, and Michigan State clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game. Cook threw for two touchdowns. Langford ran for two scores, and the Spartans (10-1, 7-0) reached the conference title game for the second time in three years.
No. 15 Fresno State 69, New Mexico 28: Derek Carr threw for 527 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns in his final regular-season home game and Fresno State clinched a spot in the Mountain West title game.
No. 16 Wisconsin 20, Minnesota 7: James White rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown and No. 16 Wisconsin beat Minnesota for the 10th straight time. Jared Abbrederis had seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown and Chris Borland recovered two fumbles and forced one to tie the NCAA record for career fumbles caused. After the game, the Badgers (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) hoisted Paul Bunyan’s Axe and used it to chop the Gophers goal post when the time ran out.
No. 22 Oklahoma 41, Kansas State 31: Brennan Clay ran for a career-high 200 yards and two touchdowns and Sooners coach Bob Stoops moved past Barry Switzer for the most wins in school history.
No. 24 Louisville 24, Memphis 17: Teddy Bridgewater threw for 220 yards and a touchdown in what could be his final home game for Louisville.
The Cardinals used a 17-point surge over the second and third quarters to provide a cushion.
No. 25 Duke 28, Wake Forest 21: Anthony Boone threw three touchdown passes and No. 25 Duke held on for its seventh straight win. Brandon Connette rushed 3 yards for the go-ahead score late in the third quarter and Boone was 24 of 29 for 256 yards. The Blue Devils (9-2, 5-2 ACC) fell behind 14-0 before rallying to match the school record for victories and remain in control of the Coastal Division.