Isaiah Horton caught three touchdown passes from Ty Simpson to help No. 10 Alabama survive blowing a 17-point lead to escape with a 27-20 win over rival and host Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide (10-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) not only clinched a spot in the SEC championship game vs. Georgia next Saturday with the dramatic victory, but they also likely locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff.

After the Tigers tied the game with 11:43 left, Alabama responded with a 15-play, 75-yard drive which took nearly eight minutes off the clock. It ended with a fourth-and-2 conversion when Simpson found Horton once again for what became the game-winning 6-yard touchdown catch. Auburn’s ensuing drive moved well across midfield before Cam Coleman fumbled at the Crimson Tide 20 and Alabama’s Deontae Lawson recovered.

Horton had just five catches for 35 yards, but three of them were touchdowns. Simpson had a season-low 122 yards, completing 19 of 35 passes. Jam Miller had 83 rushing yards on 15 carries before leaving the game with a leg injury. Ashton Daniels was 18-of-39 passing for 259 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Auburn (5-7, 1-7), which finishes a win shy of bowl eligibility. He also ran for 108 of the Tigers’ 152 rushing yards. Malcolm Simmons had three catches for 143 yards.

No. 1 Ohio State 27, No. 15 Michigan 9

Wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate returned from injuries and each had a touchdown catch, while Bo Jackson ran for more than 100 yards as the visiting Buckeyes ended a four-game losing streak to the Wolverines with a dominant victory.

Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) plays No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on Dec. 6. Julian Sayin threw first-half touchdown passes to Smith and Brandon Inniss when the Buckeyes rallied for a 17-9 lead. Tate made it 24-9 midway through the third quarter when Sayin spotted him open at the 6-yard line for a 50-yard touchdown. Sayin was 19 of 26 for 233 yards, three touchdowns and an interception as the Buckeyes defeated Michigan for the first time since 2019.

Jackson, a freshman, ran for 117 yards and amassed 49 receiving yards for the Buckeyes. Freshman QB Bryce Underwood was 8 of 18 for 63 yards and a late interception for Michigan. Kicker Dominic Zvada hit 3 of 3 field goal attempts, including a 49-yarder in snow showers.

No. 5 Texas Tech 49, West Virginia 0

Behren Morton threw all three of his touchdown passes in the first half as the Red Raiders used a fast start to earn a spot in the Big 12 Conference championship game for the first time with a victory over the Mountaineers in Morgantown, W.Va.

Terrance Carter Jr. had 10 receptions for 98 yards, while Caleb Douglas had 127 receiving yards and two first-half touchdown catches as the Red Raiders (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) won their fifth consecutive game. Morton completed 25 of 32 passes for 310 yards and Cameron Dickey had 79 yards rushing with a receiving TD.

Scotty Fox Jr. completed 13 of 23 passes for 98 yards and one interception as the Mountaineers (4-8, 2-7) lost their last two games to end their season. It was the first time since the 2013 season that West Virginia finished with fewer than five wins.

No. 6 Oregon 26, Washington 14

Atticus Sappington made all four of his field goals, including a career-long 51-yard kick late in the third quarter, and the Ducks held on for a win over the Huskies in Seattle.

Dante Moore completed 20 of 29 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score for Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten), which finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak. Malik Benson led the Ducks with five receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown.

For Washington (8-4, 5-4), Demond Williams Jr. threw two interceptions and was sacked four times as Oregon’s defense pressured him for much of the afternoon. He added a pair of touchdown passes to Denzel Boston.

No. 8 Oklahoma 17, LSU 13

John Mateer threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns, overcoming three interceptions to help the Sooner hold on to beat LSU in Norman, Oklahoma.

Mateer hit Isaiah Sategna III for a 58-yard touchdown with just 4:16 remaining, and then Oklahoma (10-2, 6-2 SEC) held on in the closing minutes to escape. After Sategna’s score, a 47-yard kick return by Barion Brown got the Tigers to midfield, but they were unable to find the end zone. The win likely puts the Sooners into the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019.

LSU (7-5, 3-5) recorded only 113 yards passing and 85 yards on the ground. It was LSU’s lowest offensive output since November 3, 2018, when they mustered only 196 total yards against then-No. 2 Alabama.

No. 9 Notre Dame 49, Stanford 20

CJ Carr completed 17 of 27 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns as the Fighting Irish cruised past the host Cardinal.

Jadarian Price had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown for Notre Dame (10-2), which won its 10th in a row to wrap up the regular season. Aneyas Williams rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremiyah Love had 14 carries for 66 yards and a score.

Elijah Brown completed 18 of 37 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Stanford (4-8), which lost four of its last five to close the season. Charlie Mirer, son of former Notre Dame signal-caller Rick Mirer, entered the game as a backup and threw a touchdown pass.

No. 11 BYU 41, UCF 21

The Cougars made a statement, rallying from an early 14-0 deficit to beat the Knights in Provo, Utah.

BYU running back LJ Martin rushed for three touchdowns. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier had 289 yards passing with an 84 percent completion percentage, and wide receiver Parker Kingston had two 45-plus-yard touchdowns. Meanwhile, UCF quarterback Tayven Jackson threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns.

Arizona State’s loss to Arizona last night solidified BYU’s place in the Big 12 championship game next week against Texas Tech, providing a chance for the Cougars to avenge their lone loss.

No. 12 Miami 38, No. 22 Pitt 7

Malachi Toney threw a touchdown pass and caught another while amassing 156 scrimmage yards to lead the Hurricanes to a dominant win over the Panthers in Pittsburgh.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck completed 23 of 29 passes for 267 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) finished their regular season on a four-game winning streak.

Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel completed 22 of 32 passes for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Heintschel tossed his lone touchdown pass to Justin Holmes with 14:20 left in the second quarter to give the Panthers their only lead of the game at 7-3.

No. 14 Vanderbilt 45, No. 19 Tennessee 24

Sedrick Alexander ran for three touchdowns as the Commodores picked up a road win over the Volunteers in SEC action from Knoxville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt outgained Tennessee 582-382 in the 119th all-time matchup between the schools — and the first ever meeting where both teams were ranked. Diego Pavia went 18 of 28 for 268 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Commodores (10-2, 6-2 SEC), while adding 20 carries for 165 yards and a score. Alexander rushed 10 times for 115 yards, helping Vanderbilt average 8.5 yards per carry as a team.

Joey Aguilar went 29 of 44 for 299 yards and a touchdown for Tennessee (8-4, 4-4). DeSean Bishop fueled the Volunteers’ ground game with 20 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

No. 17 Southern California 29, UCLA 10

Jayden Maiava threw both of his touchdown passes in the second half to spearhead the Trojans’ comeback win over the rival Bruins in Los Angeles.

After King Miller carried for a 5-yard score on the first drive of the game, USC (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten Conference) failed to score on four straight possessions (including two missed field goals). The Trojans finally broke through just before the end of the third quarter when Maiava found Makai Lemon for the only time in the contest, but on their 11th touchdown connection of the season, on a 32-yard bomb for a 14-10 USC lead.

USC, which has won four of its last five, struck again on its next possession when Maiava hit Lake McRee on a goal-line touchdown that pushed its lead to 21-10. UCLA (3-9, 3-6), which scored on a pair of lengthy time-consuming drives in the second quarter, saw its second-half possessions end in three consecutive punts and a turnover on downs before another turnover on downs effectively sealed the USC win.

No. 18 Virginia 27, Virginia Tech 7

J’Mari Taylor rushed for 80 yards and one touchdown and also passed for a score to help the host Cavaliers roll to an easy victory over the Hokies in Atlantic Coast Conference play in Charlottesville, Va.

Chandler Morris completed 21 of 35 passes for 182 yards and added a rushing score for the Cavaliers (10-2, 7-1), who will play in the ACC championship game on Dec. 6 against Duke, a 49-32 winner over visiting Wake Forest on Saturday.

Sage Ennis caught a touchdown pass as Virginia defeated the Hokies for just the third time in the past 25 meetings. The other victories came in 2003 and 2019. Shamarius Peterkin turned a short pass from Kyron Drones into a 57-yard touchdown with less than five minutes to play to keep the Hokies (3-9, 2-6) from being shut out.

Cal 38, No. 21 SMU 35

Kendrick Raphael scored on a 2-yard run with 43 seconds remaining as the Golden Bears, in interim coach Nick Rolovich’s debut, stunned the Mustangs in Berkeley, Calif., denying SMU a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

A 1-yard plunge by T.J. Harden with 2:22 remaining capped SMU’s run of touchdowns on four consecutive second-half possessions for a 35-31 lead, putting the Mustangs (8-4, 6-2 ACC) in the driver’s seat for a shot at Virginia for the ACC title next Saturday.

But freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who threw four touchdowns, completed five consecutive passes to quickly move the Golden Bears (7-5, 4-4) in scoring position. Raphael then capped a 111-yard rushing night with his scamper that barely broke the plane of the goal line. SMU had a chance to force overtime, but Sam Keltner missed wide right from 52 yards on a potential game-tying field goal with three seconds left.

No. 24 Tulane 27, Charlotte 0

The Green Wave did their damage early by finding paydirt on their first two drives, locking in a spot in the American Conference title game by blanking the 49ers in New Orleans, La.

With the win, the Green Wave (10-2, 7-1) earned the right to host North Texas next Friday night in the American Football Championship in the first meeting between the teams this season.

Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff went 28 of 38 for 291 yards and two interceptions but rushed for two scores. Anthony Brown-Stephens had nine catches for 98 yards. Jamauri McClure rushed for 69 yards on 11 carries. For Charlotte (1-11, 0-8), Grayson Loftis completed 18 of 25 passes for 140 yards with an interception.

–Field Level Media

LSU is expected to hire Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss on Sunday with a lucrative offer to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport, ESPN reported early Sunday morning.

Kiffin had said that he would decide on Saturday whether to stay in Oxford, Miss., or accept another offer for the 2026 season, but no announcement came. Both ESPN and The Athletic reported that Kiffin will meet with Ole Miss players Sunday at 10 a.m. ET followed by an announcement with his decision.

LSU reportedly has offered Kiffin a seven-year deal worth approximately $100 million. That would put his salary above that of Georgia’s Kirby Smart, the highest-paid college coach at $13.3 million a year, and represent a significant increase over the $9 million Kiffin now makes, according to the USA Today coaches salary database.

Both reports said LSU is very confident that Kiffin will be coming to Baton Rouge, La.

Kiffin, 50, has led the Rebels to an 11-1 record and a probable berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff, whether he is their coach or not. Ole Miss officials reportedly don’t want Kiffin coaching the team for the playoffs, which start Dec. 19, if he’s not the coach in 2026.

Ole Miss missed an opportunity to play in the Southeastern Conference championship game against No. 4 Georgia when No. 10 Alabama held on to beat Auburn 27-20 on Saturday night.

In six seasons at Ole Miss, Kiffin has a 55-19 record (.743) that has attracted the attention and deep pockets of SEC rivals LSU and Florida — both of which fired their coaches in October.

Speculation over whether Kiffin will jump to the Tigers or the Gators has reached soap-operatic proportions over the last month, but Kiffin promised to bring the storyline to a conclusion on Saturday. He also claimed, as of Friday afternoon, not to know which school he’ll pick.

There are reports, however, that Florida has moved out of range and has its eye on other candidates, operating with the belief that Kiffin is not as interested in the Gators as the Rebels or Tigers.

More than a week ago, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter gave Kiffin a Nov. 29 deadline to make a decision. Now that Kiffin has led the Rebels to the first 11-win regular season in the school’s 120 seasons, he has become an even hotter commodity. Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce reportedly met at the chancellor’s home in Oxford on Saturday without a resolution announced.

–Field Level Media

CJ Carr completed 17 of 27 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns as No. 9 Notre Dame cruised to a 49-20 win over host Stanford on Saturday night.

Jadarian Price had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown for Notre Dame (10-2), which won its 10th in a row to wrap up the regular season. Aneyas Williams rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremiyah Love had 14 carries for 66 yards and a score.

The Fighting Irish now turn their attention to the College Football Playoff Committee, which will determine the final 12 teams that will compete for a national championship.

Elijah Brown completed 18 of 37 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Stanford (4-8), which lost four of its last five to close the season. Charlie Mirer, son of former Notre Dame signal-caller Rick Mirer, entered the game as a backup and threw a touchdown pass.

Notre Dame outgained Stanford 524-312.

The Fighting Irish jumped to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.

Love opened the scoring with a 2-yard rushing touchdown on Notre Dame’s first possession. The play marked his 18th rushing touchdown to go along with three receiving scores.

Price followed with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 1:52 to go in the first quarter. It marked his 11th rushing touchdown of the season.

Notre Dame pulled ahead 21-0 on a fake-punt touchdown early in the second quarter. Luke Talich caught a pass from Joshua Burnham and raced for an 84-yard score.

Williams rushed for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 28-0 with 7:26 remaining in the half.

Stanford finally got on the scoreboard as Emmet Kenney made a 39-yard field goal with 2:38 remaining before the break.

Carr finished the first-half scoring when he tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Price with 17 seconds left in the half. That gave Notre Dame a 35-3 lead at halftime.

The lopsided match continued in the second half as Carr connected with Jordan Faison for a 6-yard score to make it 42-3 with 12:43 left in the third quarter.

Stanford scored the next 10 points on a 44-yard field goal by Kenney and a 9-yard touchdown completion from Brown to Bryce Farrell.

Williams responded with a 51-yard rushing touchdown to make it 49-13 with 9:08 to play.

Stanford finished the scoring on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Mirer to Marcus Brown with four minutes left.

-Field Level Media

Kendrick Raphael scored on a 2-yard run with 43 seconds remaining as Cal, in interim coach Nick Rolovich’s debut, stunned No. 21 SMU 38-35 on Saturday night in Berkeley, Calif., denying the Mustangs a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

A 1-yard plunge by T.J. Harden with 2:22 remaining capped SMU’s run of touchdowns on four consecutive second-half possessions for a 35-31 lead, putting the Mustangs (8-4, 6-2 ACC) in the driver’s seat for a shot at Virginia for the ACC title next Saturday.

But freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who threw four touchdowns, completed five consecutive passes to quickly move the Golden Bears in scoring position. Raphael then capped a 111-yard rushing night with his scamper that barely broke the plane of the goal line, sending Duke into the ACC title game.

SMU had a chance to force overtime, but Sam Keltner missed wide right from 52 yards on a potential game-tying field goal with three seconds left.

One game after being held to 10 points in a blowout loss to rival Stanford that resulted in coach Justin Wilcox’s firing, Cal (7-5, 4-4) ran up 452 yards against the Mustangs.

Sagapolutele accounted for 330 of those yards, completing 31 of 40 passes. He threw four TD passes to four different receivers – Jaiven Plummer and Jacob De Jesus in the second quarter, Cole Boscia in the third quarter and QuaRon Adams on the first play of the fourth quarter, the latter giving the hosts a 31-14 lead.

However, SMU rallied behind Kevin Jennings, who ran 3 yards for a score and had a 20-yard TD connection with Jordan Hudson to get the Mustangs within 31-28 with 7:59 to go.

Jennings finished 24-for-36 passing for 250 yards with two TDs and one interception. Chris Johnson Jr. rushed for a game-high 128 yards and a first-quarter score for SMU, while Matthew Hibner caught five passes for 87 yards and a third-quarter TD.

Raphael’s 111 rushing yards came on 33 carries for the Golden Bears, who are bowl-eligible thanks to their seven-win regular season. De Jesus led all receivers in the game with 12 catches for 97 yards and his one score.

–Field Level Media

Will Wilson ran for four touchdowns and host North Carolina State blew out rival North Carolina 42-19 in the regular-season finale Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C.

CJ Bailey threw for two touchdowns as the Wolfpack (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat North Carolina (4-8, 2-6) for the fifth year in a row.

Bill Belichick’s first season as North Carolina’s coach ended on a three-game losing streak.

Bailey threw for 201 yards on 21-for-30 passing and rushed for a game-high 65 yards. Wilson collected 54 yards on the ground on 12 carries.

North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez was 11 of 16 for 118 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an injury after being sacked early in the third quarter. Max Johnson, his replacement, added 54 passing yards, and Au’Tori Newkirk had 23 yards in the air with a late TD toss.

The Tar Heels were limited to 70 yards on the ground and 265 total yards to 386 (201 passing, 185 rushing) for the host squad.

The Wolfpack won its second game in a row and will await a bowl assignment. NC State was 6-1 in home games.

North Carolina couldn’t overcome 129 yards worth of penalties on 11 infractions.

North Carolina was within 28-13 after Rece Verhoff’s 29-yard field goal at the end of a 78-yard drive in the third quarter.

But NC State scored 8 seconds into the fourth quarter on Wilson’s 15-yard run. He also was in the end zone later in the quarter on a 3-yard run.

NC State went up 14-0 in the first quarter and led 28-10 at halftime, with Bailey throwing TD passes to Wesley Grimes and Justin Joly and Wilson running for a pair of touchdowns.

Bailey’s 1-yard toss to Joly came with 18 seconds left in the half to conclude a hurry-up, 11-play drive that covered 75 yards.

Lopez threw 20 yards to Jordan Shipp for North Carolina’s first-half touchdown and Verhoff kicked a 49-yard field goal. Shipp finished with a game-high 90 receiving yards on eight receptions.

–Field Level Media