Nov 12, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive end Chris Redmon (48) reaches out for Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide defeated the Bulldogs 51-3. Photo Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Behind four passing touchdowns from freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts, No. 1 Alabama cruised to a 51-3 victory over Mississippi State in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.
Three of Hurts’ touchdown passes went to ArDarius Stewart, as both parts of the duo had career days.
Midway through the third quarter, Hurts found Stewart for a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Alabama (10-0, 7-0 SEC) a 37-3 lead. Hurts and Stewart would connect again for a 20-yard score to push Alabama’s margin to 44-3.
Hurts finished the day 28 of 37 for 347 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He became the first Alabama player in history to throw for 300-plus and rush for a 100 yards.
Mississippi State (4-6, 2-4) got on the board on its opening drive of the second half after kicker Westin Graves made a 47-yard field goal to cut it to 30-3.
No. 10 Penn State 45, Indiana 31
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — No. 10 Penn State rallied from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to upend unranked and sustain the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten East Division title hopes.
Saquon Barkley rushed for two touchdowns, including the deciding score on a 2-yard run with 3:58 remaining in the game, and wide receiver Chris Godwin caught two scoring passes as Penn State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) won its sixth consecutive conference game.
The Nittany Lions added 10 points in the final minutes after Indiana was unable to rally in its own end. Penn State began the day behind No. 3 Michigan (9-0, 6-0) and tied with No. 6 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1) in the East with two games remaining, so it needs help to secure a spot in the conference championship game.
Indiana (5-5, 3-4) is trying to become bowl eligible for a second consecutive year, something that hasn’t happened since 1990 and 1991.
No. 11 Oklahoma 45, Baylor 24
NORMAN, Okla. — Dede Westbrook had four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns as No. 11 Oklahoma beat Baylor to remain unbeaten in Big 12 Conference play.
Westbrook failed to get 100 receiving yards for the first time in seven games but still made a big impact, as did sophomore running back Joe Mixon. Coming off a one-game suspension, Mixon ran for 124 yards and a touchdown and had five catches for 63 yards.
While the Sooners’ offense was plenty explosive, its defense also came through at key times.
Oklahoma (8-2, 7-0 Big 12) forced three Baylor turnovers, including two interceptions by linebacker Jordan Evans. The win was the seventh consecutive for the Sooners and kept them in control of the conference race.
For Baylor, it was another step in the wrong direction. After winning their first six games, the Bears (6-3, 3-3) have dropped three consecutive games.
No. 16 West Virginia 24, Texas 20
AUSTIN, Texas — Skyler Howard passed for 269 yards and a touchdown and the West Virginia defense came up with three huge stands in the final 10 minutes as the 16th-ranked Mountaineers held off Texas in Big 12 Conference play.
West Virginia (8-1, 5-1 in Big 12) survived a season-high four turnovers — three of them interceptions by Howard. The Mountaineers forced a fumble by Texas quarterback Shane Buechele on a sack early in the fourth quarter, had another drive-killing sack on the ensuing drive and a fourth-down stop at its own 39-yard line on the Longhorns’ penultimate possession.
Texas moved to the West Virginia 27-yard line on a last-gasp drive but Buechele’s pass in the end zone was incomplete as time expired. Kennedy McKoy picked up 73 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries for West Virginia, but the Mountaineers’ rushing attack was tepid at best.
D’Onta Foreman, who leads the nation in rushing yardage per game, led the Longhorns (5-5, 4-4) with 167 yards on 35 carries. Buechele passed for 318 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
