COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAPS

Top 25 Recaps: No. 2 Ohio State escapes MSU

The Sports Xchange

November 19, 2016 at 5:15 pm.

Nov 19, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Mike Weber (25) carries the ball as Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Justin Layne (39) defends during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Photo Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Nov 19, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Mike Weber (25) carries the ball as Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Justin Layne (39) defends during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Photo Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Freshman running back Mike Weber rushed for 111 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown and No. 2 Ohio State barely escaped with a 17-16 victory over Michigan State on Saturday.

Quarterback J.T. Barrett gained 105 yards in 24 carries for the Buckeyes (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten), who face arch-rival Michigan in Columbus next Saturday. Barrett also had a passing touchdown but completed just 10 of 22 attempts for 86 yards.

The Spartans failed on a two-point conversation in the fourth quarter which would have given them the lead. Sophomore running back LJ Scott rushed for a career-high 160 yards and a touchdown but Michigan State (3-8, 1-7) lost for the eighth time in nine games. Scott also scored on a 64-yard pass play.

No. 7 Wisconsin 49, Purdue 20

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Backup running back Bradrick Shaw and backup fullback Alec Ingold each scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns and Wisconsin moved a step closer to the Big Ten West championship with a victory against Purdue.

Trailing 3-0 after one quarter, the Badgers (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) scored 35 points during a 7:43 span of the second quarter, including touchdown runs of 7 and 33 yards by Shaw and a 1-yard run and a 19-yard reception for TDs by Ingold.

Badgers running back Corey Clement carried 27 times for 112 yards and a touchdown and now has 1,040 rushing yards for the season.

Purdue (3-8, 1-7) lost its sixth in a row and finished 0-4 in Big Ten home games.

No. 11 Oklahoma State 31, TCU 6

FORT WORTH, Texas — Oklahoma State’s climb up the College Football Playoff rankings needed a boost, if not a shove, and the Cowboys did their best self-propelling act in the rout of TCU.

Oklahoma State won its seventh straight game, improving to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big 12 behind a big second half performance. The Cowboys get a shot to boost their stature even more on Dec. 3, with a game at Oklahoma that carries Big 12 championship implications.

For the Horned Frogs, who fell to 5-5 and 3-4, there is still work to do to secure a bowl bid. TCU visits Texas next week, before closing the regular season at home against Kansas State, needing one win to make the postseason.

No. 23 Florida 16, No. 16 LSU 10

BATON ROUGE, La. — Florida stopped LSU running back Derrius Guice on a fourth-and-1 dive at the goal-line to preserve a wild victory and clinch the SEC East title.

Trailing by six, LSU (6-4, 4-3 SEC) got the ball back at its 25 with 3:24 left. After receivers dropped two passes, quarterback Danny Etling found receiver D.J. Chark open on a crossing pattern for a 30-yard gain to convert a critical fourth-and-10. That gave LSU new life at the Florida 18. Etling completed a 6-yard pass to Malachai Dupre to the Gators 7, and three consecutive runs got LSU to the Florida 1.

LSU called its final timeout with 3 seconds left. On fourth-and-goal, Guice took the handoff and tried to leap over the middle of the Florida line, but he was hit in mid-air by defensive back Marcell Harris, who knocked the ball loose. Although tight end Foster Moreau recovered the ball, he was short of the end zone, ending the game.

Florida improved its record to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the SEC, putting it into the SEC Championship game on Dec. 3.

No. 18 Nebraska 28, Maryland 7

LINCOLN, Neb. — Senior running back Terrell Newby rushed for three touchdowns and Nebraska allowed only nine first downs while rolling over Maryland.

Senior quarterback Ryker Fyfe completed 23 of 37 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown while starting in place of injured senior Tommy Armstrong Jr. (hamstring). Senior receiver Jordan Westerkamp caught eight passes for 85 yards and one touchdown for the Cornhuskers (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten).

Maryland also was missing its starting quarterback, as senior Perry Hills sat out because of a shoulder injury. True freshman Max Bortenschlager made his first career start and was 14-of-29 passing for 191 yards but could only guide the Terrapins (5-6, 2-6) to 207 total yards.

No. 25 Texas A&M 23, UTSA 10

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M All-American defensive end Myles Garrett racked up 4 1/2 sacks and the Aggies snapped a two-game skid by outlasting UTSA.

Aggies quarterback Jake Hubenak, filling in for injured starter Trevor Knight, passed for 248 yard and a touchdown in his second consecutive start. True freshman running back Trayveon Williams ran for 80 yards, including a 47-yard score in the third quarter. The Aggies improved to 8-3 with their first win in November.

UTSA (5-6) heads into its regular-season finale needing to beat Conference USA foe Charlotte at home next week to qualify for a bowl for the first time since the program moved into FBS status in 2014.

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