Saturday’s Top 25: Oklahoma rolls, Mayfield regrets 'disrespectful' actions

Lawrence, Kan. — On his way to the bus, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield stopped outside the visiting locker room at Memorial Stadium to sign a handful of autographs for wide-eyed kids who clearly idolize him.

Their opinions of him hadn’t changed over the course of a blowout win over Kansas.

Those of many other people probably did.

After getting dissed by the Jayhawks’ captains during the coin toss, the Heisman Trophy front-runner spent the rest of an otherwise ho-hum 41-3 victory trading insults with them. At one point he told Kansas fans behind the bench to “go cheer on basketball,” and after throwing his third and final touchdown pass, video cameras caught him grabbing his crotch and cursing at the opposing sideline.

“I got caught up in a competitive game, a chippy game, but what I did tonight was unacceptable,” said Mayfield, who threw for 257 yards in just over three quarters. “It’s disrespectful. It’s not the example I want to set. It’s not the legacy I want to leave. I truly do apologize.”

Everything began when Mayfield tried shaking hands with Daniel Wise, Dorance Armstrong Jr. and Joe Dineen Jr. after the coin toss, but they stared stoically back at him. Mayfield quickly pulled his hand away, clapped a couple of times and set about burnishing his Heisman Trophy candidacy.

He threw TD passes to Rodney Anderson and Marquise Brown in the first half, then founded Mark Andrews late in the third quarter, which prompted more insults between Mayfield and the Jayhawks.

That was the point when he grabbed his crotch and cursed the Kansas sideline from his own bench.

“It was chippy from the second their guys decided they didn’t want to shake our hands,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said. “Despite all that, there’s no excuse for it. Baker’s a competitive guy.”

Riley said he would need to see video of the game before deciding whether punishment was needed, but he did point out Mayfield was repeatedly hit after the whistle.

“I’m proud of our guys for getting to a point and not just — you’re not going to take it anymore,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “You’re going to stick your feet in the ground and you’re going to defend your grass. I think we got to display it better than that, obviously, but I get it.”

The histrionics added at least some interest to a game that figured to be a blowout. The Sooners (10-1, 7-1) are fourth in the College Football Playoff ranking and clinched a spot in the revived Big 12 title game, while the Jayhawks (1-10, 0-8) have yet to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision foe.

“They have great players on defense. They kind of set the tone with how they were feeling with the coin toss,” Mayfield said. “They did a great job of being physical. It’s a team that’s given us fits.”

(At) No. 1 Alabama 56, Mercer 0: Jalen Hurts passed for 180 yards and three touchdowns in a little more than a quarter against FCS team Mercer.

The Crimson Tide (11-0) raced to a 35-0 halftime lead in what amounted to a tuneup for the team’s biggest game. Now, Alabama heads to No. 6 Auburn with the winner of the Iron Bowl facing No. 7 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

The Bears (5-6) also lost to Auburn 24-10 early in the season, when the Tigers committed five turnovers.

(At) No. 2 Miami 44, Virginia 28: Malik Rosier threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, and Miami pulled off its biggest comeback in five years by holding off Virginia to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 15 games.

Jaquan Johnson had an interception return for a touchdown for Miami (10-0, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which went on a 30-0 run in the second half to remain unbeaten.

(At) No. 4 Clemson 61, The Citadel 3: Kelly Bryant threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns and was out of the game before halftime as No. 4 Clemson comfortably remained in the playoff race.

The lower-division Bulldogs were out of this one quickly. After Bryant’s 14-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Chase on the offense’s 26th play, Clemson (10-1) led 28-0.

Bryant completed 17-of-22 passes before Tigers coach Dabo Swinney started putting in backups at quarterback and other places to work on the two-minute drill before the end of the first half.

(At) No. 6 Auburn 42, Louisiana-Monroe 14: Darius Slayton caught a 50-yard touchdown pass late in the first half and Auburn pulled away.

Kam Martin scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, in the third quarter. Nick Ruffin scored on a 45-yard interception return in the fourth. Despite a sluggish first half, Auburn’s final production was still impressive: 317 yards rushing and 552 total yards.

Auburn (9-2, No. 6) can earn a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game by beating Alabama next week. ULM dropped to 4-6.

(At) No. 7 Georgia 42, Kentucky 13: Nick Chubb and Sony Michel led a dominant running game and No. 7 Georgia bounced back from its first loss of the season.

In the final home game of their careers, Chubb rushed for 151 and two touchdowns, including a 55-yard burst down the sideline to seal the victory early in the fourth quarter . Michel rambled for 87 yards and three scores of his own, most notably a 37-yard TD that sent the Bulldogs (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) into the half with a 21-6 lead.

(At) No. 9 Notre Dame, 24, Navy 17: Brandon Wimbush threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as No. 9 Notre Dame rallied in the rain and wind.

Wearing throwback uniforms with the name Rockne on the back of every player’s jersey and helmets designed to evoke the leather tops from the era of Knute Rockne, one of the Fighting Irish’s most famous names, Notre Dame (9-2) kept their slim national championship hopes alive heading into their regular-season finale next Saturday at Stanford.

Wimbush, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Notre Dame’s 41-8 loss at No. 2 Miami two Saturdays ago, connected with Kevin Stepherson twice and added his 14th rushing TD of the year as the Irish scored on three straight possessions late in the longest-running matchup between teams from different regions of the country, dating to 1927.

Kansas State 45, (at) No. 10 Oklahoma State 40: Byron Pringle caught three touchdown passes and returned a kickoff for another score to help Kansas State (6-5, 4-4 Big 12) held on to become bowl eligible for the eighth consecutive season.

Pringle caught four passes for a career-high 166 yards. His kickoff return for a score covered 89 yards. The junior entered the game with eight career touchdowns, and he had never scored more than two in a game. Freshman Skylar Thompson threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 93 yards and a score in his second start for the injured Jesse Ertz.

Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph passed for 425 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. James Washington caught eight passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (8-3, 5-3).

No. 11 TCU 27, (at) Texas Tech 3: True freshman quarterback Shawn Robinson ran for 84 yards and threw a key second-half touchdown in his first career start for TCU.

Robinson, who won a Texas Class 6A state high school championship last season, filled in for Kenny Hill. The senior didn’t even make the trip to Lubbock because of an unspecified injury.

While Robinson was only 6-of-17 passing for 85 yards, his 12-yard TD to Jalen Reagor came late in the third quarter as the Horned Frogs (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) took a 17-3 lead.

(At ) No. 12 Southern California 28, UCLA 23: After Sam Darnold met up with Josh Rosen at midfield, the Southern California quarterback climbed the stepladder for possibly the final time, holding the sword aloft and leading the Trojans' band while the student section chanted: "One more year!"

If Darnold had just played his last collegiate game at the Coliseum, he went out with a particularly sweet victory. Darnold passed for 264 yards and ran for a touchdown, and USC persevered for its third consecutive victory over its crosstown rivals.

No. 14 Central Florida 45, (at) Temple 19: McKenzie Milton threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score as Central Florida comfortably took care of business.

The Knights (10-0, 7-0 American Athletic Conference) turned three Temple turnovers inside the Owls’ 25 into 17 first-half points, taking a 31-10 lead when Gabriel Davis stretched across the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown reception with 2:36 left in the second quarter.

The AAC East Division will be decided on Black Friday in Orlando, Florida, when No. 23 South Florida (9-1, 6-1) visits UCF.

(At) No. 16 Washington 33, Utah 30: Tristan Vizcaino hit a 38-yard field goal as time expired and Washington scored 10 points in the final 58 seconds to stun Utah. Washington (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12) pulled even at 30-all on Myles Gaskin's 2-yard TD run with 58 seconds remaining.

After Utah punted, Washington got the ball back with 29 seconds at its own 28. Browning hit Dante Pettis for 18 yards to near midfield, and then the big play was a 31-yard strike to Andre Baccellia to the Utah 22 with 8 seconds left. Washington took one shot at the end zone that was incomplete before Vizcaino jogged out.

No. 17 Mississippi State 28, (at) Arkansas 21: Nick Fitzgerald threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Deddrick Thomas with 17 seconds remaining to win it for Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs (8-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) won at least eight games in a season for the fourth time in coach Dan Mullen’s nine years with the victory. They had already earned bowl eligibility for a school-record eighth straight season.

The Razorbacks (4-7, 1-6) led by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Fitzgerald tied the game with 4:07 remaining with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Todd.

(At) No. 18 Memphis 66, SMU 45: Darrell Henderson rushed for 147 yards, including two long touchdowns, and Riley Ferguson threw for 320 yards and two scores as Memphis claimed the American Athletic Conference West Division championship.

In addition to his throwing TDs, Ferguson scored on three runs as Memphis (9-1, 6-1, No. 21 CFP) won its sixth straight and claimed a spot in the conference’s Dec. 2 championship game. Patrick Taylor had 112 yards rushing, while Anthony Miller had 163 yards receiving. Both scored two touchdowns each.

Xavier Jones rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mustangs (6-4, 3-4), who lost their third straight.

(At) No. 20 Stanford 17, California 14: Bryce Love rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown despite missing most of the fourth quarter after aggravating an ankle injury.

Stanford can earn a spot in the Pac-12 championship game against USC but needs some help. The Cardinal can get there if No. 15 Washington State loses to No. 16 Washington next week. If the Cougars — who beat Stanford 24-21 on Nov. 4 — beat the Huskies, they get the nod because of the tiebreaker.

No. 21 LSU 30, (at) Tennessee 10: Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams combined to run for 165 yards and three touchdowns for LSU.

Guice ran 24 times for 97 yards and one touchdown to help LSU win for the fifth time in its last six games. Williams rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.

LSU (8-3, 5-2 SEC) scored 10 points after recovering two fumbled punt returns by Tennessee’s Marquez Callaway in the red zone. The Tigers also began a touchdown drive after making a fourth-down stop at Tennessee’s 21.

Tennessee (4-7, 0-7) was playing its first game under interim head coach Brady Hoke after the firing of Butch Jones.

Texas 28, (at) No. 24 West Virginia 14: Sam Ehlinger threw two touchdown passes and Texas became bowl eligible under first-year coach Tom Herman a game in which the Mountaineers lost quarterback Will Grier to injury.

The Longhorns (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) qualified for a bowl for the first time since 2014, which was former coach Charlie Strong’s first season.

Grier left the game in the first quarter with an injured throwing hand when he landed awkwardly as he dove for the end-zone pylon on a run. The middle finger of his right hand was bent backward and he did not return.

Backup Chris Chugunov couldn’t get much going. He threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Ka’Raun White early in the fourth quarter to pull West Virginia within 21-14. But the Mountaineers (7-4, 5-3) didn’t score again.

(At) Wake Forest 30, No. 25 North Carolina State 24: John Wolford threw his third touchdown of the game to Tabari Hines with 8:03 remaining for Wake Forest.

Wolford finished 19 of 28 for 247 yards for the Demon Deacons (7-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). They have won three of four and earned their first regular-season victory over a Top 25 opponent since 2011.

Ryan Finley drove the Wolfpack (7-4, 5-2) inside the Wake Forest 20 in the final minutes and hit Emeka Emezie inside the 5. Emezie made a move on Ja’Sir Taylor but was hit by Demetrius Kemp and fumbled inside the 1. The ball squirted into the end zone and Kemp recovered it with 1:51 remaining for a touchback. The call stood after a brief review by the replay official.