AP Top 25: Oklahoma State, Oklahoma move up rankings

Baylor (8-1, 5-1), the first team left out of the initial four-team playoff last season, was sixth in the latest College Football Playoffs as an undefeated team with the toughest part of its schedule left.

Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama remained in the top three spots and in that order.

To their credit, though, the Cowboys keep finding a way, winning four conference games by a touchdown or less, including Saturday’s 35-31 decision at Iowa State.

If No. 5 Iowa wins out, the Hawkeyes are in the playoffs. Oklahoma still must beat No. 15 TCU and No. 8 Oklahoma State before it can stake a claim to a playoff berth.

The top 11 teams plus #14 TCU all see a path to the top four. No. 1 Clemson doesn’t appear to go down during the next two weeks with a couple of 3-7 teams on the horizon.

No. 3 Alabama 31, No. 20 Mississippi State 6: In Starkville, Mississippi, Derrick Henry ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns and Alabama had a season-high nine sacks.

“That’s so frustrating when you turn the ball over so many times”, Strong said. “They do a great job of playing with me”.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Connor Cook left the game at halftime with an apparent shoulder injury, putting a bit of a damper on MI State’s victory.

“The way I can mathematically figure it, I think we’re still very much alive”, Briles said.

But he has exceeded those low expectations, guiding the Sooners back into the mix for a national championship.

Rudolph has thrown for 3,161 yards this season, the third-best total in school history, with 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Dropped passes, a rash of penalties, three atrocious punts and two lost fumbles further damaged the UCLA cause.

Hey @sbnation! We’ve got a #PIESMAN candidate for you in @calfootball’s Malik McMorris! Beat OU, beat Baylor, and then, at the absolute least, they’re back in a New Year’s Six Bowl game.

Rosen sprinted through the defense for his score and subsequently hit Thomas Duarte for the 2-point conversion.

But the Cougars went 75 yards in 66 seconds, and Marks hung on to the ball despite contact with the UCLA defender. But the freshman from Stephenville finished the game, with Baylor running it 44 times and throwing 27 passes. The Bruins also lost despite holding Washington State’s offense to 288 yards in the first three quarters.

After the Oklahoma touchdown, Stidham would throw his second interception to end the game. The bigger news was that Albuquerque’s Holly Holm stunned UFC champ Ronda Rousey on Saturday night, but an equally awesome upset happened when New Mexico got bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007 by winning 31-24 at Boise State after entering as a 30-point underdog.

WACO, Texas-Eric Striker paused for a moment Saturday night.

The win gave the Tigers (10-0, 7-0 ACC; No. 1 CFP) at least 10 wins for the fifth straight season and their s first 10-0 start since they won their only national championship in 1981. They didn’t lose on a blunder, as they did on late-game special teams miscues against Cal and Oklahoma State. “I told the guys to calm down”.

“I’m sure TV loves us”, OSU coach Mike Gundy said. Oklahoma still has that loss to Texas on the resume, and it still has to deal with TCU and a road game to Oklahoma State. They also had to get a last second field goal to defeat the worst Kansas State team since Bill Snyder took back over in 2009. Could West Virginia be walking into a trap game on Saturday? Baylor was once again quick to strike following a turnover as Stidham found wideout Jay Lee open for a 17 yard touchdown pass, making it 37-34. Here’s what the coaches and players had to say at their weekly press conference. And was it a big one. He completed all four passes on the drive for 61 yards.

BRIEFS: ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit apologized via Twitter to Baylor and Terrell Burt after accusing the senior safety of faking an injury during the Bears’ loss to Oklahoma.

The Sooners are 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big 12.

Burt sprained his right ankle on a kickoff.