College football: No. 6 Oklahoma outlasts No. 12 West Virginia; UCF wins but loses McKenzie Milton to injury
Kyler Murray threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 6 Oklahoma scored two defensive TDs as the Sooners beat No. 12 West Virginia 59-56 Friday night to earn a spot in next week’s Big 12 championship game.
The Sooners (11-1, 8-1, No. 6 CFP) survived a wild and mostly defenseless affair that featured 1,372 yards of offense to earn a rematch Dec. 1 in Arlington, Texas, against No. 11 Texas, which beat Kansas earlier Friday.
Oklahoma also kept its College Football Playoff chances alive.
West Virginia (8-3, 6-3, No. 13 CFP) lost to Oklahoma for the seventh straight time since joining the league in 2012.
UCF 38, South Florida 10: No. 9-ranked Central Florida lost quarterback McKenzie Milton to injury but still trounced South Florida 38-10 on Friday to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 24 games and complete a second consecutive undefeated regular season.
Milton hurt his right knee when he was tackled at the end of a 5-yard run in the second quarter. Darriel Mack Jr. replaced him and may make his second start of the year when UCF (11-0, 8-0, No. 9 CFP) faces Memphis next week in the American Athletic Conference title game.
No. 14 Texas 24, at Kansas 17: Sam Ehlinger threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score to help the Longhorns clinch a spot in the Big 12 Conference title game.
Texas opened a 24-7 lead on Cameron Dicker’s 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but the lowly Jayhawks responded with Peyton Bender’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Daylon Charlot and recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Ehlinger threw two interceptions, but he made enough plays to get another win. The Longhorns had a 98-yard drive on their first possession that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson.
Kansas (3-9, 1-8) dropped its last four games in David Beaty’s final season as Jayhawks coach. Les Miles was hired Sunday to replace Beaty.
Pooka Williams Jr. had 18 carries for 103 yards for Kansas, including a 57-yard touchdown run in the fourth. Bender completed 18 of 35 passes for 159 yards.
at Memphis 52, Houston 31: Junior Darrell Henderson rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns — setting a conference rushing record — to rally the Tigers to the win and set up a rematch of last season’s American Athletic Conference championship game with No. 9 Central Florida.
Henderson set the single-season rushing record, passing the previous mark of 1,629 by Tulsa’s James Flanders in 2016.
Virginia Tech 34, Virginia 31: It was a crazy finish that only started with a Hail Mary.
Brian Johnson kicked a 42-yard field goal in overtime and Virginia Tech pulled out the wildest victory in its 100 meetings with Virginia, 34-31 on Friday night. The Hokies won their 15th in a row in the series and kept alive their hopes for a 26th consecutive bowl appearance.
Cincinnati 56, East Carolina 6: The Bearcats surpassed their win total from the last two years combined and were in the American Athletic Conference race right to the end. By any measure, their young roster surpassed expectations.
Redshirt freshman Desmond Ridder threw a career-high four touchdown passes in the first half, and Cincinnati wrapped up the regular season with 10 victories for the first time since 2012, routing East Carolina 56-6 on Friday.
In other games Friday:
— In his final home game, Missouri quarterback Drew Lock rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Tigers (8-4, 4-4 in SEC) beat Arkansas 38-0. Lock completed 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards, surpassing the 3,000-yard mark for the third straight season. Emanuel Hall caught both touchdown passes and finished with six receptions for 153 yards. Larry Rountree rushed 29 times for 119 yards to exceed 1,000 yards for the season. It was a forgettable end to a difficult debut season for Arkansas coach Chad Morris. The Razorbacks (2-10, 0-8) managed just 187 total yards. Freshman Connor Noland replaced Storey in the second quarter and completed 5 of 17 passes for 98 yards.
— Miguel Recinos drilled a 41-yard field goal through a driving rain as time expired and Iowa beat Nebraska 31-28 in Iowa City despite blowing a 15-point lead. Mekhi Sargent ran for a career-high 173 yards and scored twice for the Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten), who have won four straight over the Cornhuskers (4-8, 3-6) for the first time.
UPDATES:
5:25 p.m.: This roundup has been updated with the Central Florida-South Florida game.
This roundup was originally published at 3:15 p.m.
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