College Football Scores 2015: Top 25 Teams' Week 12 Results, Key Stats and Stars
No. 9 Michigan State delivered one of the shock results of the year Saturday, beating No. 3 Ohio State 17-14 on a Michael Geiger field goal as time expired.
ESPN's College GameDay provided a look at the winning kick:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The loss ends Ohio State's win streak at 23 games and deals a near-fatal blow to the Buckeyes' chances at another national championship. The Spartans are very much in the College Football Playoff hunt with the win. The defense put in a monstrous effort, holding Ohio State to just 132 yards of total offense.
CFB on ESPN Radio passed along an optimistic comment from Michigan State quarterback Tyler O'Connor after the win:
The result also opens the door for the likes of No. 5 Iowa, who won big over Purdue, and perhaps even No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Oklahoma, pending their results later Saturday against No. 10 Baylor and No. 18 TCU, respectively.
Several games involving Top 25 teams came down to the wire, including overtime wins for No. 8 Florida and No. 17 North Carolina.
Here are the scores, key stats and top players from each Top 25 game as of 8 p.m. ET. Rankings are based on the College Football Playoff poll from November 17.
| Wake Forest | 13-33 | No. 1 Clemson | Deshaun Watson (CLEM): 24-of-35, 343 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT; 10 CAR, 44 YDS, 1 TD | Clemson plus-two in turnovers but held Wake Forest to 152 yards of total offense |
| Charleston Southern | 6-56 | No. 2 Alabama | Jake Coker (ALA): 11-of-13, 155 YDS, 2 TD | Alabama 49 points in first half, 28 of them in first quarter |
| Chattanooga | 13-52 | No. 14 Florida State | Dalvin Cook (FSU): 15 CAR, 106 YDS, 2 TD | FSU outgained Chattanooga 428-275 in total yards |
| Purdue | 20-40 | No. 5 Iowa | C.J. Beathard (IOWA): 12-of-20, 213 YDS, 3 TD | Purdue 5-of-8 on fourth down, but only four of 12 drives made it into red zone |
| Florida Atlantic | 14-20 (OT) | No. 8 Florida | Kelvin Taylor (UF): 25 CAR, 98 YDS, 1 TD | FAU 5-of-19 on third downs, held to 4.8 yards per pass |
| No. 12 Michigan | 28-16 | Penn State | Taco Charlton (MICH): 3 TFL, 2 sacks | Penn State held to 207 yards of total offense |
| No. 17 North Carolina | 30-27 (OT) | Virginia Tech | Elijah Hood (UNC): 17 CAR, 115 YDS, 2 TD | Both teams committed three turnovers, picked up 22 first downs; UNC 445 yards to VT's 403 |
| No. 21 Memphis | 12-31 | Temple | P.J. Walker (TEMP): 14-of-26, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT | Memphis 2.2 yards per carry, 232 total yards |
| No. 9 Michigan State | 17-14 | No. 3 Ohio State | MSU Defense | Ohio State 132 yards of total offense, five first downs |
| No. 20 Northwestern | 13-7 | No. 25 Wisconsin | Justin Jackson (NW): 35 CAR, 139 YDS, 1 TD | Wisconsin committed five turnovers (three fumbles, two interceptions) |
| No. 19 Houston | 17-20 | Connecticut | Noel Thomas (CONN): 7 REC, 108 YDS, 2 TD | Houston four turnovers, Connecticut none |
| No. 24 USC | 28-48 | No. 23 Oregon | Vernon Adams Jr. (ORE): 20-of-25, 407 YDS, 6 TD, 1 INT | Oregon 578 yards total offense |
| UCLA | 17-9 | No. 13 Utah | Paul Perkins (UCLA): 28 CAR, 98 YDS, 1 TD | Utah minus-two in turnovers, one fumble lost with less than two minutes left in game |
| No. 15 LSU | 17-38 | No. 22 Ole Miss | Chad Kelly (MISS): 19-of-34, 280 YDS, 2 TD; 12 CAR, 81 YDS, 2 TD | LSU plus-two in turnovers, 13 penalties for 95 yards |
Top Stars from Early Saturday Games
Vernon Adams Jr., QB, Oregon
Senior quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. put together what was easily his best performance of the season Saturday, tossing six touchdown passes in the Ducks' 48-28 win over Pac-12 rival USC. No quarterback has ever been so prolific against USC, per SportsCenter:
Adams' accuracy was truly stunning. He threw just five incompletions as he carved up the Trojans secondary. SB Nation's Dan Rubenstein was a particularly big fan of his downfield efforts:
"Vernon Adams’s deep ball gives me feelings.
— Dan Rubenstein (@DanRubenstein) November 21, 2015"
Check out one of Adams' swoon-worthy touchdown passes, courtesy of the team's official Twitter account:
Adams has really made his mark in the latter half of the season after recovering from early injuries. He threw four touchdowns apiece against Arizona State and Cal in Weeks 9 and 10. Thanks to his efforts, Oregon is on a five-game win streak and in great shape for yet another Top 25 finish. With performances like these, Ducks fans might be left wondering "what if?" at the end of the season.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
Deshaun Watson burnished his Heisman trophy credentials in Week 12, accounting for four touchdowns in Clemson's somewhat pedestrian but entirely predictable 33-13 win over Wake Forest.
As the team's official Twitter account noted, he picked up a good chunk of his numbers in the first quarter:
Watson cooled off after the first quarter, having already dealt the damage necessary to defeat the Demon Deacons. He did throw two interceptions in the game, but they hardly hurt his side.
With a few other high-profile Heisman contenders doing little to stand out Saturday, the winning, prolific performance from Watson could prove to be a major bump for the sophomore in the race for the stiff-arming prize. He already has at least one high-profile endorsement, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press:
Derrick Henry had just 68 yards and two touchdowns as Alabama gave everyone time to breathe in a romping win over Charleston Southern. Heisman voters might forgive this game for Henry as his team hardly needed him against a cupcake opponent, but it will limit his year-end totals.
Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott managed just 33 yards and one score Saturday, while LSU's Leonard Fournette went scoreless against Ole Miss, although he did pick up 182 all-purpose yards.
The trophy is still very much up in the air. There is hardly a true front-runner in this race. However, Watson's team is undefeated, and he has done most of his best work in the latter half of the season. If recency bias takes hold, Watson could emerge as the Heisman winner when all is said and done.
Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss
Let's round this out with another top-drawer display from a quarterback. Chad Kelly trounced the LSU Tigers Saturday, throwing for two touchdowns while picking up two more with his feet in a resounding 38-17 Rebels win. Per the SEC Network, Kelly broke a legendary Rebels single-season record on the day:
Ole Miss Football also noted that Kelly now has the single-season record for total yards with 3,713.
He had little trouble moving the chains against an LSU squad that came into the game ranked 28th in total defense. He did well to spread the ball around, with eight different Rebels catching passes. Evan Engram ranked sixth on Ole Miss in receptions coming into the game, but he led the team with five catches for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Standout wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was a major beneficiary of Kelly's passing excellence (no surprise there), picking up 58 yards and a score of his own to match Engram. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller commented on Kelly's play:
Kelly may not be an NFL talent, but he's almost certainly the best quarterback in the SEC. With their gunner in fine form, the Rebels have to like their chances next week against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
