Matt Mauck threw four touchdown passes to send No. 3 LSU into the Southeastern Conference title game and keep the Tigers in contention for the national championship with a 55-24 victory over Arkansas on Friday.
Mauck threw scores of 10, 2, 22 and 37 yards to help LSU (11-1, 7-1) clinch the SEC West for the second time in three years. Mauck, who left after the third quarter, was 12-for-19 for 186 yards to give the Tigers their second 11-win season ever.
PHOTO: AP
LSU will play either Georgia, Tennessee or Florida for the conference championship next Saturday in Atlanta. With a win, the Tigers could have a chance to play for their first national championship since 1958.
LSU is currently third in the BCS standings that determine which two teams will play for the title in the Sugar Bowl but could jump ahead of Southern California with a win over a quality opponent in their season finale.
No. 6 Texas 46, Texas A&M 15
In College Station, Texas, Cedric Benson ran for 283 yards and four touchdowns and Texas strengthened its position for the school's first Bowl Championship Series bid.
Benson rushed for 205 yards in the second half against the 95th rated defense in the nation, helping the Longhorns (10-2, 7-1 Big 12) break open a game the Aggies (4-8, 2-6) kept close until the third quarter with two short touchdown drives after Texas turnovers.
Benson had 35 carries and scored on runs of 21, 4, 8 and 35 yards. He broke the record of the most rushing yards against the traditionally tough Wrecking Crew defense, surpassing former Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams' 259 yards in a Texas win in 1998.
No. 15 Miami of Ohio 56, UCF 21
In Orlando, Ben Roethlisberger completed 24 of 29 passes for five touchdowns and 327 yards, leading No. 15 Miami of Ohio to its 11th straight victory and a conference scoring record.
Miami (11-1, 8-0 Mid-American) last won this many consecutive games in 1972-1973, and posted its first undefeated conference season since 1977. The last team to win all of its MAC games was Marshall in 1999. Miami's 504 points broke the MAC's single-season scoring mark of 495, set by Toledo last year.
UCF (3-9, 2-6) finished with its worst record since 1984.
No. 25 Nebraska 31, Colorado 22
In Boulder, T.J. Hollowell's interception set up Judd Davies' 1-yard touchdown run with 5:48 left, helping No. 25 Nebraska hold off Colorado in a bid to bolster Cornhuskers coach Frank Solich's job security.
Solich has been under fire despite a 58-19 record in six seasons. The Lincoln Journal Star quoted unidentified boosters this week as saying that Solich would be forced into retirement after Friday's game.
The Huskers (9-3, 5-3 Big 12) appeared to rally around their beleaguered coach.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but