College Football

College football Week 12 top plays: Utah, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame win big

Updated Nov. 21, 2021 11:05 a.m. ET

Week 12 of the college football season started off with a bang and it ended the same way.

No. 9 Oklahoma State went on the road and shut out Texas Tech 23-0, and in Salt Lake City, the No. 23 Utah Utes shook up the College Football Playoff picture after dominating the No. 3 Oregon Ducks 38-7.

In the afternoon, No. 2 Alabama narrowly took down No. 25 Arkansas 42-35 in an SEC clash in Tuscaloosa to claim the SEC West title and its 15th-straight win over the Razorbacks.

Earlier, a much-anticipated Big Ten showdown between No. 7 Michigan State and No. 4 Ohio State kicked things off. But it was all Buckeyes from start to finish as Heisman hopeful C.J. Stroud led OSU to a commanding 56-7 win over the Spartans. Then, No. 13 Oklahoma earned a hard-fought 28-21 victory over Iowa State.

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In other action, No. 8 Notre Dame held Georgia Tech scoreless in a 55-0 blowout victory, No. 1 Georgia is 11-0 for the first time since 1982 after a 56-7 victory over Charleston Southern, and Clemson upset No. 10 Wake Forest 48-37 for the Tigers' 34th straight home win.

Here are the top moments from Saturday's action.

No. 23 Utah 38, No. 3 Oregon 7

Hot start

Utah went 83 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead over Oregon in the first quarter.

Rise to the occasion

Utes QB Cameron Rising took it in himself on this short run to extend Utah's lead over the Ducks in the second.

When it rains, it pours

Utah continued to dominate the Ducks, thanks to a short run from Tavion Thomas — his second of the night.

But the Utes didn't stop there. As time expired, Britain Covey returned Oregon's punt 78 yards for a TD as Utah jumped out to a 28-0 lead at the break.

Oregon wasn't able to get on the board in the first half after two failed field goal attempts, including one that was blocked by the Utes early on.

The Ducks have never overcome more than a 21-point deficit to win in the program's 126-year history.

Avoiding the shutout

Oregon finally found the end zone in the third when Anthony Brown launched this bomb to Devon Williams.

Third time's the charm!

Thomas punched in this third score of the night as the Utes went up 35-7, sealing Oregon's fate.

No. 2 Alabama 42, No. 25 Arkansas 35

Making waves

The Crimson Tide rolled right into the end zone when Bryce Young found one of his favorite targets, John Metchie III.

Staying sharp

The Razorbacks returned the favor, as KJ Jefferson connected with Treylon Burks for six to cap off a five-minute, 96-yard drive to get Arkansas on the board.

Smooth sailing

Young went 79 yards on a single play when he dropped this dime to Jameson Williams, as Alabama took a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter.

Williams is the first player in Alabama history with four receiving TDs of 75-plus yards in a single season.

Double trouble

The Tide added another score ahead of the break when Young found Williams once again, this time for a 32-yard score.

Young is just the third player in school history to reach 35 touchdowns in a season behind Tua Tagovailoa (43 in 2018) and Mac Jones (41 in 2020).

Within arm's reach

Arkansas cut Alabama’s lead in the second half when Burks broke out for this 66-yard run, good for his second TD of the game.

Bag of tricks

The Razorbacks were relentless in their pursuit of The Tide, making it a six-point game early in the final frame on this trick play, as Arkansas punter Reid Bauer launched this pass 32 yards to TE Blake Kern for a TD.

Misfortune strikes

What was nearly another touchdown pass for Alabama turned into a fumble recovery at the 1-yard line for Arkansas, which got the ball back with 8:52 to play.

Bouncing back

Alabama wouldn't go down without a fight, and Young found Williams for the third time to solidify The Tide's lead as the minutes ticked down.

Too little, too late

The Razorbacks added a late score, but it wasn't enough to pull off a comeback, and things ended there.

No. 4 Ohio State 56, No. 7 Michigan State 7

Set the tone

Stroud drove the Buckeyes 86 yards down the field for the game's opening touchdown, finding his old reliable target, wideout Chris Olave, with a dime up the middle.

With his 34th career receiving TD for Ohio State, Olave tied David Boston's all-time record for the school.

Olave started the drive with a false start to make it a 91-yard drive in totality, but that snag in the end zone was one heck of a way to make up for the early error.

Keep it rolling

Stroud kept dealing on Ohio State's second possession, hitting Garrett Wilson for this 77-yard TD.

Alone at the top

After tying Boston’s record for receiving TDs, it didn’t take long for Olave to take sole possession of the honor, as the Buckeyes continued to pour it on against the Spartans.

Stroud continued his dominant performance, fishing with 432 yards and tying a school record with six touchdown passes as the Buckeyes cruised to a 56-7 victory, marking the largest margin-of-victory by any team in this series.

No. 8 Oklahoma 28, Iowa State 21

To the house

After Iowa State scored on its opening possession, the Sooners answered right back with a highlight-reel scramble from quarterback Caleb Williams on their second play of the game.

QB option magic! Caleb Williams FOOLS Cyclones defense en route to elusive 74-yard touchdown

The Oklahoma Sooners quickly evened up the score against the Iowa State Cyclones, thanks to Caleb Williams' 74-yard rushing touchdown early in the first quarter.

Rumbling run

When Gus Johnson is on the call, you know there's going to be excitement.

Well, it doesn't get much more exciting than a defensive lineman picking up a loose ball and making a house call.

Jalen Redmond's scoop and score gives Oklahoma 14-7 lead before halftime

Jalen Redmond picks up the Brock Purdy fumble and takes it back for a touchdown.

After Key Lawrence stripped the ball away from a scrambling Brock Purdy, the 279-pound Jalen Redmond was on the spot for the scoop and score, giving OU a 14-7 lead just before the half.

The Williams connection

Williams has been far from perfect, but the Sooners' QB was able to escape pressure and hook up with fellow freshman Mario Williams on this play late in the third quarter.

Caleb Williams finds Mario Williams to put Oklahoma up by two touchdowns

Caleb Williams hits Mario Williams for a touchdown to give the Oklahoma Sooners a 21-7 lead over the Iowa State Cyclones.

Purdy hooked up with TE Charlie Kolar for a two-yard score with just under three minutes remaining to make it 28-21. After the Cyclones forced a punt, Purdy drove them down the field with a chance to tie the game, but Oklahoma's Pat Fields came up with a clutch interception on fourth down to seal the win for the Sooners.

THE BEST OF THE REST:

Better late than never

After getting off to a slow start, Oklahoma State got on the board in the second half thanks to this grab from John Paul Richardson.

Spencer Sanders found John Paul Richardson in the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown.

Oklahoma State leads the Texas Tech Red Raiders 13-0 in the second quarter.

Seeing double

Boise State blocked not one, but two of New Mexico's punts in the first half of Saturday's contest.

Kekaula Kaniho blocks the punt and Tyreque takes it to the house for the touchdown to give Boise State an early lead

Kekaula Kaniho blocked New Mexico's punt to give Boise State an early 7-0 lead.

Boise State blocks its second punt of the game, this time by Dylan Herberg for a touchdown as they lead 17-0.

The Boise State Broncos blocked its second punt of the night, this time by Dylan Herberg who took it into the end zone for a touchdown.

The Last Dance

Matt Corral — in his last home game — and the No. 12 Rebels didn't waste any time going up over a visiting Vanderbilt squad.

On Ole Miss' opening drive, RB Jerrion Ealy showed off some fancy footwork on his way to the end zone. Then, the Rebels continued to pile it on when Corral connected with Dontario Drummond on this catch and run.

And how about this fourth-quarter pick from the Rebels' defense?

Happy Feet

The Volunteers extended their lead over South Alabama on this breakout run from Tennessee's Velus Jones Jr.

Spin moves

Have a day, Tre Turner!

Setting the stage

RB Trestan Ebner, the Baylor leader in games played with 58, celebrated by scoring the game's first TD as the Bears took advantage of Kansas State's early turnover.

Trestan Ebner rushes six yards for a touchdown.

Trestan Ebner ran a hand off six yards for a touchdown putting the Baylor Bears ahead of the Kansas State Wildcats, 7-0 in the first quarter.

Comin’ through

The second frame of Saturday’s contest saw five touchdowns between Virginia and Pitt, one of those from Panthers RB Israel Abanikanda after he returned this punt 98 yards to the house.

Déjà vu

Speaking of house calls …

Socal clash

A rivalry was renewed in Southern California as the Bruins faced off with the Trojans.

Check out this moment when UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson hit RB Kazmeir Allen for a 45-yard TD to give the Bruins a double-digit lead.

Kazmeir Allen catches 45-yard touchdown pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson to give UCLA a 7-3 lead.

Kazmeir Allen scored the first touchdown for the UCLA Bruins after catching a 45-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson, giving the Bruins a 7-3 lead.

And how about this dazzling hurdle from the Bruins QB to extend UCLA's lead late in the fourth?

10 outta 10.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson hurdles a defender to register his sixth total TD of the day

Dorian Thompson-Robinson leapt over a 6-foot-2 defender to punch in a 15-yard rushing touchdown, his sixth total touchdown of the day, to give the UCLA Bruins a 55-33 lead.

One-handed

UTSA's Zakhari Franklin didn't let the pressure get to him as he reeled in this TD pass from Roadrunners QB Frank Harris.

Bad Badgers

Wisconsin opened things up against Nebraska with a 91-yard kickoff return, courtesy of Stephan Bracey.

Both teams battled back and forth all game, as Nebraska tied Wisconsin at 28-28 with 6:27 to play. But breakout RB Braelon Allen –– who was once recruited as a top defensive player for Wisconsin –– had other plans.

He went 53 yards for the go-ahead TD, marking his seventh-straight 100-yard rushing game this season.

Miraculous

How about these wild catches from Michigan wideouts Andrel Anthony Jr. and Mike Sainristil?

Lights out

The Cincinnati Bearcats were off to the races early against SMU in the first half, thanks to breakout plays like this one.

Record books

Notre Dame was clicking on all cylinders as they racked up 45 first-half points against Georgia Tech, good for the most points in a half since the Fighting Irish put up 45 points against Miami (OH) during the 2017 season.

House call

After Illinois jumped out to an early lead against Illinois, Iowa senior Charlie Jones answered back, taking a kickoff 100 yards to the house.

Charlie Jones helps Iowa score in style, goes UNTOUCHED on 100-yard kickoff return

The Iowa Hawkeyes score their first touchdown in style, thanks to Charlie Jones' 100-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter.

Slick deal

Clemson's first touchdown against Wake Forest was set up by some brilliant maneuverability by Tigers QB D.J. Uiagalelei.

It looked as though the Demon Deacons had Uiagalelei stopped twice in the backfield, but the slippery Clemson QB wiggled away from the pressure to connect with WR Beaux Collins for a 52-yard catch.

Hop to it

Will Shipley, a running back by trade, showed off his passing touch on a jump pass to tight end Davis Allen to put the Tigers up in the second quarter.