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College Football Scores 2017: Top 25 Teams' Week 12 Results, Key Stats and Stars

Joe Tansey@JTansey90X.com LogoFeatured ColumnistNovember 19, 2017

ATHENS, GA - NOVEMBER 18: Nick Chubb #27 celebrates a touchdown with Isaiah Wynn #77 of the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Sanford Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
Daniel Shirey/Getty Images

In comparison to Week 11, Week 12 on the college football schedule was a dud.

Some unexpected excitement was provided in the early slate of games as the Miami Hurricanes and Auburn Tigers stumbled out of the gates before finishing off victories.

The lone upset of the afternoon came from the Kansas State Wildcats, who picked up a barnstorming victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys on the road.

Other than Kansas State's win and scares that lasted a few quarters, the teams in the Top 25 of the College Football Playoff left Week 12 unscathed.

Here's a look at some of the standout stats and top performers from the games involving ranked teams.

     

Top 25 Scores and Stats

No. 1 Alabama 56, Mercer 0: Alabama freshman linebacker Dylan Moses had 10 solo tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception, as the Crimson Tide allowed 161 total yards in the shutout.

No. 2 Clemson 61, The Citadel 3: Three Clemson quarterbacks threw for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Starter Kelly Bryant had 230 yards and three touchdowns through the air, Hunter Johnson had 144 passing yards and a touchdown and Zerrick Cooper recorded 105 passing yards and a touchdown.

No. 3 Miami 44, Virginia 28: Virginia quarterback Kurt Benkert had 384 passing yards and four touchdowns, but Miami's defense came up big with three turnovers, including a pick-six by Jaquan Johnson that helped the Hurricanes scored 30 unanswered points to close the game.

No. 4 Oklahoma 41, Kansas 3: Heisman Trophy favorite Baker Mayfield torched the Kansas defense as he hit 10 different receivers for 257 passing yards and three touchdowns.

No. 5 Wisconsin 24, No. 24 Michigan 10: The Badgers defense held Michigan's running backs to 58 yards on 37 carries. Wisconsin freshman Jonathan Taylor recorded his eighth 100-yard performance on the ground, and his third in a row.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

No. 6 Auburn 42, Louisiana-Monroe 14: Kam Martin picked up 124 total yards and scored on a rush and a reception as the Tigers cruised in the second half against the Warhawks.

No. 7 Georgia 42, Kentucky 13: Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined for 238 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 27 carries as Georgia bounced back from its Week 11 defeat to Auburn.

No. 8 Notre Dame 24, Navy 17: Kevin Stepherson caught five passes for 103 yards and found the end zone twice in the Fighting Irish's close win at Notre Dame Stadium. After rushing for 62 yards in the last two weeks, Josh Adams returned to his form from earlier in the season with 106 rushing yards.

No. 9 Ohio State 52, Illinois 14: J.T. Barrett picked up his 100th-career touchdown pass in an easy day at the office for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Barrett threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Weber cut up the Illinois defense for 108 rushing yards and a pair of scores.

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 18:  J.T. Barrett #16 of the Ohio State Buckeyes throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 18, 2017 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

No. 10 Penn State 56, Nebraska 44: Trace McSorley. Saquon Barkley and Juwan Johnson starred for the Nittany Lions in their victory over Nebraska. McSorley threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns, Barkley ran for 158 yards and three scorers and Johnson pulled in five catches for 105 yards.

No. 11 USC 28, UCLA 23: Sam Darnold came out on top in the battle of highly-rated quarterbacks at The Coliseum as he tossed for 264 yards. However, UCLA's Josh Rosen put up the better numbers with 421 passing yards and three touchdowns. 

No. 12 TCU 27, Texas Tech 3: Freshman quarterback Shawn Robinson had 85 passing yards and 84 rushing yards in place of the injured Kenny Hill. Texas Tech was held to three points at home for the first time since a 56-3 loss to Nebraska on October 14, 2000, per Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports:

Bryan Fischer @BryanDFischer

Last time Texas Tech scored three points at home? 2000 vs. Nebraska in a 56-3 loss. The QB that day? Kliff Kingsbury.

Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40: The biggest upset of Week 12 helped Kansas State become bowl eligible. The Wildcats benefited from a four-touchdown performance out of wide receiver Byron Pringle. Third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson hit Pringle three times through the air for scores and totaled 204 passing yards.

No. 15 UCF 45, Temple 19: The UCF defense picked off Temple quarterback Frank Nutile on four occasions, while Knights quarterback McKenzie Milton threw for four touchdowns, marking the third time this season he's thrown for four or more scores in a game.

No. 16 Mississippi State 28, Arkansas 21: Nick Fitzgerald carried the Bulldogs back from a potential upset in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as he threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner to Deddrick Thomas. He also carried 22 times for 101 rushing yards and another touchdown.

No. 17 Michigan State 17, Maryland 7: LJ Scott was the star on a rainy afternoon in East Lansing, Michigan, as he picked up 147 yards on the ground and a touchdown in a game where the Michigan State Spartans completed two passes.

No. 18 Washington 33, Utah 30: Jake Browning averaged 10.1 yards per completion in Washington's late victory over Utah. Browning ended with 354 passing yards, 114 of which went to Myles Gaskin, who was also the Huskies' leading rusher with 52 yards. 

SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 18:  Quarterback Jake Browning #3 of the Washington Huskies passes against the Utah Utes at Husky Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Seattle, Washington.  (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Wake Forest 30, No. 19 NC State 24: Tabari Hines reeled in eight catches for 139 yards and three touchdowns in Wake Forest's upset of in-state rival NC State. The Demon Deacons had to find success through the air as the Wolfpack defense held them to 87 rushing yards on 28 carries. 

No. 20 LSU 30, Tennessee 10: Devin White led the way for the Tigers with 11 tackles in a defensive performance that limited Tennessee to 38 rushing yards. LSU's ground game totaled 200 yards and four touchdowns. Two of the scores came from Darrel Williams. 

No. 21 Memphis 66, SMU 45: Memphis clinched the AAC West Division behind seven rushing touchdowns, three of which came from Riley Ferguson. The Tigers were balanced on offense with 333 rushing yards and 331 gained through the air.

No. 22 Stanford 17, Cal 14: Bryce Love continued to pave his path toward a spot at the Heisman Trophy ceremony with 101 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown in Stanford's rivalry victory. The top gainer on the ground in this game was Cal's Patrick Laird, who recorded 153 yards on 20 carries. 

No. 23 Northwestern 39, Minnesota 0: Northwestern extended its winning streak to six games with its largest shutout victory in a Big Ten game since 1970, per Big Ten Network Stats Guys:

BTNStatsGuys @BTNStatsGuys

.@NUFBFamily records its largest shutout win in a #BigTen game since defeating Illinois 48-0 in 1970. #Northwestern #Wildcats

No. 25 Boise State 44, Air Force 19: A.J. Richardson and Cedrick Wilson each eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark as Brett Rypien tossed for 300 yards and and three touchdowns in Boise State's Mountain West win.      

Week 12 Stars

Kansas State WR Byron Pringle

Not only did Kansas State go into Stillwater, Oklahoma, and win, the Wildcats did so in dominant fashion for three quarters.

The advantage built up by Pringle and the K-State offense helped the Wildcats survive a late comeback bid led by Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph.

HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 28:  Byron Pringle #9 of the Kansas State Wildcats celebrates after a 79 yard touchdown reception against the Texas A&M Aggies in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl on December 28, 2016 in Houston, Texas.  (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Bob Levey/Getty Images

The junior receiver hauled in four passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns, and he added an 89-yard kickoff return for a score in the second quarter.

Pringle's receiving yard total was his career high, and it marked the first time he topped 100 yards since Week 1's win over Central Arkansas in which he picked up 121 receiving yards.

     

Penn State RB Saquon Barkley

Barkley shook off the struggles of the last three weeks to record his fourth triple-digit rushing yard performance of the season for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Barkley started his day with a 65-yard touchdown run 57 seconds into the contest. He followed that up with scores from eight and one yards out.

The third touchdown of the game for Barkley broke Penn State's all-time rushing touchdowns record. Big Ten Network provided us with a look at the junior's 39th-career run for a score:

Big Ten Network @BigTenNetwork

.@saquonb21 now has 🐐 status among all-time @PennStateFball running backs. His 39th career rushing TD just set the program record: https://t.co/BfUwjwsJqX

     

Georgia RB Nick Chubb

Chubb's Senior Day at Georgia won't be forgotten soon. The star running back helped the Bulldogs cruise to another win over an SEC East opponent with 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Chubb became the fifth player in SEC history to run for 1,000 yards in three seasons, per SEC Network:

SEC Network @SECNetwork

Nick Chubb is the 5th player in @SEC history to record three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. https://t.co/XwseLqCQc7

The Georgia senior's performance was his best of the season, and it was his fifth 100-yard showing for the seventh-ranked Bulldogs.

     

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.