Keelon Russell battled through an ankle injury to throw three touchdown passes and lead No. 3 Alabama to a 21-6 Southeastern Conference win over Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.
Russell was named the starter just before kickoff after practicing sparingly during the week. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 217 yards and one interception. During Alabama's three-game winning streak, Russell has thrown nine touchdown passes with two interceptions.
Lotzeir Brooks, who entered the game with one touchdown catch this season, caught five passes for 62 yards and two scores, while Daniel Hill rushed for 89 yards for the Crimson Tide (8-2, 6-2 SEC).
Jared Curtis completed 25 of 40 passes for 223 yards for Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-6), which has lost six of its past seven. Junior Sherrill caught seven passes for 100 yards for the Commodores, who were hampered by 14 penalties for 92 yards.
No. 7 Miami 36, Duke 25
Darian Mensah threw for 382 yards and a touchdown against his former team and Javian Mallory ran for two scores to help the Hurricanes rebound with an Atlantic Coast Conference win over the visiting Blue Devils.
Miami (9-1, 7-0 ACC) can clinch a berth in the conference championship game with a Louisville loss later Saturday. Mensah completed 30 of 41 passes and recorded his fifth 300-yard passing game despite being limited to one touchdown pass for the second time this season.
Duke (7-3, 4-3) had its three-game winning streak snapped despite another all-around performance from Heisman Trophy candidate Nate Sheppard. He rushed for 131 yards and two scores on 16 carries and added a two-point conversion run. He also caught 12 passes for 93 yards and completed two passes for 16 yards. He broke the program's single-season rushing record with a 47-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
No. 13 Wake Forest 49, SMU 7
Gio Lopez ran for two short touchdowns and passed for a score as the Demon Deacons built a huge early lead and rolled over the Mustangs in Dallas.
Wake Forest (9-1, 6-1 ACC) led 42-0 at halftime en route to handing SMU its first ACC home loss in its two seasons in the conference.
Lopez passed for 201 yards and rushed for 34. Carlos Hernandez had six receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Ty Clark III ran for 77 yards and a score on 11 carries as Wake Forest totaled 535 yards of offense.
SMU (7-3, 5-3) committed three turnovers and scored only on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Jennings to Yannick Smith in the third quarter. Jennings completed 22 of 35 passes for 209 yards and was intercepted once.
No. 20 Ohio State 28, Northwestern 19
Jeremiah Smith broke the Big Ten record for career receiving yardage and caught his 15th touchdown pass of the season as the Buckeyes snapped their two-game losing streak with the Big Ten win in Columbus, Ohio.
Smith caught 11 passes for 117 yards to push his career total to 3,875 yards. He broke the record owned by Purdue's John Standeford with a 22-yard catch in the first quarter. Luke Fahey hit 20 of 31 passes for 201 yards and a career-high three touchdown passes for Ohio State (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten) while Bo Jackson added 114 rushing yards and one score.
Northwestern quarterback Nicco Marchiol, making his second straight start for the injured Aidan Chiles, was 18 of 31 for 225 yards and a score. Caleb Komolafe rushed for 54 yards for the Wildcats (6-4, 3-4), who lost their third straight game.
--Field Level Media