Top 25: No. 4 Missouri takes down No. 2 Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Unthinkable in September, Missouri is one victory away from playing for its first national championship.

Chase Daniel threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns and the third-ranked Tigers ruined No. 2 Kansas' unbeaten season Saturday night with a 36-28 victory in the biggest game either school ever played.

As Big 12 North champions, the surprising Tigers (11-1, 7-1 Big 12) will head to San Antonio and a date in the Big 12 championship game with No. 10 Oklahoma, the only team to beat them this season. A victory there will almost certainly propel Missouri into the national championship game on Jan. 7.

The game between the bitter archrivals drew 80,537, the second-biggest crowd in the 35-year history of Arrowhead Stadium.

No. 4 West Virginia 66, No. 20 Connecticut 21: In Morgantown, W.Va., Pat White has No. 4 West Virginia on the brink of playing for a national championship.

White rushed for 186 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 66-21 win over No. 20 Connecticut on Saturday night, clinching the Big East championship and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

With one more win next week against Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers might be headed to the biggest BCS game of all—the championship game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

West Virginia (10-1, 5-1 Big East) will move up at least one spot to second in the BCS standings on Sunday following top-ranked LSU's loss to Arkansas on Friday.

No. 8 Virginia Tech 33, No. 16 Virginia 21: In Charlottesville, Va., Sean Glennon threw for 260 yards and the other half of Virginia Tech's quarterback rotation, Tyrod Taylor, ran for two touchdowns, as the Hokies earned a spot in the ACC championship game.

The Hokies (10-2, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got a season-high 147 yards rushing from Branden Ore and six catches for 147 yards and a touchdown from Eddie Royal. They won their fourth straight in the series and earned a rematch with No. 15 Boston College in next Saturday's conference title game in Jacksonville, Fla.

Jameel Sewell ran for two touchdowns for Virginia (9-3, 6-2), which would have gone to the conferenece title game with a victory.

UCLA 16, No. 9 Oregon 0: In Pasadena, Calif., the Oregon Ducks were down to a pair of redshirt freshmen to play quarterback.

Those players gave the once-mighty Ducks absolutely no chance against UCLA.

And with that, their hopes of returning to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day came to an end.

Freshman Kai Forbath kicked three field goals, including a career-long 54-yarder, and the Bruins took advantage of No. 9 Oregon's plight to hand the Ducks a 16-0 setback Saturday — their first shutout loss in more than 22 years.

Oregon (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10) had been bounced out of the national championship picture Nov. 15, when Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon left in the first quarter of a 34-24 loss at Arizona with a torn knee ligament.

No. 19 Tennessee 52, Kentucky 50: In Lexington, Ky., Tennessee is back on top in the SEC East.

The Volunteers stuffed a scrambling Andre Woodson on a 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth overtime to secure a 52-50 victory against Kentucky on Saturday.

No. 19 Tennessee's 23rd straight win over the Wildcats handed the Volunteers (9-3, 6-2) the division title and a shot at LSU in next week's SEC title game.

Tennessee and Georgia finished tied atop the East, but the Volunteers earned the title thanks to their 35-14 win over the Bulldogs on Oct. 6.

Erik Ainge threw for a career-high 397 yards and seven touchdowns and running back Arian Foster had 216 total yards for the Volunteers.

Woodson matched Ainge throw for throw, throwing for 430 yards and six touchdowns, but the Wildcats (7-5, 3-5) let a chance to beat the Vols for the first time since 1984 get away.

Friday’s games

Arkansas 50, No. 1 LSU 48, 3OT: In Baton Rouge, La., Darren McFadden stole the show.

Despite all of LSU's talent and flair for the dramatic, the Tigers rarely seemed comfortable with life at the top.

Done in by another Heisman Trophy hopeful in another triple-overtime defeat, LSU will lose its No. 1 ranking for the second time this season, and likely the last.

McFadden rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and even threw for another score to lift Arkansas to a 50-48 victory over LSU on Friday.

LSU still has a good shot to play a bowl game in New Orleans, but not the one they wanted—the BCS championship on Jan. 7.

The Tigers (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) had already clinched the SEC West Division and will move on to the conference title game in Atlanta on Dec. 1.

Texas A&M 38, No. 13 Texas 30: In College Station, Texas, Dennis Franchione gave Texas A&M another victory over Texas. Then the embattled coach handed in his resignation.

While there were no Big 12 titles or bowl victories in Franchione's five seasons, his tenure ended on a high note, a 38-30 victory over 13th-ranked Texas that gave the Aggies consecutive wins over their hated rival.

Then, Franchione announced he was resigning. He accepted a buyout from the school.

"I've always said that coaches exist for only one reason—the players," he said. "We want them to know that we love them, feel blessed for our time together, and will miss them."

No. 14 Hawaii 39, No. 17 Boise State 27: In Honolulu, Hawaii is trying to replace Boise State as latest BCS upstart from the Western Athletic Conference.

After winning its first outright WAC title, Hawaii is on the verge of going 12-0 and possibly earning a BCS berth to prove itself against a big-name school. All things Boise State accomplished last season.

"To be here 11-0 with a ring and the WAC championship, it seems like a fairy tale," said Colt Brennan, who threw five touchdown passes to break the major college career record as No. 14 Hawaii beat No. 17 Boise State 39-27 Friday night.

Like during the Broncos' magical run, the Warriors have faced plenty of critics who believe they don't belong among the nation's elite teams. That could change soon.

Brennan, a week after sitting out because of a concussion, finished 40-for-53 for 495 yards for the Warriors (11-0, 8-0), who set a school record with 12 straight wins and denied the Broncos (10-2, 7-1) a sixth straight conference championship.

Thursday’s game

No. 11 USC 44, No. 7 Arizona State 24: In Tempe, Pete Carroll is still an optimist.

So even after his Southern California team lost twice, including an unimaginable upset by Stanford, the coach kept insisting the Trojans had a shot at the Rose Bowl.

The 11th-ranked Trojans made that clear in a 44-24 rout of No. 7 Arizona State on Thursday night, reviving their bid for an unprecedented sixth straight Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth. John David Booty threw for 375 yards and matched a career high with four touchdown passes, and the Trojans defense dominated.

Southern California (9-2, 6-2 Pac-10) will win the Pac-10 if it beats UCLA on Dec. 1 and Oregon loses to UCLA or Oregon State.

The Trojans need help to earn a trip to Pasadena. They needed no help in dismantling the Sun Devils (9-2, 6-2).

© 2007 The Associated Press