Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Mikey Keene threw two touchdown passes, Bryson Donelson had a career-high 150 yards rushing and a TD on 13 carries Saturday night and Fresno State beat Colorado State 28-22.

Colorado State (7-4, 5-1 Mountain West) fell into a tie for second with No. 24 UNLV in the conference standings behind No. 12 Boise State — which will host the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 6.

Donelson, a freshman, went into the game with 199 yards rushing this season, including his previous season high of 58 yards in the season opener. Keene was 20-of-28 passing for 181 yards with no interceptions. Mac Dalena finished with seven receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown for Fresno State (6-5, 4-3 Mountain West Conference).

Justin Marshall capped a 12-play, 77-yard opening drive that took nearly 6 1/2 minutes off the clock with a 10-yard TD for the Rams and finished with 94 yards rushing.

Donelson ran for a 21 yards and Keene hit Raylen Sharpe for a 38-yard gain to set up a 16-yard TD run by Donelson to make it 7-7. Joshua Wood followed with a 4-yard scoring run before Dalena caught a 28-yard touchdown pass with 3:18 left in the second quarter and Keene hit Jalen Moss for a 15-yard TD less than 3 minutes later that gave the Bulldogs a 28-7 lead at halftime.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi ran for a 9-yard TD late in the third quarter, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Person and then hit Vince Brown II for the 2-point conversion to trim Colorado State’s deficit to 28-22 with 17 seconds left.

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We could be headed for a four-way tie atop the Big 12 entering the final week of the regular season.

No. 16 Colorado lost 37-21 at Kansas on Saturday while No. 14 BYU lost 28-23 at No. 21 Arizona State in an absolutely chaotic finish.

The Buffaloes’ defense was gashed by Kansas RB Devin Neal. The senior who grew up not far from the University of Kansas campus had 287 total yards and four touchdowns as Colorado’s defense gave up big play after big play.

BYU scored 20 points in the second half but its comeback attempt was foiled with 1:04 to go when Jake Retzlaff’s overthrown pass was intercepted by Javan Robinson. The defensive back returned the ball 64 yards before he was tackled inside the BYU 10-yard line to seal the game. Or so we thought.

Instead of trying to score the TD and get a two-score lead, Arizona State inexplicably tried to run the clock out. Sam Leavitt’s pass to try to end the game landed in the stands with one second to go. That gave BYU a Hail Mary attempt from its own 44 yard-line because Leavitt ran backward on second down to burn time.

The final play was delayed over 10 minutes because of a replay review and because the field needed to be cleared of the students who rushed it thinking the game was over.

And BYU almost pulled off the miracle win once the field was clear. Chase Roberts caught Retzlaff’s pass, but he was tackled short of the end zone.

Colorado and BYU entered Week 13 tied atop the Big 12 at 6-1 in the conference while Arizona State and Iowa State were at 5-2. If the Cyclones win against Utah on Saturday night, all four teams will be tied at 6-2.

Kansas makes history

The Jayhawks improved to 5-6 overall (3-5 Big 12) with the win and set an FBS first. Thanks to wins over Iowa State and BYU over the previous two weeks, Kansas is the first school to ever beat three consecutive ranked teams while having a losing record.

Neal had 37 carries for 207 yards as Kansas rushed the ball 57 times for 331 yards. Colorado can be vulnerable to opponents’ run games and the Buffs can’t run the ball themselves. Colorado rushed 13 times for 42 yards.

Kansas’ run game allowed it to control the ball against the Buffaloes. Kansas had the ball for over 40 minutes as Colorado ran just 42 plays to Kansas’ 58.

Travis Hunter didn’t do anything to ruin his great chances at the Heisman in the loss. Hunter had eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns while also playing on defense.

Who has the advantage to make the Big 12 title game?

Arizona State has the best chance of anyone to make the Big 12 title game. The Sun Devils are in with a win over Arizona in Week 14.

Colorado, meanwhile, needs help if there’s a four-way tie at 7-2 and Iowa State beats both Utah and Kansas State in its final two games.

If all four teams end up tied atop the conference, the first tiebreaker would be against their common opponents of UCF, Kansas, Kansas State and Utah. Colorado is cooked in that tiebreaker with losses to the Jayhawks and Wildcats. ASU is 4-0 against those teams and Iowa State and BYU would be 3-1.

After that tiebreaker, it would progress to the winning percentage of conference opponents. In that tiebreaker, Iowa State currently has the edge.

The penultimate week of the 2024 regular season is here.

The weekend features three games between ranked teams, including two monster matchups that pit a traditional power program against a surprising contender. All eyes will be on these David vs. Goliath matchups and more.

Here’s what we’re following on Saturday. (All times are Eastern and all odds are from BetMGM.)

Time: Noon | TV: Fox | Line: Ohio State -13.5 | Total: 51.5

The College Football Playoff discussion has been unfairly dominated by Indiana’s weak strength of schedule, so here’s the Hoosiers’ chance to prove their 10-0 record is no fluke. Indiana is powered by an efficient passing offense led by fringe Heisman contender Kurtis Rourke and a defense that’s forcing nearly two turnovers per game. Indiana will have to contend with a Buckeyes team that’s giving up the fewest points per game of any team in college football.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: Colorado -3 | Total: 59.5

The Buffaloes are two wins from clinching a spot in the Big 12 title game, but the first test will be a Kansas team that just ended BYU’s perfect season. Colorado has scored at least 34 points in each of those wins as Shedeur Sanders is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Kansas (4-6) isn’t far from having a winning record as the team has lost five games by one possession.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Arizona State -3 | Total: 48.5

It’s time to start paying attention to Arizona State, which has fought its way into the Big 12 title picture thanks to an offense led by RB Cam Skattebo and his 1,500-plus all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. BYU can still make the conference title game with two more wins despite last week’s loss to Kansas. The loser of this game is on the outside looking in.

Time: 7 p.m. | TV: NBC | Line: Notre Dame -14.5 | Total: 44.5

How long can Army (9-0) keep its magical season going against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium? The Black Knights’ triple-option offense is not built to post a quick comeback, but they’ve given up just 10 points per game this season, albeit against a manageable schedule. Notre Dame isn’t far behind, giving up 11.4 ppg. This game is likely a playoff eliminator, so the stakes are sky high.

Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Texas A&M -2.5 | Total: 46.5

The Tigers are 1-5 in the SEC this season and need to beat both Texas A&M and Alabama to make a bowl game. A&M is tied with Texas atop the SEC and needs the win to make next week’s rivalry game a semifinal for the SEC title game. Can Auburn play the spoiler?