College Football Roundup | Alabama ends drought

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Already No. 1 in the nation, Alabama emphatically reclaimed the top spot in the state.

Glen Coffee rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown and Nick Saban's Crimson Tide snapped a six-year Iron Bowl losing streak with a 36-0 win over bitter rival Auburn on Saturday, the biggest margin in the series in 46 years.

The dominant win set the stage for Alabama (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) to face No. 2 Florida in the league championship game with a berth in the BCS national-title game on the line.

Other games

No. 2 Florida 45, at No. 23 Florida State 15

Tim Tebow threw three touchdown passes, and ran for 80 yards and another score.

Florida (11-1) extended its winning streak to eight games, continued its dominance in the intrastate rivalry and set up a 1-2 showdown with Alabama in Saturday's SEC title game.

The Gators have won five in a row against Bobby Bowden's team, and this one was nearly as big a laugher as last season's 45-12 victory in Gainesville.

Florida scored on five of its first seven possessions, held the Seminoles (8-4) without a touchdown for the first 2 ½ quarters and again proved that the gap between the two programs is as wide as ever.

Florida could be without leading receiver Percy Harvin for the SEC title game.

Harvin sprained his right ankle, and coach Urban Meyer called him questionable for the title game.

At No. 7 Texas Tech 35, Baylor 28

Graham Harrell capped a 21-point rally for Texas Tech with a touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter and the Red Raiders kept their hopes for a Big 12 South title alive.

The Red Raiders now must wait to see if they represent the South against Big 12 North champ Missouri in the conference championship game Saturday.

Oklahoma's win created a three-way tie for the Big 12 South with Texas and Texas Tech, leaving it to today's BCS standings to determine which team will play the Tigers in Kansas City, Mo. The Red Raiders have little hope of coming out on top in that scenario.

Texas Tech (11-1, 7-1) won 11 games in a season for the third time in the program's 84 years. But if things don't fall right, the Red Raiders' reward could be nothing more than a Cotton Bowl bid, left out of the BCS in favor of the Longhorns and Sooners.

Kansas 40, No. 12 Missouri 37

In Kansas City, Mo., Todd Reesing threw a touchdown pass to Kerry Meier with 27 seconds left.

The Tigers will still play for the Big 12 title, but they'll do so coming off a hard-fought loss to their border rivals.

The Jayhawks (7-5, 4-4) led by 16 early in the third quarter, let Missouri (9-3, 5-3) back in it, then traded touchdowns with the Tigers in the fourth quarter before Reesing hit Meier.

Reesing finished 37 for 51 for 375 yards with two interceptions, throwing two touchdown passes to Meier and one each to Dezmon Briscoe and Dexton Fields.

Missouri's Chase Daniel had 391 total yards and threw for four touchdowns, but also had two interceptions and a fumble and was sacked for a safety.

No. 18 Georgia Tech 45, at No. 13 Georgia 42

Georgia Tech had not beaten Georgia since 2000, and it wasn't looking good when the Yellow Jackets trailed by 16 points at halftime.

Then Roddy Jones and the triple-option offense went to work.

Jones rushed a career-best 214 yards, including a decisive 54-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and Georgia Tech rallied to snap a seven-game losing streak against its state rival.

The cold, rainy day wasn't a total victory for the visiting team: Virginia Tech denied the Yellow Jackets a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 17-14 victory over Virginia.

But Georgia Tech (9-3) celebrated anyway, gathering in front of its small contingent at Sanford Stadium to sing the school fight song while the red-clad Georgia fans headed to the exits, a season that started at No. 1 winding down far short of expectations.

After building a 28-12 halftime lead, the Bulldogs (9-3) simply had no answer for Georgia Tech's unique offense, which piled up 409 yards on the ground. Jones, a redshirt freshman, averaged 16.5 yards per carry and scored twice, including the long run that gave Georgia Tech a 45-35 lead with 7:13 remaining.

At No. 16 Cincinnati 30, Syracuse 10

With the Big East championship already in hand, Cincinnati turned its final home game into a ho-hum win that matched a school record.

Tony Pike threw a pair of touchdown passes, and the Bearcats' senior-laden defense had its way in the Orange's final game under coach Greg Robinson.

The Bearcats (10-2, 6-1) are headed to a BCS bowl — likely the Orange or Sugar — for the first time in their history. They clinched the spot when West Virginia lost at Pittsburgh on Friday, taking the drama out of the last home game a day later.

The Bearcats tied the school record with their 10th win, the second straight season they've reached the mark. Cincinnati has a game left in Hawaii before heading to its bowl.

The Orange (3-9, 1-6) is headed for an offseason of change. Syracuse went 10-47 in Robinson's four seasons, including 3-25 in the Big East. He was fired on Nov. 16, effective the end of the season, and the Orange responded by rallying in the fourth quarter to beat Notre Dame 24-23 in South Bend last week.

At No. 20 Boston College 28, Maryland 21

Billy Flutie, the Boston College backup quarterback and nephew of Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, threw for a 9-yard touchdown on a fake field goal to lead the Eagles to a spot in the ACC championship.

BC (9-3, 5-3) will play Virginia Tech on Saturday — the second consecutive year the former Big East foes will play for the ACC's spot in the Orange Bowl.

Maryland (7-5, 4-4) fell to 4-1 against ranked teams this season and into a logjam of ACC teams seeking a secondary bowl berth — the conference has 10 teams competing for nine guaranteed spots.