ATLANTA — Cam Newton left nothing to chance. He ran and passed the Auburn Tigers to a shot at the national championship they were denied six years ago, and he might as well start working on that Heisman pose too.
Newton passed for a career-high 335 yards and four touchdowns, plus ran for two TDs in an MVP performance that led No. 2 Auburn to the Southeastern Conference championship with a 56-17 rout of Steve Spurrier and No. 18 South Carolina on Saturday.
Newton, who joined Tim Tebow as only the second player in the history of football’s top division to run and pass for 20 touchdowns in a season, guided the Tigers (13-0) to touchdowns on their first three possessions.
No. 1 Oregon 37, Oregon State 20
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Heisman Trophy contender LaMichael James ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns and Kenjon Barner had 133 yards and scored twice for the unbeaten Ducks (12-0), who used some stiff defense in the red zone and three interceptions to fend off their rivals and likely qualify for a spot in the national title against Auburn on Jan. 10.
No. 9 Boise State 50, Utah State 14
BOISE, Idaho — Kellen Moore threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the Broncos (11-1) bounced back from a loss that ended their BCS hopes.
No. 12 Virginia Tech 44, No. 20 Florida State 33
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tyrod Taylor threw three touchdown passes and scrambled for another as the surging Hokies (11-2) captured their third Atlantic Coast Conference title in four years.
No. 14 Nevada 35, La. Tech 17
RUSTON, La. — Colin Kaepernick tied an NCAA record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback as the Wolf Pack (12-1) earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship.
No. 23 West Virginia 35, Rutgers 14
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Geno Smith threw for a career-high 352 yards and Ryan Clarke had three short touchdown runs as the Mountaineers (9-3) overcame turnover problems to clinch at least a share of the Big East title.
Connecticut 19, South Florida 16
TAMPA, Fla. — Dave Teggart had four field goals, including a career- long 52-yarder with 17 seconds to play, as the Huskies (8-4) clinched the Big East’s automatic BCS berth.
No. 25 Hawaii vs. UNLV
HONOLULU — Late game.
