MANHATTAN, Kan. — Texas lost its young star last night — and a whole lot more.

Quarterback Colt McCoy was hurt scoring a touchdown on the fourth-ranked Longhorns' opening drive, and his replacement struggled in a 45-42 loss to Kansas State that knocked the defending national champions out of the title hunt.

"One thing about Texas," coach Mack Brown said. "There's never a good time to lose."

The Longhorns (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) got within a field goal on Chris Ogbonnaya's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:36 to go. But Jordy Nelson recovered the ensuing onside kick and then caught a 6-yard pass for a first down that sealed the Wildcats' win.

"I didn't feel good about this one until the very end," said coach Ron Prince, who has Kansas State back on a winning track after losing records in Bill Snyder's final two seasons as coach. "We were coaching our brains out down there at the very end to make this thing go the way we wanted it to go."

Josh Freeman took a knee, and purple-clad fans streamed onto the field to celebrate their biggest win in a few years.

Freeman threw for 263 yards and three scores and ran for another TD for Kansas State (7-4, 4-3), which scored three touchdowns over a 3:06 span in the third quarter to take a 42-21 lead.

The Wildcats won their third straight and guaranteed their first winning record since they won the Big 12 championship in 2003.

Texas, fifth in last week's BCS standings, had hoped to move up when No. 15 Rutgers stunned No. 3 Louisville, 28-25, on Thursday. And when McCoy went in from a yard out for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, the Longhorns appeared well on their way to doing just that.

But McCoy, whose 27 touchdown passes this season are a school record and two shy of the NCAA's freshman record, got pinned under the pile on the play and came up favoring his right shoulder. He was replaced by freshman Jevan Snead.

NO. 1 OHIO STATE 54, NORTHWESTERN 0

EVANSTON, Ill. — James Laurinaitis forced a fumble on the opening possession, Troy Smith threw four touchdown passes and the Buckeyes (11-0, 7-0 Big Ten) tuned up for their showdown against Michigan with a rout of the Wildcats (3-8, 1-6).

Now, finally, the Buckeyes can turn their attention to the second-ranked Wolverines and Saturday's game in Columbus that will determine who plays for the Bowl Championship Series title.

NO. 2 MICHIGAN 34, INDIANA 3

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Steve Breaston scored on an 83-yard punt return and a 62-yard reception and Mike Hart added a touchdown run to lead the Wolverines (11-0, 7-0) to a rout of the Hoosiers (5-6, 3-4), who have lost 15 straight to Michigan since 1987.

Chad Henne was 11 of 15 for 159 yards and two touchdown passes to support Michigan's typically stout defense. The Wolverines allowed only 131 total yards, including 26 on the ground.

GEORGIA 37, NO. 5 AUBURN 15

AUBURN, Ala. — Tra Battle intercepted three first-half passes, returning one for a touchdown, and freshman Matthew Stafford completed 14 of 20 passes for 219 yards and ran seven times for 83 yards, accounting for two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (7-4, 4-4 SEC) to an upset of the Tigers (9-2, 5-2).

The Bulldogs, who had lost four of their last five games, jumped to a stunning 30-7 halftime lead. They sacked Brandon Cox four times and Battle swiped three of Cox's eight first-half passes.

NO. 6 FLORIDA 17, SOUTH CAROLINA 16

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jarvis Moss blocked a 48-yard field goal as time expired, helping the Gators (9-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) hold off the Gamecocks (5-5, 3-5) and spoil Steve Spurrier's return to Gainesville.

Spurrier stood near the 31-yard line with his legs crossed as Ryan Succop lined up for the game-winner. Succop's kick cleared the line of scrimmage but didn't get over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-6 defensive end, who blocked his second field-goal attempt of the game.

NO. 7 USC 35, NO. 21 OREGON 10

LOS ANGELES — Chauncey Washington rushed for a career-high 119 yards and three touchdowns and the Trojans (8-1, 6-1 Pac-10) routed the Ducks (7-3, 4-3) to move back into national title contention.

The Trojans, ranked seventh entering this weekend in the BCS rankings, face No. 8 California Saturday night at the Coliseum, with the winner clinching the Pac-10 title.

ARIZONA 24, NO. 8 CALIFORNIA 20

TUCSON, Ariz. — Antoine Cason returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown to break a 17-all tie early in the fourth quarter and lead the Wildcats (5-5, 3-4 Pac-10) to an upset of the Golden Bears (8-2, 6-1).

The Wildcats, who beat a Top 25 team for the second straight week, rallied from a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to stun the Golden Bears. Arizona knocked off then-No. 25 Washington State in Pullman last week.

NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 39, AIR FORCE 17

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Brady Quinn threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns, Darius Walker ran for 153 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and Jeff Samardzija caught six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown to lead the Irish (9-1) past the Midshipmen (4-5).

Notre Dame improved to 35-1 against the service academies over the last 20 years, with the one loss coming to Air Force in South Bend a decade ago.

NO. 10 WEST VIRGINIA 42, CINCINNATI 24

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Pat White ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and Steve Slaton ran for 148 yards and two scores to power the Mountaineers (8-1, 3-1 Big East) past the Bearcats (5-5, 2-3).

The Mountaineers scored five of their TDs on drives of five plays or less. Slaton, who fumbled twice after injuring his elbow and wrist in a Nov. 2 loss at Louisville, held on to the ball against the Bearcats. He had TD runs of 65 and 3 yards.

NO. 11 ARKANSAS 31, NO. 13 TENNESSEE 14

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Darren McFadden ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass, leading the Razorbacks (9-1, 6-0 SEC) over the Volunteers (7-3, 3-3). The Razorbacks can clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game with a win next weekend at Mississippi State.

NO. 16 WISCONSIN 24, IOWA 21

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tyler Donovan stepped in for an injured John Stocco and threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns as the Badgers (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) beat the Hawkeyes (6-5, 2-5) and reached 10 regular-season wins for just the second time.

NO. 17 OKLAHOMA 34, TEXAS TECH 24

NORMAN, Okla. — Paul Thompson threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns and freshman Chris Brown scored on a 40-yard run for a 27-24 lead with 12:51 left, then had a 2-yard plunge with 2:21 remaining to lead the Sooners (8-2, 5-1 Big 12) past the Red Raiders (6-5, 3-4).

NO. 18 WAKE FOREST 30, FLORIDA STATE 0

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Kevin Patterson scored on a 48-yard interception return and the Demon Deacons (9-1, 5-1, Atlantic Coast Conference) became the first team to shut out the Seminoles (5-5, 3-5) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Bobby Bowden's 31 seasons as coach.

NO. 19 GEORGIA TECH 7, NORTH CAROLINA 0

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Tashard Choice ran for 119 yards, including a 3-yard TD run in the second quarter, helping the Yellow Jackets (8-2, 6-1 ACC) beat the Tar Heels (1-9, 0-6) to wrap up the Coastal Division title and earn a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Dec. 2 in Jacksonville, Fla. against the Atlantic Division winner.

NO. 20 VIRGINIA TECH 23, KENT STATE 0

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Brandon Pace kicked three field goals to set a school record with 19 consecutive successful attempts and the Hokies (8-2) posted their third shutout of the season with a victory over the Golden Flashes (5-5).

NO. 22 B.C 28, DUKE 7

BOSTON — L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callender each rushed for more than 100 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles (8-2, 4-2) handed the Blue Devils (0-10, 0-6) their 18th straight defeat, the longest current losing streak in Division I-A.

NO. 23 MARYLAND 14, MIAMI 13

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Playing five days after the shooting death of their senior leader Bryan Pata, the emotionally drained Hurricanes (5-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) played valiantly before succumbing to the Terrapins (8-2, 5-1) as Sam Hollenbach threw TD passes of 65 and 96 yards to Darrius Heyward-Bey.

NEBRASKA 28, NO. 24 TEXAS A&M 27

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Zac Taylor threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Purify with 21 seconds left to cap a 76-yard drive as the Cornhuskers (8-3, 5-2) rallied past the Aggies (8-3, 4-3) to clinch a berth in the Big 12 championship game.