Ohio State running back Master Teague, right, cuts up field in front of Michigan State defensive back Chester Kimbrough during the second half of Saturday's game in Columbus. (AP photo)

C.J. Stroud threw for six touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in the first half and No. 5 Ohio State made it look easy in a 56-7 blowout of No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday.

Stroud finished 32 for 35 against the Spartans’ sketchy pass defense, which had allowed more yards through the air than any in major college football,

Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III, the nation’s leading rusher, was turned into a nonfactor by the Buckeyes. Walker had six carries for 25 yards.

By the time Stroud took a seat late in the third quarter, the redshirt freshman piled up 432 yards for the Buckeyes (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 4), who polished their College Football Playoff resume and served warning to No. 8 Michigan ahead of the rivalry game next week that will determine the Big Ten East title.

Michigan State dropped to 9-2 and 6-2 in the Big Ten.

In other key games on Saturday:

NO. 24 UTAH 38, NO. 4 OREGON 7

Britain Covey returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, giving Utah 14 points in 27 seconds and a 28-0 lead, and the Utes ended Oregon’s College Football Playoff hopes in Salt Lake City.

Tavion Thomas ran for 94 yards and three touchdowns to help the Utes (8-3, 7-1 Pac-12) wrap up a share of the Pac-12 South title and a spot in the conference championship game. Utah has won four in a row.

Thomas has run for a Utah-record 17 touchdowns this season. The previous mark was 15, shared by Zack Moss and John White IV.

Anthony Brown threw for 231 yards and a touchdown for Oregon (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12, No. 3 CFP). Oregon rushed for 63 yards and had 294 yards of offense.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 56, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 7

Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and Georgia’s defense was again dominant against Charleston Southern.

Davis, a leader of Georgia’s top-ranked defense, scored on a 1-yard plunge out of the Bulldogs’ jumbo package in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown.

NO. 2 ALABAMA 42, NO. 21 ARKANSAS 35

Bryce Young passed for a school-record 559 yards and five touchdowns and Alabama beat Arkansas to clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

The Crimson Tide (10-1, 7-1, No. 2 CFP) won its 15th consecutive game against the Razorbacks (7-4, 3-4), thanks largely to the Young-to-Jameson Williams deep connection that continues to be the ultimate offensive bailout.

NO. 3 CINCINNATI 48, SMU 14

Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes, ran for another score and even caught a TD pass to help Cincinnati roll past SMU.

Alec Pierce had a pair of TD catches for the Bearcats (11-0, 7-0 American Athletic). They extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 26 games and keep alive hopes of becoming the first non-Power 5 team to reach the College Football Playoff.

NO. 6 NOTRE DAME 55, GEORGIA TECH 0

Jack Coan threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a half in South Bend and Notre Dame had two defensive touchdowns in winning its sixth straight game.

Coan, a grad transfer from Wisconsin, completed 15 of 20 passes. He had first-half touchdown strikes of 52 yards to Michael Mayer and 20 yards to Logan Diggs as the Irish took a 45-0 halftime.

Fighting Irish (CFP No. 8) improved to 10-1, reaching the 10-win level for the fifth straight season by outgaining coach Geoff Collins’ Yellow Jackets (3-8) by a 514-224 yardage margin.

NO. 7 MICHIGAN 59, MARYLAND 18

Mike Sainristil made a one-handed catch in the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown, Hassan Haskins scored two TDs of his own, and Michigan did its part to raise the stakes of next weekend’s showdown with Ohio State.

The Wolverines (10-1, 7-1, No. 6 CFP) host the Buckeyes next week, and the winner will go to the Big Ten title game. Michigan hasn’t won the conference since 2004 and hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2011.

for the Wolverines.

NO. 11 BAYLOR 20, KANSAS STATE 10

Blake Shapen was sharp in place of injured quarterback Gerry Bohanon, and Baylor’s defense simply smothered Kansas State’s offense.

Shapen was 16 of 21 for 137 yards after Bohanon left shortly before halftime with a hamstring injury. The redshirt freshman got some help from Trestan Ebner, who ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, and Tyquan Thornton, who had five catches for 75 yards, as the Bears (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) won their fourth straight over Kansas State.

NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 28, IOWA STATE 21

Caleb Williams passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Jalen Redmond returned a fumble for a score and Oklahoma held off Iowa State.

Kennedy Brooks ran for 115 yards to help the Sooners (10-1, 7-1 Big 12, No. 13 CFP) bounce back from a loss to Baylor and solidify their chances of reaching the Big 12 title game.

CLEMSON 48, NO. 13 WAKE FOREST 27

Kobe Pace ran for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns and Clemson won its 13th straight over Wake Forest, delaying the Demon Deacons’ run to the ACC Atlantic title.

NO. 14 BYU 34, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 17

Jaren Hall had 211 of his 312 yards passing in the first half, Jakob Robinson picked off two passes in the second half and BYU beat Georgia Southern.

Tyler Allgeier, the nation’s seventh-leading rusher, finished with 126 yards on 26 carries to help the Cougars (9-2) win their fourth straight game.

NO. 18 IOWA 33, ILLINOIS 23

Charlie Jones had a 100-yard kickoff return for Iowa’s first touchdown and the Hawkeyes went on to beat Illinois.

Iowa (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) was trailing Illinois (4-7, 3-5) 10-0 in the first quarter when Jones took the kick near the right corner of the end zone and ran through a hole on the left side for the score.

NO. 19 WISCONSIN 35, NEBRASKA 28

Braelon Allen ran for 228 yards and three touchdowns – including a tiebreaking 53-yarder with 3:50 remaining – to help Wisconsin outlast Nebraska for its seventh consecutive victory.

NO. 20 PITTSBURGH 48, VIRGINIA 38

Kenny Pickett threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns — all of them to Jordan Addison — in his final game at Heinz Field and the Panthers claimed their second Coastal title in four years.

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