Michigan players celebrate their win over Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus. (AP photo)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, Donovan Edwards busted the game open with two long fourth-quarter TD runs and No. 3 Michigan beat No. 2 Ohio State 45-23 Saturday, taking down the Buckeyes with stunning ease for the second straight season.

Playing almost the whole game without injured star running back Blake Corum, Michigan (12-0, 9-0, No. 3 CFP) was still able to beat Ohio State (11-1, 8-1, No. 2 CFP) in Columbus for the first time since 2000.

The Wolverines advance to face Purdue in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game, with hopes for a second straight playoff appearance firmly in their control. The Buckeyes will have to hope they can back into the CFP after crumbling in their biggest game of the season.

Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines snapped an eight-game losing streak against their fiercest rivals last year. Now, they have a two-game winning streak in The Game for the first time in 22 years.

McCarthy, the second-year quarterback who won the starting job from incumbent Cade McNamara, played the game of his career when Michigan needed it most. His previous longest pass completion was 42 yards, but against the Buckeyes he threw three touchdown passes of at least 45 yards, the most scoring passes of 45 or more in the history of the rivalry game. He finished 31 of 48 for 349 yards with two interceptions.

Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud was 31 for 48 for 349 yards and two interceptions, but Ohio State never got a running game going and settled for field goals in the red zone.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 37, GEORGIA TECH 14

Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and Georgia completed back-to-back undefeated regular seasons for the first time in school history by overcoming a slow start against Georgia Tech.

Georgia (12-0, No. 1 CFP) was down 7-0 early and led Georgia Tech only 10-7 at halftime. Then the Bulldogs overpowered the Yellow Jackets (5-7) with their running game to score 37 unanswered points and notch their fifth consecutive win in the state rivalry.

NO. 4 TCU 62, IOWA STATE 14

Kendre Miller ran for two touchdowns and TCU completed the first undefeated regular season by a Big 12 team since 2009 with a win over Iowa State that moved the Horned Frogs closer to making the four-team College Football Playoff.

Max Duggan threw TDs to three receivers for the Frogs (12-0, 9-0 Big 12, No. 4 CFP), who still have the Big 12 championship game to play next Saturday in coach Sonny Dykes’ first season. But they will go into that as one of only three undefeated teams remaining.

NO. 5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 38, NO. 13 NOTRE DAME 27

Caleb Willams polished his Heisman Trophy credentials with 232 yards passing and four total touchdowns, and Southern California capped its outstanding regular season under coach Lincoln Riley by staying firmly in the College Football Playoff race.

Tahj Washington caught an early TD pass from Williams while USC (11-1, No. 6 CFP) snapped its four-game losing streak in its famed intersectional rivalry with the Fighting Irish (8-4, No. 15 CFP).

Although USC is headed to Pac-12 title game in Las Vegas on Friday, the revitalized Trojans first kept their CFP hopes intact with this victory — and even got a boost from LSU’s loss to Texas A&M during this game. USC became the first team to gain 400 yards and to score more than 32 points this season against the Irish while completing its first 11-win regular season since 2008.

TEXAS A&M 38, NO. 6 LSU 23

Devon Achane had a career-best 215 yards rushing with two touchdowns, and Texas A&M stunned LSU, all but certainly knocking the Tigers out of contention for the College Football Playoff.

Conner Weigman threw two TD passes for the Aggies (5-7, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) and Demani Richardson returned a fumble for a score. The game was tied at 17-all in the third quarter before A&M scored 21 straight points.

LSU (9-3, 6-2, No. 5 CFP) had already secured a spot in next week’s SEC title game against unbeaten No. 1 Georgia, and a win there could have put the Tigers in the playoff. But with three losses, even beating the Bulldogs likely won’t be enough.

Achane ran for 119 yards and a score before halftime to help A&M to a 17-10 lead.

SOUTH CAROLINA 31, NO. 7 CLEMSON 30

Spencer Rattler threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns, Mitch Jeter hit the go-ahead field goal with 11 minutes left and South Carolina crushed the playoff hopes of a second straight top-10 team in Clemson.

The Gamecocks (8-4) last week dismantled then-No. 5 Tennessee 63-38, ending the Vols’ hopes of a CFP berth.

South Carolina and Rattler, who threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns against Tennessee, ended any chance Clemson (10-2, CFP No. 8) had of reaching the CFP.

NO. 8 ALABAMA 42, AUBURN 27

Bryce Young passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in perhaps his final home game for Alabama in its Iron Bowl win over Auburn.

Alabama (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 7 CFP) reached double digits in wins for a 15th consecutive season despite being unable to fulfill its national title aspirations.

The Tigers (5-7, 2-6) were trying to ensure bowl eligibility and salvage a disappointing campaign that included the firing of coach Bryan Harsin.

NO. 9 TENNESSEE 56, VANDERBILT 0

Jaylen Wright ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns on five carries, with Jabari Small running for two more scores as Tennessee ran for six TDs and routed in-state rival Vanderbilt.

The Volunteers (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference ) rebounded from losing two of their last three games to clinch their first 10-win regular season since 2003, and first overall since 2007. The losses had dropped the Vols from first in the inaugural College Football Playoff ranking to 10th.

NO. 22 OREGON STATE 38, NO. 10 OREGON 34

Isaiah Newell ran for the go-ahead touchdown with 8:11 remaining, and Oregon State took advantage of critical mistakes in the fourth quarter to beat Oregon to rally for a 38-34 victory on Saturday.

The Beavers (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12, No 21 CFP) trailed 31-10 late in the third quarter and 34-17 early in the fourth, but the Ducks (9-3, 7-2, No. 9 CFP) gave their rivals a short field on three consecutive possessions, leading to touchdowns.

NO. 11 PENN STATE 35, MICHIGAN STATE 16

Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes and Penn State’s defense tightened up late to beat Michigan State in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Tight end Theo Johnson caught two TD passes, Tyler Warren and running back Nick Singleton each caught one, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith threw a touchdown pass and caught another for the Nittany Lions (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 11 CFP).

NO. 14 UTAH 63, COLORADO 21

Cameron Rising threw three touchdown passes before taking a seat for the second half, Ja’Quinden Jackson ran for three scores and Utah routed Colorado to remain in the chase for the last spot into the Pac-12 title game.

The Utes (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12, No. 14 CFP) entered the weekend with an outside shot at defending their league title, and things started to fall into place. UCLA did its part for Utah by knocking off Cal on Friday.

NO. 25 UCF 46, SOUTH FLORIDA 39

Alec Holler made a leaping, one-handed catch for a touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Mikey Keene with 20 seconds remaining to lead No. 25 UCF to a 46-39 win over South Florida on Saturday night and earn a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game in Tampa.

SYRACUSE 32, BOSTON COLLEGE 23

Garrett Shrader completed 21 of 27 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, and Syracuse scored 26 straight points to overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, snap a five-game losing streak and beat Boston College 32-23 on Saturday night in Chestnut Hill.

Oronde Gadsden II caught six passes for 106 yards, Devaughn Cooper caught seven for 80 and a touchdown and Damien Alford caught four for 83 yards and the go-ahead score for the Orange (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Sean Tucker ran for 125 yards and two TDs for Syracuse, which won its first game since Oct. 15, when it improved to 6-0 and No. 14 in The Associated Press Top 25.

Emmett Morehead completed 29 for 38 passes for 252 yards for BC (3-9, 2-6), but he also fumbled twice.