No. 1 Oregon 37, Oregon State 20
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Heisman Trophy contender LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner and the fast-paced Ducks negotiated the last speed bump on the way to Glendale, Ariz., grinding out a 37-20 victory over the Beavers in the Civil War on Saturday.
The matchup becomes official Sunday, but there will be no surprises when the final Bowl Championship Series standings come out: Oregon will play Auburn on Jan. 10 for its first national championship.
James ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns while Barner had 133 yards and scored twice for the Ducks (12-0, 9-0 Pac-10), who used some stiff defense in the red zone — led by Bair and Casey Matthews — and three interceptions to fend off their feisty rivals.
No. 2 Auburn 56,
No. 18 South Carolina 17
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 a pair of 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.
The Tigers, who came into the day sitting atop the Bowl Championship Series standings, must wait 24 hours before getting the official word, but it’s nothing more than a formality: They’ll be playing Oregon for the national title on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.
No. 9 Boise State 50,
Utah State 14
BOISE, Idaho — On the first play from scrimmage Saturday, Acrey stepped in front of a pass by Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel and returned the pick 31 yards for a touchdown.
Minutes later, quarterback Kellen Moore started sealing the deal, firing the first of his three touchdowns in guiding the Broncos to a 50-14 victory in their Western Athletic Conference farewell.
No. 14 Nevada 35,
Louisiana Tech 17
RUSTON, La. — Leave it to Colin Kaepernick to tie the NCAA record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback on a designed pass play, all while leading Nevada to a conference title.
Kaepernick ran for three scores, including a dazzling 28-yard scramble on fourth-and-9, and the No. 14 Wolf Pack earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship with a 35-17 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
With a bowl game still to play, Kaepernick now has 59 career TDs on the ground, tying the mark held by Nebraska’s Eric Crouch.
No. 23 West Virginia 35, Rutgers 14
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 23 West Virginia dismantled Rutgers, then came the difficult part — an hours-long wait to see if the Mountaineers could secure a third Bowl Championship Series berth in six seasons that seemed almost impossible only a few weeks ago.
Geno Smith threw for a career-high 352 yards, Ryan Clarke had three short touchdown runs and No. 23 West Virginia overcame turnover problems to beat the Scarlet Knights 35-14 on Saturday and clinch at least a share of the Big East title.
West Virginia’s players exchanged handshakes and hugs afterward, but the celebration was brief. With the home crowd leaving the stadium shouting “USF! USF!”, the Mountaineers (9-3, 5-2) were awaiting the outcome of the Connecticut-South Florida game later Saturday that would determine the conference’s automatic BCS representative.