MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Will Grier threw for five touchdown passes for the fifth time in his career and No. 12 West Virginia shook off a sloppy start to drill Kansas State 35-6 in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Grier finished 25 of 35 for 356 yards and the five scores, three of them to David Sills, and two interceptions as the Mountaineers (3-0) had little trouble against the punchless Wildcats (2-2). The Wildcats didn’t cross midfield until after halftime and were never in it.

DETROIT (AP) — Mikie Mahtook hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 in Victor Martinez’s final major league game. With the score tied at 3, Niko Goodrum led off the eighth with his third hit of the game, a single off Jason Hammel. Mahtook then lined Hammel’s 1-0 slider over the left-field fence for his ninth homer. Martinez had an infield single in his first at-bat and was lifted for a pinch-runner.

WACO, Texas (AP) — Charlie Brewer threw three touchdown passes and Baylor opened Big 12 play with a 26-7 victory to end a rare winning streak by Kansas. Brewer completed 19 of 27 passes for 221 yards and added 56 yards rushing for the Bears. Baylor is 3-1 after its only win in coach Matt Rhule’s first season last year was at Kansas. The Jayhawks went into Saturday’s game with two wins in a row, their first winning streak since 2011.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Zeb Noland threw for 233 yards and a TD, David Montgomery had 107 yards rushing and a score and Iowa State held off Akron 26-13 for its first win of the season. Connor Assalley added four field goals for the Cyclones (1-2), who put forth an underwhelming performance ahead of a brutal stretch in the Big 12.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tyler O’Neill hit a solo home run with two outs in the 10th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals held their playoff position, rallying past the San Francisco Giants 5-4. Yadier Molina also homered for St. Louis, which began the day 1 ½ games ahead of Colorado for the second NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals, who have seven games remaining, started three games behind Milwaukee for the top wild-card slot. St. Louis won for the fifth time in six games. San Francisco has lost three in a row.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kyler Murray threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in overtime, and Parnell Motley intercepted Kelvin Hopkins’ fourth-down pass to help No. 5 Oklahoma escape with a 28-21 victory over Army. Kenneth Murray had a school-record 28 tackles for the Sooners.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sam Ehlinger passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score, all in the second half, as the Longhorns ended a four-game losing streak to No. 17 TCU 31-16 in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Texas had been outscored 153-33 the last four years by TCU and trailed 16-10 before the defense forced three turnovers in the third quarter. The victory gives Texas its first three-game win streak since 2014. It also gave the Longhorns their first back-to-back wins over ranked opponents since 2008.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Alan Bowman threw for 397 yards and two touchdowns to help Texas Tech end a nine-game losing streak to Oklahoma State with a 41-17 victory over the No. 15 Cowboys on Saturday night. The win is the third straight since a season-opening loss to Mississippi for the Red Raiders, whose last victory over Oklahoma State came in 2008.

National Headlines

ATLANTA (AP) — Tiger Woods fired a 5-under 65 for a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Justin Rose through three rounds of the Tour Championship. Wood was at 12-under 198 and will be paired for the first time in a final group with McIlroy on the PGA Tour. It’s the first time Woods has owned the 54-hole lead since winning the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Kyle Busch passed Brad Keselowski with 38 laps to go and held off hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Richmond. Harvick closed a gap of more than 1.5 seconds over the final few laps, but Busch held on for his sixth career victory at Richmond. Martin Truex Jr. swept the first two stages before a penalty forced him to rally for a third-place finish, followed by Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola.

Saturday Scores

TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (1) Alabama 45 (22) Texas A&M 23
Final (2) Georgia 43 Missouri 29
Final (3) Clemson 49 Georgia Tech 21
Final (4) Ohio St. 49 Tulane 6
Final OT (5) Oklahoma 28 Army 21
Final (6) LSU 38 Louisiana Tech 21
Final OT (7) Stanford 38 (20) Oregon 31
Final (8) Notre Dame 56 Wake Forest 27
Final (9) Auburn 34 Arkansas 3
Final (10) Washington 27 Arizona St. 20
Final (12) West Virginia 35 Kansas St. 6
Final Old Dominion 49 (13) Virginia Tech 35
Final Kentucky 28 (14) Mississippi St. 7
Final Texas Tech 41 (15) Oklahoma St. 17
Final Texas 31 (17) TCU 16
Final (18) Wisconsin 28 Iowa 17
Final (19) Michigan 56 Nebraska 10
Final (21) Miami 31 FIU 17
Final Purdue 30 (23) Boston 13
Final (24) Michigan St. 35 Indiana 21
Final (25) BYU 30 McNeese St. 3

Major League Baseball

INTERLEAGUE
Final Chi Cubs 8 Chi White Sox 3

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final N-Y Yankees 3 Baltimore 2, 11 Innings
Final Toronto 5 Tampa Bay 2
Final Detroit 5 Kansas City 4
Final Cleveland 5 Boston 4, 11 Innings
Final Houston 10 L-A Angels 5
Final Seattle 13 Texas 0
Final Oakland 3 Minnesota 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 5 Philadelphia 3
Final St. Louis 5 San Francisco 4, 10 Innings
Final Washington 6 N-Y Mets 0
Final Pittsburgh 3 Milwaukee 0
Final Miami 5 Cincinnati 1
Final Colorado 5 Arizona 1
Final L-A Dodgers 7 San Diego 2

DETROIT (AP) — Mikie Mahtook hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Saturday night in Victor Martinez’s final major league game.

With the score tied at 3, Niko Goodrum led off the eighth with his third hit of the game, a single off Jason Hammel (3-14). Mahtook then lined Hammel’s 1-0 slider over the left-field fence for his ninth homer.

The 39-year-old Martinez, who made his debut with Cleveland in 2002, hit an infield single in his first at-bat and was immediately removed for pinch-runner Ronny Rodriguez. Fellow Venezuelans Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar came out of the Royals’ dugout to embrace the five-time All-Star as he walked off the field to a standing ovation.

Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. Joe Jimenez (5-4) allowed the Royals to tie it in the eighth but earned the win.

Shane Greene allowed a solo homer to Perez before finishing the ninth for his 31st save in 37 opportunities.

Jake Junis entered the game with a 4-0 record and 1.76 ERA against the Tigers this season. He gave up three runs on eight hits, a walk and three wild pitches in six innings.

Whit Merrifield drove the game’s first pitch to right-center. JaCoby Jones made a diving try but the ball popped out of his glove when he hit the ground, giving Merrifield a triple. Adalberto Mondesi followed with a sacrifice fly.

The Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Goodrum’s RBI single, and he added an RBI double in the third.

Alex Gordon tied it at 2-2 with a fourth-inning homer. Two wild pitches by Junis allowed Jones to score the go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning.

Brett Phillips singled off Jimenez with one out in the eighth and scored the tying run on Merrifield’s double down the left-field line.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Infielders Jeimer Candelario (back) and Niko Goodrum (quadriceps) returned to the lineup. Candelario played third, while Goodrum started at second before moving to first after Martinez’s departure.

KOZMA RARITY

Pete Kozma tripled in the eighth inning — his first three-base hit in the majors since Sept. 21, 2012. Kozma’s first triple as a Tiger put him one ahead of Martinez, who finished his Detroit career with zero triples in 969 games.

MARTINEZ’S FINAL DAY

Martinez was honored in a pregame ceremony that included a video tribute and gifts for his family presented by the team’s other Latin American players, including Miguel Cabrera, who had been away from the team while rehabbing his biceps injury.

There were also presents from Martinez’s teammates and the Tigers organization. In honor of his future career as a cattle rancher, the gifts included handmade cowboy boots and a saddle emblazoned with the Tigers logo.

After taking time to compose himself, Martinez thanked the fans in a brief speech. He played first base for the first time since June 1, 2016, ending a 342-game streak of only serving as a hitter.

UP NEXT

The teams finish their four-game series Sunday afternoon in Detroit’s final home game of the season. Brad Keller (8-6, 3.17 ERA) will start for the Royals against Daniel Norris (0-5, 5.71).

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen isn’t worried about quarterback Will Grier being overwhelmed by the attention and pressure that comes with being a Heisman Trophy candidate. Grier has thrown far too many passes. Played in far too many games. Diagnosed far too many defenses to let the hype train get in his head.

“I’m not worried about overloading him,” Holgorsen said. “He’s mature. He’s grounded. He’s comfortable on where he’s at. He knows how to handle this. He’s a professional that’s in college.”

Looks like it.

Grier and the 12th-ranked Mountaineers overcame a sluggish start to drill Kansas State 35-6 in the Big 12 opener for both teams on Saturday. The senior completed 25 of 35 passes for 356 yards with five touchdowns, three of them to David Sills, and two interceptions as West Virginia (3-0) enjoyed a rare breather against the Wildcats.

The previous four meetings between the two schools had been decided by a total of 13 points. Not this time. Once Grier and the Mountaineers got rolling late in the first half, it was over.

Grier, as he’s done since taking over the starting job at the beginning of last season, led the way. Having one of the best red zone targets in the country helps — all three of Sills’ touchdowns came on 1-yard passes — but Grier loves to go deep too. He found Marcus Simms for an 82-yard catch-and-run to open the scoring and later lofted a perfect rainbow to Tevin Bush that Bush turned into a 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“Everybody looks at passing stats, but I love the way he manages a game,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said of Grier. “They allow him to call the offense so to speak and he does a marvelous job of that.”

Skylar Thompson completed 11 of 17 passes for 145 yards for Kansas State (2-2) and Alex Delton came on late with the game out of hand and finished 7 of12 for 82 yards. Delton also added 28 yards rushing but by then it was far too late for the Wildcats.

“We were just a bad offense, period,” Snyder said. “Like sandlot football for a while.”

TURNING POINT

Trailing just 7-0 midway through the second quarter and facing fourth-and-inches at the Kansas State 43, the Wildcats opted to go for it. Quarterback Skylar Thompson ran a quick option and pitched the ball to running back Alex Barnes, who was hit for a 4-yard loss .

Seven plays later, Grier found Sills for a 1-yard score to put the Mountaineers up 14-0. After forcing Kansas State to a three-and-out, West Virginia needed just 55 seconds to go 73 yards, the last one coming on a pretty grab in the back of the end zone by Sills, to make it 21-0 at the break.

When asked if he would run the same play again on fourth day again, Snyder responded simply “yes, yes, yes” before adding a not-so subtle dig at his team.

“I went in the locker room and I accepted the responsibility of being behind in the ball game at halftime with our players because there were two touchdowns following that,” Snyder said. “But I can’t coach a team that can’t get six inches on a play.”

NO COASTING

The Mountaineers kept pointing to last season’s 28-23 escape on the road against the Wildcats — when West Virginia was shut out in the second half and needed to hold on late — as proof they couldn’t afford to let up. They didn’t. Call it a byproduct of spending last weekend watching instead of playing while Mother Nature wreaked havoc on the Carolinas.

After a Kansas State field goal made it 21-3, Grier found a streaking Bush to push West Virginia’s lead to 25. The Mountaineers then converted a Kansas State fumble into another 1-yard touchdown to Sills and the blowout was on.

“I think having that week off really humbled us a little bit,” Sills said. “We were watching football last Saturday, just wishing we were out there. So, we came out for this game hungry. I think when you play good on all three sides of the ball, then that’s what the outcome looks like.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: The Wildcats have some serious issues on offense. They managed just 77 yards in the first half and didn’t cross midfield until their first possession of the third quarter. Snyder declined to name a starting quarterback for next week’s game against Texas, joking there’s a chance he might get the nod.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers seem to be more comfortable going fast than slow. Four of their five touchdown drives took less than 2 minutes.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Hosts the Longhorns next Saturday. The Wildcats have won the last five meetings with Texas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

West Virginia: Travels to Texas Tech next Saturday. The Mountaineers have won four straight over the Red Raiders.

WACO, Texas (AP) — Charlie Brewer made it easy for Baylor to stick primarily with one quarterback in the Big 12 opener.

After Brewer and graduate transfer Jalan McClendon shared snaps extensively the first three games, Brewer threw three touchdowns and played all but the final series for the Bears in a 26-7 victory on Saturday that ended a rare winning streak by Kansas.

“He just scored. … The ball’s moving,” Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. “Keeping us alive with his feet. I thought that was the x-factor early on, was Charlie making some of those plays.”

Brewer completed 19 of 27 passes for 221 yards and added 56 yards rushing for the Bears (3-1, 1-0 Big 12), who have already tripled their victory total from last year when their only win in Rhule’s first season came at Kansas.

Kansas (2-2, 0-1) entered the game with consecutive wins for the first time since a 2-0 start in 2011. A 31-7 victory two weeks ago at Central Michigan ended the second-longest road losing streak in college football history, 46 games since 2009.

But the Jayhawks still haven’t won a Big 12 road game in nearly 10 years. They have lost 41 true Big 12 road games in a row since a 35-33 win at Iowa State on Oct. 4, 2008.

“I didn’t think we were outmatched,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “We had plenty to get it done, and I didn’t think we did a very good job of executing the game plan. We didn’t do a good enough job of teaching it, and as a result we didn’t get it done as a group.”

Baylor had a 23-0 halftime lead after Brewer had TD passes to three different receivers in a four-drive span that also included the first of Connor Martin’s two field goals.

“If your number is called, you need to be ready to go. That’s what coach Rhule preaches, and my number was called for most of the game,” Brewer said.

“Had we gone out there, three drives O-fer, I probably would have put Jalan back in,” Rhule said. “There was a little rhythm (with Brewer).”

McClendon didn’t come in until 3:35 left in the game, and threw a 36-yard pass to Jalen Hurd on his first play.

Asked about the quarterback situation moving forward, Rhule said he has so much confidence in “two special guys” that can play.

Baylor jumped ahead when Chris Platt got behind a cornerback for a 22-yard catch in the back corner of the end zone. Then two freshmen had TD catches in the second quarter — Tyquan Thornton streaked past two defenders to the end zone for a 39-yard catch, and Josh Fleeks got a foot down in the back of the end zone for a 34-yard score over two defenders.

“We stay on them, I know it’s hard for them at first, like why are they getting on me,” Platt said. “But now they understand the reasons why. They went out there and played.”

POOKA’S BIG RUN

The Kansas touchdown late in the third quarter was a 10-yard pass from Peyton Bender to Jeremiah Booker. That was set up by a 72-yard run by Pooka Williams, who after not playing the opener was the first freshman in Kansas history to start his career with consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He finished with 14 carries for 89 yards against Baylor.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: The Jayhawks defenders couldn’t keep up with Baylor’s speedy receivers, and the team that entered the game with a national-best plus-12 turnover margin didn’t get any takeaways. Just like that, the momentum of a winning streak ended and Kansas plays its next two Big 12 games against Oklahoma State and West Virginia, both top-15 teams with high-scoring and big-play offenses.

Baylor: Rhule and his staff stuck with the hot hand at quarterback after Brewer and McClendon both had solid stretches in the first three games. Even while sharing snaps in the first part of this season, Brewer has started eight consecutive games. He took over as the starter the final four games as a true freshman last year.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Home for the only time in its first four Big 12 games Saturday against No. 15 Oklahoma State.

Baylor: At No. 5 Oklahoma next Saturday.