ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. » Andy Dalton trotted off the field, a single-stem red rose in hand.

The next stop for the BCS-busting Horned Frogs could very well be the Rose Bowl.

Dalton threw three touchdown passes before leaving with a minor elbow injury and No. 4 TCU capped its second straight undefeated regular season with another Mountain West championship, beating lowly New Mexico 66-17 yesterday.

TCU (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West) has been jockeying with Boise State for a possible BCS appearance and got a major boost from Nevada, which knocked off the previously unbeaten Broncos on Friday night to give the Frogs an easier path to Pasadena.

"Honestly, I feel bad for Boise State," coach Gary Patterson said. "I know how hard they’ve worked to get where they’re at. We’ve been down the same road."

If form holds next week across the college football landscape, it could be a purple Rose Bowl. Of course, Patterson and his players are holding out hope that top-ranked Oregon could lose next week to Oregon State or No. 2 Auburn could be upset by South Carolina in the SEC title game.

"We’ll be happy to be in whichever game we go to," Dalton said. "It will be fun to watch this weekend to see what happens with those games. You never know, but if we play in the Rose Bowl, that’s going to be a lot of fun."

Fullback Luke Shivers scored twice on short runs and reserve quarterback Casey Pachall passed for one TD and ran for another as TCU dominated New Mexico (1-11, 1-7) as expected.

Other than Dalton’s injury and a bumpy second quarter in which TCU was outscored 10-7, everything went right for the Frogs.

Dalton, the nation’s active quarterback leader with 41 victories, was setting up to pass when he was taken down by New Mexico’s Jacori Greer.

Dalton was briefly examined by trainers. Moments later, he was up and cheering for his teammates.

"Andy will be fine," Patterson said. "We just didn’t want to take any chances."

No. 5 Wisconsin 70, Northwestern 23

The Baders (11-1, 7-1) earned a share of the Big Ten championship by routing the Wildcats (7-5, 3-5).

Wisconsin will split the conference title with Ohio State and Michigan State, as both teams won. The Badgers appear to have the inside track on a Rose Bowl berth, which will be determined by the Bowl Championship Series standings.

Wisconsin came into this week leading both teams in the BCS rankings.

Montee Ball rushed for 178 yards and four touchdowns for the Badgers. Venric Mark returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for Northwestern.

No. 7 Stanford 38, Oregon State 0

Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes to set a single-season school record and the Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-10) stated their case for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series by beating the Beavers (5-6, 4-4).

Stepfan Taylor ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and Doug Baldwin caught two TD passes for Stanford, which set a school record for wins with an emphatic close to the regular season.

Now Stanford needs to wait a week to learn its bowl fate, hoping for an at-large berth in the BCS with No. 1 Oregon having already wrapped up the Pac-10’s automatic berth.

No. 8 Ohio State 37, Michigan 7

"The Game" is getting awfully one-sided.

Jordan Hall broke the game open with an 85-yard kickoff return and the Buckeyes (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten) stymied the high-powered Wolverines (7-5, 3-5), stretching their mastery in "The Game" to seven straight wins.

Ohio State picked up two celebration penalties after touchdowns but had a lot to celebrate: A share of a record-tying sixth Big Ten title and, most likely, a Bowl Championship Series bowl berth.

Terrelle Pryor had two TD passes and Dan "Boom" Herron finished with 175 yards on 22 carries.

It was another stumble for Michigan under coach Rich Rodriguez, now 0-3 against the Buckeyes and just 15-21 overall with the Wolverines.

Michigan’s sterling quarterback, Denard Robinson, was hampered by an injured left (non-throwing) hand. He played little more than a half, running for 105 yards on 18 attempts and completing eight of 18 passes for 87 yards.

No. 11 Michigan State 28, Penn State 22

The Spartans (11-1, 7-1) claimed at least a share of their first Big Ten title since 1990 after beating the Nittany Lions (7-5, 4-4) at blustery Beaver Stadium.

Edwin Baker ran for 118 yards and a touchdown, and Keshawn Martin’s 35-yard reverse deep in Penn State territory set up another early score for Michigan State.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns to B.J. Cunningham, and the defense held off a fourth-quarter charge by Penn State.

Penn State scored 19 fourth-quarter points, and fans had dreams of an unlikely comeback after Matt McGloin found Derek Moye for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds left.

Michigan State recovered the ensuing onside kick to finally seal the win.

No. 13 Virginia Tech 37, Virginia 7

Once again, Virginia Tech showed it’s the best team in the state.

Ryan Williams ran for two touchdowns and the Hokies (10-2, 8-0 ACC) won their 10th consecutive game and seventh in a row over the Cavaliers (4-8, 1-7).

Tyrod Taylor threw for 176 yards and a touchdown and became the career passing yardage leader for the Hokies. Virginia Tech also became the first team to finish the regular season unbeaten in Atlantic Coast Conference play since Florida State in 2000.

The Hokies will meet either the Seminoles in next weekend’s ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C. It will be Tech’s fourth appearance in six years.