NCAA football: No. 1 Crimson Tide dominates short-handed Wildcats
TUSCALOOSA, ALA.— DeVonta Smith caught nine passes for 144 yards and set a Southeastern Conference career record with two more touchdowns in No. 1 Alabama’s 63-3 victory over short-handed Kentucky on Saturday.
Mac Jones passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns and Najee Harris ran for a pair of scores for the Crimson Tide (7-0 SEC), both in less than three quarters. A slow start turned into a breezy return from a three-week layoff after LSU was forced to call off last week’s scheduled game because of COVID-19 troubles.
The outmanned Wildcats (3-5) were missing a number of key players because of injuries or coronavirus protocol. They were competitive early on the stat sheet, but it didn’t hold up particularly long on the scoreboard.
Smith broke Amari Cooper’s SEC and Alabama record with his 32nd touchdown catch, a 10-yarder from Jones in the second quarter. He added an 18-yarder from freshman backup Bryce Young.
Jones completed 16 of 24 passes but also was intercepted
at the goal-line in a rare mistake.
Kentucky played without leading rusher Chris Rodriguez, guard Luke Fortner, tight ends Justin Rigg and Brenden Bates, and linebackers Jamin Davis and D’Eryk Jackson. The school didn’t disclose reasons for each player’s absence.
No. 3 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Indiana 35: Master Teague ran for a career-high 169 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Fields accounted for three scores and No. 3 Ohio State held off a comeback bid by Michael Penix Jr., Ty Fryfogle and No. 9 Indiana for a 42-35 victory Saturday.
The Hoosiers (4-1) rallied from a four-touchdown deficit in the second half and made it a onescore game with 10:26 left, when Penix and Fryfogle connected on a 56-yard touchdown strike.
Penix was 27-for-51 for a career-high 491 yards and five touchdown passes.
The Buckeyes (4-0) put up 607 yards and led 35-7 early in the second half, but struggled to contain Penix and Fryfogle, who caught seven passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. No. 4 Clemson at Florida State, postponed: The game between
No. 4 Clemson and Florida State was postponed hours before kickoff Saturday when medical personnel from both schools could not agree it was safe to play.
The Tigers learned a day earlier one of their players tested positive for COVID-19, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the postponement, although it did not detail whether the game at Florida State was called off because of coronavirus issues.
Aperson with knowledge of the decision said Florida State officials were informed late Friday night that Clemson had an offensive lineman return a positive test earlier in the day. The person said Clemson officials told Florida State that the player had taken part in practice and meetings throughout the week while showing symptoms.