Top-ranked Alabama routs Vanderbilt 59-0
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Damien Harris ran for a career-high 151 yards and three touchdowns, Bo Scarbrough added two TDs and top-ranked Alabama routed Vanderbilt 59-0 Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Alabama (4-0) now has won 19 straight over the SEC East. Better yet, the Crimson Tide has not lost to Vanderbilt since 1984 or in Nashville since 1969. Both streaks were assured at the end of the first quarter with Alabama up 21-0 after the second of Harris’ TDs.
Vanderbilt (3-1) came in as one of the five remaining undefeated teams in the SEC with the nation’s stingiest defense in points, total yards and against the pass. The Commodores had allowed just 13 points combined through three games, yet they proved no match against Alabama’s dominating ground game.
Harris topped his season’s best by the end of the first quarter and needed only 12 carries for his big day, thanks to a 61-yarder in the first quarter . Scarbrough ran 11 times for 79 yards more with TD runs of 6 and 2 yards. Brian Robinson added a 17-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for a 59-0 lead.
No. 2 Clemson 34 Boston College 7: In Clemson, South Carolina, Adam Choice had a 6-yard tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter and Travis Etienne had two scoring runs in the final six minutes as No. 2 Clemson wore down Boston College.
The Tigers, who came in off top-15 wins over Auburn and Louisville the last two weeks, were five-touchdown favorites over the Eagles (1-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). But Boston College quieted the large Death Valley crowd on AJ Dillon’s 1-yard TD late in the third quarter to tie the game at 7-all.
Clemson finally got going in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kelly Bryant led the Tigers on a 76-yard drive, capped by Choice’s go-ahead score. The next series, they were at it once more on a 90-yard series and the speedy freshman Etienne burst through the weary Eagles to finally give the Tigers some breathing room. Bryant added a 4-yard TD before Etienne closed the scoring with a 10-yard run.
No. 3 Oklahoma 49 Baylor 41: In Waco, Texas, Baker Mayfield threw three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score the next snap after his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and third-ranked Oklahoma stretched the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games.
Abdul Adams had a 99-yard touchdown for the Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), his schoolrecord run coming after a botched kickoff return.
Baylor (0-4, 0-1) led 31-28 after Connor Martin’s 46-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Trey Sermon ran 13 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns for Oklahoma, the freshman getting all of that in the fourth quarter.
Denzel Mims’ third TD catch, an acrobatic grab in the back of the end zone, got Baylor within 49-41 with 1:41 left.
No. 4 Penn State 21 Iowa 19: In Iowa City, Juwan Johnson caught a seven-yard TD pass as time expired and fourth-ranked Penn State rallied to stun Iowa in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Saquon Barkley had 211 yards rushing and 94 yards receiving for the Nittany Lions (4-0, 1-0), who outgained Iowa 579-273 but nearly blew a game that could’ve been crippling to their postseason hopes.