Not bad for a Sparty starter
Tucker, Michigan St. stun rival Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Outside of Michigan State’s football program, few expected the Spartans to beat No. 13 Michigan.
The people who mattered, though, had all the confidence they needed to pull off the upset.
Rocky Lombardi threw for 323 yards, including 196 to Ricky White, and three touchdowns to help Michigan State stun the Wolverines 27-24 on Saturday.
“I know we were three-touchdown underdogs, but everybody on this team knew going into the game that we had a chance and we had a good chance,” Lombardi said.
The Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) appeared to be the better team all afternoon on both sides of the ball in Mel Tucker’s debut as coach in the rivalry.
Tucker became just the second coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt with the Spartans, joining Alabama coach Nick Saban, who did it in 1995.
Running back Hassan Haskins scored on a 2-yard run with 37 seconds left to help Michigan pull within three points. The onside kick was then recovered by Michigan State running back Connor Heyward.
Lombardi converted a fourthand-2 from the Michigan 36 with a sneak to seal the victory.
NO. 1 CLEMSON 34, BOSTON COLLEGE 28: In Clemson, S.C., freshman DJ Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards and two TDs in place of Trevor Lawrence, home with COVID-19, as Clemson rallied from 18-points down in the first half to beat Boston College.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said afterward that Lawrence also will miss the Tigers’ game next week at No. 4 Notre Dame.
Travis Etienne became the ACC’s career rushing leader (4,644 yards) and his second TD put the Tigers ahead for good.
The Eagles (4-3, 3-3) put Clemson in a 28-10 hole in the second quarter with the virus-reduced crowd stunned to near silence.
Uiagalelei had a 30-yard TD run on Clemson’s opening thirdquarter drive to begin the comeback, then threw an 8-yard scoring strike to Amari Rodgers that drew the Tigers(7-0, 6-0) to 28-26.
Etienne put the Tigers in front for good with a 17-yard touchdown run with 11:34 to go.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 41, MISS. STATE 0: In Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mac Jones threw four TD passes to DeVonta Smith, who had 203
receiving yards, as Alabama routed Mississippi State (1-4).
The Crimson Tide (6-0) handed Bulldogs coach Mike Leach the first shutout of his college career.
NO. 4 NOTRE DAME 31, GEORGIA TECH 13: In Atlanta, Kyren Williams ran for two TDs and Ian Book passed for another as Notre Dame (6-0, 5-0 ACC) moved on to its biggest game of the season with a dominant defensive performance. Tech (2-5, 2-4) has lost three in a row. NO. 5 GEORGIA 14, KENTUCKY
3: In Lexington, Ky., Zamir White ran for a career-high 131 yards and a touchdown as Georgia (4-1 SEC) beat Kentucky (2-4) for its 11th straight victory in the series. Chris Rodriguez rushed 20 times for 108 yards for UK.
TEXAS 41, NO. 6 OKLAHOMA STATE 34, OT: In Stillwater, Okla., Sam Ehlinger threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Moore in overtime and Joseph Ossai sealed the victory by sacking Spencer Sanders as Texas (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knocked off the Cowboys (4-1, 3-1).
OSU outgained Texas 530 yards to 287, but the Cowboys turned the ball over four times.
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 49, MEMPHIS 10: In Cincinnati, Desmond Ridder threw three TD passes and ran for two scores as Cincinnati (5-0, 3-1 AAC) snapped a five-game losing streak against Memphis (3-2, 2-2).
NO. 8 TEXAS A&M 43, ARKANSAS 31: In College Station, Texas, Kellen Mond threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns as Texas A&M (4-1) beat Arkansas (2-3) for the ninth straight time.
NO. 10, FLORIDA 41, MISSOURI 17: In Gainesville, Fla., Kadarius Toney scored three times and Kyle Trask became the first player in school history with four TD passes in four consecutive games as Florida (3-1) returned from a three-week layoff to beat Missouri (2-3).
The Gators’ win came after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the SEC to postpone two of their games. It also included a benches-clearing scuffle at halftime that involved both coaches.
The fight started when Missouri’s Trajan Jeffcoat delivered what looked like a high, late hit on Trask after he released a Hail Mary at the end of the second quarter. The ball fell incomplete, and Trask landed hard on his back. His linemen came to his defense, and so did coach Dan Mullen, who started screaming at the officials and the opposing sideline. Players from both teams converged near Missouri’s sideline, and wild punches could be seen flying and connecting.
VIRGINIA 44, NO. 15 UNC 41: In Charlottesville, Va., Brennan Armstrong threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and Virginia (2-4, 2-4 ACC) scored 28 consecutive points before holding on to beat North Carolina (4-2, 4-2).
WEST VIRGINIA 37, NO. 16 KANSAS STATE 10: In Morgantown, W. Va., Jarret Doege threw two TD passes as West Virginia (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knocked the Wildcats (4-2, 4-1) from their soloperch atop the league standings.
NO. 17 INDIANA 37, RUTGERS 21: In Piscataway, N.J., Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to help Indiana (2-0) beat Rutgers (1-1 ) in a Big Ten matchup.
NO. 20 COASTAL CAROLINA 51, GA. STATE 0: In Atlanta, Grayson McCall passed for 254 yards and four touchdowns, and Jaivon Heiligh scored twice as Coastal Carolina (6-0, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) cruised past Georgia State (2-3, 1-3).
NO. 22 SMU 51, NAVY 37: In Dallas, Shane Buechele threw three touchdown passes and Ulysses Bentley IV ran for two scores as SMU (6-1, 3-1 AAC) rebounded from its first loss to beat Navy (3-4, 3-2).
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 52, KANSAS 22: In Lawrence, Kan., Breece Hall matched a career high with 185 yards as ISU (4-2, 4-1 Big 12) beat the Jayhawks (0-6, 0-5).
NO. 24 OKLAHOMA 62, TEXAS TECH 28: In Lubbock, Texas, Rhamondre Stevenson ran for three first-half TDs and Spencer Rattler threw for 288 yards and two scores as OU (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) beat Texas Tech (2-4, 1-4).
Mountain West
WYOMING 31, HAWAII 7: In Laramie, Wyo., late Friday, Xazavian Valladay and Trey Smith each rushed for 85-plus yards and two touchdowns, and Wyoming (1-1) cruised to its ninth straight home win.
Chevan Cordeiro was 10-of26 passing for 106 yards with one interception for Hawaii (1-1, 1-1), which is scheduled to play host to New Mexico this coming Saturday.
BOISE STATE 49, AIR FORCE 30: At Air Force Academy, Colo., Jack Sears threw three TD passes and ran for another score while filling in for starter Hank Bachmeier, and Avery Williams scored on an 88-yard kickoff return for the Broncos (2-0, 2-0) have won 11 straight MWC games.
Air Force (1-2, 0-2) saw its nine-game home winning streak snapped.