No. 13 FSU beats No. 12 Florida 27-2
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dalvin Cook ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Roberto Aguayo kicked two long field goals and No. 14 Florida State upended 10th-ranked Florida 27-2 on Saturday night.
The Seminoles (10-2) won their third consecutive game at Florida Field — the first time that’s happened in the history of the storied rivalry — and ended any chance the Gators (10-2) had of making the College Football Playoff.
Florida avoided its first shutout in the Swamp since 1988 when FSU quarterback Sean Maguire recovered a fumble in the end zone for a safety with 8:58 remaining.
It was little consolation for the Gators, who will be huge underdogs next week for the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta against second-ranked Alabama.
Florida State, which didn’t make the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, awaits its bowl assignment. The Seminoles probably locked up a spot in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 in Atlanta.
No. 1 Clemson 37, South
Carolina 32: Deshaun Watson ran for three touchdowns and passed for a fourth as No. 1 Clemson capped an undefeated regular season by holding off rival South Carolina 37-32 on Saturday.
Watson passed for 279 yards and ran for 114 to keep the Tigers on track for a spot in the College Football Playoff — and moved their record to 12-0 for the first time since their 1981 national championship winning season.
Next up is No. 11 North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Dec. 5. Win that one and it’s off to the national semifinals. South Carolina finished the season at 3-9.
As long as Watson’s around, the Tigers’ title chances are pretty good.
The Heisman Trophy hopeful had a 5-yard TD run and a 55-yard scoring pass to Deon Cain to put the Tigers up 14-0 lead. He added 30 and 3-yard
touchdown runs in the second half.
LSU 19, Texas A&M 7: If coach Les Miles is indeed done roaming the home sideline at LSU’s Death Valley, he’ll have gone out a winner, carried off on his players shoulders while fans serenaded him.
Leonard Fournette ran for 159 yards, Derrius Guice had a 50-yard scoring run and a touchdown and LSU beat Texas A&M 19-7 on Saturday night.
Guice had 73 yards rushing and also had a 75-yard kickoff return for LSU (8-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference), which ended a three-game skid that had raised questions about Miles’ job security. LSU’s administration has declined comment on Miles’ status, fueling speculation that his days roaming Death Valley’s home sideline are ending after 11 seasons.
But as the game ended, fans chanted, “Keep Les Miles! Keep Les Miles!”
Fournette, who was one of Miles’ prized 2014 recruits, finished the game owning LSU’s single-season rushing record at 1,741 yards, surpassing the mark of 1,686 yards set by Charles Alexander in 1977.
Kyle Allen passed for 161 yards and one touchdown for the Aggies (8-4, 4-4), but had a pass intercepted by Donte Jackson inside the final 2 minutes, all but sealing LSU’s victory.
Through game day, Miles’ biggest fans made sure they were seen and heard.
During the “Tiger Walk,” from the team busses to the stadium, Miles was greeted like a hero as he waved to the crowd, at times pausing and turning around as if to soak it all in. Many fans held up signs expressing support for the embattled coach, some urging LSU to give him at least one more season.
Inside Death Valley before kickoff, the crowd roared when Miles was introduce during Senior Day ceremonies. The coach tipped his trademark baseball cap to acknowledge the crowd, raising the volume a little more. As the clock wound down, fans serenaded the coach by chanting his name.
Miles overall record improved to 111-32. LSU could have had a nine-win regular season if not for lightning canceling the season opener against heavy underdog McNeese State.
Yet, some of the very aspects of LSU’s game that have bothered Miles’ critics showed up often during the regular season finale for both teams.
There were a handful of pre-snap penalties and the passing game was largely ineffective. Brandon Harris was 7 of 21 for 83 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. A number of his passes sailed over intended receivers or skipped off the grass short of their mark. Most of his receptions came on check downs to running backs, including a critical third-down swing pass to Fournette for a 17-yard gain that sustained the Tigers’ final scoring drive.
LSU’s frustrations on offense were encapsulated by the opening possession of the second half, which began on the A&M 25 after Guice’s long kickoff return in which he broke more than a half-dozen tackles before finally getting pushed out of bounds.
Hindered by a false start and a sack, the Tigers had to settle for a 46-yard field goal try, which Trent Domingue pushed wide right for the kicker’s third miss of the game.
When the Tigers finally got a big play to take a 13-7 lead, it came on Guice’s long run.
Thanks largely to Fournette, LSU drove into field goal range four times in the first half, but Domingue, who’d missed one field goal attempt all season coming in, missed two of four in the first half.
That allowed Texas A&M to take a 7-6 lead into halftime. The Aggies’ lone score came on Allen’s 8-yard, third-down pass over the middle to Ricky Seals-Jones.
The Aggies squandered a chance to widen their lead when Allen was sacked and stripped by Kendell Beckwith on the LSU 13, with the
Tigers’ Devon Godchaux recovering.
Arkansas 28, Missouri 3: Alex Collins ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns as Arkansas secured its first winning record in the Southeastern Conference since 2011 with a 28-3 win over Missouri on Friday.
The win is the fifth in the last six games for the Razorbacks (7-5, 5-3 SEC), who finish the regular season with a winning SEC record for only the eighth time since joining the league in 1992.
Collins had touchdown runs of 4, 7 and 25 yards, and he topped 100-yard rushing mark for the ninth time this season.
The game was the final one at Missouri (5-7, 1-7) for coach Gary Pinkel, who announced earlier this month he was resigning after the season following a diagnosis of lymphoma in May.
Pinkel finishes his 25 seasons as a head coach at both Toledo and Missouri with an overall record of 191-110-3, and he’s the all-time winningest coach for the Tigers — finishing 117-70 in 15 seasons at Missouri. Louisville 38, Kentucky 24: Lamar Jackson accounted for 316 yards and three touchdowns, Brandon Radcliff ran for two TDs and Louisville erased a 24-7 halftime deficit with 31 unanswered points for a 38-24 victory Saturday and fifth straight win over its in-state rival.
This Governor’s Cup win was especially sweet for the Cardinals (7-5), who trailed 21-0 after one quarter behind two interceptions leading to 14 points. Jackson replaced Kyle Bolin at quarterback and the mobile freshman rallied Louisville with his arm and feet, accounting for 171 yards in the third quarter alone.
Jackson finished with 186 yards rushing and TDs of 16 and 13 yards on 17 carries. He also threw for 130 yards, including a 35-yard TD to James Quick.
The Cardinals’ defense meanwhile clamped down to hold Kentucky (5-7) to 148 yards over the final three quarters and 291 overall in denying the Wildcats’ postseason quest for a second consecutive season. Tennessee 53, Vanderbilt 28: Joshua Dobbs threw two touchdown passes to Von Pearson and ran for a third score Saturday as Tennessee trounced Vanderbilt 53-28 to end the regular season with its first five-game winning streak since 2007.
This also marks the first time Tennessee (8-4, 5-3 SEC) has won at least eight games in a season since the 2007 team finished 10-4.
Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, and Cameron Sutton scored on an 85-yard punt return. Vanderbilt stayed close for most of the first half before Tennessee reeled off 33 straight points, turning a 20-14 game into a 53-14 runaway.
Ralph Webb rushed for 149 yards for Vanderbilt (4-8, 2-6), with 115 of them coming before halftime.
Tennessee beat Vanderbilt for a second straight year after losing to its in-state rival in 2012 and 2013. Tennessee has won 31 of its last 34 meetings with Vanderbilt overall.
No. 19 Mississippi 38, No. 23
Mississippi St 27: Chad Kelly threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead No. 19 Mississippi over No. 23 Mississippi State 38-27 on Saturday night.
Ole Miss (9-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 18 CFP) jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead and was never in serious trouble during the second half. Kelly threw two touchdown passes — both to Damore’ea Stringfellow — and ran for another while Tony Bridges returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown.
It’s just the second time the road team has won the Egg Bowl in 12 years.
Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4, No. 21) struggled in quarterback Dak Prescott’s final home game at Davis Wade Stadium.
Prescott completed 31 of 42 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked seven times and rarely looked comfortable in the pocket.
Ole Miss finished its second straight nine-win regular season.