Utes rally, keep playoff hopes alive
Tyler Huntley threw for one touchdown and ran for another, Jaylon Johnson returned an interception 39 yards for a score, and No. 9 Utah overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to beat Washington 33-28..
The Utes (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) kept alive their College Football Playoff hopes thanks to a defense that forced Washington quarterback Jacob Eason into three turnovers and got just enough offense from Huntley to rally from an early 14-3 hole.
Huntley hit Zack Moss on a 9-yard TD late in the first half and added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give Utah its first lead, 26-21.
Huntley's TD run capped a drive that featured a key third-and-12 conversion where Huntley was able to hit Jaylen Dixon for a 41-yard completion.
Huntley finished 19 of 24 for 284 yards. He also had a pair of key third-down conversions on Utah's final scoring drive, hitting Solomon Enis for 14 yards and Samson Nacua for 28 yards.
Moss capped the 84-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 4:52 left. He finished with 100 yards on 27 carries.
Washington (5-4, 2-4) dropped its second straight after losing to Oregon two weeks ago and lost for the third time at home this season. Eason was 29 of 52 for 316 yards and four touchdowns.
Quick start spurs Michigan: Giles Jackson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to get things started for No. 14 Michigan, which used two first-half scoring runs by freshman Zach Charbonnet to pull away in a 38-7 rout of Maryland.
Seeking to build on a 45-14 rout of Notre Dame one week earlier, the Wolverines (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) went up 21-0 at halftime over the fading Terrapins (3-6, 1-5).
After Maryland won the coin toss and deferred the decision to the second half, Jackson picked his way through the Terrapins to give Michigan the lead for good with exactly 11 seconds elapsed.
“It’s a great way to start a game,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said.
The Wolverines’ special teams contributed, too. In addition to the kickoff return, Michigan used a successful fake punt to set up Charbonnet’s second TD, and a partially blocked punt led to a third-quarter touchdown run by Hassan Haskins for a 35-0 lead.
Maryland has dropped six of seven under first-year coach Michael Locksley.
Newman powers Wake: Jamie Newman returned from injury to throw for three touchdowns and run for two more as No. 23 Wake Forest rolled past North Carolina State 44-10.
Wake Forest (7-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) said the 34-point margin was its largest ever against an ACC opponent at BB&T Field, where the Demon Deacons began playing in September 1968.
Newman, who has missed one game and part of a second with a shoulder injury, scored twice on first-quarter keepers, taking a moment to extend his arms to the side in celebration as he crossed the goal line on a 20-yard run that started the romp.
He also had the first of his three TD throws to Jack Freudenthal in the first quarter, with Wake Forest scoring touchdowns on its first three drives and taking a 24-0 lead early in the second.
Newman threw for 287 yards and ran for 30 more before checking out late in the third.
N.C. State (4-4, 1-3) never had an answer, with its defense unable to stop the Demon Deacons and its offense unable to sustain drives with first-time starting quarterback Devin Leary.
The redshirt freshman completed 17 of 45 passes for 149 yards and a secondquarter touchdown but had two interceptions.
Mustangs missing Roberson: No. 15 SMU was without top wide receiver Reggie Roberson Jr. for its showdown with No. 24 Memphis, ESPN.com reported.
Roberson suffered a foot injury in the unbeaten Mustangs’ 34-31 win over Houston on Oct. 24 and did not travel with the team to face the Tigers.
He entered Saturday eighth in the nation in receiving yards with 803 and leads SMU (8-0) with an 18.7 yards-percatch average.
Roberson’s six receiving touchdowns are second on the team.
Clemson runs streak to 24: Trevor Lawrence accounted for four touchdowns, Travis Etienne ran for 212 yards and two TDs and No. 4 Clemson won its 24th consecutive game, rolling over FCS opponent Wofford 59-14.
Etienne, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, helped the Tigers (9-0) put the game away early with scoring runs of 47 and 86 yards in the first 15:12. Clemson improved to 34-0 against FCS programs. It was the Tigers’ sixth straight win over Wofford (5-3), which fell to 1-21 against FBS schools.
Etienne became Clemson’s first rusher with three 200-yard games.