Alabama in perfectly good position
Alabama showed off all its weapons in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Now, the Crimson Tide can expect a return trip to Atlanta for the College Football Playoff.
The nation’s No. 1 team scored off a blocked punt and an interception return yesterday in Atlanta before wearing down No. 15 Florida in the second half with a dominant running game. The result was a 54-16 rout that positioned Alabama to go for its second straight national title and its fifth crown in the last nine years under coach Nick Saban.
Next up: a likely semifinal playoff game back at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 31.
The Crimson Tide (13-0, No. 1 CFP) bolted to a 16-9 lead in the first quarter, despite being held to minus-7 yards and no first downs. They scored one touchdown off a blocked punt, another off an interception return. A field goal was set up by another pick — one of three thrown by Florida quarterback Austin Appleby in the first half.
The Tide led 33-16 at halftime — the most points ever scored in the first two quarters of an SEC title game — and iced the win with scoring drives of 98 and 91 yards, sparked by a goal-line stand that finished off the last gasp by the Gators (8-4).
Florida marched the length of the field on the game’s opening possession, the first touchdown given up by the Crimson Tide in more than 17 quarters and found the end zone again before halftime, but the offense was thwarted after the intermission. After pulling its starters, Alabama scored one last touchdown to finish the secondmost points ever scored against the Gators, topped only by Nebraska’s 62-24 victory for the national title in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl.
Clemson 42, Va. Tech 35 — In Orlando, Fla., Deshaun Watson bolstered his Heisman Trophy candidacy by passing for three touchdowns and running for two more to lead the No. 3 Tigers (12-1, No. 3 CFP) by the No. 19 Hokies (9-4) in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Winning consecutive league titles for the first time in 28 years likely will send Clemson back to the four-team playoff for the second straight year, providing Watson with an opportunity to resolve unfinished business from last January, when his team lost to Alabama in the championship game.
Watson completed 23-of-34 passes for 288 yards, including TDs of 21 and 10 yards to Jordan Leggett and 15 yards to Hunter Renfrow for a 4228 lead midway through the fourth quarter. He also rushed for 85 yards on 17 attempts.
Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans ran for two touchdowns and rallied his team from a 21-point deficit to make it close at the end. The Hokies scored on three straight possessions, trimming what was once a 35-14 deficit to seven points on Evans’ 5-yard run early in the fourth quarter and Cam Phillips’ 26yard TD reception with just under six minutes remaining.
Virginia Tech got the ball back with a chance to force overtime, but Evans was intercepted on fourthand-6 from the Clemson 23.
Penn St. 38, Wisconsin 31 — In Indianapolis, Trace McSorley threw four touchdown passes and the No. 8 Nittany Lions (11-2) rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit to beat the No. 6 Badgers (10-3) and claim their first conference title in eight years with the greatest comeback in Big Ten title game history.
Things looked bleak early, but McSorley (22-of-31, 384 yards) repeatedly burned the nation’s No. 3 defense with long passes on a record-breaking night. The yardage and TD passes were both Big Ten championship game records. He also broke the school’s single-season records for yards passing and touchdown passes.
And he wasn’t the only one to have a memorable performance. Saeed Blacknall caught six passes, two for touchdowns, and finished with a championship-game record 155 yards.
Wisconsin played without starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook but still jumped to a 28-7 lead behind Corey Clement, who ran 21 times for 164 yards including a 67yard TD run in the first quarter.
Oklahoma 38, Oklahoma St. 20
— In Norman, Okla., Baker Mayfield passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns, and the No. 7 Sooners (10-2, 9-0 Big 12) beat the No. 11 Cowboys (9-3, 7-2) in a matchup that decided the conference title and likely guaranteed the winners a trip to the Sugar Bowl.
Mayfield performed well throughout, despite finishing the game without top receiver Dede Westbrook, who caught four passes for 111 yards before being knocked out of the game on a crushing hit
by Oklahoma State safety Jordan Sterns.
Samaje Perine rambled for 239 yards on a career-high 37 carries and Joe Mixon caught a touchdown pass and busted a 79-yard touchdown run for the Sooners.
West Virginia 24, Baylor 21 — In Morgantown, W. Va., Skyler Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the No. 14 Mountaineers (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) held on for the win against the Bears (6-6, 3-6).
Justin Crawford rushed for 209 yards to help West Virginia to its first 10-win regular-season since 2007. The Mountaineers came from 11 points down in the first half to hand Baylor its sixth straight loss after a 6-0 start.
Temple 34, Navy 10 — In Annapolis, Md., Phillip Walker threw two touchdown passes, and the Owls (10-3) stuffed the running game of the No. 20 Midshipmen (9-3) to win the program’s first American Athletic Conference title.
Navy, which lost quarterback Will Worth and running backs Toneo Gulley and Darryl Bonner to first-half injuries, will play Army in the regular-season finale on Saturday. Worth is done for the season.