’Bama Hurts Ga.
Substitute guides Tide to SEC title
In a dramatic twist on last season’s national championship game, Jalen Hurts came off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying No. 1 Alabama to a 35-28 win over No. 4 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference title yesterday in Atlanta. Heisman Trophy favorite Tua Tagovailoa had to be helped off the field with just over 11 minutes left after one of his own linemen stepped on the quarterback’s right ankle as he attempted to throw. Enter Hurts, who led Alabama to the national title game as a freshman but lost the starting job to Tagovailoa. Hurts calmly guided the Crimson Tide (13-0) to gametying touchdown with a 10yard pass to Jerry Jeudy. After Georgia (11-2) was stuffed on a fake punt near midfield, Hurts took matters into his own hands for the winning score. Spotting an opening up the middle, he took off on a 15-yard TD run with 1:04 remaining.
Oklahoma 39, Texas 27 —
Kyler Murray threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 5 Sooners beat the No. 9 Longhorns in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, to avenge their only loss and make their case for a return to the College Football Playoff. Murray, the Heisman Trophy-contending dual-threat quarterback, threw two of his TDs to Grant Calcaterra. That included an impressive 18yard score on a third-and-10 play with two minutes left as the Sooners (12-1) won their seventh consecutive game. Sam Ehlinger was 23-of-36 for 349 yards with two touchdowns, and he also ran for two scores for Texas (9-4). Darriel Mack shrugged off two early turnovers to rush for three second-half touchdowns and rally the No. 7 Knights to a victory over the Tigers in the American Athletic Conference championship game in Orlando, Fla. With the redshirt freshman filling in for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton, the Knights (12-0) won their second straight league
UCF 56, Memphis 41 —
title and extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 25 games.
Iowa State 27, Drake 24 —
David Montgomery rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns and the No. 24 Cyclones (8-4) survived the near-upset by the FCS Bulldogs in Ames, Iowa. In New England action:
Maine 55, Jacksonville St. 27 —
Chris Ferguson threw for five touchdowns, Ramon Jefferson ran for a career-high 186 yards and the seventh-seeded Black Bears (9-3) used a big 42point first half to defeat the Gamecocks in the second round of the FCS playoffs.