Ohio State escapes with 52-51 OT win
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Ohio State went to overtime to avoid one of the most stunning upsets of the season, beating Maryland 52-51 on Saturday when the Terrapins failed to convert a 2-point conversion after matching the Buckeyes’ touchdown in the first extra period.
Favored by 14 1/2 points, No. 8 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) trailed by two touchdowns in the third quarter and 45-38 with under two minutes left before rallying.
After a 5-yard touchdown run by Dwayne Haskins gave the Buckeyes the lead to start overtime, Tayon Fleet-Davis scored to get the Terrapins within a point. Interim coach Matt Canada decided to end it right there, going for two, but Tyrrell Pigrome’s pass to Jeshaun Jones was off target.
The Buckeyes stayed in the hunt for the Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. They finish the regular season this week in a game against Michigan that will decide the Big Ten East winner.
The Buckeyes never led until overtime against the upstart Terrapins (5-6, 3-5). Haskins ran for three touchdowns and was 28-for-38 for 405 yards and three TDs.
Ohio State finished with a whopping 688 yards, including 203 on the ground by J.K. Dobbins, but the defense allowed 535 yards and seven touchdowns.
Maryland freshman Anthony McFarland had touchdown runs of 81 and 75 yards in the first quarter and finished with 298 yards rushing — seven short of the school record.
› No. 2 Clemson 35, Duke 6
CLEMSON, S.C. — Trevor Lawrence was 21-for-38 for 251 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Clemson overcame a slow start to beat Duke to finish a perfect Atlantic Coast Conference season.
Clemson (11-0, 8-0) fell behind 6-0 early. Lawrence was 0-for-7 on third downs in the first half and the Travis Etienne ran for just 4 yards as the Tigers led 14-6 at the break.
But Etienne ran for 77 yards on four carries in the second half with touchdowns runs of 27 and 29 yards, and Lawrence broke it open with a 10-yard TD pass to T.J. Chase early in the fourth quarter — his final play in another Clemson blowout. Daniel Jones was 24 of 43 for 158 yards for Duke (7-4, 3-4).
› No. 3 Notre Dame 36,
No. 12 Syracuse 3
NEW YORK — Ian Book returned to the starting lineup for Notre Dame and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns to help the Fighting Irish stay on target for a trip to the College Football Playoff.
The Fighting Irish held out Book from last week’s home game against Florida State with a rib injury, and he wasn’t missed as Notre Dame (11-0) rolled with Brandon Wimbush at quarterback.
Notre Dame clearly wanted to be cautious with Book ahead of its trip to Yankee Stadium to face high-scoring Syracuse (8-3). The junior quarterback, who took over as the starter four games into the season, looked as good as new.
› No. 4 Michigan 31, Indiana 20
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Karan Higdon ran for a go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter and Jake Moody set a Michigan record with six field goals.
The Wolverines (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten) looked sluggish and it may have had something to do with looking ahead to this week’s game at No. 9 Ohio State, where they need a win to reach the Big Ten championship game for the first time.
The Hoosiers (5-6, 2-6) were competitive against Michigan as they have been lately, losing in overtime twice in the previous three meetings, but came up short again.
Indiana led 17-15 at halftime and finished with more yards (385) than anyone has had against Michigan’s top-ranked defense this season.
› No. 6 Oklahoma 55, Kansas 40
NORMAN, Okla. — Kyler Murray accounted for two of his five touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help No. 6 Oklahoma survive Kansas freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr.’s big game.
Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) moved closer to a spot in the conference championship game, and Murray boosted his Heisman Trophy campaign in likely his final home game.
Williams rushed for a career-high 252 yards and two touchdowns and threw for a score for Kansas (3-8, 1-7). The Jayhawks have lost seven of the past eight games.
Murray sealed the game with a breakaway 75-yard touchdown run with 13:44 remaining, sparking a 20-point fourth quarter. He added another touchdown in the quarter and finished with 272 yards passing and two touchdowns. He rushed for 99 yards and three touchdowns.
› Oklahoma State 45,
No. 7 West Virginia 41
STILLWATER, Okla. — Taylor Cornelius threw a touchdown pass to Tylan Wallace with 42 seconds remaining to rally Oklahoma State.
Will Grier led West Virginia (8-2, 6-2) to the Oklahoma State 14, but couldn’t connect with David Sills on the final play. The loss all but ended West Virginia’s shot at the College Football Playoff. West Virginia faces Oklahoma Friday and still has a shot at reaching the Big 12 title game.
Cornelius passed for 338 yards and ran for 106 to help Oklahoma State (6-5, 3-5) become bowl eligible.
› No. 14 Utah State 29, Colorado State 24
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Collin Hill’s apparent 34-yard touchdown pass to Preston Williams with no time left was negated by penalty, giving Utah State the victory in a wild and stunning finish to a game played in snow and freezing rain.
Colorado State was flagged for illegal touching after it was determined Williams had stepped out of bounds and was the first to touch the ball when he came back in bounds and made the leaping catch between two defenders in the end zone.
Jordan Love threw a go-ahead 33-yard touchdown pass to Aaren Vaughns with 43 seconds remaining, the first offensive touchdown of the day for the Aggies (101, 7-0 Mountain West). That score came on the heels of Hill’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Williams with 1:36 remaining for the Rams (3-8, 2-5).
› No. 16 Penn State 20, Rutgers 7
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Trace McSorley threw two touchdown passes to tight end Pat Freiermuth and Penn State’s defense set up two touchdowns with turnovers.
The Nittany Lions (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) beat Rutgers (1-10, 0-7) for the 12th straight time. Rutgers has lost 10 straight.
McSorley won for the 30th time as a starter, making him the winningest quarterback in school history. The senior broke a tie with Todd Blackledge (198082) and Tony Sacca (1988-91). The two touchdowns increased his total — running and passing — to 101.
› No. 17 Washington 42, Oregon State 23
SEATTLE — Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes and Myles Gaskin rushed for 135 yards in the final home game of their careers, and Washington scored 28 first-quarter points.
The victory by the Huskies (8-3, 6-2 Pac-12) sets up a winner-take-all matchup with No. 8 Washington State in the Apple Cup Friday for the Pac-12 North Division title. The winner of the 111th matchup will play in the conference title game with a Rose Bowl berth at stake.
The Huskies dominated Oregon State (2-9, 1-7) early then coasted the final three quarters. After getting a week off, Washington jumped to a 28-3 lead on the strength of two short TD runs by Salvon Ahmed and a pair touchdown passes by Browning. He hit Aaron Fuller with a 17-yarder after Oregon State fumbled a kickoff, and connected with tight end Cade Otton on a 21-yard TD strike.
Browning finished 17-of-23 for 242 yards.
› No. 21 Utah 30, Colorado 7
BOULDER, Colo. — Jason Shelley threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the snow, and Utah moved closer to its first Pac-12 title game appearance.
The Utes (8-3, 6-3) will win the Pac-12 South if Arizona State loses at Oregon later Saturday or if the Sun Devils fall to Arizona this week.
A sixth consecutive loss for the Buffaloes (5-6, 2-6) capped a week in which athletic director Rick George said he hadn’t made any decisions regarding coach Mike MacIntyre’s employment amid a news report that his job was in jeopardy.
› Florida State 22,
No. 22 Boston College 21
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Deondre Francois threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry with 1:49 left and Florida State beat Boston College to keep its bowl hopes alive.
Francois was 19-of-39 for 322 yards, shaking off two first-half interceptions for his fourth 300-yard game of the season. Cam Akers had 19 carries for 110 yards for the Seminoles (5-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). It was Florida State’s first victory in six attempts against Top 25 teams this season.
Boston College (7-4, 4-3) hasn’t won in Tallahassee since 2008. A.J. Dillon ran a season-high 37 times for 116 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.
› No. 24 Northwestern 24, Minnesota 14
MINNEAPOLIS — Isaiah Bowser rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns and Northwestern turned three turnovers by Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan into 10 points.
Clayton Thorson completed 15 of 21 passes for 230 yards without a turnover and had a 13-yard touchdown run in the first half for the Wildcats (7-4, 7-1 Big Ten). They pushed their school-record road winning streak to eight and have their best conference record since 1996.
Nate Hall had two interceptions for the Wildcats. Minnesota 5-6, 2-6), who fell to 4-13 in conference play under coach P.J. Fleck.