Clemson takes care of business
Kelly Bryant threw two touchdowns to Hunter Renfrow and No. 3 Clemson ( 11- 1) kept on track for a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff with a 34- 10 victory over No. 24 South Carolina ( 8- 4) on Saturday night in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Tigers won their fourth straight game in the Palmetto State’s most cared- about sporting event, tying their second- longest run of dominance in the series.
The win was the 100th in Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s career. And combined with the CFP’s top teams — Alabama and Miami — losing this weekend, the Tigers solidified their position among the top four heading into the Atlantic Coast Conference title game next week.
The Tigers entered wary of the rejuvenated Gamecocks, who finished second in the Southeastern Conference East and had its most victories in a season in four years. But Clemson’s defense bottled up quarterback Jake Bentley for a second consecutive season. Fittingly, cornerback Ryan Carter opened Clemson’s scoring with a 12- yard pick- six on Bentley’s bad throw near his goal line.
Louisville 44, Kentucky 17
Lamar Jackson accounted for 372 yards and two passing touchdowns, along with being involved in a first- quarter fight, as the visiting Cardinals ( 8- 4) coasted past the Wildcats ( 7- 5) to reclaim the Governor’s Cup. The Heisman Trophy winner passed for 216 yards and rushed for 156 as Louisville outgained Kentucky 562- 338.
The bench- clearing fight between Jackson and Kentucky linebacker Jordan Jones symbolized the simmering intensity between in- state rivals, and Jackson made sure the surging Cardinals reclaimed Bluegrass bragging rights going away.
“There was stuff said,” said Jackson, deflecting questions about the fight. “They wanted to win, we wanted to win.”
Play was chippy throughout, and tempers flared early as Heisman winner Jackson and Jones clashed after Lonnie Johnson Jr. knocked Jackson out of bounds. Jackson bumped Jones after getting up, and the players exchanged shoves before wrestling on the ground and igniting several smaller skirmishes.
Oklahoma 59, West Virginia 31
Baker Mayfield threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns after being benched for the first series as punishment for his lewd gesture toward the Kansas bench last week, and the No. 4 Sooners ( 11- 1, 8- 1) routed the visiting Mountaineers ( 7- 5, 5- 4) to maintain their momentum heading into the Big 12 Championship game. Rodney Anderson ran for 118 yards and four touchdowns for Oklahoma, which will play TCU for the Big 12 title on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Georgia 38, Georgia Tech 7
Sony Michel ran for 85 yards and a touchdown, Jake Fromm threw two touchdown passes as the No. 7 Bulldogs ( 11- 1) protected their playoff hopes by rolling over the host Yellow Jackets ( 5- 6).
Kelly takes UCLA job
Chip Kelly agreed to a five- year, $ 23.3 million deal to become UCLA’s coach. The former Oregon coach returns to the Pac- 12 to replace Jim Mora, who was fired with one game left in his sixth season in Westwood.
Kelly, spent the last year out of coaching after four seasons in the NFL. He has elected to return to the college game with the sleeping giant of a program at UCLA, which hasn’t won a conference title since 1998.
Weber State 21, W. Illinois 19
Stefan Cantwell hooked up with Drew Batchelor for two secondquarter touchdowns and then found tight end Andrew Vollert for a 21- yard score in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats ( 10- 2) nipped the Leathernecks ( 8- 4) in the first round of the FCS playoffs in Ogden, Utah.