Book, No. 2 Irish roll past Syracuse
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Ian Book threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores in his final home game at Notre Dame, leading the second- ranked Fighting Irish to a 45- 21 victory against Syracuse on Saturday.
The fifth- year senior led the Irish to a victory as a starter for the 30th time, the most ever for a Notre Dame quarterback. The Irish ( 10- 0, 9- 0 ACC, CFP No. 2) ran their winning streak to 16 games, best on the country, and their home winning streak to 24.
Next up for the Irish, who are playing this season in a pandemic as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, is the Dec. 19 league championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will be a rematch against No. 4 Clemson if the Tigers beat Virginia Tech later Saturday.
Book was 24 for 37 for 285 yards, with touchdown passes of 21, 28 and 26 to Javon McKinley, who had seven receptions for 111 yards.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 52, MICHGAN STATE 12
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Justin Fields threw two touchdown passes and Haskell Garrett returned an interception for a score in Ohio State’s victory.
The Buckeyes ( 5- 0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) were able to take the field after a coronavirus- related cancellation the previous weekend. They were without coach Ryan Day and a few other members of the staff. Ohio State also had a list of 23 unavailable players, but none of that seemed to faze the Buckeyes.
NO. 5 TEXAS A& M 31, AUBURN 20
AUBURN, Ala. — Kellen Mond threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and Texas A& M scored 17 points in the fourth quarter in a comeback victory over Auburn.
The Aggies ( 7- 1 Southeastern Conference) dominated the final quarter to win their sixth straight and remain in College Football Playoff contention. The Tigers ( 5- 4) led 20- 14 entering the fourth.
NO. 6 FLORIDA 31, TENNESSEE 19
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kyle Trask threw for 433 yards and four touchdowns as Florida clinched a spot in the SEC championship game.
Trask, a front- runner for the Heisman Trophy, put together another impressive performance. He completed 35 of 49 passes without committing a turnover. He even had a 32- yard punt late in the game.
NO. 10 INDIANA 14, NO. 18 WISCONSIN 6
MADISON, Wis. — Jack Tuttle threw two touchdown passes in his first career start and Indiana’s defense made a stand in the final minute as the Hoosiers outlasted Wisconsin.
Indiana’s victory snapped a 10- game skid in this series and enabled the Hoosiers ( 6- 1, CFP No. 12) to tie a program record with its sixth Big Ten victory of the season. Indiana also earned six Big Ten wins in 1967 and 1987. The Hoosiers hadn’t beaten Wisconsin since 2002.
NO. 12 IOWA ST. 42, WEST VIRGINIA 6
AMES, Iowa — Brock Purdy threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and Iowa State dominated on defense in a rout of West Virginia to secure its first appearance in the Big 12 championship game.
NO. 14 COASTAL CAROLINA 22, NO. 8 BYU 17
CONWAY, S. C. — Mateo Sudipo stopped BYU’s Dax Milne at the 1- yard line as time expired and Coastal Carolina beat the Cougars in short- notice showdown of 9- 0 teams Saturday night.
RICE 20, NO. 15 MARSHALL 0
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Safety Naeem Smith returned one of five Marshall interceptions for a touchdown and Rice shocked the Thundering Herd for their first loss.
TCU 29, NO. 19 OKLA. ST. 22
FORT WORTH, Texas — Max Duggan threw a goahead, 71- yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter and ran for two more scores in the Horned Frogs’ victory over Oklahoma State.
CALIFORNIA 21, NO. 21 OREGON 17
BERKELEY, Calif. — Chase Garbers threw for a touchdown and ran for a short score, Muelu Iosefa had a late fumble recovery, and California earned its first victory of the season.
Oregon ( 3- 2) got the ball back with 2: 01 left and Tyler Shough marched the Ducks down the field, but his team gave the ball away once again in what has become a problematic pattern for the Ducks this season.
NO. 22 TULSA 19, NAVY 6
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Tulsa clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference title game, using a strong defensive effort and a tie- breaking 66- yard touchdown pass from Zach Smith to Josh Johnson to beat Navy for its sixth straight victory.
STANFORD 31, NO. 23 WASHINGTON 26
SEATTLE — Austin Jones rushed for a pair of first- half touchdowns, Davis Mills threw a 3- yard scoring pass to Scooter Harrington early in the second half and Stanford held off Washington’s second- half comeback.
NO. 24 IOWA 35, ILLINOIS 14
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Spencer Petris threw three touchdown passes and Iowa scored 35 unanswered points after trailing by two touchdowns early.