’Bama routs Auburn in Iron Bowl; Georgia up next
NO. 1 ALABAMA 52, AUBURN 21 >> Tua Tagovailoa threw five touchdown passes and ran for a score to lead No. 1 Alabama to a 52-21 victory over rival Auburn on Saturday.
Tagovailoa and the Crimson Tide (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) took over with an explosive third quarter, when the Heisman Trophy contender threw three long touchdown passes. He’s the first Alabama player to have a hand in six TDs in a game and matched the school record with the five scoring passes.
Now, ‘Bama heads to the SEC championship game against No. 5 Georgia with a guaranteed playoff spot on the line. NO. 2 CLEMSON 56, SOUTH CAROLINA 35 >> Trevor Lawrence threw for a careerhigh 393 yards, Adam Choice rushed for three touchdowns and Clemson capped a perfect regular season, beating South Carolina for its fifth consecutive rivalry win.
The Tigers reached 12-0 for the second time in four seasons and for the third time in program history, starting with its 1981 national title season.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 52, AUBURN 21 >> Jake Fromm threw four touchdown passes, D’Andre Swift ran for 105 yards and Georgia romped into the Southeastern Conference championship game.
The Bulldogs (11-1, No. 5 CFP) couldn’t afford a slipup, not with top-ranked Alabama looming next week in Atlanta.
Georgia led 38-7 at halftime — which, in an interesting twist, was the score of last year’s dominating victory over the Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs held a 343-66 edge in total yards, piling up
18 first downs to only four by Georgia Tech (7-5).
NO. 13 FLORIDA 41, FLORIDA STATE 14 >> Feleipe Franks had three touchdown passes and No. 13 Florida used a punishing ground attack to end a five-game losing streak to Florida State.
Lamical Perine had a 74yard touchdown run, and Florida ran for 278 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Perine ran for 129 yards, averaging 9.9 yards per carry. NO. 17 KENTUCKY 56, LOUISVILLE 10 >> Terry Wilson accounted for 340 yards and four touchdowns, Benny Snell Jr. rushed for two scores and Kentucky blew out Louisville in the Governor’s Cup.
The Wildcats (9-3) scored TDs on all five first-half drives and never trailed in posting their first nine-win regular season since 1977, scoring TDs on all five first-half drives. Wilson’s 3-yard scoring run provided a 14-0 lead before he tossed TD passes of 28 and 13 yards to Lynn Bowden for a 35-10 cushion late in the second quarter. The sophomore transfer threw a 32-yard TD to Josh Ali in the third to make it 42-10.
NO. 19 SYRACUSE 42, BOSTON COLLEGE 21 >> Eric Dungey ran for three touchdowns and threw for 362 yards and three more scores to lead Syracuse past Boston College.
The Orange (9-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) gave up the first score of the game, then scored touchdowns on three straight possessions, starting with a 75-yard pass from Dungey to a wide-open Sean Riley. BC fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Dungey’s 4-yard run to make it 14-7 and the Eagles (7-5,
4-4) never got any closer. NO. 20 NORTHWESTERN 24, ILLINOIS 16 >> Clayton Thorson accounted for three touchdowns, Isaiah Browser rushed for 166 yards on 18 carries and Northwestern beat Illinois.
Thorson completed 12 of
18 passes for 110 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score, and Bowser posted his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
The Wildcats (8-4, 8-1, No. 19 in CFP) will face No.
10 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game next weekend in Indianapolis. MIAMI 24, NO. 24 PITTSBURGH
3>> Travis Homer rushed for
168 yards and a long touchdown, DeeJay Dallas ran back a punt for one of his two scores and Miami closed its regular season by knocking off Pittsburgh.
Dallas also had a rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Homer is up to 969 yards this season, and would have a chance to become the 10th runner in Miami history with a 1,000yard season if he gets 31 in the bowl game.