No. 1 Clemson rallies from 18 down to beat Boston College
Freshman backup DJ Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns in place of Trevor Lawrence, home with COVID-19, and No. 1 Clemson rallied from 18 points down in the first half to beat visiting Boston College 34-28 on Saturday.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after the game that Lawrence also will miss the Tigers’ game next week at No. 4 Notre Dame.
Travis Etienne became the Atlantic Coast Conference’s career rushing leader and his second TD put the Tigers (7-0, 6-0 ) ahead for good. A jarring week for Clemson ended with its 28th straight victory over league competition and 27th in a row at home.
Clemson was missing several key players. Lawrence was out after testing positive for the virus and starting linebackers James Skalski and Mike Jones Jr. were missing because of injuries.
The Eagles (4-3, 3-3) took advantage, putting Clemson in a 28-10 hole in the second quarter.
Uiagalelei had a 30-yard TD run on Clemson’s opening third-quarter drive to begin the comeback, then threw an 8-yard scoring strike to Amari Rodgers that drew the Tigers to 28-26.
Etienne put the Tigers in front for good with a 17-yard TD run with 11:34 to go.
The Eagles got the ball back with 1:24 left. But Phil Jurkovec was called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety, a fitting end to a second-half shutout by the Clemson defense.
Etienne ran for 84 yards, pushing him to 4,644 in his four seasons and past North Carolina State’s Ted Brown (4,602) as the ACC’s leader. Etienne also had seven catches for 140 yards. MICHIGAN STATE 28, NO. 13 MICHIGAN 24 >> Rocky Lombardi passed for 323 yards — 196 to Ricky White — and three touchdowns to help the Spartans stun the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.
Michigan State (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) appeared to be the better team all afternoon on both sides of the ball in Mel Tucker’s debut as coach in the rivalry.
Tucker became just the second coach to beat Michigan in his first try with the Spartans, joining Alabama coach Nick Saban, who did it in 1995. The former Colorado coach started his career as a graduate assistant for Saban and the Spartans.
Michigan (1-1, 1-1) was favored to win by more than three touchdowns. Jim Harbaugh’s team, though, never led and didn’t appear to have much energy.
NO. 4 NOTRE DAME 31, GEORGIA TECH 13 >> Kyren Williams ran for two touchdowns, Ian Book passed for another and the Fighting Irish (6-0, 5-0 ACC) stifled the Yellowjackets (2-5, 2- 4) with a dominant defensive performance.
Book completed 18 of 26 passes for 199 yards in another efficient performance for Notre Dame.
Williams shook off a fumble that Georgia Tech returned for a touchdown to score on runs of 2 and 4 yards.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 14, KENTUCKY 3 >> Zamir White rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, Stetson Bennett also ran for a score and the visiting Bulldogs (4-1 SEC) earned their 11th straight win in the series against the Wildcats (2- 4).
TEXAS 41, NO. 6 OKLAHOMA 34, OT >> Sam Ehlinger threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Moore in overtime and Joseph Ossai sealed the win by sacking quarterback Spencer Sanders as the Longhorns beat the previously unbeaten Cowboys.
Oklahoma State (4-1, 3-1 Big 12) outgained Texas (42, 3-2) 530 yards to 287, but the Cowboys turned the ball over four times.
Sanders passed for career highs of 400 yards and four touchdowns, but he fumbled twice and threw an interception — turnovers that led to 13 Texas points. Tylan Wallace caught 11 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns. NO. 7 CINCINNATI 49, MEM
PHIS 10 >> Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores, Jerome Ford also scored twice and the host Bearcats (5- 0, 3- 0 American Athletic) remained undefeated and snapped a fivegame losing streak against the Tigers (3-2, 2-2).
WEST VIRGINIA 37, NO. 16 KANSAS STATE 10 >> Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Tonkery returned an interception for a score and the Mountaineers (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) topped the visiting Wildcats (4-2, 4-1).
Kansas State’s Will Howard threw three interceptions and the Wildcats went scoreless after halftime to see their four-game winning streak snapped.
NO. 17 INDIANA 37, RUTGERS 21 >> Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to help the Hoosiers (2-0, 2-0 Big Ten) defeat the Scarlet Knights (1-1, 1-1).
NO. 20 COASTAL CAROLIONA 51, GEORGIA STATE 0 >> Grayson McCall passed for 254 yards and four touchdowns, Jaivon Heiligh scored twice and the Chanticleers (6- 0, 4- 0 Sun Belt Conference) cruised to stay unbeaten.
CJ Marable added two rushing touchdowns for Coastal Carolina.
Georgia State (2-3, 1-3) looked nothing like the team that began the day leading the Sun Belt in scoring at 42 points per game.