Alabama rallies, beats Auburn in four OTs
John Metchie caught a scoring pass from Bryce Young in the fourth overtime to give visiting No. 3 Alabama a 24-22 comeback victory over rival Auburn on Saturday, rescuing the Crimson Tide’s national title hopes.
It was the first overtime in Iron Bowl history.
Freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry tipped away T.J. Finley’s pass in the final OT and Young hit Metchie just as he did in the previous one.
Alabama (11-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) moves on to face No. 1 Georgia in the league championship game with its College Football Playoff hopes on the line. The Tigers (6-6, 3-5) dropped their fourth straight game after smothering Young and the Tide’s prolific offense most of the way.
Young capped a 97-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown to freshman Ja’Corey Brooks — his third catch and first touchdown this season — with 24 seconds left in regulation.
Young converted a fourth-and-7 to Jahleel Billingsley, followed by two incompletions under pressure for an offense that had been held in check for 59 minutes.
The teams traded touchdowns and field goals in the first overtime and both delivered scoring passes after lining up from the 3.
The Tigers had been trying to win their third straight Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and nearly pulled it off.
NO. 11 OREGON 38, OREGON STATE 29 >> Anthony Brown Jr. threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns while running for another score, and the Ducks extended their home winning streak to 19 games by beating the Beavers (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) to win the Pac-12 North Division and claim a spot in the league’s championship game.
Oregon (10-2, 7-2) will face Utah
for the conference championship in Las Vegas on Friday.
The Ducks were coming off a 38-7 loss a week earlier against the Utes, which dropped them from No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings to No. 11 and out of contention for a national title.
Devon Williams had six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown for Oregon, which will play for the league title for the third consecutive season. Travis Dye ran for 99 yards and two scores.
B.J. Baylor ran for 59 yards for the Beavers, who are bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. Baylor came into the game leading the Pac-12 and at No. 10 in the nation with an average of 109.1 yards rushing per game.
Oregon State’s Chance Nolan threw for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He ran for another in the waning moments.
NO. 1 GEORGIA 45, GEORGIA TECH 0 >>
Stetson Bennett passed for 255 yards and four touchdowns, two to tight end Brock Bowers, and the
Bulldogs finished their undefeated regular season by overwhelming the visiting Yellow Jackets (3-9).
Georgia (12-0) , which began the day leading the nation with its averages of 7.5 points and 236 yards allowed, posted its third shutout while giving up only 171 yards.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 27, TEXAS TECH 24 >> Blake Shapen threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns in his first start, and the Bears held off the Red Raiders.
Abram Smith ran for 117 yards and a touchdown for Baylor (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, CFP No. 8).
Texas Tech (6-6, 3-6) still had one more chance after stopping Baylor on fourth down on its 12 with 1:18 and no timeouts left. It got in position for a 53-yard field goal attempt by Jonathan Garibay, who had plenty of leg but pushed the kick wide left on the final play.
NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 30, PENN STATE 27 >> Payton Thorne threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Spartans over the Nittany Lions.
Kennett Walker III rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries as Michigan State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) bounced back from the previous week’s 56-7 loss to Ohio State. Michigan State finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2015.
Sean Clifford threw three touchdown passes, two to Jahan Dotson, for Penn State (7-5, 4-5).
NORTH TEXAS 45, NO. 15 UTSA 23 >> The Roadrunners’ undefeated season ended in a blowout as running backs DeAndre Torrey and Ikaika Ragsdale combined for five touchdowns for the Mean Green (6-6, 5-3 Conference USA).
Quarterback Frank Harris had two of UTSA’s three lost fumbles among six overall.
UTSA (11-1, 7-1), which never started with more than five consecutive wins in the program’s first nine seasons, is still hosting the conference championship game Friday night.
NO. 19 HOUSTON 45, UCONN 17 >> Clayton Tune threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns and the Cougars completed its regular season with a victory over the Huskies (1-11).
Nathaniel Dell caught two TD passes, and Jake Herslow and Jeremy Singleton each topped 100 receiving yards to go with a TD apiece for Houston (11-1), which will play at No. 4 Cincinnati for the American Athletic Conference title next Saturday.
ARIZONA STATE 38, ARIZONA 15 >>
Jayden Daniels accounted for three touchdowns, Jack Jones returned an interception 87 yards for a touchdown and the host Sun Devils beat the rival Wildcats.
Daniels threw for two touchdowns and ran for a 48-yard score, sending Arizona State (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) to its fifth straight win in the series.
Arizona (1-11, 1-8) wanted a bit of revenge after losing 70-7 at home to Arizona State last season.