Clemson, Ohio St. rely on late drives to eke out wins
CLEMSON, S.C. — Should No. 3 Clemson fulfill its championship aspirations this season, prepare to hear plenty about “The Drive.”
With new starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence knocked out of the game, reserve Chase Brice — who was about sixth on the depth chart last January — guided a 94-yard, fourthquarter scoring drive that ended with Travis Etienne’s 2-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left and gave the Tigers a 27-23 victory against Syracuse on Saturday.
“I’ll never forget this one,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Some might say it’s the fifth game of the year, but it’s more than that. I saw a team that didn’t quit.”
This one was hard to forget, both for the week Clemson (5-0, 2-0 ACC) endured in going from having one too many starting-caliber QBs to having none by the fourth quarter to the game’s big finish.
Lawrence, a five-star freshman, supplanted senior Kelly Bryant as starter. A day later, Bryant said he was transferring.
Then in the second quarter, a shaky Lawrence took hard hit to the head, wobbled to the sideline and did not return.
Things looked bleak for the Tigers when Eric Dungey’s second 1-yard rushing TD put Syracuse up 23-13 with less than 13 minutes left. That’s when Clemson put together a pair of TD drives to stay unbeaten and avoid a second straight season of being upset by Syracuse (4-1, 1-1).
OHIO ST. 27, PENN ST. 26
Dwayne Haskins threw two touchdown passes in the final seven minutes as the No. 4 Buckeyes wiped out a 12-point deficit to beat the No. 9 Nittany Lions in another wild game between the Big Ten powerhouses at State College, Pa.
With Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) trailing 26-14 with eight minutes left, Haskins connected with Binjimen Victor, who weaved and slipped through tacklers for a 47-yard TD catch and run that cut it to 26-21. Haskins later hit K.J. Hill with a quick pass and the receiver picked up a couple of blocks, broke a tackle and went in for a 24-yard score that made it 27-26 with 2:03 left.
Trace McSorley had 461 total yards, including a career-high 175 rushing, and threw two touchdown passes for Penn State before a record-breaking crowd of 110,889.
NOTRE DAME 38 STANFORD 17
Ian Book threw four touchdown passes and the No. 8 Fighting Irish defense stifled the No. 7 Cardinal to end a threegame losing streak to visiting Stanford.
WASHINGTON 35, BYU 7
Jake Browning completed 23 of 25 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown, and the No. 11 Huskies were thoroughly dominant on both sides in a rout of the No. 20 Cougars in Seattle.
LSU 45, MISSISSIPPI 16
Joe Burrow passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 96 yards and another score, and the No. 5 Tigers rolled in Baton Rouge, La.
Burrow had his best game by far for LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC) since arriving this year as a graduate transfer from Ohio State, completing 18 of 25 passes to nine receivers. His 388 yards of total offense were fourthmost in a single game in LSU history.
MICHIGAN 20 NORTHWESTERN 17
Karan Higdon ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, Shea Patterson threw 196 yards and the No. 14 Wolverines overcame a 17-point deficit on the road.
FLORIDA 13, MISS. ST. 6
Feleipe Franks threw for 219 yards and the Gators’ defense dominated the No. 23 Bulldogs as coach Dan Mullen won in his first appearance in Starkville since leaving Mississippi State in November after nine seasons.
ALABAMA 56 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 14
Jaylen Waddle returned a punt for a touchdown and caught two scoring passes, including a 94yarder, as the top-ranked Tiger remained unbeaten with a rout at home.
GEORGIA 38, TENNESSEE 12
D’Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns, including a late 14-yarder, and the No. 2 Bulldogs used dominant defense to overcome the visiting Volunteers.
AUBURN 24 |SOUTHERN MISS 13
Jarrett Stidham threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns and the No. 10 Tigers prevailed in a home game disrupted for nearly three hours by lightning.
CENTRAL FLORIDA 45 PITTSBURGH 14
McKenzie Milton threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns and the No. 13 Knights extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 17 games with a win at home.
KENTUCKY 24 SOUTH CAROLINA 10
Benny Snell Jr. ran for 99 yards and one of the Wildcats’ three consecutive first-half touchdowns and No. 17 Kentucky held on to beat the visiting Gamecocks.
MICHIGAN ST. 31 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 20
Brian Lewerke ran for two touchdowns in the first half, and the No. 21 Spartans overcame a slow start and an underwhelming finish to top the visiting Chippewas.
VIRGINIA TECH 31, DUKE 14
Ryan Willis threw for 332 yards and three TDs in his first start as the visiting Hokies beat the No. 22 Blue Devils.