Clemson, FSU won’t make up game

Clemson’s game at Virginia Tech on Saturday will be its final of the regular season.

The Tigers will not make up the postponed game with Florida State, the ACC announced Tuesday evening. With the news, Clemson can clinch a spot in the ACC championship game with a win Saturday over the Hokies.

The ACC originally set aside Dec. 12 as a date for makeup games in this coronavirus-affected season.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney made it clear he did not want to make a return trip to Tallahassee this year. Clemson’s game at FSU scheduled for Nov. 21 was postponed after a Tigers offensive lineman tested positive for COVID-19 on the Friday ahead of the game.

UF CAN TAKE EAST

Florida’s No. 1 goal for the season can be achieved Saturday.

If the Gators win at Tennessee, they’ll capture the SEC East title and earn their spot in the conference championship game Dec. 19, likely against No. 1 Alabama.

For a team that’s been striving to become a championship program since the arrival of coach Dan Mullen after the 2017 season in which the Gators went 4-7, this is a huge deal.

“It would mean everything,” quarterback Kyle Trask said. “At the beginning of the season we have all these huge goals, but the first real goal we have to accomplish is to win the East.

“We have a chance to do that on Saturday. We’ll definitely be playing at our top level to get that done.”

STOOPS AIDS SOONERS

Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is helping coach the Sooners again because of coronavirus issues

The Sooners had to postpone last Saturday’s game against West Virginia and temporarily paused organized team activities due to recent positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing throughout the program. The situation affected the assistant coaches, leading Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to ask Stoops for help. Riley said Stoops was on the field helping coach on Tuesday.

“It was great,” Riley said. “It’s nice. It’s been kind of in our hip pocket this whole time. If we had any staff member that fell off, we’ve got a Hall of Famer sitting on the bench. So that’s a pretty good bench when you can call that guy up.”

ELSEWHERE

Ohio State: The Buckeyes are resuming full practices again in preparation for Saturday’s game at Michigan State. The Buckeyes will do so while managing COVID-19 issues, and will be without coach Ryan Day, who tested positive last week. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson is assuming head coaching duties for the week and for Saturday’s game in East Lansing.

UCF: Senior receiver Marlon Williams is opting out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on the upcoming NFL draft. The Alabama native is coming off a career best regular season, during which he led the American Athletic Conference in receiving yards (1,039), receptions (71) and receiving touchdowns (10).