No. 1 Alabama routs No. 4 LSU, 29-0
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tua Tagovailoa threw two touchdown passes and ran 44 yards for a score in his toughest test this season, Alabama’s defense stifled No. 4 LSU, and the top-ranked Crimson Tide remained unbeaten with a 29-0 victory Saturday night.
Tagovailoa took the field wearing a brace on right knee, threw his first interception of the season late in the first half and also played into the fourth quarter for the first time this season. None of those developments proved consequential. He was 25-of-42 passing for 295 yards and moved as well as well as he needed to, particularly when he sprinted up the middle of the field or his long TD run in the third quarter to give Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC, No. 1 CFP) a 22-0 lead.
Tagovailoa limped off the field after that play, went into the medical tent for some treatment and rode a stationary bike on the sideline, but returned for the next series.
NO. 2 CLEMSON 77, LOUISVILLE 16
In Clemson, S.C., Travis Etienne ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns and 350-pound defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence added a 2-yard scoring burst for Clemson.
The Tigers (6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 2 CFP) improved to 9-0 for the third time in four seasons and can wrap up their fourth ACC Atlantic Division title next week at Boston College.
Trevor Lawrence threw a pair of early touchdown passes. Etienne went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark and scored his ACC-leading 15th touchdown. Tavien Feaster added 101 yards rushing.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 31, NORTHWESTERN 21
In Evanston, Ill., Ian Book threw for threw two touchdown passes and ran 23 yards for a score in the closing minutes to lead Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish (9-0, No. 4 CFP) remained in line for a playoff spot and continued to build on their best start since the 2012 team went undefeated before losing to Alabama in the BCS championship game. The Wildcats (5-4) had won four in a row to grab the Big Ten West lead and they stayed in this one when it looked like Notre Dame was ready to pull away.
NO. 5 MICHIGAN 42, NO. 14 PENN STATE 7
In Ann Arbor, Mich., Shea Patterson accounted for three touchdowns and Michigan put together a dominant performance on defense.
The Wolverines (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) moved a step closer toward their goals of winning a conference championship for the first time since 2004 and earning their first spot in the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-3, No. 14 CFP) scored with 1:59 left, avoiding getting shut out for the first time since 2001 against Michigan.
NO. 6 GEORGIA 34, NO. 11 KENTUCKY 17
In Lexington, Ky., D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries against Kentucky’s vaunted defense and Georgia wrapped up its second straight Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title.
Swift had an 83-yard breakaway in the third quarter that gave Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 6 College Football Playoff) a 28-3 lead. He also had a nifty 20-yard scoring run in the second period when the game was close. Elijah Holyfield ran for a career-high 115 yards on 18 carries, scoring on a 4-yarder in the third quarter.
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 36, NEBRASKA 31
In Columbus, Ohio, J.K. Dobbins ran for three touchdowns and Dwayne Haskins Jr. passed for two more scores to help Ohio State beat Nebraska.
After Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to JD Spielman to pull within five with 3 minutes left, Dobbins pounded away for two first downs to run out the clock.
Before the late Nebraska score, Dobbins broke through the right side and romped for a 42-yard touchdown with 5 minutes left to give Ohio State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) breathing room.
Dobbins rushed for a season-high 163 yards — only his second 100-yard game this season. Running back Mike Weber added 91 yards on the ground.
Martinez threw for 266 yards and touchdown and rushed for two scores for Nebraska (2-7, 1-5).
NO. 12 WEST VIRGINIA 42, NO. 15 TEXAS 41
In Austin, Texas, Will Grier threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jennings with 16 seconds left, and then ran in the 2-point conversion to lift West Virginia past Texas.
Grier broke his finger on a run to the pylon in the first quarter of a loss to Texas last year, and his winning run came on a similar scramble. But there was no defender near him this time as he held the ball up while crossing the goal line untouched.
MISSOURI 38, NO. 13 FLORIDA 17
In Gainesville, Fla., Drew Lock picked apart Florida’s defense for the second straight year, throwing three touchdown passes to lead Missouri.
Lock completed 24 of 32 passes for 250 yards, with scoring throws to Albert Okwuegbunam, Kam Scott and Emanuel Hall that stunned the Swamp. Fortunately for the Gators (6-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), they won’t have to face the senior and possible first-round draft pick again.
They might have seen the last of Feleipe Franks, too.
ARIZONA STATE 38, NO. 16 UTAH 20
In Tempe, Ariz., Manny Wilkins threw three touchdown passes to N’Keal Harry and Arizona State beat Utah, knocking the No. 16 Utes out of sole possession of first place in Pac-12 South.
The Utes (6-3, 4-3 Pac-12) lost quarterback Tyler Huntley to a broken collarbone in the third quarter. The loss snapped Utah’s four-game winning streak.
SMU 45, NO. 17 HOUSTON 31
In Dallas, Ben Hicks threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns and SMU beat Houston, the second time in three years the Mustangs upset a ranked Cougars team.
The Mustangs (4-5, 3-2 American) never trailed, jumping out to a 17-0 lead after Hicks threw his second TD, a 17-yarder to Tyler Page less than a minute into the second quarter. Houston played its first game as a ranked team under second-year coach Major Applewhite.
PURDUE 38, NO. 19 IOWA 36
In West Lafayette, Ind., Spencer Evans made a 25-yard field goal with 8 seconds left, lifting Purdue pasrt Iowa and back in the Big Ten’s West Division title hunt.
David Blough threw three touchdown passes to Terry Wright and topped the 300-yard mark for the fifth time this season. The Boilermakers (5-4, 4-2 Big Ten) have won five of their last six and beat their third ranked team this season — the first time they’ve achieved that feat since 2003 — to move within one game of division leader Northwestern.
NO. 21 MISSISSIPPI STATE 45, LOUISIANA TECH 3
In Starkville, Miss., Nick Fitzgerald threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns and Mississippi State beat Louisiana Tech.
Mississippi State (6-3, No. 18 CFP) didn’t have much trouble, scoring 21 points in the first quarter of what quickly turned into a lopsided game. Fitzgerald completed 17 of 28 passes and threw his touchdowns to Stephen Guidry, Deddrick Thomas, Kylin Hill and Jesse Jackson.
Fitzgerald also ran for 107 yards. Mississippi State has a 16-3 record during Fitzgerald’s career when he breaks the 100-yard mark.
NO. 22 SYRACUSE 41, WAKE FOREST 24
In Winston-Salem, N.C., Eric Dungey rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, Jarveon Howard ran for two scores and Syracuse beat Wake Forest.
Dungey — whose average of 294.1 total yards per game ranks second in the ACC — was 23 of 35 for 157 yards and also ran for a 26-yard score to help the Orange (7-2, 4-2, No. 19 CFP) win their first game as a Top 25 team since the Dwight Freeney days in 2001.
Moe Neal added an 8-yard score, Chris Elmore had a 5-yard TD run and Andre Szmyt kicked two field goals for Syracuse, which earned its first conference road victory in more than two years.
NO. 24 BOSTON COLLEGE 31, VIRGINIA TECH 21
In Blacksburg, Va., Travis Levy ran for two touchdowns and Boston College beat Virginia Tech to set up a huge home game against Clemson next week.
BC (7-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 22 CFP) limited the Hokies to 32 yards in the third quarter and erased a 14-7 deficit with 21 unanswered points after halftime. Firstplace in the ACC Atlantic Division will be on the line when the second-ranked Tigers visit Boston College.
AUBURN 28, NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 24
In Auburn, Ala., Seth Williams caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham with 1:41 left and Auburn rallied to beat Texas A&M.
The Tigers (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) had a 14-point outburst over the final 5:14 and the defense came up with big stops. Stidham delivered big on both final drives.
Kellen Mond and the Aggies (5-4, 3-3) pushed the ball into Auburn territory on their final drive, converting a fourth-and-5. Then a holding call pushed them back across midfield and Mond’s desperation pass into the end zone was incomplete.
NEW MEXICO FOOTBALL NEW MEXICO STATE 52, ALCORN STATE 42
In Las Cruces, Jason Huntley returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a score and added three more touchdowns, and New Mexico State held on to beat Alcorn State.
Huntley finished with 111 yards receiving and 43 on the ground plus his 99-yard return.
Josh Adkins was 32-of-44 passing for 396 yards and four touchdowns. Johnathan Boone had 92 yards and a receiving score
The kickoff-return touchdown was the second of the season for Huntley, whose 9-yard scoring run on thirdand-8 along with a 60-yard receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter provided the Aggies a 17-point cushion after the Braves, who trailed 35-14 at the half, had closed within 38-35 with 10:43 to go. Johnathan Boone added 92 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Aggies (3-7, 2-3), who snapped a three-game losing streak.