No. 3 Alabama beats Auburn in 4th OT
AUBURN,ALA.— John Metchie caught a scoring pass from Bryce Young in the fourth overtime to give 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 the Iron Bowl.
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 fourthand-7 to Jahleel Billingsley, followed by two incompletions under pressure for an offense that had been held in check for 59 minutes.
Bottled up most of the game, Young finished 25 of 51 for 317 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Metchie caught 13 passes for 150 passes.
Auburn’s T.J. Finley, who started the final two games after Bo Nix’s season-ending ankle injury, was 17 of 26 for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
No. 7 Okla. State 37, No. 10 Oklahoma 33
Spencer Sanders threw for a touchdown and ran for another andhost Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma to keep alive its College Football Playoff chances and stop the Sooners’ streak of Big 12 titles at six.
Oklahoma State (11-1, 8-1, No. 7 CFP) snapped a sixgame losing streak to Oklahoma. The Cowboys will play No. 9 Baylor next Saturday for the Big 12 championship.
Oklahoma (10-2, 7-2, No. 10 CFP) got the ball one last time at its 20- with 54 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Caleb Williams scrambled and ran 56 yards to put the Sooners in scoring range. But Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver sacked Williams on fourth down at the Oklahoma State 32 with eight seconds remaining.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy won for just the third time in 17 tries against Oklahoma. Now, the Cowboys can win their first Big 12 title since 2011.
No. 5 Notre Dame 45, Stanford 14
Jack Coan threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and Notre Dame finished off the regular season with a victory over Stanford to keep its playoff hopes alive.
The Fighting Irish (11-1, No. 6 CFP) won their final seven games following a home loss to Cincinnati but will likely need some help next week to get into the College Football Playoff for the third time in the past four seasons.
Stanford (3-9) lost its seventh straight game to end the season following an upset of then-no. 3 Oregon for its longest losing streak and most losses in a season since a 1-11 campaign in 2006. The Cardinal were outscored 173-46 over the final four games.
Indiana fires offensive coordinator
Indiana coach Tom Allen fired offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Hoosiers completed their first winless season in conference play since 2011.
Allen also said he would take a $200,000 pay cut in each of the next four seasons. His contract runs through 2027.
For the past several weeks, there were indications Allen already had made up his mind about some offseason changes after the Hoosiers failed to meet expectations. More could be coming after Indiana finished 2-10, with its wins coming over Idaho and Western Kentucky.