Tigers win 13th straight over Deacons
At last, Clemson looked like the powerhouse it was supposed to be this season.
Kobe Pace ran for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers won their 13th straight over No. 10 Wake Forest, delaying the Demon Deacons’ run to the ACC Atlantic title with a 48-27 victory Saturday.
Will Shipley, with 112 yards, joined Pace in surpassing the 100-yard mark on the ground and had two TD runs. Shipley also threw a 2-yard jump pass TD to Davis Allen.
“For us, offensively, it’s our best game of the year,” offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said.
It sure took a while for the Tigers (8-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) to play up to their preseason billing. But everything clicked, like so many other times, against Wake Forest (9-2, 6-1), which has not won at Death Valley since 1998.
“We already knew we had it in us,” said Pace, a sophomore. “It was just the right time to pull it out.”
Clemson, which won its 34th straight at home, also kept its hopes of a seventh straight trip to the ACC title game alive with the stunning rout of Wake Forest (9-2, 6-1). It was the Tigers’ first win over a ranked opponent in four tries this season and the most points it had scored against a Power Five team.
“Clemson outplayed us and outcoached,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said.
The Demon Deacons entered the game averaging 44.7 points and 498 yards a game. They left with a season low in points and had only 36 yards rushing.
With time running out, chants of “Over-Rated,” rang out through Death Valley. Fans filled the field at the end, the school reinstating its long-held tradition it first suspended in 2020 because of the pandemic. Still, Wake Forest remains in the divisional driver’s seat and can make its first championship game appearance in 15 years by beating Boston College next Saturday.
“You tell me we’re 9-2 and going to Boston College playing for an ACC championship,” Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman said. “I can’t tell you I wouldn’t be excited about it.”
Sooners still in Big 12 hunt: Oklahoma’s imperfect season still could end with a Big 12 championship, and possibly more.
Caleb Williams passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Jalen Redmond returned a fumble for a score, and No. 13 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 28-21 on Saturday.
Kennedy Brooks ran for 115 yards for the Sooners (10-1, 7-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a loss to Baylor and solidified their chances of reaching the Big 12 title game and winning a seventh straight conference title. They also kept alive their slim College Football Playoff hopes and did their part to set up a showdown with No. 9 Oklahoma State next Saturday to close the regular season.
Ridder does it all: Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes, ran for another score and even caught a TD pass to help No. 5 Cincinnati roll past SMU 48-14 on Saturday.
Alec Pierce had a pair of TD catches for the Bearcats (11-0, 7-0 American Athletic). They extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 26 games and keep alive hopes of becoming the first non-Power 5 team to reach the College Football Playoff. SMU (8-3, 4-3) managed 199 yards of offense after averaging 498 through the first 10 games.
Georgia rolls: As the leader of the nation’s top defense, Jordan Davis has produced enough highlights to receive some Heisman Trophy hype.
Davis made another memory in his farewell to Sanford Stadium.
The standout defensive tackle scored his first career touchdown and No. 1 Georgia was again dominant in a 56-7 rout of Charleston Southern on Saturday.
Davis began the day among the seniors honored in a pregame ceremony. He ended it directing the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band. He was presented a red uniform jacket as an honorary member of the band.
“If today was not my favorite memory, I don’t know what to tell you,” Davis said.
Achane, Spiller help A&M rout Prairie View:
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher worked all week to make sure his team didn’t take Prairie View A&M lightly, especially with its regular-season finale against LSU coming up.
The 16th-ranked Aggies quickly showed their coach that they heard his message loud and clear.
Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for three touchdowns before halftime, and Texas A&M cruised to a 52-3 win over the Panthers on Saturday.
Allen carries Badgers: Braelon Allen rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns — including a tiebreaking 53-yarder with 3:50 remaining — to help No. 15 Wisconsin outlast Nebraska 35-28 for its seventh consecutive victory Saturday. The Badgers (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) handed Nebraska (3-8, 1-7) its fifth straight loss and moved a step closer to playing for a conference title.