COLLEGEFOOTBALL — ALABAMA TOPS OLE MISS IN SHOOTOUT,
Trevor Lawrence is fired up — and that usually means great things for No. 1 Clemson.
Lawrence threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Tigers turned another supposed Atlantic Coast Conference showdown into a blowout with a 42-17 victory over seventh-ranked Miami on Saturday.
“I was pumped,” Lawrence said.
The junior with the big arm has plenty of reasons to be, the biggest perhaps was how the Tigers (4-0, 3-0 ACC) dominated Miami (3-1, 2-1) in what some had figured would be a much tighter contest.
“Every game is important because it’s the next one,” he said. “But this one had a little extra, because (ESPN) GameDay, big game, Top-10 matchup, these are the games you’ve got to win if you want to be good.”
Travis Etienne rushed for 149 yards and two scores, including a 72-yard burst down the left sideline as the Tigers opened 4-0 for a sixth straight season.
This was billed as an ACC showdown where the Hurricanes could prove the swagger had truly returned to “The U.”
Instead, Miami’s offense was suffocated by the Tigers and held without an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter.
“I cannot fault our effort, but our discipline in terms of doing things right made it very difficult to execute against a topranked team on the road,” Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said.
■ TEXAS A&M KNOCKS OFF FLORIDA: Isaiah Spiller rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 21 Texas A&M beat No. 4 Florida 4138 on Seth Small’s 26-yard field goal as time expired Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Spiller helped get the Aggies (2-1, 2-1 SEC) get into position for Small’s decisive kick, sending A&M to its first win over a top-five team since a 41-38 victory over No. 3 Auburn in 2014. It was the school’s first such victory at home since it toppled No. 1 Oklahoma 30-26 in 2002.
Coach Jimbo Fisher brushed off the notion that it was a signature win or it meant more than anything he’s done in three seasons in College Station.
“It’s a good win,” he said. “It’s a big win… but they’re all big wins.”
Kellen Mond threw a 51yard pass to Caleb Chapman for a tying TD with about 4 1/2 minutes to go.
The Gators (2-1, 2-1) were driving when Buddy Johnson forced a fumble by Malik Davis, and it was recovered by DeMarvin Leal to set up the game-ending field goal.
“We had plenty of opportunities to put the game away,” quarterback Kyle Trask said. “So you can’t blame it all on one play because it shouldn’t even been close if we would have executed on the drives that we didn’t score on.”
■ RED RIVER SHOOTOUT: At Dallas, Spencer Rattler threw a 25-yard scoring pass to Drake Stoops in the fourth overtime, and Oklahoma survived a late rally from No. 22 Texas in regulation for a 53-45 victory Saturday as a most unusual version of the Red River rivalry ended with a familiar dose of drama.
Rattler’s successful completion on the required 2-point conversion didn’t matter when Sam Ehlinger’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Tre Brown to end just the second Big 12 game to go four OTs.
Ehlinger threw two touchdown passes in the final 3:28 of regulation after what appeared to be a game-sealing interception by Woodi Washington in the end zone with the Sooners (2-2, 1-2 Big 12) leading 31-14 with five minutes remaining.
Ehlinger’s career-best fourth touchdown run forced the third overtime, but the Longhorns (2-2, 1-2) couldn’t avoid a second straight loss.
Because of the pandemic, the crowd was limited to 24,000 in the 93,000-seat Cotton Bowl, with the surrounding Texas state fair shut down for the first time since World War II. On the field, it was the first time since 1999 neither team was in the Top 20.