Clemson cruises past Notre Dame for ACC title
Junior quar terback Trevor Lawrence had 412 yards of offense and three touchdowns, Travis Etienne ran for 124 yards and a score and No. 4 Clemson dominated No. 2 Notre Dame 3410 on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. to win its sixth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Lawrence threw long scoring passes to Amari Rodgers and E. J Williams in the first half to help the Tigers (10-1) avenge a 4740 double- overtime loss at Norte Dame — with Lawrence sidelined because of the coronavirus — to lock up a spot in the College Football Playoff for the sixth straight season.
Lawrence, the game MVP and presumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, overcame an early interception on a tipped ball to complete 25 of 36 passes for 322 yards. He ran 14 times for 90 yards, with a 34-yard touchdown scamper.
Clemson allowed Notre Dame to pile up 518 yards in the previous meeting, but limited the Fighting Irish (10-1) to 263 yards Saturday and sacked quarterback Ian Book six times.
Notre Dame running back Tyren Williams was limited to 49 yards rushing after finishing with 140 yards on the ground and three TDS in the first game. Book was held to 219 yards passing and no touchdowns. NO. 3 OHIO STATE 22, NO. 15 NORTHWESTERN 10 >> Trey Sermon ran for a school-record 331 yards and two second-half touchdowns, helping the 6- 0 Buckeyes rally to win their fourth consecutive Big Ten championship.
Sermon used the combination of vision and speed to average 11.4 yards on 29 carries against one of the nation’s top defenses, breaking Eddie George’s single-game school record of 314 set in 1995.
Northwestern (6-2) heads into the bowl season with two losses in its last three games and a second runnerup finish to the Buckeyes in three years.
After the Buckeyes kicked a field goal on the game’s first possession, Northwestern running back Cam Porter answered with a 9-yard TD run late in the first quarter. Ohio State trailed from that moment until Sermon’s 9-yard run with 2:41 left in the third.
Ohio State added a 26yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Sermon sealed the win with a 3-yard scoring run with 4:03 to go.
NO. 5 TEXAS A&M 34, TENNESSEE 13 >> Kellen Mond threw for 281 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 59 yards and a score, helping the Aggies (8-1, No. 5 CFP) close their case for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 27, NO. 8 IOWA STATE 21 >> Spencer Rattler threw a 45-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims and also ran for a score as the Sooners (8-2) won their sixth consecutive Big 12 title, holding on to beat the Cyclones (8-3).
UTAH 4 5 , WAS H I NGTON STATE 28 >> Ty Jordan ran for 154 yards and three TDS to rally the Utes (3-2, 3-2 Pac12) past the Cougars (1- 3, 1-3) in their season finale.
Britain Covey added 134 yards and a touchdown on six catches to help power the Utes’ comeback effort. Backup quarterback Drew Lisk threw for 152 yards in relief of starter Jake Bentley. OREGON 31, NO. 13 USC 24 >> Anthony Brown threw two touchdown passes in his Ducks debut, Jamal Hill made an interception with 2:47 to play, and visiting Oregon won its second straight Pac-12 title Friday night.
Tyler Shough also threw two touchdown passes for the Ducks (4-2), who didn’t win the North Division, yet still claimed the Pac12’s New Year’s Six bowl berth with their only victory in the past month.
Oregon had a 31-17 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, but Bru McCoy caught a TD pass on fourth down for the Trojans (5-1) before they got the ball back with 4:43 left. USC reached midfield in search of a fourth- quarter comeback win for the fourth time in its six-game season, but Kedon Slovis threw the first fourthquarter interception of his career.
Hill ma de an a cro - batic play to hang on to the poorly thrown ball, and Oregon’s offense ran all but 23 seconds off the clock. USC reached the Oregon 49, but the Ducks’ pass rush prevented Slovis from getting off a Hail Mary.
• On Saturday, USC became the sixth Pac-12 team to opt out of a bowl game, citing a recommendation from team doctors and discussions with players.
The Trojans would have been at risk of falling under the conference’s minimum number of 53 available scholarship players because of positive tests for COVID-19 and injuries after playing their third game in 13 days.
Coach Clay Helton also cited a desire by players to see family and friends during the holidays after being sequestered during the season.
ROSE BOWL CF P GAME MOVED TO TEXAS >> The College Football Playoff semifinal scheduled for the Rose Bowl will be moved to AT& T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Rose Bowl was denied a special exemption from the state of California to allow a few hundred fans to attend the College Football Playoff semifinal Jan. 1, causing the move.
A person involved with organizing the game told The Associated Press the Tournament of Roses’ request was denied earlier this week.
A decision had to be made before the playoff teams are selected today. ILLINOIS TABS BIELEMA AS COACH >> Bret Bielema, who led Wisconsin to three Rose Bowls before a disappointing run at Arkansas, is returning to the Big Ten Ten and his home state to coach Illinois.
The Illini hired Bielema to replace the fired Lovie Smith, hoping he can turn around a program with nine consecutive losing seasons.