No. 14 Coastal Carolina stops No. 8 BYU on short notice
Mateo Sudipo stopped BYU’s Dax Milne at the 1 as time expired and No. 14 Coastal Carolina beat the eighthranked Cougars 22-17 in a short-notice showdown of 9-0 teams Saturday night.
BYU (9-1, No. 13 CFP) was a late-week fill-in, traveling more than 2,200 miles to the South Carolina coast and eagerly stepping in after No. 25 Liberty had to back out of the game Thursday due to COVID-19 concerns.
It looked like an uphill climb for Coastal (10-0) with BYU entering with dynamic passers in Zach Wilson and the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country at more than 47 points a game.
The Sun Belt East champion Chanticleers (10-0) controlled the clock with three long touchdown drives and made plays when it counted — none bigger than when the freshman safety Sudipo corralled Milne a few steps from the end zone. It will go down as a 17-yard completion, but the Cougars needed 18 on their final play.
That sealed Coastal Carolina’s biggest victory in the program’s four FBS seasons.
CJ Marable rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns for the Chanticleers.
BYU’s Zach Wilson was 19 of 30 for 240 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 55, LSU 17 » Mac Jones passed for 385 yards and four touchdowns and Alabama used a slew of explosive plays to run away from LSU.
Jones threw three of his touchdown passes to DeVonta Smith, the Louisiana native who went to the same high school as Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and finished with eight catches for 231 yards.
Smith’s first two touchdown runs went for 65 and 61 yards to cap three-play, 75-yard drives for Alabama (9-0 Southeastern Conference). But his third touchdown catch from 20-yards out appeared to be his most difficult. He shed close coverage from top LSU cornerback Derrick Stingley Jr. and made a twisting, leaping catch high over his head before landing on his back deep in the end zone.
Najee Harris rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, juking, shedding and even leaping over LSU defenders along the way.
Defending national champion dropped to 3-5. NO. 4 CLEMSON 45, VIRGINIA TECH 10 » Trevor Lawrence had two touchdown runs and threw a scoring pass and Clemson beat Virginia Tech to set up a rematch against Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
The Tigers (9-1, 8-1) ended their regular-season schedule with a chance for a sixth consecutive conference title and revenge against Notre Dame after a 47-40 loss in South Bend on Nov. 7 when Lawrence was sidelined by COVID-19.
Against the Hokies (4-6, 4-5), Lawrence completed 12 of 22 for 195 yards with an interception. He ran for 41 yards.
Clemson took a 17-10 lead in the second quarter on Lyn-J Dixon’s 19-yard touchdown run, and added 28 more in the second half, with Lawrence scoring on a 7-yard run and throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Cornell Powell.
NO. 6 FLORIDA 31, TENNESSEE19» Kyle Trask threw for 433 yards and four touchdowns and Florida beat Tennessee wrap up a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Trask completed 35 of 49 passes without committing a turnover. He even had a 32-yard punt late in the game.
Kyle Pitts, an Archbishop Wood graduate, had seven receptions for 128 yards, helping the Gators (8-1, No. 6 CFP) win the SEC’s East Division. Kadarius Toney finished with eight catches for 108 yards and a TD.
Playing with a depleted roster, Tennessee (2-6) dropped its sixth consecutive game. The Vols were missing 16 players.
NO. 9 MIAMI 48, DUKE 0 » D’Eriq King threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score to help Miami rout Duke in the Hurricanes’ return from a twoweek pause amid coronavirus issues.
King hit Mike Harley for an 89-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter for the Hurricanes (8-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 10 CFP), and Cam’Ron Harris ran for 96 yards and two scores.
NO. 10 INDIANA 14, NO. 18 WISCONSIN6» Jack Tuttle threw two touchdown passes in his first career start and Indiana’s defense made a stand in the final minute to hold off Wisconsin.
Indiana (6-1, CFP No. 12) snapped a 10-game skid in the series and tied a program record with its sixth Big Ten victory of the season. Indiana also had six Big Ten wins in 1967 and 1987. The Hoosiers hadn’t beaten Wisconsin since 2002.