No. 1 Alabama blasts Mercer, moves on to Iron Bowl
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jalen Hurts passed for 180 yards and three touchdowns in a little more than a quarter and No. 1 Alabama beat FCS team Mercer 56- 0 on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide ( 11- 0, No. 1 CFP) raced to a 35-0 halftime lead in what amounted to a tuneup for the team’s biggest game. Now, Alabama heads to No. 6 Auburn with the winner of the Iron Bowl facing No.
7 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
The Bears ( 5- 6) also lost to Auburn 24-10 early in the season, when the Tigers committed five turnovers.
Hurts led Alabama to touchdowns on each of his four possessions, completing all seven of his attempts and running for 30 yards. He hit a wide- open Calvin Ridley for a 66-yard touchdown, giving Ridley 103 yards on three catches before the half.
Freshman backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa came in with just under 12 minutes left in the second quarter and exited early in the fourth.
Tagovailoa also threw for three touchdowns, completing
7 of 11 passes for 85 yards. Alabama outgained Mercer 530-161 in total yards. The Tide has outscored opponents
253- 43 collectively in the first half.
2-Miami 44, Virginia 28
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Malik Rosier threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 2 Miami pulled off its biggest comeback in five years, by holding off Virginia on Saturday to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 15 games.
Jaquan Johnson had an interception return for a touchdown for Miami ( 10- 0, 7- 0 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 3 CFP), which went on a 30- 0 run in the second half to remain unbeaten.
The Hurricanes erased a pair of 14- point deficits, and had lost 15 consecutive games in which they trailed at any point by such a margin. But they got a pair of fourth-down stops in Virginia territory in the fourth quarter, and the Hurricanes finished their first
7-0 home regular season since
1988.
Travis Homer rushed for
96 yards and a touchdown for Miami, which looks to close out a perfect ACC regular-season slate at Pittsburgh on Friday. The Hurricanes already had a spot in the ACC championship game against Clemson on Dec. 2 secured.
Kurt Benkert completed 28 of 37 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns for Virginia ( 6-5, 3- 4).
3-Oklahoma 41, Kansas 3
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns after getting dissed by the Kansas captains before kickoff.
Mayfield had tried shaking hands with Daniel Wise, Dorance Armstrong Jr. and Joe Dineen Jr. after the coin toss, but they stared stoically back at him. Mayfield quickly pulled his hand away, clapped a couple of times and set about burnishing his Heisman Trophy candidacy.
He threw TD passes to Rodney Anderson and Marquise Brown in the first half, then founded Mark Andrews late in the third quarter, which prompted more insults between Mayfield and the Jayhawks.
At one point, Mayfield lewdly grabbed his crotch while cursing across the field, and another time he yelled to fans behind his bench: “You have one win! Go cheer on basketball!”
The histrionics added at least some interest to a game that figured to be a blowout. The Sooners ( 10- 1, 7- 1) are fourth in the College Football Playoff ranking and clinched a spot in the revived Big 12 title game, while the Jayhawks (1-10,
0-8) have yet to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision foe.
Mayfield got most of the fourth quarter off as the defensive- minded Sooners won their 17th straight road game and 15th in a row in the Big
12, setting a league record. It was also their 12th consecutive win over the Jayhawks, their longest winning streak against any opponent.
4-Clemson 61, Citadel 3
CLEMSON, S. C. — Kelly Bryant threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns and was out of the game before halftime for Clemson against the lower- division opponent.
After Bryant’s 14- yard touchdown pass to T.J. Chase on the offense’s 26th play, Clemson ( 10-1, No. 2 College Football Playoff ) led 28- 0. Bryant completed 17 of 22 passes.
Freshman receiver Tee Higgins caught six passes for
178 yards and two touchdowns and fellow freshman Travis Etienne ran eight times for 62 yards and two TDs as Clemson scored on nine of its first
10 possessions. The Tigers finished with 662 yards, their third game over 600 yards this season.
The Citadel ( 5- 6) ran for
155 yards.
5-Wisconsin 24
19-Michigan 10
MADISON, Wis. — Alex Hornibrook threw a 24- yard touchdown pass to A. J. Taylor in third quarter to break open a defensive slugfest, and Kendric Pryor scored on an end-around to help Wisconsin remain undefeated.
The Badgers ( 11- 0, 8- 0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) padded their playoff resume by winning a grinding, physical matchup against the Wolverines ( 8- 3,
5-3, No. 24 CFP). Hornibrook finished 9 of
19 for 143 yards, but bounced back from an interception early in the third quarter with some of his best throws of the season. He connected with Taylor through a tight window in the end zone for a 14- 10 lead with 3: 31 left in the third quarter.
6-Auburn 42 Louisiana-Monroe 14
AUBURN, Ala. — Darius Slayton caught a 50-yard touchdown pass late in the first half and Auburn pulled away to set up next week’s visit from No. 1 Alabama.
Kam Martin scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, in the third quarter. Nick Ruffin scored on a 45yard interception return in the fourth. Despite a sluggish first half, Auburn’s final production was still impressive: 317 yards rushing and 552 total yards.
Auburn (9-2, No. 6 CFP) can earn a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game by beating Alabama next week. ULM dropped to 4-6.
7-Georgia 42 Kentucky 13
ATHENS, Ga. — Nick Chubb and Sony Michel led a dominant running game and Georgia bounced back from its first loss of the season.
In the final home game of their careers, Chubb and Michel went out with a bang on Senior Day between the hedges. Chubb rushed for 151 and two touchdowns, including a
55-yard burst down the sideline to seal the victory early in the fourth quarter. Michel rambled for 87 yards and three scores of his own, most notably a 37-yard TD that sent the Bulldogs into the half with a
21- 6 lead.
Georgia ( 10- 1, 7- 1 Southeastern Conference, No. 7 CFP) returned to form after getting stuffed on the ground in a 40-17 loss to Auburn, a dismal performance that knocked the Bulldogs out of the top spot they held for two weeks in the College Football Playoff standings.
Georgia finished with 381 yards rushing against the Wildcats ( 7- 4, 4- 4).
8-Ohio State 52 Illinois 14
COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 8 Ohio State scored on its first six possessions — including J.T. Barrett’s 100th career touchdown pass — and the Buckeyes wrapped up the Big Ten East title.
Barrett, playing in his last game at Ohio Stadium, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score to help the Buckeyes ( 9-2, 7-1, CFP No. 9) dominate from the opening kick.
Barrett became the Ohio State leader in rushing yards among quarterbacks ( 3,070), eclipsing Braxton Miller. He holds 35 Big Ten and school records.
Ohio State’s defense limited the Illini ( 2- 9, 0- 9) to a season- low 105 yards in handing them a ninth straight loss. They didn’t record a first down until near the end of the first half.
Barrett was 11 for 19 for 141 yards, with backups Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow playing most of the second half. Running back Mike Weber picked up 108 yards on 11 carries and scored twice, including on a 43- yard breakaway romp in the first quarter.
9-Notre Dame 24, Navy 17
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brandon Wimbush threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as Notre Dame rallied in the rain and wind to beat Navy.
Wearing throwback uniforms with the name Rockne on the back of every player’s jersey and helmets designed to evoke the leather tops from the era of Knute Rockne, one of the Fighting Irish’s most famous names, Notre Dame ( 9- 2, No. 8 College Football Playoff) kept its slim national championship hopes alive heading into the regular- season finale next Saturday at Stanford.
Wimbush, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Notre Dame’s 41- 8 loss at No. 2 Miami two Saturdays ago, connected with Kevin Stepherson twice and added his 14th rushing TD of the year as the Irish scored on three straight possessions late in the longest- running matchup between teams from different regions of the country, dating to 1927.
The Irish outgained the Midshipmen ( 6- 4) 327-318, but Navy outrushed Notre Dame
277- 163 and had a huge advantage in time of possession,
42: 42 to 17: 18.
Kansas State 45 10-Oklahoma State 40
STILLWATER, Okla. — Byron Pringle caught three touchdown passes and returned a kickoff for another score to help Kansas State stun Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State nearly erased a 29- point deficit in the second half, but Kansas State ( 6-5, 4- 4 Big 12) held on to become bowl eligible for the eighth consecutive season.
Pringle caught four passes for a career- high 166 yards. His kickoff return for a score covered 89 yards. The junior entered the game with eight career touchdowns, and he had never scored more than two in a game. Freshman Skylar Thompson threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 93 yards and a score in his second start for the injured Jesse Ertz.
Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph passed for 425 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. James Washington caught eight passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys ( 8-3, 5-3, No. 13 CFP).