Stroud tosses 6 TDs, No. 5 Ohio St. blows out No. 7 Michigan State

COLUMBUS, OHIO » C.J. Stroud threw for nearly 400 yards and six touchdowns in the first half as No. 5 Ohio State made it look easy in a 56-7 blowout of No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday.

Stroud finished 32-for35 against the Spartans’ sketchy pass defense, which had allowed more yards through the air than any in major college football, and positioned himself as maybe the Heisman Trophy favorite heading into championship stretch of the season.

Michigan State Heisman hopeful Kenneth Walker III, the nation’s leading rusher, was turned into a nonfactor by the Buckeyes. Walker had six carries for 25 yards.

By the time Stroud took a seat late in the third quarter, the redshirt freshman piled up 432 yards for the Buckeyes (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 4), who polished their College Football Playoff resume and served warning to No. 8 Michigan ahead of the rivalry game next week that may end up determining the winner of the Big Ten East.

The Buckeyes’ top three receivers all eclipsed the 100-yard mark and caught touchdown passes. Chris Olave had seven catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Garrett Wilson grabbed seven for 126 and a pair of scores, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 10 receptions for 105 yards and a TD.

Ohio State led 49-0 at the half and outgained the Spartans 655-224.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 56, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 7 » Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and No. 1 Georgia’s defense was again dominant in a 56-7 rout of Charleston Southern on Saturday.

Davis, a leader of Georgia’s top-ranked defense, scored on a 1-yard plunge out of the Bulldogs’ jumbo package in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown.

Davis had previously played in the jumbo package as a blocker, but fans roared in anticipation when the 6-foot-6, 340-pound tackle shifted to the backfield. Davis was stopped on his first run from the 2. Fans again cheered when he was given a second carry and scored from the 1.

Georgia (11-0) was as dominant as expected against Charleston Southern (4-6), the Football Championship Subdivision team from the Big South. The Buccaneers fell to 0-25 all-time against FBS teams.

The Bulldogs allowed only 126 yards — 68 rushing on 31 carries and 58 passing.

Brock Bowers had two touchdown catches and four Georgia players, including Davis, had scoring runs. Zamir White ran for 83 yards, including a 40yard touchdown, on only four carries.

Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels split time at quarterback. Bennett threw scoring passes of 32 yards to Kenny McIntosh and 4 yards to Bowers.

Daniels, who began the season as the starter, took over in the second quarter and added a 7-yard touchdown pass to Bowers. Carson Beck, Georgia’s thirdstring quarterback, took over in the second half after Georgia led 49-0 and added the Bulldogs’ fourth scoring pass.

Georgia’s defense, which recorded back-to-back shutouts over Vanderbilt and Arkansas in the first half of the season, began the day leading the nation with only 7.6 points allowed per game.

The popular Davis, who has received Heisman Trophy hype, also was cheered as one of 30 seniors to be honored in a pregame ceremony before the final home game of the season. Following the game, he stood on a ladder in front of the student section and celebrated the win.

Coach Kirby Smart encouraged all eligible seniors to participate in the ceremony, though many have the option to return for an extra year granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charleston Southern strong safety Hombre Kennedy was carted off the field with an apparent right leg injury in the first quarter. CLEMSON 48, NO. 13 WAKE FOREST 27 » Kobe Pace ran for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns as Clemson won its 13th straight over No. 13 Wake

Forest, delaying the Demon Deacons’ run to the ACC Atlantic title with a 48-27 victory Saturday.

Will Shipley gained 112 yards with two touchdowns and also threw a 2-yard jump pass TD to Davis Allen for the Tigers (83, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their 34th straight at home. Clemson 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).

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, where Wake Forest has not won since 1998. 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.

For the Tigers to reach the title game, they would need Wake Forest to lose to BC and have No. 25 North Carolina lose one of its final two games.

Clemson, at last, looked the part of the ACC preseason favorite as it battered Wake Forest and quarterback Sam Hartman.

Hartman was sacked seven times and threw an interception. The Deacons also fumbled twice, both leading to Clemson touchdowns. Hartman finished with 312 yards and a fourthquarter touchdown with Wake trailing by 22 points.

Clemson, looking to redeem itself from a struggling season, came out on fire on both sides of the ball.

It’s ACC-leading defense sacked Hartman three times on Wake Forest’s first two possessions while the offense managed two lengthy drives to lead 10-0 less than nine minutes in as things began to look like most Wake ForestClemson games during the Tigers’ winning streak.

Clemson put things away in the third quarter on Pace’s 8-yard touchdown run and a 58-yard pass from

D.J. Uiagalelei to Beaux Collins to take a 31-13 lead.

Uiagalelei hit 11 of 19 passes for 208 yards. Collins, Uiagalelei’s highschool teammate, had four catches for 137 yards.

NO. 16 TEXAS A&M 52, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 3 » Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for three touchdowns before halftime, and No. 16 Texas A&M cruised to a 52-3 win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday.

Texas A&M easily bounced back from last week’s loss at Ole Miss. Prairie View (7-3), an FCS school that plays in the SWAC, just couldn’t keep up with the Aggies (8-3).

Texas A&M led 38-0 after a dominant first half by Achane and Spiller. It also limited Prairie View to 2 yards passing before the break.

Moose Muhammad grabbed a 30-yard TD pass from Zach Calzada on Texas A&M’s first possession of the third quarter, making it 45-0. The Panthers got on the board on a 25-yard field goal by Luis Reyes on the next drive.

Backup quarterback Blake Bost then took over for A&M with about 5½ minutes left in the third quarter. Achane and Spiller combined for 115 yards rushing in the first two quarters and didn’t run the ball after halftime.

Prairie View graduate transfer Jawon Pass had just one completion and lost a fumble that the Aggies returned for a touchdown before being benched for Trazon Connley. He didn’t fare much better, completing just one pass for 7 yards and rushing for 41 yards.

Jaden Stewart had 24 carries for 100 yards for Prairie View.

Spiller and Achane each had a rushing touchdown in the first quarter before the Aggies added a score on defense. Antonio Johnson was unblocked on a sack of Pass that caused him to fumble. Aaron Hansford scooped up the ball and ran 17 yards for a touchdown.

A 33-yard touchdown reception by Muhammad extended the lead to 31-0 with about 5½ minutes left in the second quarter.

The Aggies took a 38-0 lead into halftime after Achane scored on a 1-yard run on fourth down with six seconds left in the second.