Shuffle at No. 3 and No. 4 in football Amway Coaches Poll
Clemson and Trevor Lawrence win big to jump Ohio State, whose game was canceled.
The Buffalo Bulls are the class of the Mid-American Conference and a contender for the Top 25 after beating Kent State 70-41 Saturday in a battle of the league’s two best offenses.
The win moves Buffalo to 22-9 since the start of the 2018 season under coach Lance Leipold, who will be in the running for Power Five job openings.
The others winners from college football’s Week 13.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide sailed past Auburn 42-13 to win the Iron Bowl without coach Nick Saban, who missed Saturday’s game after testing positive for COVID-19. His absence didn’t seem to play a huge role in the bottom line: Alabama racked up 445 yards of offense, quarterback Mac Jones completed just under 70% of his throws with five touchdowns (two to star receiver DeVonta Smith) and the defense forced two turnovers and held Auburn to 2.9 yards per carry, in the sort of all-around effort that has made Alabama the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference and in the race for the national championship.
Trevor Lawrence
After more than a month on the sidelines, Lawrence had 403 passing yards in leading Clemson to a 52-17 win against Pittsburgh. Lawrence threw for 208 yards and two TDs as the Tigers took a 31-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. While the Panthers doomed themselves with sloppy play and five turnovers, that Clemson would rebound from a loss to Notre Dame this month and round back into form heading into December is not surprising in the least.
Mississippi
The Egg Bowl took on two new coaches – Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, Mike Leach at Mississippi State – but stayed pretty wacky, as the teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of offense, 99 pass attempts and 47 first downs in the Rebels’ 31-24 win. MSU drove to the Mississippi 36-yard line and had time for one shot at the end zone, which fell incomplete.
Washington
The Huskies reversed a 21-0 halftime deficit and beat Utah 24-21 on a late TD pass by Dylan Morris, who overcame a shaky first half to keep UW unbeaten through three games. Morris completed six passes for 71 yards on the winning drive, which spanned 88 yards on 12 plays, and finished with 272 passing yards and two scores. The Huskies’ 21point comeback was the program’s first since doing so against California in 1988.
Texas A&M
One year after losing 50-7 to LSU, the Aggies flipped the script and suffocated the Tigers in a 20-7 win. The switch illustrates the changed fortunes of these two programs since the end of last season: A&M has soared into the playoff chase as one of the top contenders for the top four while LSU has fallen from 15-0 to 3-4 and, with Alabama and Florida ahead, the strong possibility of a losing finish. The Aggies are sitting at 6-1 with games against Auburn and Tennessee to end the regular season.
Notre Dame
After a fast-paced first quarter, Notre Dame slowed the tempo into its comfort zone against North Carolina and pulled away in the second half to beat the North Carolina 31-17 and remain on track for the College Football Playoff. Another very solid performance on defense – the Irish held the Tar Heels to less than 300 yards of total offense and held quarterback Sam Howell in check – was joined by the latest strong showing from Ian Book, who threw for 279 yards and added another 48 yards on the ground.
Iowa State
Here are the two latest achievements for the Cyclones under Matt Campbell, who for all of his recent accomplishments might remain the most underrated coach in college football. The first: Iowa State has now beat Texas twice in a row for the first time in program history. Like last year’s 23-21 win, which came via a field goal as time expired, Friday’s 23-20 victory was sealed late in the fourth quarter on running back Breece Hall’s short touchdown run and the Cyclones’ ensuing defensive stand. The second likely achievement: Campbell will have Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game, playing for the program’s first conference title of any kind since 1912.