Alabama survives, Georgia loses big
Miami thumps Notre Dame, Oklahoma beats TCU in other showdowns
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jalen Hurts threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith with 25 seconds remaining to give No. 1 Alabama a 31-24 victory over No. 18 Mississippi State on Saturday night.
Alabama (10-0, 7-0 SEC, CFP No. 2) won its 10th straight game against Mississippi State, but this one was much more difficult than most of the others.
Mississippi State (7-3, 3-3, CFP No. 16) pushed ahead 24-17 early in the fourth quarter on Jace Christmann’s 25-yard field goal, but Alabama responded to tie it at 24 on Damien Harris’s 14-yard run with 9:49 left. Alabama had a chance to take the lead with about two minutes left, but a 40yard field goal attempt by Andy Pappanastos banged off the left upright and fell harmlessly to the turf.
Mississippi State went three-and-out on the ensuing drive and Alabama took over with 1:09 remaining. That was more than enough time for the Tide, who drove six plays and 68 yards in 44 seconds for the game-winning score. The game was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than a touchdown.
Alabama’s defense has been dominant for most of the season, but several injuries at linebacker throughout the season finally appeared to take a toll. Mississippi State’s power running game gained 172 yards, but in the end Alabama was able to slow the Bulldogs down.
NO. 10 AUBURN 40, NO. 2 GEORGIA 17
AUBURN, Ala. — Kerryon Johnson ran for 167 yards and caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham and No. 10 Auburn smothered No. 2 Georgia’s running game in a 40-17 victory Saturday.
The Tigers (8-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) remained in Western Division and potentially playoff contention after snapping a three-year losing streak to one of their top rivals.
The Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1) came in with the top spot in the playoff rankings and could get a rematch if Auburn can beat No. 1 Alabama in two weeks.
The first go around wasn’t pretty for Georgia. Auburn held Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and the SEC’s top ground game to 46 yards, 233 below their season average.
Johnson ran 32 times and caught two passes for 66 yards. Stidham threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns, all of 30-plus yards.
Georgia special teams blunders helped set up three Auburn touchdowns, including a roughing the penalty flag in the first half. The Bulldogs fumbled away a punt return and had a 15yard personal foul penalty
in the third quarter when Auburn pulled away with two touchdowns.
Ryan Davis returned a punt 26 yards into Georgia territory, with the flag pushing Auburn even closer to the goal line. Then Davis took a screen pass 32 yards for a touchdown to make it 30-7. Darius Slayton made a 42-yard scoring grab earlier.
NO. 7 MIAMI 41, NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 8
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Malik Rosier threw for a touchdown and ran for another, Deejay Dallas ran for a pair of scores and Miami overwhelmed Notre Dame.
Travis Homer rushed for 146 yards for the Hurricanes (9-0, No. 7 College Football Playoff). They forced four turnovers for the fourth consecutive week, led 27-0 at the half and handed the Irish their second-worst loss in the history of the series. Only the 58-7 Miami romp in 1985 was worse.
Miami’s win came on the same day it clinched its first trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. The Hurricanes — who extended the nation’s longest current winning streak to 14 games — wrapped up the Coastal Division title when Virginia lost to Louisville, and will play Clemson for the ACC crown on Dec. 2. And the Hurricanes might be in another title mix now as well, after dismantling a Notre Dame team that came in ranked No. 3 by the CFP committee.
Alize Mack caught a 14-yard pass from Brandon Wimbush for the lone touchdown for Notre Dame (8-2), which hadn’t played a road game against the Hurricanes since 1989.
NO. 4 CLEMSON 31, FLORIDA STATE 14
CLEMSON, S.C. — Travis Etienne ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns, including a 1-yard burst with 3:05 left, and Clemson won the ACC Atlantic Division with a victory over Florida State.
The Tigers (9-1, 7-1, No. 4 CFP) and their dominant defense looked to have this one wrapped up when they opened a 17-0 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter. But the Seminoles (3-6, 3-5) rallied on Jacques Patrick’s 9-yard scoring run and a double flea-flicker for a 60-yard TD catch by tight end Ryan Izzo.
Florida State then recovered Kelly Bryant’s fumble on the Clemson 40 with 6:46 to go, putting the Seminoles in position to spoil the Tigers’ College Football Playoff hopes. But safety Van Smith intercepted James Blackman’s pass over the middle on the next play, setting up the TD drive that secured the win for the defending national champions.
Etienne had a 25-yard run to the FSU 5 and took it in two plays later as the chilly Death Valley crowd erupted in celebration of a chance for a third straight ACC title in Charlotte in three weeks.
Cornerback Trayvon Mullen knocked away Blackman’s fourth-down pass with 2:13 left to end the Seminoles’ comeback hopes.
NO. 5 OKLAHOMA 38, NO. 8 TCU 20
NORMAN, Okla. — Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes, Rodney Anderson had 290 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns, and Oklahoma rolled past TCU to take sole possession of first place in the Big 12.
Anderson ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 139 yards and two scores for the Sooners (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 5 College Football Playoff). They have won five straight.
Mayfield strengthened his Heisman Trophy resume by passing for 333 yards and rushing for 50 against a TCU defense that entered the night ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense and total defense. He did it in front of a crowd of 88,308, the largest home crowd in school history. The Sooners ran for 200 yards against the nation’s No. 1 rushing defense.
Kenny Hill passed for 270 yards for the Horned Frogs (8-2, 5-2, No. 6 CFP), but he completed just 13 of 28 passes. TCU defensive end Mat Boesen was ejected in the second quarter for kicking an Oklahoma player. TCU is tied for second place in the Big 12 and still has a chance to reach the conference title game.
NO. 6 WISCONSIN 38, NO. 25 IOWA 14
MADISON, Wis. — Receiver Kendric Pryor scored twice, and Wisconsin relied on stifling defense to overcome four turnovers and Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson’s two touchdowns.
The win allowed the Badgers (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 8) to clinch a trip to the league conference title game as West champions.
Credit their defense for another overpowering outing at chilly Camp Randall Stadium.
Leon Jacobs recovered two fumbles — one returned for a score — and fellow linebacker T.J. Edwards had an interception for the Badgers, who shut down an Iowa offense that had overwhelmed Ohio State last week.
The Hawkeyes (6-4, 3-4, CFP No. 20) were held to 66 total yards and five first downs, including just 15 yards and one first down in the first half.
NO. 11 OHIO STATE 48, NO. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Barrett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, Mike Weber ran for 162 yards and two scores and Ohio State bounced back from a deflating loss last week to rout Michigan State.
The Buckeyes (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten, CFP No. 13) scored on five of their first six possessions, led 35-3 at the half and cruised the rest of the way to claim sole possession of first place in the Big Ten East.
In a season already marked by radical highs and lows, the Buckeyes took out their frustrations on the Spartans, using a run-heavy attack to dominate them on both sides of the ball.
Ohio State outgained Michigan State 524-195, and a defense that was smoked by unranked Iowa in the 55-24 loss limited Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke — who threw for 445 yards last week against Penn State — to 131 yards and forced two interceptions.
Barrett was 14 for 21 for 183 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. J.K. Dobbins, who split time with Weber, rushed 18 times for 124 yards.
NO. 12 OKLAHOMA STATE 49, NO. 24 IOWA STATE 42
AMES, Iowa — Mason Rudolph threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns — including two in the final 5:55 — and Oklahoma State rallied to beat Iowa State and keep its Big 12 title hopes alive.
Justice Hill had 134 yards and three TD runs for the Cowboys (8-2, 5-2 Big 12, No. 15 CFP). They remained tied for second place in the league with two games to go. The top two finishers in the Big 12 will meet in the championship game in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 2.
Rudolph found Marcell Ateman for a 30-yard TD pass, and Hill’s 2-point conversion run tied it at 42 with 5:55 left. The Cowboys jumped ahead 49-42 just two minutes later as Rudolph found Dillon Stoner for a 19yard touchdown reception. The Cyclones got inside Oklahoma State’s 3-yard line with 32 seconds left, but Zeb Noland threw an interception to A.J. Green to end the game.
NO. 14 UCF 49, UCONN 24
ORLANDO, Fla. — Otis Anderson ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns, McKenzie Milton passed for 311 yards and Central Florida pulled away from UConn.
Anderson had a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and helped the undefeated Knights (9-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference, CFP, No. 18) break it open with a 65-yard touchdown run, making it 35-17 with 14:11 left. The freshman bounced back nicely after he had a costly fumble in the third quarter.
Milton was 24 for 36. He threw a 6-yard TD pass to Marlon Williams in the first quarter and a 41-yarder to Tre’Quan Smith with 7:43 left in the first half, helping the Knights to a 2810 lead at the break. David Pindell passed for 201 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score for UConn (3-7, 2-5).
NO. 15 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 38, COLORADO 24
BOULDER, Colo. — Sam Darnold threw two TD passes and ran for another score, Ajene Harris intercepted two passes, including one he returned for a score, and Southern California beat Colorado to wrap up the Pac-12 South title.
Darnold threw for 329 yards as he improved to 18-3 as a starter. Tailback Ronald Jones II had 142 yards to surpass Mike Garrett for sixth place on the Trojans’ career rushing list.
Southern Cal (9-2, 7-1 Pac12, No. 11 CFP) led 27-0 in the third quarter, but needed to weather a late Colorado comeback. The Trojans blocked two field goals to move to 12-0 against the Buffaloes (5-6, 2-6).
Juwann Winfree had a big day for Colorado by hauling in TD passes of 79 and 57 yards. Steven Montez threw for 376 yards.