No. 1 Alabama blasts Arkansas
Coastal Carolina keeps Cinderella season going
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — DeVonta Smith returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown as No. 1 Alabama scored 28 points in a span of 11 minutes in the first half and rolled past Arkansas 52-3 on Saturday.
After the teams traded field goals, Smith started the Crimson Tide (10-0, CFP No. 1) barrage. Najee Harris scored consecutive touchdowns just 14 seconds apart and a final plunge from 1 yard by Brian Robinson Jr. had Alabama in cruising toward the Southeastern Conference championship game next week against No. 6 Florida.
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Crimson Tide defenders racked up eight sacks, the fifth of which resulted in a fumble by Arkansas quarterback Feliepe Franks which was recovered by DJ Dale at the Razorbacks 4. Harris scored on the next play.
Alabama allowed just 188 yards and kept Arkansas (3-7) from registering a first down during a streak of seven straight possessions from the first quarter to the third.
LSU 37, No. 6 Florida 34 — A 15-yard personal foul penalty helped LSU get into field goal range with under a minute to play, and Cade York drilled a 57-yarder to give the Tigers a stunning upset win at the Swamp.
With the Tigers driving in the final minute, Florida’s Marco Wilson was flagged for throwing an LSU players’ shoe after the play, prompting the unsportsmanlike conduct flag.
No. 20 North Carolina 62, No. 9 Miami 26 — Michael Carter and Javonte Williams set an NCAA record by combining for 544 yards rushing.
Carter ran for 308 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams had 236 yards and three touchdowns for the Tar Heels (8-3, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Per the NCAA, it was the seventh time that two teammates each ran for at least 200 yards, the first since 2016 and the first such instance in ACC history.
And the numbers only got worse for Miami (8-2, 7-2). Carter and Williams’s combined total topped the NCAA’s listed FBS record for teammates, set on Nov. 30 when Jaret Patterson (409) and Kevin Marks (97) rushed for 506 for Buffalo against Kent State.
North Carolina finished with 778 yards — the most ever yielded by Miami and a Tar Heels record — and 554 yards rushing, also the most allowed in Hurricanes history. Sam Howell threw for a score, ran for a score and caught a TD pass for the Tar Heels.
No. 11 Coastal Carolina 42, Troy 38 — Jaivon Heiligh caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Grayson McCall with 45 seconds left and Coastal Carolina preserved its first perfect regular season.
McCall needed just 45 seconds to move the Chanticleers (11-0, 8-0 Sun Belt Conference), who didn’t have any timeouts, 75 yards for the winning score. He completed all four of his passes on the drive, three of them to Heiligh.
The Trojans (5-6, 3-4) didn’t make it easy for the highest-ranked team to visit Veterans Memorial Stadium.
No. 12 Georgia 49, Missouri 14 — JT Daniels threw three touchdown passes, two of them to George Pickens, and Zamir White ran for 126 yards and a score while Georgia (7-2) dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Missouri (5-4) managed just 200 yards of offense after topping the 600-yard mark each of the past two weeks.
No. 15 Northwestern 28, Illinois 10 — Cam Porter ran for a career-high 142 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Hull added a season-best 149 yards on the ground, and Northwestern tuned up for the Big Ten championship game.
Porter came in with just 32 yards and one TD. But the freshman broke out in a big way, leading the Wildcats (6-1, 6-1, No. 14 CFP) to an easy victory over the Illini (2-5, 2-5).
Northwestern’s focus now shifts to the Big Ten championship game against No. 3 Ohio State next week.
No. 19 Iowa 28, No. 25 Wisconsin 7 — Spencer Petras threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns to Ihmir SmithMarsette to lead the Hawkeyes to their sixth win in a row.
Iowa (6-2, 6-2 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (2-3, 2-3) for the first time since 2015 to reclaim the Heartland Trophy. Hawkeyes players celebrated by making snow angels after flurries picked up in the second half and blanketed the field in white.
Utah 38, No. 21 Colorado 21 — Ty Jordan scored twice, including a game-sealing 66yard TD burst, and Utah’s revamped defense forced three turnovers on a snowy Saturday to thwart the Buffaloes’ Pac-12 title hopes.
The soon-to-be-unseated Pac-12 South champion Utes (2-2, 2-2 Pac-12) found their footing on the frozen field in the second half, turning around 21-10 deficit by scoring 28 unanswered points.
Colorado freshman receiver/returner Brenden Rice, the son of Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, showed off his speed by scoring twice — on an 81-yard punt return and on a 61-yard catch off a bubble screen. But it wasn’t enough as the Buffaloes (4-1, 3-1, No. 21 CFP) suffered their first loss under new coach Karl Dorrell during the earliest kickoff (10:05 a.m. local time) in Folsom Field history.
No. 24 Buffalo 56, Akron 7 — Jaret Patterson ran for 105 yards and matched a majorcollege football record by reaching 1,000 yards for the season in five games in No. 24 Buffalo’s tune-up for the Mid-American Conference championship.
Patterson scored two touchdowns before halftime, bringing his season totals to 1,025 yards and 18 rushing TDs for the Bulls. He is the 12th player in FBS history to surpass 1,000 yards in as many games.
Kevin Marks Jr. led the Bulls with a career-high 175 yards and two touchdowns as Buffalo (5-0) built a 35-0 lead against Akron (1-5).
Louisville 45, Wake Forest 21 — Malik Cunningham threw for 195 yards and accounted for three scores for Louisville. The Cardinals (4-7, 3-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame a sluggish start to rally for a victory in their regular-season finale. After gaining just 7 yards in the first quarter, they finished with 453.
Cunningham completed 73% (16-for-22) of his passes. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. He went without an interception for the first time in five games.
The Demon Deacons (4-4, 3-4) amassed 351, but they couldn’t stay on the field as they converted just seven of 18 on third down.
Penn State 39, Michigan State 24 — Sean Clifford completed 17 of 27 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns to lead Penn State.
Penn State’s quarterback added 48 yards and another touchdown on the ground while Parker Washington hauled in a pair of touchdown passes for the Nittany Lions (3-5) who trailed 21-10 at halftime.
Backup quarterback Will Levis added a rushing touchdown and receiver Jahan Dotson returned a punt 81 yards for a score for the Nittany Lions who won their third straight.
Payton Thorne made his first start at quarterback and completed 22 of 39 passes for 325 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for the Spartans (2-6).
Michigan State couldn’t keep up as the game progressed, scoring just three points after halftime.
Rutgers 27, Maryland 24 — Valentino Ambrosio kicked the tying field goal at the end of regulation and accounted for the only points in overtime with a 42yarder to help Rutgers rally past error-prone Maryland.
Bo Melton scored two touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights (3-5, 3-5 Big Ten), who trailed twice in the fourth quarter before coming back. Rutgers had lost five of six before salvaging this one.
Backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski moved the Scarlet Knights 61 yards to set up a 39-yard field goal by Ambrosio on the final play of the fourth quarter.
That drive — as well as Rutgers’ march in overtime — was aided by Maryland penalties.