Last-play FG boosts TCU
Griffin Kell kicked a 40-yard field goal on the last play of the game, and No. 4 TCU scored nine points in the final 2:07 to beat Baylor 29-28 on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
Emari Demercado scored on a three-yard run with 2:07 left to pull the Horned Frogs (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) to 28-26, but he was unable to haul in a pass on the two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the score.
After kicking deep, TCU used all three of its timeouts while forcing a three-and-out and got the ball back with 1:34 left at its 31. Max Duggan converted one third down with a 12-yard scramble, and after Demercado’s third-down run to the Bears’ 23, the Horned Frogs’ field-goal unit scrambled onto the field with the clock running. The kick by Kell, who earlier had an extra-point attempt clank off the upright, went through as time ran out.
‘‘That looked like chaos, but we practice it every Thursday exactly like that,’’ TCU coach Sonny Dykes said.
The Horned Frogs, who already had clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game, haven’t been undefeated this deep into a season since 2010, when they finished 13-0 with a Rose Bowl victory and a No. 2 national ranking.
Baylor (6-5, 4-4) was coming off a 31-3 home loss to Kansas State a week earlier but took a 28-20 lead after a pair of true freshmen scored touchdowns early in the fourth quarter: Kelsey Johnson on a 12-yard catch and Richard Reese on a one-yard run.
‘‘It’s a tough locker room,’’ Bears coach Dave Aranda said. ‘‘I told them that I wish that we — that I — could take the pain away.’’
South Carolina 63, Tennessee 38
Spencer Rattler threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns, and the Gamecocks (7-4, 4-4 SEC) ran up more than 600 yards of offense on their way to upsetting the No. 5 Volunteers (9-2, 5-2) in Columbia, South Carolina. The loss likely ended any hopes Tennessee might have had to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Rattler threw two touchdown passes apiece to Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell and one each to Jalen Brooks and Juju McDowell as South Carolina posted nine touchdowns against a porous Volunteers defense.
Hendon Hooker passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns for Tennessee before leaving with a non-contact leg injury in the fourth quarter. The Volunteers never led but pulled to 35-31 early in the third before the Gamecocks scored the next 28 points.
USC 48, UCLA 45
Caleb Williams threw for 470 yards and two touchdowns, Austin Jones ran for 120 yards and two more scores and the No. 7 Trojans (10-1, 8-1 Pac-12) rallied from an early 14-point deficit to slip past the No. 16 Bruins (8-3, 5-3) in Los Angeles and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson accounted for six touchdowns — four passing and two rushing — but he also threw three interceptions and lost a fumble for UCLA, which had more than 500 yards of total offense but allowed nearly 650.
Georgia 16, Kentucky 6
Kenny McIntosh rushed for a career-best 143 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, and the No. 1 Bulldogs
(11-0, 8-0 SEC) fought off the Wildcats (6-5, 3-5) in Lexington, Kentucky, to complete their second consecutive unbeaten regular season in conference play.
Georgia — which already had clinched the SEC East title — prevailed, but it wasn’t without difficulty. The Bulldogs were limited to three field goals by Jack Podlesny before McIntosh’s touchdown provided a cushion.
Clemson 40, Miami 10
DJ Uiagalelei threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and the No. 9 Tigers (10-1, 8-0 ACC) extended their home winning streak to 40 games with a rout of the Hurricanes (5-6, 3-4) in Clemson, South Carolina. Clemson has won at least 10 games in 12 consecutive seasons.