Aggies win and make a CFP case
Kellen Mond threw for 281 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 59 yards and a score Saturday, allowing No. 5 Texas A&M to close its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 34-13 victory over Tennessee.
Isaiah Spiller ran for 89 yards and a touchdown, and Ainias Smith scored once rushing and once receiving.
Mond completed 26 of 32 passes as the Aggies (8-1, No. 5 CFP) finished their regular season and hoped for an upset or two within the CFP’s top four.
“I haven’t lobbied or said a word up until now,” Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We lost to the No. 1 team in the country, then won seven games in a row. We can play with anybody. We play in the best league in ball.
“Some teams aren’t even playing seven games. They’re supposed to pick the best four.”
Tennessee (3-7) has lost seven of its last eight games, ramping up speculation about Jeremy Pruitt’s future as Vols coach.
“And I get it, 3-7 is not where we want to be right now, you know?” Pruitt said. “But there’s one thing I can say: I can lay my head down on my pillow every night and know that I’ve done everything I could possibly do to make sure we protected everybody in our program.”
Harrison Bailey and J.T. Shrout combined to throw for 189 yards and two touchdowns for the Vols.
The Aggies had trouble getting separation in the second half. Up 24-13 at halftime, the Aggies flirted with pulling away in the third quarter, but a red zone interception ended the threat.
“After the interception, we had the ability to keep our composure and continue to fight,” Mond said. “It was tremendous.
“The older guys show the poise and composure that we always talk about. That keeps the young guys calm. ‘OK, let’s move on to the next play.’”
It wasn’t until the 9:02 mark of the fourth quarter that Texas A&M got some breathing room. Mond engineered an 88-yard drive, with a key play of a 28-yard pass to Jalen Wydermeyer, that ended with a 1-yard run by Smith for a 31-13 lead.
Smith had two big runs accounting for 50 yards on the Aggies’ last possession. It ended in a 21-yard field goal that accounted for the 34-13 final.
Ducks knock off USC: Oregon didn’t win its Pac-12 division, and it only got into the championship game because Washington had to drop out. The Ducks hadn’t won a game in nearly a month before they took the Coliseum field Friday night.
They still ended up celebrating amid confetti and streamers in their rivals’ empty stadium.
After yet another display of the big-game poise their West Coast foes so often lack, the Ducks are back-to-back conference champions. Anthony Brown threw two touchdown passes in his unusual Oregon debut, Jamal Hill made his second interception with 2:47 to play, and the Ducks won their second straight Pac-12 title with a 31-24 victory over No. 13 Southern California.
Boutte has record day: Freshman receiver Kayshon Boutte caught 14 passes for an LSU-record 308 yards receiving, and his third touchdown of the game on a 45-yard catch-and-run with 1:30 remaining lifted the Tigers to a 53-48 victory over Mississippi on Saturday. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral quickly drove the Rebels into LSU territory in the final minute, but his sixth turnover of the game on a fumble caused by Ali Gaye ended the threat and allowed the Tigers (5-5) to avoid their first losing season since 1999.
Utah rallies in season finale: Ty Jordan ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns to rally Utah to a 45-28 victory over Washington State on Saturday.
Britain Covey added a career-high 134 yards and a touchdown on six catches to help power the Utes’ comeback effort. Backup quarterback Drew Lisk threw for 152 yards in relief of starter Jake Bentley.
Utah (3-2, 3-2 Pac-12) outscored Washington State 38-0 in the second half to notch its third straight victory to end the 2020 season. Jayden De Laura threw for 204 yards, a touchdown, and an interception to lead the Cougars. Max Borghi added 95 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Washington State (1-3, 1-3) closed the season with its third straight loss.
No fans in Rose Bowl: The Rose Bowl was denied a special exemption from the state of California to allow a few hundred fans to attend the College Football Playoff semifinal Jan. 1, putting the game staying in Pasadena in serious doubt.
A person involved with organizing the game told The Associated Press the Tournament of Roses’ request was denied earlier this week.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff were still finalizing a plan for what to do with the game. A decision was expected before the playoff teams are selected Sunday, the person said. If the game is moved a likely site would be AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The CFP offices are located in suburban Dallas.