No. 1 Alabama thumps Auburn

Tua Tagovailoa threw five touchdown passes and ran for a score to lead No. 1 Alabama past rival Auburn 52-21 in Tuscaloosa.

Tagovailoa and the Crimson Tide (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings) took over with an explosive third quarter, when the Heisman Trophy contender threw three long touchdown passes.

Tagovailoa is the first Alabama player to have a hand in six TDs in a game and matched the school record with the five scoring passes.

Now, Bama heads to the SEC championship game against No. 5 Georgia with a guaranteed playoff spot on the line.

With Alabama leading Auburn (7-5, 3-5) 17-14 at halftime, Tagovailoa launched the Tide into another SEC blowout. He was 11-of-12 passing for 208 yards and four touchdowns in the second half, despite only playing one series in the fourth quarter.

Tagovailoa finished 25 of 32 for 324 yards and ran for 26 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown and a 21-yard third-down conversion on runs.

The second-half numbers included touchdowns of 46 yards to Jerry Jeudy, 33 to Josh Jacobs, 40 to DeVonta Smith and 22 to Henry Ruggs III — all accurate strikes downfield.

No. 15 Penn State 38, Maryland 3: Trace McSorley completed 12 of 22 passes for 230 yards and had a hand in three touchdowns for the hosts.

McSorley added 64 rushing yards on 11 carries for the Nittany Lions (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten, No. 12 CFP).

McSorley threw a 34-yard bullet through freezing rain to KJ Hamler on the game’s first play, sprinted downfield to throw a block that opened Miles Sanders up for a 35-yard run on the next, then skipped into the end zone from 3 yards to cap the quick opening drive.

McSorley added another touchdown run two possessions later when he scrambled through a pair of defenders up the middle for 20 yards and a 14-3 lead.

Ricky Slade added 8- and 1-yard touchdown runs and tight end Pat Freiermuth caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from McSorley in the fourth quarter.

Sanders finished with 128 yards on 14 carries, Hamler caught three passes for 90 yards.

Tyrrell Pigrome completed 14 of 23 passes for 185 yards but was sacked five times for the Terrapins (5-7, 3-6).

No. 20 Northwestern 24, Illinois 16: Clayton Thorson accounted for three touchdowns, Isaiah Browser rushed for 166 yards on 18 carries, and Northwestern beat Illinois.

Thorson completed 12 of 18 passes for 110 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score, and Bowser posted his fourth 100yard game of the season.

The Wildcats (8-4, 8-1, No. 19 CFP) will face No. 10 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game next weekend in Indianapolis.

Illinois (4-8, 2-7) lost for the sixth time in seven games. AJ Bush Jr. completed 23 of 39 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown, and Ricky Smalling finished with seven receptions for 72 yards and a TD.

Miami 24, No. 24 Pittsburgh 3: Travis Homer rushed for 168 yards and a long touchdown, DeeJay Dallas ran back a punt for one of his two scores, and host Miami closed its regular season by knocking off Pittsburgh.

Dallas also had a rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Homer is up to 969 yards this season, and he would have a chance to become the 10th runner in Miami history with a 1,000-yard season if he gets 31 in the bowl game.

Kenny Pickett completed 14 of 22 passes for 130 yards for Pitt (7-5, 6-2), which had already locked up the ACC’s Coastal Division title and a berth in next weekend’s conference title game against Clemson.

It was a reversal of last season, when Miami had the Coastal clinched and lost to Pitt in the regular-season finale for both clubs.