Tigers take it easy

for a 16-yard gain.

“Joe is the heartbeat of this team,” running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire said.

The Heisman-worthy moment came late in the third quarter. With Georgia (11-2) bringing the heat, Burrow spun to his left to get away from lineman Travon Walker, whirled back to his right to send Walker sprawling to the turf, then delivered a pass on the run while sprinting toward the LSU sideline with another defender in hot pursuit.

“He’s a great athlete, man,” Georgia safety J.R. Reed said. “We had a lot of plays out there we were supposed to make, and he’d just squeeze out of it.”

Justin Jefferson hauled in the throw just beyond midfield and took off down to the Bulldogs 9 for a 71-yard play. Three plays later, Burrow delivered his third TD pass of the game, hooking up with Terrace Marshall Jr., on a 4-yard touchdown pass that essentially finished off the Bulldogs.

Burrow wasn’t done. Derek Stingley’s second pick of Jake Fromm turned the ball back over to the prolific LSU offense at the 13, and Burrow wasted no time finding Justin Jefferson for an 8-yard TD that sent many in the predominantly Georgia crowd heading for the exits at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

LSU left no doubt it is the king of the mighty SEC, completing its run through a gauntlet of the league’s top teams. The Tigers had already knocked off Alabama, Florida and Auburn. Now, they can add the Bulldogs to the list, ensuring the SEC will only get one team in the national playoff.

LSU came into the game as the secondhighest scoring team in the country behind Ohio State. They figured to have a tougher time against Georgia’s stellar defense, ranked No. 2 in points allowed. but Burrow kept the Bulldogs on their heels.

It was by far the most points Georgia has given up their season. Until Saturday, they held every opponent under 20 except South Carolina, which stunned the Bulldogs in double overtime nearly two months ago. There was no such drama in this one. Marshall hauled in a pair of touchdown passes, also gathering a 7-yard scoring play that propelled LSU to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Ja’Marr Chase capped a 75-yard drive on the Tigers’ opening possession with a 23-yard touchdown catch.

It was a painful loss — literally — for the Bulldogs, who were making their third straight appearance in the SEC title game.

Two players were carted off the field with apparently major injuries. Fromm twisted an ankle and had to go to the medical tent to get taped up, though he was able to finish the game.

Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes, three to Tee Higgins, and No. 3 Clemson won its fifth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title with a 62-17 victory over No. 23 Virginia on Saturday night.

The defending national champion Tigers (13-0) have won 28 games in a row and head to the College Football Playoff with a chance for a third crown in four years.

And while Virginia (9-4) and quarterback Bryce Perkins put forth a game plan that caused the Tigers to sweat early on, there was no stopping Clemson’s dazzling set of experienced playmakers led by Lawrence and Higgins on the way to ACC championship game records for points and yards (621).

Lawrence set an ACC title-game record with his four touchdown throws and had 302 yards passing, his second best total this season, and completed 16 of 22 passes before coming out in the third quarter.

Higgins finished with 182 yards receiving yards and the three TDs, both bests in ACC championship game play.

Travis Etienne had 114 yards, his eighth game over 100 yards this season.

Virginia and Perkins appeared to have a game plan to compete with the Tigers, even without leading receiver Joe Reed out due to injury.

CJ Verdell ran for 208 yards and broke open the game with two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, and No. 13 Oregon spoiled No. 5 Utah’s playoff hopes with a 37-15 victory in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night in Santa Clara, Calif.

The Utes (11-2) came into the game hoping to make a case for one of the four playoff spots with a conference title but instead got overmatched by Oregon (11-2) and lost their second straight Pac-12 championship game.

They fell into a 20-0 hole in the first half and then gave up a 70-yard TD run to Verdell after cutting the lead to 23-15.

Antonio Gibson caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brady White with 1:14 left and No. 17 Memphis defeated No. 20 Cincinnati 29-24 in the American Athletic Conference championship game Saturday in Memphis, Tenn.

The victory marked the first time Memphis (12-1) has won the AAC title in its third straight conference championship game. The Tigers now wait for an invitation to the Cotton Bowl as the highest-ranked Group of Five team.

Eight days after beating the Bearcats 34-24 at home in the regular-season finale, Memphis rallied for another win.

Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, who did not play last week against Memphis, passed for 233 yards and ran for 113 more. He also had a 15-yard touchdown in the first half.

The Bearcats dropped to 10-3.

Lane Kiffin is back in the SEC, taking over at Mississippi.

The Rebels made the announcement Saturday after Florida Atlantic defeated UAB in the Conference USA championship game, the Owls’ second league title in his three seasons.

In his three seasons at Florida Atlantic, Kiffin went 26-13. He was 61-34 in parts of eight seasons as a head coach at Tennessee, USC and FAU.

Kiffin, 44, takes over a Mississippi program that hasn’t produced a winning season since going 10-3 in 2015 and winning the Sugar Bowl, capping a string of four straight bowl appearances. The Rebels went 4-8 this season.