Wake Forest routs BC, will play for ACC title
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson had no complaints about sharing the screen on his postgame video call.
“Say hello to our new friend,” he said, holding up the ACC’s Atlantic Division trophy after the No. 21 Demon Deacons beat Boston College 41-10 to advance to the conference title game.
“We knew what was at stake. It was as big of a game as we’ve coached and played in,” Clawson said. “We knew what we had to do.”
Sam Hartman threw for three touchdowns and ran for another on Saturday as the Demon Deacons earned the right to play Pittsburgh next weekend for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
It would be Wake Forest’s first ACC title since 2006, which was also the only other time in more than a century of football that it has won 10 or more games.
“We’ve got a game next week, and our goal was to be the ACC champions,” Clawson said. “There’s still meat on the bone. There’s still a lot to play for. We’re happy, but we’re certainly not satisfied.”
While North Carolina State hoped for a BC win that would deliver the division crown to the Wolfpack, the Demon Deacons opened an early 14-0 lead and scored the last 24 points of the game.
With the backups in for a few final kneel-downs, Wake Forest players and coaches hugged on the sidelines before taking their celebration to the field. Clawson received the requisite ice water bath, then the players slapped hands with the fans behind their bench before posing for pictures in front of the goalposts and scoreboard.
“It was a cool moment to share with our fans, people that traveled or are here in Boston,” Hartman said. “It was a great moment for Wake Forest, and for our football team and the guys that have been here all year.”
Hartman ran it in from 7 yards out midway through the first quarter and made it 14-0 on a 33-yard pass to A.T. Perry. It was 17-10 late in the second when Brandon Sebastian intercepted Hartman in the end zone, but BC went three-and out and then Wake Forest scored on Hartman’s 7yard pass to Perry just before halftime.
BC (6-6, 2-6) ran off four three-and-outs in the second half — interrupted only by an interception. Wake Forest extended its lead with a field goal, a 3-yard run by Christian Turner that made it 34-10 and Hartman’s 2-yard pass to Blake Whiteheart.
Hartman completed 20 of 32 passes for 236 yards and ran 11 times for 51 yards. Perry caught four passes for 81 yards and two scores.
No. 1 Georgia 45, Georgia Tech 0: Stetson Bennett helped No. 1 Georgia finish a perfect regular season, and then shifted his attention to Alabama.
Bennett passed for 255 yards and four touchdowns, including two to tight end Brock Bowers, and the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Yellow Jackets.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Bennett said. “Now the real fun starts.”
Georgia (12-0) gained momentum for next week’s much-anticipated Southeastern Conference championship game against No. 3 Alabama in Atlanta.
In the rivalry known as
A“Clean Old-Fashioned Hate,” the Bulldogs played a clean game with no turnovers or penalties.
It is the first undefeated regular season for the Bulldogs since 1982, when they capped a streak of three consecutive SEC championships with tailback Herschel Walker.
Georgia now can focus on its drive for SEC and national championships.
Georgia Tech (3-9) finished with three wins for the third consecutive season under coach Geoff Collins, who acknowledged this week he will need to show improvement next year. The Yellow Jackets closed the season with six consecutive losses following a
3-3 start.
Bennett completed 14 of 20 passes, including scoring passes of 25 yards to Jermaine Burton and 11 yards to Ladd McConkey. Daijun Edwards had a 3-yard scoring run in the fourth, with quarterback JT Daniels and other backups on the field.
No. 9. Baylor 27, Texas Tech 24: Blake Shapen threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for the host Bears (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, CFP No. 8), who held on to beat the Red Raiders (6-6, 3-6) that kept alive their hopes of making the Big 12 championship game for the second time in three seasons.
No. 11. Oregon 38, Oregon State 29: Anthony Brown Jr. threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns while running for another score, and the
AADucks beat the Beavers to win the Pac-12 North Division and claim a spot in the league’s championship game.
The Ducks (10-2, 7-2) will face No. 16 Utah for the conference championship in Las Vegas on Friday.
No. 12. Michigan
State 30, Penn State 27: Payton Thorne threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the host Spartans over the Nittany Lions.
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries as the Spartans (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) bounced back from last week’s 56-7 loss to Ohio State. Michigan State finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2015.
Sean Clifford threw three touchdown passes, two to Jahan Dotson, for the Nittany Lions (7-5, 4-5). Penn State closed out the regular season with five losses in its past seven games.
North Texas 45,
No. 15. UTSA 23: North Texas backs DeAndre Torrey and Ikaika Ragsdale combined for five touchdowns while UTSA quarterback Frank Harris had two turnovers and didn’t play after halftime in the Mean Green’s rout of the Roadrunners. UTSA (11-1, 7-1 Conference USA), which never started with more than five consecutive wins in the program’s first nine FBS seasons, is still hosting the conference championship game Friday night against either Western Kentucky or Marshall. No. 1 Georgia and fourthranked Cincinnati are the remaining undefeated FBS teams. North Texas (6-6, 5-3) matched that late in the third quarter of a fifth consecutive victory that followed a six-game losing streak.
No. 19. Houston 45, UConn 17: Clayton Tune threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns as the Cougars (11-1, 8-0 American) tuned up for next week’s American Athletic Conference championship game with a rout of the host Huskies (1-11).
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