New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Clemson escapes against Syracuse
With new starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence knocked out of the game, Travis Etienne scored on a 2-yard run with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give No. 3 Clemson a 27-23 victory over Syracuse on Saturday in Clemson, S.C.
Etienne had three TDs and a career-high 203 yards rushing to bail out the quarterback-depleted Tigers (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They went from having one too many starting-caliber QBs earlier in the week to not enough by the second half against the Orange (4-1, 1-1).
Lawrence left his first career start late in the second quarter with a possible concussion. Lawrence was promoted to starter earlier in the week by coach Dabo Swinney and that prompted senior Kelly Bryant, who had started the first four games and led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff last year, to leave the team. That left one-time thirdstringer Chase Brice to lead the comeback — and it looked bleak when Syracuse's Eric Dungey bulled his way in for a 1-yard score with 12:58 remaining to make it 23-13.
Etienne's 26-yard touchdown run with 11:08 to go drew Clemson within a field goal and Brice, a redshirt freshman with just eight career passes, directed a 94-yard scoring drive that included a 20-yard completion on fourth-and-6 to keep things going.
Dungey was sacked twice by freshman Xavier Thomas on Syracuse's final drive. The Orange were trying for their first 5-0 start since 1987. Dungey finished with two rushing touchdowns. He was 26 of 41 passing for 250 yards and an interception.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 56, LA.-LAFAYETTE 14
Jaylen Waddle returned a punt for a touchdown and caught two scoring passes, including a 94-yarder, for Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts staked the Crimson Tide (5-0) to a 49-0 halftime lead over the Ragin' Cajuns (1-3) en route to the defending national champions' latest blowout.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 38, TENNESSEE 12
D'Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns, including a late 14-yarder, and Georgia used dominant defense to overcome a sluggish offensive start in Athens, Ga.
Freshman quarterback Justin Fields scored on runs of 12 and 15 yards, and Isaac Nauta had a 31-yard fumble return for a scpore. The Bulldogs led by 12 points early in the final quarter before pulling away.
NO. 6 OKLAHOMA 66, BAYLOR 33
Kyler Murray sat out Oklahoma's first offensive series then came on to pass for 432 yards and six touchdowns in Norman, Okla.
Austin Kendall opened the game, but Murray entered on the second possession and played nearly flawless football. His passing touchdown total tied for second-best in school history behind Baker Mayfield's seven against Texas Tech in 2016. The school would not say why Murray didn't start.
Murray also ran for 45 yards and a score for the Sooners (5-0, 2-0 Big 12).
NO. 12 W. VIRGINIA 42, NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 34
Will Grier threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns, Keith Washington thwarted a rally with 51yard interception return for a score for West Virginia in Lubbock, Texas.
Marcus Simms had nine catches for a career-high 138 yards — all in the first half — for his third straight 100-yard game. The Mountaineers (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) scored 28 first-quarter points.
NO. 13 UCF 45, PITTSBURGH 14
McKenzie Milton threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns and UCF extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games in Orlando, Fla.
A week after accounting for six TDs in a lopsided victory over Florida Atlantic, Milton also ran for two scores to give the junior from Hawaii seven TDs passing and five rushing in his past two games.
NO. 14 MICHIGAN 20, NORTHWESTERN 17
Karan Higdon ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, Shea Patterson threw 196 yards and No. 14 Michigan overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.
NO. 18 TEXAS 19, KANSAS STATE 14
Sam Ehlinger threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, D'Shawn Jamison returned a punt 90 yards for another score and Texas snap a five-game road losing streak to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas.
Keaontay Ingram churned for a first down with less than three minutes to go, allowing the red-hot Longhorns (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) to run out the clock after blowing much of a 19-0 halftime lead.
NO. 21 MICHIGAN ST. 31, CENTRAL MICH. 20
Brian Lewerke ran for two touchdowns in the first half, and Michigan State overcame a slow start and an underwhelming finish in East Lansing, Mich.
The Spartans (3-1) entered with the nation's top-ranked run defense and held CMU (1-4) to 5 yards on the ground in the first half. Michigan State led 31-3 before letting the Chippewas rally.
Connor Heyward and La'Darius Jefferson also ran for touchdowns for the Spartans.