SEC Roundup

No. 3 Clemson 38, South Carolina 3

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dabo Swinney simply couldn’t contain his joy over Trevor Lawrence and midway through the Tigers’ latest blowout, Clemson’s coach just had to let the kid know.

“Man,” Swinney said he told Lawrence, “it’s just so much fun watching you play quarterback.”

Swinney should get at least a couple more opportunities to see Lawrence shine this postseason, starting next Saturday with the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Virginia.

Lawrence threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns as the third-ranked Tigers (No. 3 CFP) won their 27th straight and finished their second consecutive 12-0 regular season with a victory over rival South Carolina.

Lawrence, who led Clemson to a national title his first year, showed off a full range of skills with highlight-show touchdown throws to Tee Higgins and a knack for running the Tigers out of trouble.

Lawrence finished 26 of 36 passing and completed an ACC record-tying 18 straight throws to keep the Tigers rolling. He also led Clemson with 66 yards rushing, several of his runs going for first downs.

“After this year’s over and see if we accomplish what we set out to do, then we take a step back,” Lawrence said. “But I don’t think there’s really any time to do that right now. We really want to enjoy this win, but Monday get right back to it and prepare for Virginia.”

Travis Etienne ran for two touchdowns to break Atlantic Coast Conference marks for career touchdowns (57) from scrimmage and rushing scores (53) as the Tigers dominated throughout on the way to a sixth straight win over South Carolina (4-8).

Lawrence had touchdown throws of 10 and 65 yards to Tee Higgins and 16 yards to Justyn Ross.

“This is where we are supposed to be. And this is what we do,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said.

No. 4 Georgia 52, Georgia Tech 7

ATLANTA — This trip to Atlanta was barely an annoyance for No. 4 Georgia.

The Bulldogs are really focused on their return to the A-T-L next weekend.

Jake Fromm threw four touchdown passes and Georgia cruised into the Southeastern Conference championship game with a victory over Georgia Tech — the Bulldogs’ biggest win ever against their state rival.

The Bulldogs (11-1) were 28-point favorites and this one was never in doubt, even as they fumbled the ball away three times, dealt with injury woes, had a key player ejected, and failed to cover an onside kick.

It was Georgia’s third straight win in the one-sided series known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” — all of them blowouts. The Bulldogs have outscored Georgia Tech 135-35 during that span.

“This was the next step,” coach Kirby Smart said. “We expected to win this game. We expected to dominate this game. We go on to the next one.”

When Tyson Campbell recovered a fumbled punt for Georgia’s final touchdown in the closing minutes, it surpassed the Bulldogs’ previous biggest margin over the Yellow Jackets, a 51-7 rout in 2002.

The Bulldogs move on to next weekend’s SEC title game, which will be held about a mile away at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, to face No. 1 LSU for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

“Anytime we play in Atlanta, we like to play well,” Fromm said. “We feel like we’re playing at home.”

No. 8 Florida 40, Florida State 17

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Trask threw three first-half touchdown passes, including two to Freddie Swain, and Florida hammered rival Florida State to end a fourgame, home losing streak in the series.

The Gators (10-2, No. 11 CFP) locked up consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in a decade, finished unbeaten at home for the first time in four years and celebrated their first winning streak against the Seminoles (6-6) since 2009.

Florida scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, needing two fourthdown conversions to get the first two, and was able to start celebrating before halftime. Receiver Kadarius Toney taunted FSU players by posing and pointing at a scoreboard as they left the field at halftime.

No. 1 LSU 50, Texas A&M 7

BATON ROUGE, La. — Joe Burrow padded his Heisman Trophy resume with 352 yards and three touchdowns passing and No.1 LSU beat Texas A&M to give the Tigers their first unbeaten regular season since 2011.

Burrow’s night was highlighted by a deep, pin-point accurate pass on a 78-yard touchdown strike to JaMarr Chase, who had 197 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.

Burrow also hit Justin Jefferson with a 12-yard scoring pass, while his second scoring pass to Chase covered 18 yards.

Burrow has 4,366 yards and 44 touchdowns passing this season, smashing LSU single-season records in both categories. Burrow’s yards passing total also broke the SEC record, which had stood since 1998, when former Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch passed for 4,275 yards.

Burrow’s 44 TDs has tied the SEC’s single season mark set by Missouri’s Drew Lock in 2017. And LSU (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 2 CFP) has at least two games — possibly three — still to play.

Burrow ceremoniously left the game after opening a possession with his 23rd completion early in the fourth quarter. He raised his arms to salute the Tiger Stadium crowd, which went wild as he jogged to the sideline and embraced coach Ed Orgeron before exchanging more hugs with seemingly every coach and teammate in the bench area.

Kentucky 45, Louisville 13

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lynn Bowden seemingly couldn’t be stopped, no matter how many defenders Louisville stacked up toward that end. And as the game wore on, the Kentucky quarterback became more dominant.

Bowden’s reward was a career performance, while the Wildcats claimed milestones along with Bluegrass bragging rights.