Without Lawrence, Clemson rallies past Boston College
CLEMSON, S.C. — Freshman DJ Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns in place of Trevor Lawrence, home with COVID-19, and No. 1 Clemson rallied from 18-points down in the first half to beat Boston College 34-28 on Saturday.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after the game that Lawrence also will miss the Tigers’ game next week at No. 4 Notre Dame.
Travis Etienne became the Atlantic Coast Conference’s career rushing leader and his second TD put the Tigers (7-0, 6-0 ) ahead for good. A jarring week for Clemson ended with its 28th straight victory over league competition, 10th straight over the Eagles and 27th in a row at home.
Clemson was missing several key players. Lawrence was out after testing positive for the virus and starting linebackers James Skalski and Mike Jones Jr. were missing because of injuries.
The Eagles (4-3, 3-3) took advantage, putting Clemson in a 28-10 hole in the second quarter with the virus-reduced crowd stunned to near silence.
Uiagalelei had a 30-yard TD run on Clemson’s opening third-quarter drive to begin the comeback, then threw an 8-yard scoring strike to Amari Rodgers that drew the Tigers to 28-26.
Etienne, Clemson’s other Heisman contender, put the Tigers in front for good with a 17-yard touchdown run with 11:34 to go.
MICHIGAN STATE 28, NO. 13 MICHIGAN 24
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Rocky Lombardi threw for 323 yards — 196 to Ricky White — and three touchdowns to help Michigan State stun Michigan.
The Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) appeared to be the better team all afternoon on both sides of the ball in Mel Tucker’s debut as coach in the rivalry.
The Wolverines (1-1, 1-1) were favored to win by more than three touchdowns.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 14, KENTUCKY 3
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Zamir White ran for a carer-high 131 yards and a touchdown, Stetson Bennett also ran for a score and Georgia beat Kentucky for its 11th straight victory in the series.
Their scores opened both halves as the Bulldogs (4-1 Southeastern Conference) improved to 5-1 after off weeks under coach Kirby Smart. Georgia had 215 yards on the ground.
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 49, MEMPHIS 10
CINCINNATI — Desmond Ridder threw touchdown passes and ran for two scores, Jerome Ford also scored twice and Cincinnati (5-0, 3-0 American Athletic) beat Memphis to remained undefeated.
WEST VIRGINIA 37, NO. 16 KANSAS STATE 10
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Tonkery returned an interception for a score and West Virginia beat Kansas State.
Leddie Brown ran for 102 yards and a score to help the Mountaineers (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knock the Wildcats from their solo perch atop the league standings.
NO. 20 COASTAL CAROLIONA 51, GEORGIA STATE 0
ATLANTA — Grayson McCall passed for 254 yards and four touchdowns, Jaivon Heiligh scored twice and Coastal Carolina (6-0, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) cruised past Georgia State (2-3, 1-3).
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 52, KANSAS 22
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Breece Hall matched a career high with 185 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy threw two TD passes and had another score on the ground and Iowa State (4-2, 4-1 Big 12) routed Kansas.