S. Carolina upends Clemson’s CFP hopes
South Carolina 31, No. 7 Clemson 30: Spencer Rattler threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns, Mitch Jeter hit the goahead field goal with 11 minutes left and South Carolina (8-4, 3-2 SEC) crushed the playoff hopes of a second straight top-10 team with a 31-30 victory at Clemson (10-2, 6-1 ACC) on Saturday.
The Gamecocks were the talk of college football last week after their 63-38 dismantling of then fifth-ranked Tennessee, ending the Vols’ hopes of a College Football Playoff berth.
South Carolina and Rattler, who threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns against Tennessee, ended any chance Clemson had of reaching the CFP. The Gamecocks rallied from 14-0 down 10 minutes in to end Clemson’s seven-game series winning streak and 40-game home streak that dated to 2016.
Antwane Wells Jr. had nine catches for 131 yards, including touchdowns of 4 and 72 yards.
Clemson was looking to set a series record with its eighth in a row over South Carolina. And the Tigers were up 30-21 midway through the third period after Will Shipley’s 11-yard burst to the end zone. That’s when Wells, the James Madison transfer, broke behind the defense for a 72-yard scoring catch two plays later.
After Clemson’s three-and-out, Rattler moved the Gamecocks to the Tigers 10 before Jeter connected for a 35-yard kick to go 10 of 10 on the season.
No. 1 Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 14: Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and host Georgia (12-0) completed back-to-back undefeated regular seasons for the first time in school history by overcoming a slow start to beat Georgia Tech (5-7).
Georgia was down 7-0 early and led Georgia Tech only 10-7 at halftime. Then the Bulldogs overpowered the Yellow Jackets with their running game to score 37 unanswered points and notch their fifth consecutive win in the state rivalry.
Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton ran for touchdowns. Georgia outrushed
Georgia Tech 251-40.
The defending national champion Bulldogs are in good position to retain their No. 1 College Football Playoff ranking entering next week’s Southeastern Conference championship game against No. 6 LSU.
No. 3 Michigan 45, No. 2 Ohio State 23:
J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, Donovan Edwards busted the game open with two long fourth-quarter TD runs and Michigan (12-0, 9-0) beat host Ohio State (11-1, 8-1), taking down the Buckeyes with stunning ease for the second straight season.
Playing almost the whole game without injured star running back Blake Corum, Michigan was still able to beat Ohio State in Columbus for the first time since 2000.
The Wolverines advance to the Big Ten championship next Saturday, with hopes for a second straight playoff appearance firmly in their control. As for the Buckeyes, they’ll have to hope they can back into the CFP after again crumbling
in their biggest game of the season.
No. 4 TCU 62, Iowa State 14: Kendre Miller ran for two touchdowns as fourthranked TCU completed the first undefeated regular season by a Big 12 team since 2009, getting the Horned Frogs closer to making the four-team College Football Playoff.
Max Duggan threw TDs to three receivers for the Frogs (12-0, 9-0 Big 12, No. 4 CFP), who still have the Big 12 championship game to play next Saturday in coach Sonny Dykes’ first season. But they will go into that as one of only three undefeated teams remaining.
A week after having to score nine points in the final 2 minutes, 7 seconds at Baylor, and getting the game-ending field goal when out of timeouts and the clock running, TCU led 17-0 with scores on each of its three drives against the Big 12’s top defense.
No. 8 Alabama 49, Auburn 27:
Bryce Young passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in perhaps his final home game for No. 8 Alabama.
Alabama (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 7 CFP) reached double digits in wins for a 15th consecutive season despite being unable to fulfill those everpresent national title aspirations.
The Tigers (5-7, 2-6) were trying to ensure bowl eligibility and salvage a disappointing campaign that included the Oct. 31 firing of coach Bryan Harsin.
No. 11 Penn State 35, Michigan State 16: Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes and No. 11 Penn State’s defense tightened up late to beat Michigan State.
Tight end Theo Johnson caught two touchdown passes, Tyler Warren and running back Nick Singleton each caught one, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith threw a touchdown pass and caught another for the Nittany Lions (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 11 CFP).
Penn State evened the all-time series with the Spartans at 18-18-1, but needed a fourth-quarter push to do so.
No. 22 Oregon State 38, No. 10 Oregon 34: Isaiah Newell ran for the goahead touchdown with 8:11 remaining, and No. 22 Oregon State took advantage of critical mistakes in the fourth quarter by No. 10 Oregon to rally for a 38-34 victory on Saturday.
The Beavers (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12, No 21 CFP) trailed 31-10 late in the third quarter and 34-17 early in the fourth, but the Ducks (9-3, 7-2, No. 9 CFP) gave their rivals a short field on three consecutive possessions, leading to touchdowns.
First, Oregon gave up a 48-yard kickoff return by Silas Bolden, and a facemask penalty set up Oregon State at the Ducks 36. Newell ran for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 34-24.
James Madison 47, No. 23 Coastal Carolina 7:
Todd Centeio threw for four touchdowns and ran for one score as host James Madison (8-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) romped past Coastal Carolina (9-2, 6-2) in what it viewed as its postseason game.
JMU earned a technical share of the league’s East Division title with the same conference record as the Chanticleers, but the Dukes are not eligible for a title under terms of their transition to the Bowl Subdivision.