LSU knocks off No. 6 Florida 37-34
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Trask and No. 6 Florida look nowhere near ready for top-ranked Alabama.
Max Johnson threw three touchdown passes in his first college start, Cade York kicked a 57-yard field goal with 23 seconds remaining and reigning national champion LSU stunned the Gators 37-34 on a cool and foggy Saturday night in the Swamp.
York drilled his kick through the dense fog and the uprights, leaving Florida with a final shot. Trask got the Gators (8-2) in position to tie it, but Evan McPherson was wide left from 51 yards on the final play. LSU (4-5) celebrated wildly all over the field.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 52, ARKANSAS 3
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — DeVonta Smith returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown as Alabama scored 28 points in a span of 11 minutes in the first half and rolled past Arkansas.
After the teams traded field goals, Smith started the Crimson Tide (10-0, CFP No. 1) barrage. Najee Harris scored consecutive touchdowns just 14e seconds apart and a final plunge from 1 yard by Brian Robinson Jr. had Alabama in cruising toward the Southeastern Conference championship game next week against Florida.
NO. 20 UNC 62, NO. 9 MIAMI 26
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Michael Carter and Javonte Williams set an NCAA record by combining for 544 yards rushing, and North Carolina (8-3, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) embarrassed Miami (8-2, 7-2) in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Carter ran for 308 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams had 236 yards and three touchdowns for the Tar Heels. Per the NCAA, it was the seventh time that two teammates each ran for at least 200 yards, the first since 2016 and the first such instance in ACC history.
NO. 11 COASTAL CAROLINA 42, TROY 38
TROY, Ala. — Jaivon Heiligh caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Grayson McCall with 45 seconds left and Coastal Carolina (11-0, 8-0 Sun Belt Conference) preserved its first perfect regular season with a win over Troy (5-6, 3-4).
NO. 15 NORTHWESTERN 28, ILLINOIS 10
EVANSTON, Ill. — Cam Porter ran for a career-high 142 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Hull added a season-best 149 yards on the ground, and Northwestern (6-1, 6-1, No. 14 CFP) tuned up for the Big Ten championship game by beating Illinois (2-5, 2-5).
UTAH 38, NO. 21 COLORADO 21
BOULDER, Colo. — Ty Jordan scored twice, including a game-sealing 66-yard TD burst, and Utah’s revamped defense forced three turnovers to help the Utes (22, 2-2 Pac-12) rally past Colorado (4-1, 3-1 to thwart the Buffaloes’ Pac-12 title hopes.
The soon-to-be-unseated Pac-12 South champion Utes found their footing on the frozen field in the second half, turning around 21-10 deficit by scoring 28 unanswered points.
NO. 24 BUFFALO 56, AKRON 7
AMHERST, N.Y. — Jaret Patterson ran for 105 yards and matched a major college football record by reaching 1,000 yards for the season in five games as Buffalo routed Akron in a tune-up for the Mid-American Conference championship.
Patterson scored two touchdowns before halftime, bringing his season totals to 1,025 yards and 18 rushing TDs for the Bulls (5-0). He is the 12th player in FBS history to surpass 1,000 yards in as many games.