No. 3 Clemson rallies behind backup QB to beat Syracuse
CLEMSON, S.C. >> 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.
Etienne had three TDs and a career-high 203 yards rushing to bail out the quarterback-depleted Tigers (50, 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, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 14 >> Jaylen Waddle returned a punt for a touchdown and caught two scoring passes, including a 94-yarder, for Alabama.
Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts
Clemson’s Travis Etienne (9) celebrates his touchdown with Tee Higgins (5) and Gage Cervenka during the second half of Saturday’s game against Syracuse. Clemson won 27-23.
staked the Crimson Tide (50) to a 49-0 halftime lead over the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-3) en route to the defending national champions’ latest blowout.
Then third-teamer Mac Jones got into the act with his 94-yarder to the freshman Waddle late in the third quarter. It tied for the second-longest TD catch in Alabama history. Alabama has scored at least 45 points five games in a row for the first time in program history.
Tagovailoa completed all eight of his attempts for 128 yards and two touchdowns, mostly in the first quarter. Hurts was 4 of 6 for 118 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown to Henry Ruggs III.
Ruggs caught five passes for 116 yards and two TDs. Waddle gained 138 yards on NO. 2 GEORGIA 38, TENNESSEE 12 >> NO. 12 WEST VIRGINIA 42, NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 34 >> Will Grier threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns, Keith Washington thwarted a rally with 51-yard interception return for a score for West Virginia.
Marcus Simms had nine catches for a career-high 138 yards — all in the first half — for his third straight 100yard game. The Mountaineers (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) scored 28 first-quarter points.
Texas Tech true freshman Alan Bowman, the nation’s leading passer coming in, didn’t return after getting injured in the first half when he was sandwiched on hits by Ezekiel Rose and Washington as he threw a pass.
Jett Dudley had his first career touchdown pass and TD run filling in for Bowman as the Red Raiders (3-2, 1-1) stayed close after trailing 35-10 at halftime. 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.
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.
UCF (4-0) now moves into the heart of its American Athletic Conference schedule, hoping to go undefeated for the second straight year to play its way into consideration for a spot in the College Football Playoff.