McClellan’s career day leads ’Bama
Alabama, ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings, got breakout performances from Jase McClellan and Jermaine Burton in an otherwise lackluster offensive performance against an overmatched FCS team.
McClellan rushed for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns and Burton caught a pair of scoring passes from Bryce Young during a 34-0 win over Austin Peay on Saturday. The Crimson Tide (9-2) took awhile to get going against Austin Peay (7-4) in a Bryant-Denny Stadium that wasn’t much more than half full.
But McClellan and Burton had their biggest games for the Tide, which had already been knocked out of Southeastern Conference contention but was coming off a win over No. 14 Mississippi.
“All in all, we wanted to build on the momentum of how we came back and played at the end of last week’s game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “And obviously I thought that’s something we did a good job of today.”
Burton posted his first 100-yard receiving game since transferring from Georgia, with seven catches for 128 yards. McClellan subbed for injured star Jahmyr Gibbs (ankle) and scored on runs of 1 and 9 yards. McClellan, whose 2021 season was limited to five games because of injury, was coming off an 84-yard performance against the Rebels, when Gibbs went down.
“I’ve always thought he was a really good player,” Saban said. “I think y’all are just starting to figure it out.”
Morrison grabs 3 interceptions, Notre Dame blanks BC:
Cornerback Benjamin Morrison had three interceptions, the Notre Dame defense forced two fumbles and the No. 18 Fighting Irish scored on their first eight possessions to beat Boston College 44-0 on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish (8-3) won their ninth straight against Boston College (3-8), the only other Catholic university playing in the FBS. Notre Dame also extended its regular-season winning streak against Atlantic Coast Conference teams to 28 games.
The temperature at game time was 27 degrees, making it the coldest game at Notre Dame in nine years, and heavy snow fell through much of the third quarter. Notre Dame dominated from the start, with Logan Diggs breaking through the line untouched for 51 yards before being tackled at the BC 24-yard line. The Irish settled for a 26-yard field goal by Blake Grupe. On the next possession, Diggs scored on a 1-yard run, Drew Pyne threw a 1-yard TD pass to Matt Salerno and the rout was on.
Martinez’s 2 TDs puts Oregon St over Arizona St:
Damien Martinez ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns in No. 23 Oregon State’s 31-7 win over Arizona State on Saturday.
The Beavers (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) won for just the second time at ASU since 1972; they were 1-19 on the road against the Sun Devils going into the game.
The Sun Devils (3-8, 2-6) played their final home game of the season, falling to 2-6 under interim coach Shaun Aguano, who replaced Herm Edwards on Sept. 20.
The Beavers dominated, especially in the second half. They had 28 first downs to Arizona State’s 13.
Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbrandson threw a touchdown pass and was 15 of 21 for 188 yards passing. His 8-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw on third-and goal made it 28-7 Oregon State with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Mertz’s late sneak for TD pushes Badgers past Nebraska:
A Wisconsin team that has endured the midseason firing of its head coach and the death of a former teammate let its emotions spill out as groups of players gathered near midfield at Memorial Stadium to celebrate and take pictures with the Freedom Trophy.
Graham Mertz scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak with 35 seconds left to complete a comeback from an 11-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, and the Badgers beat Nebraska 15-14 Saturday for their ninth straight win in the series.
“It’s everything that this team has overcome off the field, that was what came up on the field today,” Mertz said. “There’s so many emotions and feelings that guys have had to deal with this year. There’s so many different things that have happened to us this year that could easily have buried us and made us just fold. It’s really cool to see how guys come together and want to succeed together.”
Wisconsin (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) arrived in Lincoln with heavy hearts and left eligible for a bowl for a 21st straight year.
The Badgers had to cope with the death of former teammate Devin Chandler, who was one of three Virginia football players killed in a shooting last Sunday in Charlottesville. Interim coach Jim Leonhard had said late in the week that he sensed players who were friends with Chandler could be distracted.
“It was such a rough week, and early on the game mirrored that,” said Leonhard, 4-2 since taking over for the fired Paul Chryst. “It was ugly for a long time, and the guys just continued to battle and find ways to make plays.”