Etienne, Tigers blast Cardinals
CLEMSON, S.C. — Travis Etienne ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns and 350-pound defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence added a 2-yard scoring burst in No. 2 Clemson’s 77-16 victory over Louisville on Saturday.
The Tigers (6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 2 CFP) improved to 9-0 for the third time in four seasons and can wrap up their fourth ACC Atlantic Division title next week at Boston College.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 31, NORTHWESTERN 21
EVANSTON, Ill. — Ian Book threw for threw two touchdown passes and ran 23 yards for a score in the closing minutes to lead Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish (9-0, No. 4 CFP) remained in line for a playoff spot and continued to build on their best start since the 2012 team went undefeated before losing to Alabama in the BCS championship game. The Wildcats (5-4) had won four in a row to grab the Big Ten West lead and they stayed in this one when it looked like Notre Dame was ready to pull away.
NO. 5 MICHIGAN 42, NO. 14 PENN STATE 7
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Shea Patterson accounted for three touchdowns and Michigan put together a dominant performance on defense.
The Wolverines (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) moved a step closer toward their goals of winning a conference championship for the first time since 2004 and earning their first spot in the College Football Playoff.
NO. 6 GEORGIA 34, NO. 11 KENTUCKY 17
LEXINGTON, Ky. — D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries against Kentucky’s vaunted defense and Georgia wrapped up its second straight Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title.
Swift had an 83-yard breakaway in the third quarter that gave Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 6 College Football Playoff ) a 28-3 lead. He also had a nifty 20-yard scoring run in the second period when the game was close.
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 36, NEBRASKA 31
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.K. Dobbins ran for three touchdowns and Dwayne Haskins Jr. passed for two more scores to help Ohio State beat Nebraska.
After Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to JD Spielman to pull within five with 3 minutes left, Dobbins pounded away for two first downs to run out the clock.
NO. 12 W. VIRGINIA 42, NO. 15 TEXAS
AUSTIN, Texas — West Virginia’s Will Grier threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jennings with 16 seconds left, and then ran in the 2-point conversion to send the Mountaineers to the victory.
Grier broke his finger on a run to the pylon in the first quarter of a loss to Texas last year, and his game-winning run came on a similar scramble. But there was no defender near him this time around, and he held the ball up while crossing the goal line untouched.
MISSOURI 38, NO. 13 FLORIDA 17
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Drew Lock picked apart Florida’s defense for the second straight year, throwing three touchdown passes to lead Missouri.
Lock completed 24 of 32 passes for 250 yards, with scoring throws to Albert Okwuegbunam, Kam Scott and Emanuel Hall that stunned the Swamp.
ARIZONA ST. 38, NO. 16 UTAH 20
TEMPE, Ariz. — Manny Wilkins threw three touchdown passes to N’Keal Harry and Arizona State beat Utah, knocking the Utes out of sole possession of first place in Pac-12 South.
The Utes (6-3, 4-3 Pac-12) lost quarterback Tyler Huntley to an apparent shoulder or arm injury in the third quarter.
PURDUE 38, NO. 19 IOWA 36
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Spencer Evans made a 25-yard field goal with 8 seconds left, putting the Boilermakers back in the Big Ten’s West Division title hunt.
David Blough threw three touchdown passes to Terry Wright and topped the 300-yard mark for the fifth time this season.
NO. 21 MISS. STATE 45, LOUISIANA TECH 3
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Nick Fitzgerald threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns to lead Mississippi State.
NO. 22 SYRACUSE 41, WAKE FOREST 24
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Eric Dungey rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, Jarveon Howard ran for two scores and Syracuse beat Wake Forest.
Dungey — whose average of 294.1 total yards per game ranks second in the ACC — was 23 of 35 for 157 yards and also ran for a 26-yard score to help the Orange (7-2, 4-2, No. 19 CFP) win their first game as a Top 25 team since the Dwight Freeney days in 2001.
NO. 24 B.C. 31, VIRGINIA TECH 21
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Travis Levy ran for two touchdowns and Boston College beat Virginia to set up a huge home game against Clemson next week for the Eagles.
BC (7-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 22 CFP) limited the Hokies to 32 yards in the third quarter and erased a 14-7 deficit with 21 unanswered points after halftime. First-place in the ACC Atlantic Division will be on the line when the second-ranked Tigers visit Boston College.
AUBURN 28,
NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 24
AUBURN, Ala. — Seth Williams caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham with 1:41 left and Auburn rallied to beat Texas A&M.