Book leads No. 2 Notre Dame past Syracuse
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Ian Book threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores in his final home game at Notre Dame, leading the second-ranked Fighting Irish to a 45-21 victory against Syracuse on Saturday.
The fifth-year senior led the Irish to a victory as a starter for the 30th time, the most ever for a Notre Dame quarterback. The Irish (10-0, 9-0 ACC, CFP No. 2) ran their winning streak to 16 games, best on the country, and their home winning streak to 24.
Next up for the Irish, who are playing this season in a pandemic as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, is the Dec. 19 league championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will be a rematch against No. 4 Clemson if the Tigers beat Virginia Tech later Saturday.
The Orange (1-10, 1-9) managed 414 yards on the Irish defense, ranked No. 10 nationally coming into the game, and took a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 52, MICHGAN STATE 12
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Justin Fields threw two touchdown passes and Haskell Garrett returned an interception for a score in Ohio State’s victory.
The Buckeyes (5-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) were able to take the field after a coronavirus-related cancellation the previous weekend. They were without coach Ryan Day and a few other members of the staff. Ohio State also had a list of 23 unavailable players, but none of that seemed to faze the Buckeyes.
Fields also ran for two scores. Now the big question is whether Ohio State’s regular-season finale against Michigan next weekend will be played. The Wolverines did not play this weekend for virus-related reasons. The concern for the Buckeyes is that they could fall short of the six-game threshold to be eligible for the Big Ten title game.
Michigan State (2-4, 2-4) was coming off a win over another undefeated team — Northwestern — but the Spartans were overmatched.
NO. 5 TEXAS A&M 31, AUBURN 20
AUBURN, Ala. — Kellen Mond threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and Texas A&M scored 17 points in the fourth quarter in a comeback victory over Auburn.
The Aggies (7-1 Southeastern Conference) dominated the final quarter to win their sixth straight and remain in College Football Playoff contention. The Tigers (5-4) led 20-14 entering the fourth.
NO. 6 FLORIDA 31, TENNESSEE 19
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kyle Trask threw for 433 yards and four touchdowns as Florida clinched a spot in the SEC championship game.
Trask, a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, put together another impressive performance. He completed 35 of 49 passes without committing a turnover. He even had a 32-yard punt late in the game.
Kyle Pitts had seven receptions for 128 yards, helping the Gators (8-1, No. 6 CFP) wrap up the SEC’s East Division.
Playing with a depleted roster, Tennessee (2-6) dropped its sixth consecutive game. The Vols were missing 16 players.
NO. 10 INDIANA 14, NO. 18 WISCONSIN 6
MADISON, Wis. — Jack Tuttle threw two touchdown passes in his first career start and Indiana’s defense made a stand in the final minute.
Indiana’s victory snapped a 10game skid in this series and enabled the Hoosiers (6-1, CFP No. 12) to tie a program record with its sixth Big Ten victory of the season. Indiana also earned six Big Ten wins in 1967 and 1987. The Hoosiers hadn’t beaten Wisconsin since 2002.
Wisconsin (2-2, No. 16 CFP) drove deep into Indiana territory on its final drive, but Graham Mertz’s fourthand-10 pass to Chimere Dike from the 21 was broken up by Reese Taylor in the right corner of the end zone with 46 seconds left.
NO. 12 IOWA STATE 42, WEST VIRGINIA 6
AMES, Iowa — Brock Purdy threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and Iowa State dominated on defense to secure its first appearance in the Big 12 championship game.
The Cyclones (8-2, 8-1, No. 9 CFP) were assured a spot in the conference title game Dec. 19 when TCU finished its win over Oklahoma State about the same time as kickoff against the Mountaineers (5-4, 4-4).
NO. 14 COASTAL CAROLINA 22, NO. 8 BYU 17
CONWAY, S.C. — Mateo Sudipo stopped BYU’s Dax Milne at the 1yard line as time expired.
The Cougars (9-1, No. 13 CFP) were a late-week fill-in, traveling more than 2,200 miles to the South Carolina coast and eagerly stepping up after No. 25 Liberty had to back out of the game Thursday due to COVID-19 concerns.
RICE 20, NO. 15 MARSHALL 0
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Safety Naeem Smith returned one of five Marshall interceptions for a touchdown and Rice shocked the Thundering Herd.
The three-touchdown underdog Owls (2-2 Conference USA) beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 1997 despite being without their two top offensive weapons and getting outgained 245 yards to 213.
Marshall (7-1, 4-1, No. 21 CFP) saw the end of its bid to keep a perfect season going.
TCU 29,
NO. 19 OKLAHOMA ST. 22
FORT WORTH, Texas — Max Duggan threw a go-ahead, 71-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter and ran for two more scores.
Duggan threw for 265 yards and ran for 104 to lead the Horned Frogs (5-4 Big 12). Derius Davis caught the long TD pass in stride near the 25 with 7:56 left to give the Horned Frogs the lead.
NO. 22 TULSA 19, NAVY 6
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Tulsa clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference title game, using a strong defensive effort and a tie-breaking 66-yard touchdown pass from Zach Smith to Josh Johnson for its sixth straight victory.
The Golden Hurricane (6-1, 6-0, No. 24 CFP) needed to win one of their final two games to play for the AAC championship. Tulsa will face Cincinnati at home next weekend before taking on the Bearcats for the league title on Dec. 19.
STANFORD 31,
NO. 23 WASHINGTON 26
SEATTLE — Austin Jones rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns, Davis Mills threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Scooter Harrington early in the second half and Stanford held off Washington’s second-half comeback.
The Cardinal (2-2 Pac-12) will remain on the road before next week’s game against Oregon State.
NO. 24 IOWA 35, ILLINOIS 14
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Spencer Petras threw three touchdown passes and No. 24 Iowa scored 35 unanswered points after trailing by two touchdowns early.
Petras was 18 of 28 for 220 yards for Iowa (5-2) and Tyler Goodson had 19 rushes for 92 yards.