CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Heisman Trophy hopeful Deshaun Watson threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores, and No. 1 Clemson captured the ACC championship by holding off 10th-ranked North Carolina 45-37 on Saturday night.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Heisman Trophy hopeful Deshaun Watson threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores, and No. 1 Clemson captured the ACC championship by holding off 10th-ranked North Carolina 45-37 on Saturday night.
Watson’s 420 total yards and five total touchdowns set ACC championship game records and assures the Tigers (13-0) a spot in the College Football Playoff.
It didn’t come without some suspense.
North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer hauled in his second TD catch of the game with 1:13 left to cut Clemson’s lead to eight and give the Tigers a scare.
The Tar Heels appeared to recover the onside kick, but were called for being offside — although replays didn’t show any player in a blue jersey being offside — and had to kick again. The Tar Heels attempted another onside kick and this time Clemson recovered and ran out the clock.
BIG 10 CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 5 MICHIGAN STATE 16,
No. 4 IOWA 13
INDIANAPOLIS – L.J. Scott kept lunging forward, stretching the ball over the goal line for a touchdown with 27 seconds and No. 5 Michigan State all but locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff, edging No. 4 Iowa 16-13 Saturday in the Big Ten championship game.
Connor Cook led the Spartans (12-1) on a 22-play drive that set up Scott’s 1-yard run. A half-dozen Iowa defenders tried to stop Scott, but he wouldn’t be denied.
Iowa (12-1) lost for the first time this season — and just barely.
Five times in the final 2 minutes, the Spartans snapped the ball from the Iowa 5-yard line or closer. Finally, after getting bottled up by three defenders on third-and-goal from 1, Scott broke free just long enough to get the ball across the goal line for Michigan State’s only TD.
The 82-yard march wiped out Iowa’s 13-9 lead, which it got on an 85-yard pass from C.J. Beathard to Tevaun Smith.
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 ALABAMA 29,
No. 18 FLORIDA 15
ATLANTA – Heisman Trophy favorite Derrick Henry rushed for 189 bruising yards and No. 2 Alabama locked up its spot in the College Football Playoff, beating No. 18 Florida 29-15 with a dominating defensive performance in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.
The Crimson Tide (12-1, No. 2 CFP) held the Gators to a total of 3 yards in the second and third quarters. Florida (10-3, No. 18 CFP) got an 85-yard punt return from Antonio Callaway and a late touchdown that didn’t really matter.
Henry turned in a performance that might be good enough to lock up the Heisman, carrying a staggering 44 times against one of the nation’s top defenses and putting the Tide ahead to stay on a 2-yard run late in the first half.
Henry tied the SEC record for touchdowns in a season (23) and eclipsed Herschel Walker’s 34-year-old conference mark for rushing yards in a year.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 7 STANFORD 41,
No. 20 USC 22
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Christian McCaffrey ran for 207 yards and a score, threw a touchdown pass, caught another and broke Barry Sanders’ single-season all-purpose yards record to make his Heisman Trophy case and lead No. 7 Stanford to the Pac-12 championship with a 41-22 win over No. 24 Southern California on Saturday.
Kevin Hogan caught the TD pass from McCaffrey, threw one and ran for a third and Solomon Thomas scored on a 34-yard fumble return for the Cardinal (11-2, No. 7 CFP). Stanford will either play in the Rose Bowl as Pac-12 champion or possibly make the four-team playoff if No. 1 Clemson loses the ACC championship.
Cody Kessler threw for a touchdown and ran for another score for the Trojans (8-5, No. 20 CFP), who lost in their first game since removing the interim tag from coach Clay Helton.
MWC CHAMPIONSHIP
SAN DIEGO STATE 27,
AIR FORCE 24
SAN DIEGO – Donny Hageman kicked a 46-yard field goal with 5:10 to go and San Diego State beat Air Force 27-24 to win the Mountain West Conference championship, the Aztecs’ first outright title since 1986.
Redshirt freshman Christian Chapman threw for 203 yards and one touchdown in his first start for the Aztecs (10-3), who won their ninth straight game. SDSU could be headed for the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve in Honolulu.
This is their first outright title since winning the Western Athletic Conference crown in 1986. They shared the 2012 MWC championship with Boise State and Fresno State.
SDSU took a 24-17 lead after touchdown runs of 1 yard by fullback Dakota Gordon and 28 yards by Rashaad Penny.
Air Force (8-5) tied it on Timothy McVey’s third touchdown, a 2-yard run on fourth down with 11:49 to go.
AAC CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 17 HOUSTON 24,
No, 20 TEMPLE 13
HOUSTON – Greg Ward, Jr. ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and No. 17 Houston got a 24-13 win over 20th-ranked Temple in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship game on Saturday.
The victory makes Houston the Group of Five representative, earning the Cougars a trip to either the Peach Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.
Houston (12-1) jumped to a 17-0 lead with the help of two turnovers by Temple, with one capped by a 47-yard touchdown run by Ward.
Temple (10-3) had a chance to get within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but Jeremy Winchester knocked down a pass in the end zone and the Owls settled for a field goal that made it 24-13.
They had two more chances to cut the deficit after that, but were stopped on fourth down both times.
P.J. Walker threw for 287 yards with a touchdown and interception and Robby Anderson had a season-high 150 yards receiving for the Owls, who are heading to a bowl for the first time since 2011.
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
WESTERN KENTUCKY 45,
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 28
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Brandon Doughty threw for 410 yards with three touchdown passes and Western Kentucky came from behind to defeat Southern Mississippi 45-28 in the Conference USA Championship Game on Saturday.
Doughty finished with 34 completions in 52 attempts, shaking off a first-half interception that helped put the East Division champion Hilltoppers in a 14-point first-half hole.
The Hilltoppers (11-2, 8-0) trailed 21-7 at the 9:46 mark of the first half and 28-21 early in the third quarter before scoring 24 unanswered points to put the game away and claim their first C-USA championship.
Western Kentucky scored on its first possession of the game on Doughty’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Antwane Grant, but the Golden Eagles (9-4, 7-1) scored 21 straight points to take a two-score lead in the second quarter.
Taywan Taylor had eight catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns for WKU.
Nick Mullins was 15 of 30 for 181 yards with a touchdown for Southern Miss, but threw three costly interceptions.
SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP
ALCORN STATE 49,
GRAMBLING STATE 21
HOUSTON – For the second-straight year Alcorn State lifted the Southwestern Athletic Conference Football Championship Trophy at NRG Stadium after beating Grambling State 49-21 on Saturday.
The Braves (9-3) become the first team since 2002 to repeat as SWAC champions and joined Grambling State as the only program to accomplish the feat. It marks the 11th league title for Alcorn State.
Alcorn State leaned on its rushing attack as Darryan Ragsdale rushed for a championship game record 191 yards on 16 carries.
The loss marked just the second time Grambling State (9-3) has fallen in the title game.
Tigers quarterback Johnathan Williams did all he could to keep Grambling State in striking distance going 18-for-36 for 207 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Defensively, Alcorn State’s Warren Gatewood excelled with three interceptions, returning one for a 24-yard touchdown.
OTHER GAMES
TEXAS 23,
No. 12 BAYLOR 17
WACO, Texas — Tyrone Swoopes threw for 151 yards with a touchdown and ran for a score in his first Texas start since the opener, and the Longhorns held on for a 23-17 victory Saturday that knocked No. 12 Baylor out of Sugar Bowl contention.
What was a picture-perfect day in their stadium on the banks of the Brazos was marred for the Bears (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) with their third loss in four games and an early bench-clearing scuffle with Texas (4-7, 4-5).
Baylor was in line to be the Big 12’s representative in the Sugar Bowl, with the expectation that league champ Oklahoma (11-1) will get into the College Football Playoff.
Johnny Jefferson ran for 158 yards for Baylor and had enough yards to convert a fourth-and-4 with 2:31 left before he fumbled.
The Bears got one more chance, but Jefferson’s last-ditch pass was incomplete.