College football: Defense powers No. 1 Alabama past No. 18 MSU, 24-0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Josh Jacobs ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass and Alabama had its second straight shutout.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Josh Jacobs ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass and Alabama had its second straight shutout.
With quarterback Tua Tagovailoa still battling a gimpy right knee, the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) turned to defense for another vintage performance.
The offense raced to a fast start but mostly stalled from there against the Bulldogs (6-4, 2-4) and the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense.
Tagovailoa started the fourth quarter on a stationary bike after getting his right knee checked out in the medical tent following a hard hit. He didn’t return and wasn’t needed.
Fresh from a 29-0 victory over No. 9 LSU, the Tide defense hasn’t allowed a point in nine-plus quarters. Alabama had five sacks and Mississippi State had four in a rough day for both quarterbacks.
Tagovailoa was 14 of 21 for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also lost a fumble on a botched exchange with Damien Harris. Backup Jalen Hurts missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. Jacobs ran for 97 yards on 20 carries as Alabama. He scored on a 1-yard run and a 14-yard catch.
NO. 2 CLEMSON 27, NO. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE 7
BOSTON — Trevor Lawrence threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score and Clemson knocked Boston College quarterback Anthony Brown out of the game early.
The battle for first-place in the ACC Atlantic Division was not much of a fight. The Tigers (10-0, 7-0, No. 2 CFP) wrapped up a fourth straight trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game as division champions and kept rolling toward another trip to the College Football Playoff.
Boston College (7-3, 4-2) lost Brown on its first possession when the sophomore got off a third-and-9 pass, but was thrown to the turf by star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Trainers attended to Brown on the field and he walked to the sideline on his own. He wasn’t there long before heading to the locker room. In the second quarter, it was announced he would not return.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 42,
FLORIDA STATE 13
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brandon Wimbush threw three-first half touchdown passes, Dexter Williams ran for a career-high 202 yards and Notre Dame routed Florida State.
With the temperature at 27 degrees — the third-coldest game at Notre Dame Stadium since the 1980 season — the Irish (10-0, No. 3 CFP) wore green jerseys for the fourth time in Brian Kelly’s nine-year tenure at Notre Dame to honor their seniors.
Wimbush, who led the Irish to their first three victories, got the start in place of injured junior Ian Book, who suffered a rib injury last week against Northwestern.
Wimbush finished 12 of 25 for 130 yards with the scoring passes to fellow seniors — a 3-yarder to wide receiver Miles Boykin and 6- and 15-yard tosses to tight end Alize Mack.
Williams, who sat out the first four games of his senior season because of a university-imposed suspension, piled up the 202 yards on 20 carries, including TD runs of 58 and 32 yards, as Notre Dame outgained Florida State (4-6), 495-322, including 365 on the ground.
NO. 4 MICHIGAN 42,
RUTGERS 7
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Shea Patterson threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, Karan Higdon had two 1-yard scoriung runs and Michigan kept its national championship hopes intact.
The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) have won nine straight and remain in first place in the conference’s East Division. They have a final tuneup against Indiana next week at the Big House before closing the regular season at No. 8 Ohio State.
Rutgers (1-9, 0-7) didn’t have a yard passing until the third quarter.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 27,
AUBURN 10
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia struck for a pair of touchdowns late in the first half to take control and D’Andre Swift finished off Auburn with a 77-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter.
Swift rushed for 186 yards to power another big game by Georgia’s running attack, which finished with 303 yards. Having already locked up a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1, No. 5 CFP) couldn’t afford to slip up against the Tigers.
The Bulldogs trailed 10-6 with the first half winding down. But, facing third-and-4 from the Auburn 14 and the prospect of bringing on kicker Rodrigo Blankenship for the third time, Jake Fromm connected on a TD pass to Tyler Simmons that pushed the home team ahead with 2:47 remaining.
Auburn (6-4, 3-4, No. 24 CFP) went three-and-out, taking only 47 seconds off the clock, and Georgia got a chance to add to its lead. Swift broke off a 24-yard run before two short completions left the Bulldogs facing fourth-and-3 at the Tigers 38.
Coach Kirby Smart let the clock run down before calling timeout with 29 seconds remaining. He passed on a long field goal attempt, and any thoughts that Georgia might be trying to lure Auburn offsides with a no-back alignment were dashed when Fromm took the snap and found Terry Godwin breaking free over the middle to make it 20-10.
NO. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 47,
TCU 10
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Will Grier threw three touchdown passes for West Virginia.
Chasing a berth in the Big 12 championship game, West Virginia (8-1, 6-1, No. 9 CFP) had no trouble against the injury-riddled Horned Frogs (4-6, 2-5).
Grier was 25 of 39 for 343 yards. TCU was held to a season-low 222 yards of offense, the third time in four games it has had fewer than 300.
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 26,
NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 6
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Drue Chrisman kept Michigan State pinned back with a sensational second half of punting, and Ohio State eventually pulled away.
The Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) enjoyed a huge advantage in field position during the second half. Chrisman’s punts forced Michigan State (6-4, 4-3, No. 18) to start its first five drives after halftime from its own 5, 6, 3, 1 and 2-yard line.
On the fourth of those possessions, the Spartans had to punt from their own end zone. They took a safety that appeared intentional, giving Ohio State a 9-6 lead. The ensuing free kick went out of bounds, giving the Buckeyes the ball at the 50, and then Chrisman pinned Michigan State back again.
Ohio State capitalized on that punt when a shotgun snap by Michigan State hit the man in motion. Dre’Mont Jones recovered the fumble in the end zone, giving Ohio State a 16-6 advantage.
NO. 9 LSU 24,
ARKANSAS 17
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Joe Burrow was 15 of 21 for 195 yards and a touchdown and the LSU defense dominated Arkansas.
The win comes a week after LSU (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) was shut out in a loss to No. 1 Alabama, and it improves coach Ed Orgeron to 8-0 in games following a loss. The Tigers haven’t lost back-to-back games since dropping three straight in 2015.
Justin Jefferson had six catches for 117 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown for the game’s first score. The Razorbacks (2-8, 0-6) managed a season-low 216 yards of total offense — including only 16 yards on the ground — while losing their ninth straight SEC game dating to last season.
NO. 10 WASHINGTON STATE 31, COLORADO 7
BOULDER, Colo. — Gardner Minshew II overcame a slow start and three fourth-down failures to lead Washington State past nose-diving Colorado.
The Cougars (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12, No. 8 CFP) won their sixth straight, but it wasn’t as easy as expected against the Buffaloes (5-5, 2-5), who lost their fifth straight despite the return of star receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.
Minshew was 35 of 58 for 335 yards and two TDs. He had a 10-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
Shenault was rusty in his return from a right turf toe injury. He caught 10 passes for 102 yards but cost his team dearly with back-to-back drops and a lost fumble in the second half.
NO. 11 UCF 35, NAVY 24
ORLANDO, Fla. — McKenzie Milton threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, helping UCF extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 games.
Milton completed 17 of 21 passes without an interception, and the Knights (9-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference, No. 12 CFP) remained one of four unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, along with Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame. UCF stayed atop the AAC East Division standings and on course to be part of the discussion about which teams are worthy of berths in the College Football Playoff.
Navy (2-8, 1-5) has lost seven straight.
TENNESSEE 24,
NO. 12 KENTUCKY 7
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jarrett Guarantano threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway on the final play of the first half and Darrell Taylor had four sacks for Tennessee.
Taylor also forced and recovered a fumble to help Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) beat Kentucky (7-3, 5-3, No. 11 CFP) at Neyland Stadium for a 17th straight time.
Guarantano was 12 of 20 for 197 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Wood-Anderson that extended Tennessee’s advantage to 24-0 in the third quarter.
NO. 14 UTAH STATE 62,
SAN JOSE STATE 24
LOGAN, Utah — Jordan Love threw for a career-high 491 yards and five touchdowns on 32-of-42 passing in just three quarters, and Utah State totaled 804 yards in offense.
Love’s 491 passing yards were the third-highest single game total for a Utah State quarterback. Darwin Thompson had 140 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries along with 115 yards and a pair of scores on four receptions for the Aggies (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West). They became the 17th team in NCAA history to gain at least 800 total yards in a game. The 804 yards and 33 first downs were both school records.
Josh Love threw for 210 yards and a touchdown for Jose State (1-9, 1-5). Tre Walker added a career-high 209 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.
NO. 15 TEXAS 41,
TEXAS TECH 34
LUBBOCK, Texas — Sam Ehlinger threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 21 seconds left and Texas beat Texas Tech after blowing a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Longhorns (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) snapped a two-game skid that had cost them the Big 12 lead. They stayed a game behind co-leaders No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 West Virginia with two games left to determine who plays in the conference championship game Dec. 1. Next up for the Longhorns is No. 23 Iowa State, the team they are tied with for third place.
Ehlinger completed 22 of 34 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns and broke the Big 12 record for most consecutive passes without an interception. He extended his streak of passes without a pick to 280, breaking the mark of 273 set by former West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith.
Texas went 75 yards in seven plays for the winning score after Texas Tech (5-5, 3-4) scored 17 points in just over 5 1/2 minutes. The Red Raiders tied it on Jett Duffey’s fourth TD pass, a 9-yarder to Antoine Wesley with 1:45 left.
NO. 19 FLORIDA 35,
SOUTH CAROLINA 31
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Feleipe Franks silenced the home crowd twice after touchdown runs, seemingly sending a message after getting benched last week and booed earlier in the game, and Florida rallied to beat South Carolina to end a two-game losing streak.
Franks dived across the goal line on a fourth-down play from inside the 1 with 4:09 to play, putting the Gators (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference, No. 15 CFP) ahead for the first time. Florida overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat the Gamecocks (5-4, 4-4).
C.J. Henderson ended South Carolina’s comeback attempt by picking off Jake Bentley’s pass.
NO. 21 PENN STATE 21, WISCONSIN 10
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Trace McSorley tied the Penn State record for victories by a quarterback with 29, leading the Nittany Lions past Wisconsin.
Miles Sanders ran for 159 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and McSorley completed 19 of 25 passes for 160 yards and a TD while matching Todd Blackledge’s victory total from 1980-82.
DeAndre Thompkins caught a touchdown pass for Penn State (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten, No. 20 CFP). The Nittany Lions held the Badgers (6-4, 4-3) to 125 yards in the second half and sacked backup quarterback Jack Coan five times. Jonathan Taylor ran 20 times for 185 yards and a touchdown for Wisconsin.
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 28,
BAYLOR 14
AMES, Iowa — Brock Purdy threw for a touchdown and ran for another score, and Iowa State topped Baylor after a skirmish in the third quarter.
Purdy threw for 230 yards as Iowa State (6-3, 5-2, No. 22 CFP) won a fifth straight Big 12 game in the same season for the first time. Deshaunte Jones caught a TD pass and threw for a 2-point conversion.
Iowa State star David Montgomery and Baylor linebacker Greg Roberts were ejected after throwing punches at each other early in the third quarter. The Cyclones and Bears (5-5, 3-4) nearly came to blows when a previous play ended up spilling over onto Iowa State’s bench. The bad blood hung around, and the teams nearly staged a full-on brawl that saw Roberts slap Montgomery on the helmet, prompting Montgomery to swing back.
NO. 25 CINCINNATI 35,
SOUTH FLORIDA 23
CINCINNATI — Michael Warren II ran for three touchdowns and caught a pass for another score Saturday night, keeping Cincinnati in the chase for the American Athletic title.
The Bearcats (9-1, 5-1) remain a game behind unbeaten UCF for the AAC East lead. No. 11 UCF beat Navy 35-24 and hosts Cincinnati next Saturday.
Warren had a 13-yard touchdown catch in the first half. He ran for three touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 57-yarder, and set a school record with his 18th TD of the season. Warren has scored in all but one game this season. South Florida (7-4, 3-3) has lost three straight conference games for the first time since 2013.
