Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa passed for 295 yards, threw two touchdowns and raced 44 yards for another score, and the Alabama defense smothered LSU’s offense to power the No. 1 Crimson Tide to a 29-0 shutout over the No. 3 Tigers on Saturday night at Baton Rouge, La.
Nov 3, 2018; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) carries for a 44-yard touchdown against the LSU Tigers during the third quarter at Tiger Stadium. John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Alabama (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) held LSU (7-2, 4-2) to just 196 yards in total offense. With the win, the Tide clinched a spot in the SEC title game, where they will face Georgia.
Tagovailoa completed 25 of 42 passes and iced the game with his 44-yard scramble on third down that put the Tide on top 22-0 with 5:14 left in the third quarter.
The Tide amassed 576 total yards and held a 29-13 edge in first downs. Alabama finished off the shutout by intercepting LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in the end zone with 3:35 left.
No. 5 Michigan 42, No. 14 Penn State 7
Shea Patterson passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another while the Wolverines defense silenced the Nittany Lions offense until the late going at Ann Arbor, Mich.
Karan Higdon reached the 100-yard rushing mark for the seventh straight game in which he’s played, gaining 132 yards on 20 carries with a score for the Wolverines (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten).
Michigan, the only Big Ten team without a conference loss, avenged a 42-13 thumping at Penn State’s home field last season, dropping the Nittany Lions to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
No. 2 Clemson 77, Louisville 16
The unbeaten Tigers continued their impressive run through the Atlantic Coast Conference, rolling past the Cardinals in Clemson, S.C.
Clemson (9-0, 6-0 ACC) has won its last four games by a combined score of 240-36. It was the sixth consecutive loss for Louisville (2-7, 0-6).
Clemson set the tone for the day by scoring twice in its first five plays. Travis Etienne scored on a 10-yard run to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive, and fellow running back Tavien Feaster added a 70-yard scoring run on the first play of the Tigers’ ensuing possession.
No. 4 Notre Dame 31, Northwestern 21
Ian Book completed 22 of 34 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns as the Fighting Irish held on top the Wildcats at Evanston, Ill., and remain unbeaten.
Book and Dexter Williams each rushed for a score for Notre Dame while Miles Boykin and Michael Young hauled in touchdown passes. The Fighting Irish (9-0) have three games to go in their quest for a perfect regular season and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Clayton Thorson completed 16 of 29 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown for the Wildcats (5-4), who were trying to beat a ranked opponent for the third time in a row. Thorson also rushed for a pair of touchdowns.
No. 6 Georgia 34, No. 9 Kentucky 17
The Bulldogs locked up a second straight berth in the SEC Championship Game, humbling the upstart Wildcats in Lexington, Ky.
Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) won the East Division in convincing fashion by dominating one of the nation’s top defensive units. Kentucky (7-2, 5-2) entered the game with the nation’s top scoring defense (13 points per game) and had surrendered no more than 20 points in any game this season. Georgia had 14 at halftime and eclipsed 20 with more than 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
Georgia used a powerful run game for the win, amassing 331 of its 444 yards of offense via the ground. D’Andre Swift rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and Elijah Holyfield added 115 yards and a TD. Jake Fromm was 14-of-20 passing for 113 yards and a touchdown.
No. 7 Oklahoma 51, Texas Tech 46
Kyler Murray overcame a rough start to throw for 360 yards and three touchdowns to help the Sooners outlast the Red Raiders at Lubbock, Texas.
Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) has won three straight following its three-point loss to Texas on Oct. 6. Murray also ran for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Trey Sermon added 206 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
But perhaps the biggest play of the game was made by Oklahoma’s defense after Texas Tech (5-4, 3-3) pulled within two on a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. On the two-point conversion attempt, sophomore safety Robert Barnes intercepted Jett Duffey’s pass 5 yards deep in the end zone and returned it the other way for a two-point conversion for the Sooners, giving Oklahoma a 44-40 lead with 6:54 to play.
No. 10 Ohio State 36, Nebraska 31
J.K. Dobbins ran for three scores, and Dwayne Haskins threw two touchdown passes as the Buckeyes rallied in the second half to take down the Cornhuskers in Columbus, Ohio.
Ohio State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten), playing for the first time since a 49-20 loss at Purdue on Oct. 20, trailed 21-16 at the half before Dobbins had a 3-yard TD run and Parris Campbell a 9-yard touchdown reception, both late in the third quarter, as the Buckeyes took control.
With Nebraska (2-7, 1-5) trailing by 12, freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez hit JD Spielman on a 17-yard TD to make it 36-31 with 2:57 left in the game. But Ohio State picked up two first downs on the ensuing drive, running out the clock to preserve the win.
Missouri 38, No. 11 Florida 17
A week after blowing an 11-point halftime lead against Kentucky, the Tigers never let up against the Gators, getting a rare top-15 win in Gainesville, Fla.
After Missouri (5-4, 1-4 SEC) took a 21-10 lead into halftime against Florida (6-2, 4-3), Tigers quarterback Drew Lock took over in the third quarter with two touchdown passes to extend Missouri’s lead to 35-10. In the process, he moved past Chris Leak, Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning into third-place in the all-time SEC passing touchdown list with 90.
It was Missouri’s first road win against a top-15 opponent since beating South Carolina on Sept. 27, 2014.
No. 13 West Virginia 42, No. 17 Texas 41
Will Grier hit Gary Jennings on a 33-yard scoring pass with 16 seconds to play and then scooted around left end on an all-or-nothing two-point conversion run to lift the Mountaineers to a wild win over the Longhorns at Austin, Texas.
With the score tied at 34, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger stepped up to avoid the rush from West Virginia’s David Long Jr. and hit Devin Duvernay, who got behind West Virginia cornerback Josh Norwood, in stride for a 48-yard score with 2:34 to play.
But that left too much time for Grier (28 for 42, 346 yards) and the Mountaineers, who drove 75 yards in seven plays to the 33-yard touchdown pass to Jennings. West Virginia (7-1, 5-1) remained in first in the Big 12 while Texas (6-3, 4-2) is essentially two games behind the Mountaineers.
Arizona State 38, No. 15 Utah 20
Manny Wilkins threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns while Eno Benjamin rushed for 175 yards and two scores to lift the Sun Devils to an upset of the Utes at Tempe, Ariz.
N’Keal Harry had nine catches for 161 yards and caught all three touchdown passes as the Sun Devils beat the Utes for the second straight season after gaining 536 yards on the Pac-12’s top defense.
Arizona State (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) has won two straight following a 1-3 start in Pac-12 play. Utah (6-3, 4-3) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end and its one-game lead in the Pac-12 South disappear.
Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36
David Blough threw four touchdown passes, three to wide receiver Terry Wright, and Spencer Evans kicked the deciding 25-yard field goal with eight seconds left as the Boilermakers took down the Hawkeyes in West Lafayette, Ind., to keep their Big Ten West hopes alive.
Purdue (5-4, 4-2 in Big Ten) amassed 434 yards in total offense in shredding the Iowa defense, which entered the game fourth-best in FBS in yards allowed at 265 per game. The Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3) were also 11th in scoring defense at 16.1 points per game.
A couple drives after Iowa took its first lead of the game at 36-35 with little more than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Boilermakers took possession with 4:24 left at midfield after a punt of only 31 yards by Iowa’s Colten Rastetter. Purdue then drove 11 plays to set up Evans’ only field goal of the game.
No. 18 Mississippi State 45, Louisiana Tech 3
Nick Fitzgerald threw four touchdown passes as Mississippi State routed visiting Louisiana Tech in a nonconference matchup of Bulldogs at Starkville, Miss.
Fitzgerald, a senior known more for his running than his passing, completed 17 of 28 for 243 yards and connected with Stephen Guidry, Deddrick Thomas, Kylin Hill and Jesse Jackson for first-half touchdown passes as the host Bulldogs rolled to a 31-3 halftime lead.
Mississippi State (6-3) won for the third time in four games since a two-game losing streak temporarily knocked it out of the Top 25. The Bulldogs return to SEC action when they play No. 1 Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Ala., next week. Louisiana Tech, which had won its last three games, fell to 6-3.
No. 19 Syracuse 41, Wake Forest 24
Quarterback Eric Dungey rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown as the Orange ran through — and over — the Demon Deacons at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Playing in its first game as a nationally ranked program in 17 years, Syracuse (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored five rushing touchdowns to spoil homecoming for Wake Forest (4-5, 1-4). Jarveon Howard scored on two runs, helping overcome an early 10-point deficit.
Dungey, a senior, matched his career high with 24 rushing attempts as Syracuse had a total of 264 rushing yards. He also threw for 157 yards, completing 23 of 35 throws.
Auburn 28, No. 20 Texas A&M 24
Jarrett Stidham threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Seth Williams with 1:41 to play to complete a dramatic comeback as the Tigers stunned the Aggies at Auburn, Ala.
Texas A&M (5-4, 3-3 SEC) led 24-14 after three quarters but squandered an opportunity to increase the margin when Seth Small missed a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. An interception led to Chandler Cox’s 1-yard scoring run with 5:14 to play and, after Auburn (6-3, 3-3) forced a punt, Stidham delivered the win.
The Tigers are now 8-0 following an open date under coach Gus Malzahn.
No. 21 North Carolina State 47, Florida State 28
Freshman running back Ricky Person scored three touchdowns as the Wolfpack bounced back from back-to-back losses to throttle the Seminoles at Raleigh, N.C.
Person, who missed the previous game because of an injury, rushed for two touchdowns and scored another on a reception as NC State (6-2, 3-2 ACC) became bowl eligible.
James Blackman played in place of injured Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois and threw for four touchdowns and 421 yards. But the Seminoles (4-5, 2-5) were hindered by 16 penalties costing them 121 yards.
No. 22 Boston College 31, Virginia Tech 21
Travis Levy scored two touchdowns and enjoyed the most productive game of his career as the soaring Eagles dominated the second half to top the Hokies in Blacksburg, Va.
Levy rushed 11 times for a career-best 75 yards, and the sophomore running back scored his first two career rushing touchdowns. Trailing 14-7 midway through the third quarter, Boston College (7-2, 4-1 ACC) scored three straight touchdowns before a Colton Lichtenberg 28-yard field goal sealed the win with 2:31 to play.
The Eagles won their third straight after entering the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time. They are 1 1/2 games behind No. 2 Clemson in the Coastal Division, and the Eagles host the Tigers next week. Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-2) lost for the third time in four games.
No. 24 Iowa State 27, Kansas 3
Freshman quarterback Brock Purdy passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns, including two scoring bombs to junior wide receiver Hakeem Butler, as the Cyclones thumped the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan.
Butler entered the game as the Big 12 leader in average yards per catch (22.4) and immediately busted two big plays, scoring on grabs of 83 and 51 yards in the first eight minutes. He finished with 164 yards on five receptions.
The win was the fourth straight for the Cyclones (5-3, 4-2 Big 12). Kansas (3-6, 1-5) was bidding for back-to-back Big 12 wins for the first time since 2008 but could not gain any rhythm offensively against an Iowa State defense ranked 10th nationally at stopping the run.