With just one week left before Conference Championship Saturday, the top teams and Heisman contenders all put on a show this week in college football. No. 1 Alabama blew out defending champion LSU 55-17 on the road to improve to 9-0 on the season. The Tide have already clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game and will play on the road against 3-6 Arkansas next week.
Quarterback Mac Jones threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns in the win. He completed 20-of-28 passes, and three of the touchdown scores went to Devonta Smith. Running back Najee Harris also tallied three scores as he ran for 145 yards on 21 carries.
A late touchdown cost them the cover, but No. 6 Florida won at Tennessee 31-19 on Saturday to clinch the SEC East. The Gators will play LSU next week but have now set up a December 19 showdown against Alabama in Atlanta. Quarterback Kyle Trask kept up his Heisman campaign with 433 passing yards, four touchdowns, and 35 completions with no turnovers.
ACC Title Game Set
The No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish had already clinched one of the spots in the ACC Championship Game, and they improved to 10-0 with a 45-21 home win over Syracuse. Quarterback Ian Book accounted for five total touchdowns and became the winningest quarterback in school history on Saturday.
No. 3 Clemson started slow but scored the final 35 points in a 45-10 road win over Virginia Tech Saturday night. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had 195 passing yards, 41 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns in the win.
Both Clemson and Notre Dame have the week off and won’t play again until they meet in Charlotte, N.C., on December 19. The first time they played this season, Lawrence was out with COVID-19, and Notre Dame won at home 37-30 in double overtime.
Ohio State Cruises
After a week off with a COVID outbreak, No. 4 Ohio State returned to action with a 52-12 win at Michigan State. Quarterback Justin Fields threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as he accounted for 303 yards of total offense. The Buckeyes are 5-0 on the season and scheduled to play at home against rival Michigan next week.
Michigan was unable to play this weekend, as their game against Maryland was canceled due to COVID. If they can’t play at Ohio State next week, the Buckeyes would be ineligible for the Big Ten Championship Game unless the rules are changed. The current conference rules state that teams must play at least six games to play for the title.
No. 12 Indiana (6-1) sits in second place in the Big Ten East after beating No. 16 Wisconsin 14-6 on Saturday. The West is led by No. 14 Northwestern (5-1), who is ahead of No. 19 Iowa (5-2) with the tiebreaker. Indiana is scheduled to host Purdue, while Northwestern hosts Illinois and Iowa hosts Wisconsin next weekend. The Big Ten Championship Game is scheduled for December 19 and will be played in Indianapolis.
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