Clemson safety Nolan Turner, left, celebrates an interception with teammate Joseph Charleston during the first half of the Tigers’ 34-28 win over Boston College on Saturday in Clemson, South Carolina. Josh Morgan/Pool Photo via the Associated Press
CLEMSON, S.C. — Freshman DJ Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Trevor Lawrence, home with COVID-19, and No. 1 Clemson rallied from 18-points down in the first half to defeat Boston College 34-28 on Saturday.
Travis Etienne became the ACC’s all-time rushing leader and his second TD put the Tigers (7-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead for good. A jarring week for Clemson ended with its 28th straight win over league competition, 10th straight over the Eagles and 27th in a row at home.
Clemson was missing several key players. Lawrence was out after testing positive for the virus and starting linebackers James Skalski and Mike Jones Jr. were missing because of injuries.
The Eagles (4-3, 3-3) took advantage, putting Clemson in a 28-10 hole in the second quarter with the virus-reduced crowd stunned to near silence.
That’s when Uiagalelei showed why he was a five-star prospect coveted by every college power and the heir apparent once Lawrence leaves for the NFL.
Uiagalelei ran for a 30-yard TD on Clemson’s opening third-quarter drive to begin the comeback, then threw an 8-yard scoring strike to Amari Rodgers that drew the Tigers within 28-26.
Etienne, Clemson’s other Heisman contender, put the Tigers in front for good with a 17-yard touchdown run with 11:34 to go.
The Eagles got the ball back with 1:24 to. But Phil Jurkovec was called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a Tigers’ safety, a fitting end to a second-half shutout by the Clemson defense.
• Lawrence will not play for the top-ranked Tigers at No. 4 Notre Dame next week after testing positive for COVID-19.
Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said Lawrence would miss his second straight week because of the virus. Swinney was informed Thursday of Lawrence’s test and ACC protocol requires at least a 10-day isolation period, plus medical testing post-isolation.
Freshman backup DJ Uiagalelei will make his second college start with Lawrence sidelined. The Tigers beat Boston College 34-28 on Saturday without Lawrence.
(4) NOTRE DAME 31, GEORGIA TECH 13: Kyren Williams ran for two touchdowns, Ian Book passed for another and the Fighting Irish (6-0, 5-0 ACC) moved on to their biggest game of the season with a dominant defensive performance, stifling the Yellow Jackets (2-5, 2-4) in Atlanta.
Book completed 18 of 26 passes for 199 yards in another efficient performance for the Fighting Irish.
Williams shook off a fumble that Georgia Tech returned for a touchdown to score on runs of 2 and 4 yards. He finished with 76 yards on 15 carries.
Next up for Notre Dame: a showdown against No. 1 Clemson in South Bend.
Georgia Tech has lost three in a row by a combined score of 152-47.
(5) GEORGIA 14, KENTUCKY 3: Zamir White rushed for a carer-high 131 yards and a touchdown, Stetson Bennett also ran for a score and the Bulldogs (5-1, 4-1 SEC) beat the Wildcats (2-4, 2-4) in Lexington, Kentucky for their 11th straight win in the series.
Their scores opened both halves as the Bulldogs (4-1 Southeastern Conference) improved to 5-1 after byes under coach Kirby Smart. Georgia’s 215 yards on the ground nearly outgained the Wildcats’ total yardage (229).
Bennett completed 9 of 13 passes for 131 yards with two interceptions.
TEXAS 41, (6) OKLAHOMA STATE 34: Sam Ehlinger threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Moore in overtime and Joseph Ossai sealed the victory by sacking Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders as the Longhorns (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knocked off the previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked Cowboys (4-1, 3-1) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State outgained Texas 530 yards to 287, but the Cowboys turned the ball over four times and saw their hopes to reach the College Football Playoff take a major blow.
(7) CINCINNATI 49, MEMPHIS 10: Desmond Ridder threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and ran for two and Jerome Ford also scored twice as the Bearcats (5-0, 3-0 AAC) remained undefeated with a win over the Tigers (3-2, 2-2) in Cincinnati.
Playing in a Nippert Stadium nearly empty due to COVID-19 protocols, the Bearcats decisively snapped a five-game losing streak against Memphis, including two losses by a combined 15 points over a span of eight days last season – the second in the AAC championship game.
Ridder, who set a program record for quarterbacks with 179 yards rushing while throwing three touchdown passes a week earlier at Southern Methodist, finished 21-of-26 for 271 yards with an interception.
MICHIGAN STATE 27, (13) MICHIGAN 24: Rocky Lombardi threw for 323 yards, including 196 to Ricky White, and three touchdowns to help the Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) stun the Wolverines (1-1, 1-1) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Spartans appeared to be the better team all afternoon on both sides of the ball in Mel Tucker’s debut as coach in the rivalry.
Tucker became just the second coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt with the Spartans, joining Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who did it in 1995. The former Colorado coach started his career as a graduate assistant for Saban and the Spartans.
The Wolverines were favored to win by more than three touchdowns. Jim Harbaugh’s team, though, never led and didn’t appear to have much energy in front of family and friends in their mostly empty stadium that holds 110,000-plus fans when there isn’t a pandemic.
Running back Hassan Haskins scored on a 2-yard run with 37 seconds left to help Michigan pull within three points. The onside kick was recovered by Michigan State running back Connor Heyward and Lombardi converted a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan 36 with a sneak to seal the victory.
WEST VIRGNIA 37, (16) KANSAS STATE 10: Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Tonkery returned an interception for a score and the Mountaineers (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) beat the Wildcats (4-2, 4-1) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Leddie Brown rushed for 102 yards and a score as the Mountaineers knocked the Wildcats from their solo perch atop the league standings.
Kansas State freshman Will Howard was intercepted three times and the Wildcats went scoreless after halftime to see their four-game winning streak snapped.
The Big 12’s top defense held Kansas State to 225 total yards, including 73 after halftime.
(17) INDIANA 37, RUTGERS 21: Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Hoosiers (2-0, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the mistake-prone Scarlet Knights (1-1, 1-1) in a game that almost included a crazy TD in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Penix had touchdown tosses of 15, 2 and 1 yard. He also scored on a quarterback sneak as the Hoosiers followed up their stunning win over then-No. 8 Penn State last week.
The wacky play came with less than two minutes to go when Rutgers seemed to score on a 55-yard play that involved at least seven laterals. After a review, however, it was ruled that receiver Shameen Jones’ pitch was an illegal forward pass, spoiling a wild celebration for the Scarlet Knights.
(20) COASTAL CAROLINA 51, GEORGIA STATE 0: Grayson McCall passed for 254 yards and four touchdowns, Jaivon Heiligh scored twice, and the Chanticleers (6-0, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) cruised to a victory over the Panthers (2-3, 1-3) in Atlanta.
CJ Marable added two rushing touchdowns and 100 all-purpose yards for the Chanticleers. Coastal Carolina has its most wins in a single season since joining FBS in 2017.
(23) IOWA STATE 52, KANSAS 22: Breece Hall matched a career high with 185 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy threw two TD passes and had another score on the ground and the Cyclones (4-2, 4-1 Big 12) coasted to a victory over winless the Jayhawks (0-6, 0-5) in Lawrence, Kansas.
Purdy finished with 239 yards passing and Kene Nwangwu also hit the end zone for the Cyclones, who bounced back from a tough loss to No. 6 Oklahoma State by beating the Jayhawks for the sixth straight time.
The only bright spot for Kansas came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Kenny Logan in the second half. Otherwise, quarterback Jalon Daniels and the rest of the offense was woefully inept, the defense gave up gobs of yards on the ground and the special teams missed a short field goal and nearly surrendered a kick-return touchdown.
(25) BOISE STATE 49, AIR FORCE 30: Jack Sears threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score while filling in for starter Hank Bachmeier, Avery Williams scored on an 88-yard kickoff return and the Broncos (2-0, 2-0 Mountain West) beat the Falcons (1-2, 0-2) in Colorado.
CT Thomas hauled in two of Sears’ TD passes, including a 75-yarder on the game’s first play. The Broncos have now captured 11 straight Mountain West games. It’s their longest streak since joining the league in 2011.
Boise State (2-0, 2-0 MW) was without Bachmeier after the sophomore QB didn’t make the trip for an unspecified reason. Sears, a transfer from USC, made the most of his chance by finishing 17 of 20 for 280 yards and no turnovers.
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