SATURDAY’S TOP 25 FOOTBALL GAMES

No.1 Alabama 29, LSU 0

BATON ROUGE, LA.

Tua Tagovailoa threw two touchdown passes and ran 44 yards for a score in his toughest test this season, Alabama’s defense stifled No. 4 LSU, and the top-ranked Crimson Tide remained unbeaten. Tagovailoa took the field wearing a brace on right knee, threw his first interception of the season late in the first half and also played into the fourth quarter for the first time this season. None of those developments proved consequential. He was 25-of-42 passing for 295 yards and moved as well as well as he needed to, particularly when he sprinted up the middle of the field or his long TD run in the third quarter to give Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC, No. 1 CFP) a 22-0 lead. Tagovailoa limped off the field after that play, went into the medical tent for some treatment and rode a stationary bike on the sideline, but returned for the next series. LSU (7-2, 4-2, No. 3 CFP) entered a chance to control of the SEC Western Division with a victory, but that began to decreasingly realistic with every possession. Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow completed 18 of 35 passes for 184 yards. He was sacked five times and had a pass intercepted in the end zone late in the back by linebacker Mack Wilson. Nose guard Quinnen Williams finished with 2 1/2 sacks. Lineabckers Anfernee Jennings and Christian Miller each had one. The Tigers were helpless to relieve pressure on Burrow with the running game, held to 12 yards all game. Defensively, the Crimson Tide rarely looked fooled and more often seemed to anticipate what was coming. Most LSU plays ended with crimson jerseys swarming to the ball at, near or behind the line of scrimmage.

No. 2 Clemson 77, Louisville 16

CLEMSON, S.C.

Travis Etienne rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns and 350-pound defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence add a 2-yard TD burst as No. 2 Clemson buried Louisville. The Tigers (6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 2 CFP) improved to 9-0 for the third time in four seasons and can wrap up their fourth ACC Atlantic Division title next week at Boston College. Trevor Lawrence threw a pair of early touchdowns for Clemson. Etienne went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark and scored his ACC-leading 15th touchdown. Tavien Feaster added 101 yards rushing for the Tigers. Freshman Lyn-J Dixon ran for 116 yards, the second time this season Clemson has had three runners with 100 or more yards. They finished with a season high 492 yards rushing.

No. 6 Georgia 34, No. 11 Kentucky 17

LEXINGTON, KY.

D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries against Kentucky’s vaunted defense and No. 6 Georgia beat the No. 11 Wildcats to wrap up its second straight Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title. Swift had an 83-yard breakaway in the third quarter that gave Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 6 College Football Playoff) a 28-3 lead. He also had a nifty 20-yard scoring run in the second period when the game was close. Elijah Holyfield ran for a career-high 115 yards on 18 carries, scoring on a 4-yarder in the third quarter. Georgia rushed for a season-high 331 yards to earn a spot in the SEC championship game Dec. 1 in Atlanta. Kentucky (7-2, 5-2, No. 9 CFP) has never reached the SEC championship game, which has been played every year since 1992.

No. 12 West Virginia 42, No. 15 Texas 41

AUSTIN, TEXAS

West Virginia’s Will Grier threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jennings with 16 seconds left, and then ran in the 2-point conversion to send the 12th-ranked Mountaineers to a win over No. 15 Texas. Grier broke his finger on a run to the pylon in the first quarter of a loss to Texas last year, and his game-winning run came on a similar scramble. But there was no defender near him this time as he held the ball up while crossing the goal line untouched. The 2-point conversion came moments after Grier connected with David Sills. Texas had called timeout just before the ball was snapped so the Mountaineers had to line up again. Grier dropped back, took a step into the pocket, and then swung out to his left to break for the corner of the end zone.

Missouri 38, No. 13 Florida 17

GAINESVILLE, FLA.

Drew Lock picked apart Florida’s defense for the second straight year, throwing three touchdown passes to lead Missouri to a victory against the 13th-ranked Gators. Lock completed 24 of 32 passes for 250 yards, with scoring throws to Albert Okwuegbunam, Kam Scott and Emanuel Hall that stunned the Swamp. Fortunately for the Gators (6-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), they won’t have to face the senior and possible first-round draft pick again. They might have seen the last of Feleipe Franks, too. Coach Dan Mullen benched Franks late in the third quarter — the home crowd cheered wildly — and backup Kyle Trask promptly directed a 75-yard touchdown drive in which he converted two fourth downs. Trask found Josh Hammond in the end zone on the second one for a 7-yard score that made it 35-17.

Arizona State 38, No. 16 Utah 20

TEMPE, ARIZ.

Manny Wilkins threw three touchdown passes to N’Keal Harry and Arizona State beat Utah, knocking the No. 16 Utes out of sole possession of first place in Pac-12 South. The Utes (6-3, 4-3 Pac-12) lost quarterback Tyler Huntley to an apparent shoulder or arm injury in the third quarter. The loss snapped Utah’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Utes into a first-place tie with Arizona in the clogged Pac-12 South. Huntley was injured when he was hit while forcing a throw with 5:33 left in the third quarter. Freshman Jason Shelly replaced him and the offense struggled after that. Harry, considered one of the top receivers in the country, caught nine passes for 161 yards, including TD catches of three, 23 and 61 yards. His three TD catches were a career high. Wilkins completed 19 of 24 for 285 yards and three scores with one interception. Eno Benjamin rushed for 175 yards, including a 44-yard TD run that sealed the victory with 4:12 to play.

No. 21 Mississippi State 45, Louisiana Tech 3

STARKVILLE, MISS.

Nick Fitzgerald threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns and No. 21 Mississippi State beat Louisiana Tech. Mississippi State (6-3, No. 18 CFP) didn’t have much trouble, scoring 21 points in the first quarter of what quickly turned into a lopsided game. Fitzgerald completed 17 of 28 passes and threw his touchdowns to Stephen Guidry, Deddrick Thomas, Kylin Hill and Jesse Jackson. Fitzgerald also ran for 107 yards. Mississippi State has a 16-3 record during Fitzgerald’s career when he breaks the 100-yard mark.

No. 22 Syracuse 41, Wake Forest 24

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

Eric Dungey rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, Jarveon Howard ran for two scores and No. 22 Syracuse beat Wake Forest. Dungey — whose average of 294.1 total yards per game ranks second in the ACC — was 23 of 35 for 157 yards and also ran for a 26-yard score to help the Orange (7-2, 4-2, No. 19 CFP) win their first game as a Top 25 team since the Dwight Freeney days in 2001. Moe Neal added an 8-yard score, Chris Elmore had a 5-yard TD run and Andre Szmyt kicked two field goals for Syracuse, which earned its first conference road victory in more than two years.

No. 24 Boston College 31, Virginia Tech 21

BLACKSBURG, VA.

Travis Levy ran for two touchdowns and No. 24 Boston College beat Virginia Tech to set up a huge home game against Clemson next week for the Eagles. BC (7-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 22 CFP) limited the Hokies to 32 yards in the third quarter and erased a 14-7 deficit with 21 unanswered points after halftime. First-place in the ACC Atlantic Division will be on the line when the second-ranked Tigers visit Boston College. Ryan Willis threw for 281 yards with three touchdown passes for Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-2), but the Hokies lost their third straight at home for the first time since 1992. It came on a day when they could have moved into a share of first place in the Coastal Division with a victory.

Auburn 28, No. 25 Texas A&M 24

AUBURN, ALA.

Seth Williams caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham with 1:41 left and Auburn rallied to beat No. 25 Texas A&M. The Tigers (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) sputtered early on offense but finished with a 14-point outburst over the final 5:14 and the defense came up with big stops. Stidham delivered big on both final drives. Kellen Mond and the Aggies (5-4, 3-3) pushed the ball into Auburn territory on their final drive, converting a fourth-and-5. Then a holding call pushed them back across midfield and Mond’s desperation pass into the end zone was incomplete. Officials put one second back on the clock but Mond was sacked by Nick Coe on the final play.

Associated Press