Freshman DJ Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns in place of Trevor Lawrence, home with COVID-19, and No. 1 Clemson rallied from 18-points down in the first half to beat Boston College 34-28 on Saturday.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after the game that Lawrence also will miss the Tigers' game next week at No. 4 Notre Dame.
Travis Etienne became the Atlantic Coast Conference's career rushing leader and his second TD put the Tigers (7-0, 6-0 ) ahead for good. A jarring week for Clemson ended with its 28th straight victory over league competition, 10th straight over the Eagles and 27th in a row at home.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with players during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, in Clemson, S.C. (Josh MorganPool Photo via AP)
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.
Uiagalelei had a 30-yard TD run 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 to 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 safety, a fitting end to a second-half shutout by the Clemson defense.
Etienne ran for 84 yards, pushing him to 4,644 in his four seasons and past North Carolina State’s Ted Brown (4,602) as the ACC’s leader. Etienne also had seven catches for 140 yards. Cornell Powell had a 1 receptions for 105 yards.
MICHIGAN STATE 28, NO. 13 MICHIGAN 24
Rocky Lombardi threw for 323 yards — 196 to Ricky White — and three touchdowns to help Michigan State stun Michigan.
The Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) 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 (1-1, 1-1) 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.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 14, KENTUCKY 3
Zamir White ranfor a carer-high 131 yards and a touchdown, Stetson Bennett also ran for a score and Georgia beat Kentucky for its 11th straight victory in the series.
Their scores opened both halves as the Bulldogs (4-1 Southeastern Conference) improved to 5-1 after off weeks under coach Kirby Smart. Georgia had 215 yards on the ground.
Bennett completed 9 of 13 passes for 131 yards with two interceptions.
White carried 26 times, also a career best, including a fourth-and-1 burst for an easy 22-yard TD run and double-digit lead early in the third quarter. Bennett’s 2-yard score capped an 86-yard, 12-play initial drive that set the tone for Georgia’s control of the line of scrimmage on its limited possessions.
Chris Rodriguez rushed 20 times for 108 yards for Kentucky (2-4).
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 49, MEMPHIS 10
Desmond Ridder threw touchdown passes and ran for two scores, Jerome Ford also scored twice and Cincinnati beat Memphis to remained undefeated.
Playing in a Nippert Stadium nearly empty due to COVID-19 protocols, the Bearcats (5-0, 3-0 American Athletic) decisively snapped a five-game losing streak against Memphis (3-2, 2-2).
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.
WEST VIRGINIA 37, NO. 16 KANSAS STATE 10
Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Tonkery returned an interception for a score and West Virginia beat Kansas State .
Leddie Brown ran for 102 yards and a score to help the Mountaineers (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knock the Wildcats from their solo perch atop the league standings.
Kansas State freshman Will Howard threw three interceptions and the Wildcats (4-2, 4-1) 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 in the second half.
NO. 20 COASTAL CAROLIONA 51, GEORGIA STATE 0
Grayson McCall passed for 254 yards and four touchdowns, Jaivon Heiligh scored twice and Coastal Carolina cruised past Georgia State.
CJ Marable added two rushing touchdowns and 100 all-purpose yards for the Chanticleers (6-0, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference). Coastal Carolina has its most wins in a single season since joining FBS in 2017.
Georgia State (2-3, 1-3) looked nothing like the team that began the day leading the Sun Belt in scoring at 42 points per game. The Panthers’ previous two losses were by a combined 10 points with both coming down to the final possession.
NO. 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 Iowa State routed Kansas.
Purdy finished with 239 yards passing and Kene Nwangwu also hit the end zone for the Cyclones (4-2, 4-1 Big 12). They 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 (0-6, 0-5) came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Kenny Logan in the second half.