Saturday wrapup: Alabama survives; Oregon, Wake Forest win division titles
A look at the key games Saturday in Week 13, the final week of the regular season.
Alabama wins in 4 overtimes
No. 3 Alabama barely survived Saturday, rallying to beat host Auburn 24-22 in four overtimes.
Alabama has a highly anticipated showdown with No. 1 Georgia in next week’s SEC Championship Game, but for much of the game, it looked as if the Tide would have two losses. Playing with backup quarterback T.J. Finley, who was hobbled for much of the second half with a sore ankle, the Tigers (6-6, 2-6) used a masterful defensive performance to stymie the Tide (11-1, 7-1). But Alabama rallied with 10 points in the final 8:44, including a TD with 24 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Both scored TDs in the first OT and made field goals in the second extra period. Both hit their conversion plays in the third OT, and the Tide won it on a pass from Bryce Young to John Metchie in the fourth OT.
Auburn’s pass rush had been spotty in SEC play, but it came with a vengeance Saturday. Young was sacked seven times and harassed seemingly every time he dropped back to pass. But he calmly guided the Tide on a game-tying 12-play, 97-yard drive in the final two minutes that will go down in Iron Bowl lore.
Alabama overcame a second-quarter ejection for targeting to star receiver Jameson Williams and an ankle injury to Brian Robinson to come away with the win in a game where its maligned offensive line was whipped for much of the day.
Oregon wins Pac-12 North title
A week after being shut down in a loss at Utah, No. 11 Oregon (10-2, 7-2) rebounded with a strong offensive effort in a 38-29 victory over visiting Oregon State (7-5, 5-4). The win sends the Ducks to the Pac-12 title game, where a rematch with Utah awaits.
Oregon rolled up 506 total yards, including 231 on the ground; last week, the Ducks managed just 294 yards in a 38-7 loss.
Ducks quarterback Anthony Brown had one of the best games of his career; he went 23-of-28 for 275 yards and two TDs, and also rushed for 83 yards and a score.
Oregon led 24-3 at halftime, and the outcome wasn’t in doubt in the second half. The Beavers came in leading the Pac-12 at 229.4 rushing yards per game, but were held to 85.
Oregon was 10-of-13 on third down and held the ball for 37:04.
Wake Forest advances to ACC title game
No. 18 Wake Forest (10-2, 7-1 in the ACC) blew out host Boston College (6-6, 2-6) 41-10 to win the ACC Atlantic Division title outright; Wake will play No. 17 Pitt in next week’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.
Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman accounted for four TDs as Wake built a 24-10 halftime lead and coasted from there. Hartman threw a 7-yard TD pass to A.T. Perry with 10 seconds left in the first half for the 24-10 lead, and BC never really challenged in the second half. Boston College finished with just 19 passing yards.
It will be the Demon Deacons’ second appearance in the title game; they won it in 2006. This will be the first time since 2014 that Clemson isn’t playing for the title.
Wake has scored at least 35 points in every game this season; it is the only team in the nation to do that.
Minnesota upsets No. 14 Wisconsin
Visiting Wisconsin needed to beat archrival Minnesota to clinch the Big Ten West title. The Golden Gophers were having none of it, upsetting the 14th-ranked Badgers 23-13.
Minnesota’s win gave Iowa the Big Ten West title; the Hawkeyes will play Michigan in next Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game.
Wisconsin (8-4, 6-3) had its seven-game winning streak snapped. That streak was built on the back of a bruising rushing attack, but Minnesota (8-4, 6-3) limited the Badgers to 62 rushing yards, their second-lowest total of the season and almost 170 fewer than their season average.
Minnesota only had 274 yards of offense but held Wisconsin to 233.
LSU upsets No. 15 Texas A&M
Host LSU (6-6, 3-5 in the SEC) sent coach Ed Orgeron out a winner, beating No. 15 Texas A&M 27-24 on a TD pass with 20 seconds left.
A&M (8-4, 4-4) opened the season in the top 10; the Aggies finish the regular season tied for third in the SEC West with Arkansas and Mississippi State.
LSU led 17-7 at halftime. But the Aggies rallied on two TD passes from Zach Calzada to Jalen Preston for a 24-20 lead with 7:33 left in the game. But the Tigers had one more offensive spark for Orgeron, who was fired in October but allowed to finish out the season.
The Tigers began their final drive on their 15 with 1:58 left. Max Johnson went 5-of-7 on the drive, finishing it off with a 28-yard TD pass to Jaray Jenkins — his second of the game — with 20 seconds left. While he was sacked six times on the night, Johnson threw for 306 yards and three TDs.
A&M beat Alabama on October 9, the first win in a fiour-game winning streak that had the Aggies 7-2 and looking good for a New Year’s Six game. But they lost two of their final three games, and now it’s looking like a postseason trip to something like the Outback Bowl.
Baylor holds on vs. Texas Tech
No. 8 Baylor will play in the Big 12 Championship Game after fending off visiting Texas Tech 27-24.
The Bears (10-2, 7-2 in the Big 12) took a 27-17 lead with 7:00 left, but Texas Tech (6-6, 3-6) answered with a 75-yard TD pass on the first play of the ensuing drive to make things interesting. Baylor was able to run 5:17 off the clock on its next drive, and Tech was unable to get past Baylor’s 35 on the final drive of the game.
Baylor goes to the title game because Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma on Saturday night. Had OU won, there would have been a rematch with the Cowboys next week in the championship game. Oklahoma State beat Baylor 24-14 on October 2.
Georgia romps to finish 12-0
As expected, top-ranked Georgia rolled over Georgia Tech, finishing the regular season 12-0 with a 45-0 rout. The Bulldogs (12-0) were favored by 35.5 points.
The Bulldogs scored on their first four drives for a 24-0 lead. Meanwhile, Tech went three-and-out three times in their first four possessions and gained 7 yards on five plays on the other possession.
The Yellow Jackets (3-9) had nine first downs and 171 total yards. Georgia, which plays Alabama next week in the SEC title game, finished with 463 total yards, punted once and was not called for a penalty.
Walker leads Michigan State
No. 12 Michigan State (10-2, 7-2 in the Big Ten) kept alive its hopes for a New Year’s Six bowl with a 30-27 victory over visiting Penn State (7-5, 4-5). The Nittany Lions lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Spartans running back Kenneth Walker III ran for 138 yards and a TD, and should have sewn up an invitation to the Heisman ceremony. Penn State’s Jahan Dotson had eight receptions for 137 yards and two TDs.
Michigan State’s much-maligned defense had four sacks, nine tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.
Other key games Saturday
+ Maryland (6-6, 3-6) clinched a bowl bid with a 40-16 rout of host Rutgers (5-7, 2-7). The Terps scored on their first two drives, led 20-2 at halftime and cruised in the second half. Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 312 yards and three TDs. Maryland rolled up 575 yards of offense.
+ Host Florida (6-6) beat rival Florida State (5-7) 24-21 to become bowl-eligible. The Gators overcame three first-half interceptions by Emory Jones, who was benched early in the second half, to get the win for interim coach Greg Knox. Florida fired coach Dan Mullen last Sunday. The game featured 22 penalties for 196 yards.
+ Virginia Tech (6-6, 4-4 in the ACC) dominated in the fourth quarter to beat host Virginia (6-6, 4-4) and clinch bowl eligibility. The Hokies, who fired coach Justin Fuente early in the week, outscored the Cavs 5-0 in the final quarter, holding the Cavaliers to 19 yards in the period, for the win. A safety with 3:17 completed the scoring, though the Cavs did drive to Tech’s 9 before the Hokies held.
+ Bailey Zappe threw for 328 yards and four TDs to lead Western Kentucky (8-4, 7-1) to a 53-21 rout of host Marshall (7-5, 5-3) and the undisputed Conference USA East title. The Hilltoppers play at UTSA (11-1) in the C-USA title game on Friday.