Notre Dame rallies to beat Clemson in 2 OTs, 47-40
AP photo Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book looks for a receiver during the first quarter against Clemson Saturday night in South Bend.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Kyren Williams had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second overtime and No. 4 Notre Dame shut down top-ranked Clemson with a couple of sacks to seal a 47-40 victory Saturday night, the Fighting Irish’s first victory over a No. 1 in 27 years.
Clemson had won 36 straight games and had not lost to an Atlantic Coast Conference team since 2017. The Fighting Irish (7-0, 6-0), playing in the ACC only because of the pandemic, snapped both streaks and sparked fans to storm the field in a celebration that most definitely did not meet the CDC’s social-distancing guidelines.
andemic, snapped both streaks and sparked fans to storm the field in a celebration that most definitely did not meet the CDC’s social-distancing guidelines.
After Williams gave Norte Dame the lead on the first possession of the second OT, the Irish pushed Clemson back with back-to-back sacks on DJ Uaigalelei by Adetokumbo Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes on the Tigers first two plays.
The big freshman quarterback completed to passes after the second-and-39, but the final one was way short of the line to gain and a couple of laterals didn’t help.
The Fighting Irish have won 13 straight games, snapped an 11-game losing streak against top-five teams and beat a No. 1 for the first time since taking down Florida State in 1993 at Notre Dame Stadium.
In other key college games on Saturday
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 49, RUTGERS 27
Justin Fields threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score to help No. 3 Ohio State beat Rutgers. Fields, a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2019, added to his already gaudy 2020 resume, completing 24 of 28 passes for 314 yards.
Fields threw two touchdown passes to Chris Olave, with Jameson Williams, Garrett Wilson and Jeremy Ruckert also recipients of scoring passes as the Buckeyes (3-0 Big Ten) played through some sloppiness and held off a second-half push by the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers (1-2) had a promising drive early to answer Ohio’s State’s first score but had to settle for a 30-yard Guy Fava field goal. Trailing 35-3 at halftime, Rutgers came out and outscored the Buckeyes 24-14 in the second half.
NO. 8 FLORIDA 44, NO. 5 GEORGIA 28
Kyle Trask started jumping up and down on the sideline. His Florida teammates took it to another level, running and leaping into the stands.
Coach Dan Mullen wasn’t going to be left out off the fun. Mullen pulled himself onto the edge of the front row and celebrated wildly with fans.
Mullen clearly understood the magnitude of the victory. Everyone did.
Trask had another four-touchdown night, becoming the first quarterback in Southeastern Conference history to accomplish the feat in five consecutive games, and the eighth-ranked Gators beat No. 5 and undermanned Georgia.
NO. 6 CINCINNATTI 38, HOUSTON 10
Gerrid Doaks believes Cincinnati deserves a shot at the College Football Playoff.
He added the Bearcats’ resume with a stellar performance Saturday.
Doaks rushed for a career-high 184 yards, Desmond Ridder ran for three scores and threw for another, and No. 6 Cincinnati rolled
“No doubt, why not?” Doaks said when asked about the Bearcats becoming the first team from a non-Power 5 conference to reach the playoff. “Why not get a shot? We put in our work just like other teams do. Our goal is to make a statement every week. Go out there and dominate.”
NO. 7 TEXAS A&M 48, SOUTH CAROLINA 3
Kellen Mond threw four touchdown passes to become Texas A&M’s career leader, Isaiah Spiller ran for 131 yards and the No. 7 Aggies routed South Carolina
Mond moved past Jerrod Jefferson with the 68th touchdown pass of his career, a 52-yarder to Devon Achane in the third quarter with the game long decided.
Mond also ran for a score to help Texas A&M improve to 5-1 — all in the Southeastern Conference — for its best start since opening 6-0 in 2016. The Aggies are 7-0 against the Gamecocks.
NO. 13 INDIANA 38, NO. 23 MICHIGAN 21
Michael Penix, Jr. passed for 342 yards and a career-high three touchdowns for Indiana’s first victory against the Wolverines in 33 years.
NO. 14 OKLAHOMA STATE 20, KANSAS STATE 18
Jason Taylor II returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma State stopped the Wildcats’ 2-point try that would have tied the game with 2:08 to go, allowing the No. 14 Cowboys to escape with a 20-18 victory Saturday night that kept their Big 12 title hopes alive.
NO. 19 OKLAHOMA 62, KANSAS 9
Oklahoma looks ready to make its usual late-season push.
Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns and the 19th-ranked Sooners routed winless Kansas.
Stevenson, in his second game back from a suspension, also caught four passes for 60 yards.
Spencer Rattler passed for 212 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score to help the Sooners (5-2, 4-2 Big 12) win their fourth straight game. It was Oklahoma’s 22nd consecutive November win dating to 2014.
NO 20 USC 28, ASU 27
Drake London caught a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:20 to play, and USC rallied from a late 13-point deficit in the Pac-12′s long-delayed season opener.
For the first 57 minutes of play after that 9 a.m. kickoff, the Sun Devils appeared to be grinding out a solid victory largely by forcing mistakes from the Trojans. USC gave up a handful of big plays by the Sun Devils, committed four turnovers of its own and turned the ball over twice on downs in ASU territory.
BOSTON COLLEGE 16, SYRACUSE 13
Boston College had all it could handle from a one-win Syracuse team that had lost four straight. Eagles kicker Aaron Boumerhi helped keep the Orange at bay.
BC (5-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) was clinging to a 13-6 lead when Syracuse freshman running back Sean Tucker lost a fumble with about six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The takeaway led to Boumerhi’s 22-yard, game-clinching field goal in a win over the Orange, (1-7, 1-6).
“It certainly was not our cleanest game and probably not our best when we go back and look at it, but we’re 5-3,” said Boston College coach Jeff Hafley. “I told the guys I don’t care what the score is. When we win a game I expect the music to be blaring and the guys to be enjoying each other.”


