Top 25: Clemson rallies in 4th to avoid upset to Troy

Deshaun Watson threw for three touchdowns and the second-ranked Clemson Tigers avoided a host of mistakes – including an embarrassing early celebration punt-return gaffe by Ray-Ray McCloud that cost a TD – to hold off the pesky visiting Troy Trojans 30-24 on Saturday.

The Tigers (2-0) were out of synch on offense and could not break away from the Trojans (1-1) until the fourth quarter. Watson hit beefy defensive lineman Christian Wilkins for a 1-yard score in Clemson’s jumbo goal line package, then connected with Deon Cain on a 23-yard TD pass for a 27-10 lead.

Troy rallied with two touchdowns in the last five minutes, the second one with 44 seconds to go. But Cain grabbed the on-side kick attempt and Clemson ran out the clock on a second straight victory that was too close for most of the crowd at Death Valley.

(1) Alabama 38, Western Kentucky 10: Freshman Jalen Hurts passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start to lead the Crimson Tide to victory over the Hilltoppers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

(3) Florida State 52, Charleston Southern 8: Deondre Francois threw for three touchdowns and Dalvin Cook ran for two more as the Seminoles cruised to victory over the depleted Buccaneers in Tallahassee, Florida.

(4) Ohio State 48, Tulsa 3: The Buckeyes overcame a sluggish offensive start, a lightning delay and a driving rainstorm in the second half to beat the Hurricanes in Columbus, Ohio.

(5) Michigan 51, UCF 14: Wilton Speight threw two of his four touchdown passes to Jake Butt and Khalid Hill ran for two scores, helping the Wolverines rout the Knights in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

(6) Houston 42, Lamar 0: The Cougars easily overcame the absence of injured quarterback Greg Ward Jr. as well as a 3 1/2-hour lightning delay for a victory over the Cardinals in Houston.

(9) Georgia 26, Nicholls 24: The Bulldogs scored two quick-strike touchdowns – one on offense, one on defense – in a span of about two minutes after the Colonels took a third-quarter lead, and Georgia escaped with an uninspiring win over Nichols in Athens, Georgia.

(10) Wisconsin 54, Akron 10: Corey Clement ran for two scores before leaving with an ankle injury and the Badgers stuffed the Golden Zips spread offense in Madison, Wisconsin.

(11) Texas 41, UTEP 7: Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns and the Longhorns backed up its first national ranking since 2013 with a victory over UTEP in Austin, Texas.

(14) Oklahoma 59, Louisiana-Monroe 17: Baker Mayfield passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a half of work and the Sooners beat the Warhawks in Norman, Oklahoma.

Arkansas 41, (15) TCU 38: Austin Allen ran 5 yards for the winning score in the second overtime, and the Razorbacks pulled out a wild victory over the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas.

(16) Iowa 42, Iowa State 3: C.J. Beathard threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns and the Hawkeyes throttled the Cyclones in Iowa City, Iowa.

(17) Tennessee 45, Virginia Tech 24: Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the Volunteers erased an early 14-point deficit and beat the Hokies in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway.

(18) Notre Dame 39, Nevada 10: DeShone Kizer threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the Fighting Irish’s defense rebounded from a disappointing performance a week ago in a win over the Wolfpack in South Bend, Indiana.

(19) Mississippi 38, Wofford 13: Chad Kelly threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns to help the Rebels rout the Terriers in Oxford, Mississippi.

(20) Texas A&M 67, Prairie View A&M 0: Trevor Knight threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the Aggies to a rout of the Panthers in College Station, Texas.

(21) LSU 34, Jacksonville State 13: Replacing struggling starter Brandon Harris on LSU’s third possession, Danny Etling opened with three straight scoring drives, and the Tigers beat the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Central Michigan (22) 30, Oklahoma State 27: A mistake by the officials that extended the game when it should have been over allowed the Chippewas to score the winning touchdown on a Hail Mary and lateral for an upset of the Cowboys in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

(23) Baylor 40, SMU 13: Seth Russell threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bears recovered from a slow start to rout the Mustangs in Waco, Texas.

(24) Oregon, 44, Virginia 26: Dakota Prukop threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, Royce Freeman ran for 207 yards and two scores, and the Ducks defeated the Cavaliers in Eugene.

(25) Miami 38, Florida Atlantic 10: Mark Walton rushed for 155 yards and four touchdowns, and the Hurricanes shook off a slow start to beat the Owls in Miami Gardens, Florida.