Top-25 roundup: No. 1 Alabama rallies behind Jalen Hurts, tops No. 4 Georgia 35-28
In a dramatic twist on last season’s national championship game, Jalen Hurts came off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying No. 1 Alabama to a 35-28 victory over No. 4 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference title game Saturday in Atlanta.
Heisman Trophy favorite Tua Tagovailoa had to be helped off the field with just over 11 minutes remaining after one of his linemen stepped on the quarterback’s right ankle as he attempted to throw.
Enter Hurts, who led Alabama to the national title game as a freshman but lost the starting job to Tagovailoa. Hurts calmly guided the Crimson Tide to a tying touchdown with a 10-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy.
(2) Clemson 42, Pittsburgh 10: Travis Etienne ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Trevor Lawrence threw two short scoring passes to Tee Higgins and the Tigers beat the Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina, to become the first team to win four straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships.
The Tigers ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry against Pitt.
(5) Oklahoma 39, (9) Texas 27: Kyler Murray threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns and the Sooners beat the Longhorns in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, with the Sooners avenging their only loss and making their case for a return to the College Football Playoff.
Murray, the Heisman Trophy-contending dual-threat quarterback, threw two TD passes to Grant Calcaterra.
(6) Ohio State 45, (21) Northwestern 24: Dwayne Haskins added five more touchdown passes to his single-season record and the Buckeyes relied on their staunch defense to hold off a second-half charge from the Wildcats for their second straight Big Ten championship in Indianapolis.
(7) UCF 56, Memphis 41: Darriel Mack shrugged off two early turnovers to rush for three second-half touchdowns and rally the Knights past the Tigers in the American Athletic Conference championship game in Orlando, Florida.
(25) Fresno State 19, (19) Boise State 16 (OT): Ronnie Rivers scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to lift the Bulldogs past the Broncos in the snowy Mountain West championship game in Boise.
Fresno State won its first conference title since 2013.
(24) Iowa State 27, Drake 24: David Montgomery ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns and the Cyclones barely survived a near-upset by the nonscholarship FCS Bulldogs.