NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 24, USC 17
LOS ANGELES -- Ian Book passed for 352 yards, Dexter Williams went 52 yards on a go-ahead touchdown run and No. 3 Notre Dame completed an unbeaten regular season and likely secured a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 24-17 over longtime rival Southern California on Saturday night.
Chris Finke caught an early TD pass for the Fighting Irish (12-0), who showed playoff-level tenacity in rallying from an early 10-point deficit, their largest of the season. Tony Jones Jr. then took a short pass 51 yards for a touchdown with 3:09 to play to finish off Notre Dame's 10th perfect regular season since 1945, the first since 2012.
Notre Dame is all but certain to be chosen for the four-team playoff, and this victory could keep the Irish away from powerhouse Alabama in the first postseason game.
Williams rushed for 97 yards as the Irish overcame a slow start in the 90th edition of this famed intersectional rivalry. Notre Dame didn't score until Finke's TD catch shortly before halftime, but the Irish ran off 24 consecutive points and shut out USC in the second half until Tyler Vaughns' TD catch with 48 seconds to play.
J.T. Daniels passed for 349 yards for the Trojans (5-7), who will stay home for the bowl season after their first losing season since 2000. Vaughns caught 12 passes for 120 yards in what might have been the final game for Coach Clay Helton, who is under pressure after the Trojans lost five of their final six games in a dismaying collapse.
NO. 12 PENN STATE 38, MARYLAND 3
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Trace McSorley completed 12 of 22 passes for 230 yards and had a hand in three touchdowns to help No. 12 Penn State rout Maryland.
McSorley added 64 rushing yards on 11 carries for the Nittany Lions (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten. He threw a 34-yard bullet through freezing rain to KJ Hamler on the game's first play, sprinted downfield to throw a block that opened Miles Sanders up for a 35-yard run on the next, then skipped into the end zone from 3 yards out to cap the quick opening drive.
NO. 19 NORTHWESTERN 24, ILLINOIS 16
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Clayton Thorson accounted for three touchdowns, Isaiah Browser rushed for 166 yards on 18 carries and No. 19 Northwestern beat Illinois for its seventh consecutive Big Ten win.
Thorson completed 12 of 18 passes for 110 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score, and Bowser posted his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
NO. 20 SYRACUSE 42, BOSTON COLLEGE 21
BOSTON -- Eric Dungey ran for three touchdowns and threw for 362 yards and three more scores to lead No. 20 Syracuse to a victory over Boston College.
The Orange (9-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) gave up the first score of the game and then scored touchdowns on three straight possessions, starting with a 75-yard pass from Dungey to a wide-open Sean Riley. BC fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Dungey's 4-yard run to make it 14-7 and the Eagles (7-5, 4-4) never got any closer.
MIAMI 24, NO. 24 PITTSBURGH 3
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Travis Homer rushed for 168 yards and a long touchdown, DeeJay Dallas ran back a punt for one of his two scores and Miami closed its regular season by knocking off No. 24 Pittsburgh.
Dallas also had a rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
NO. 25 IOWA STATE 42, KANSAS STATE 38
AMES, Iowa -- David Montgomery ran for three touchdowns, including the winner with 4:34 to go, and No. 25 Iowa State rallied from 17 down in the fourth quarter to stun Kansas State and snap a 10-game skid against the Wildcats.
Montgomery had 149 yards rushing for the Cyclones (7-4, 6-3 Big 12), who clinched their best-ever finish in the Big 12.
Sports on 11/25/2018