It was a struggle for Ohio State. After the Buckeyes settled for a field goal on the game’s first possession, Northwestern running back Cam Porter answered with a 9-yard TD run late in the first quarter. The Buckeyes trailed from that moment until Sermon’s 9-yard run with 2:41 left in the third period.
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Sermon used the combination of vision and speed to average 11.4 yards on 29 carries against one of the nation’s top defenses, breaking Eddie George’s single-game school record and the Big Ten championship game mark.
The Buckeyes had trailed for all of 5 minutes, 5 seconds this season — until they fell behind for nearly 32 minutes Saturday.
Quarterback Justin Fields said he couldn’t throw the ball late in the game because of a sprained right thumb. Starting running back Master Teague left in the first half with an undisclosed injury, and star receiver Chris Olave was inactive and didn’t make the trip.
Ohio State added a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Sermon sealed the win with a 3-yard scoring run with 4:03 to go.
Porter finished with 16 carries and 61 yards. Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey was 24 of 37 with 224 yards but was picked off twice and lost a fumble — all in the second half.
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Texas A&M blasts Tennessee, starts CFP campaign
Fifth-ranked Texas A&M closed its case for inclusion in the College Football Playoff by mauling host Tennessee, 34-13.
Then the Aggies started campaigning.
“I haven’t lobbied or said a word up until now,” Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We lost to the No. 1 team in the country [Alabama], then won seven games in a row. We can play with anybody.
“We play in the best league in ball. Some teams aren’t even playing seven games. They’re supposed to pick the best four.”
Kellen Mond threw for 281 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 59 yards and a score to lead the Aggies over the Volunteers (3-7).
Isaiah Spiller ran for 89 yards and a touchdown, and Ainias Smith scored once rushing and once receiving.
Texas A&M, ranked third in the nation in third-down conversion percentage (55 percent), didn’t punt in the first half. The Aggies converted on 6 of 7 third-down opportunities. They controlled the ball for more than 21 minutes.
Fisher refused to get caught up in wondering if his team would pass the so-called eye test.
“We play in the best league with the best players,” the coach said. “That’s as much of an eye test as anything. Eight wins in the SEC . . . I’d like to see someone else do that.”
Tennessee has lost seven of its last eight games, ramping up speculation about Jeremy Pruitt’s future as Vols coach.
Harrison Bailey and J.T. Shrout combined to throw for 189 yards and two touchdowns for the Vols.
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Oklahoma rules Big 12 for sixth straight year
Spencer Rattler threw a 45-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims and also ran for a score as No. 12 Oklahoma won its sixth consecutive Big 12 title, holding on to beat No. 8 Iowa State 27-21, in the conference championship game in Arlington, Texas.
That impressive title streak probably won’t be enough to get the Sooners (8-2) back in the College Football Playoff for the fourth year in a row, even when paired with their seven-game winning streak.
Big 12 rushing leader Breece Hall ran for two touchdowns for the Cyclones (8-3) in the second half, when Oklahoma punted on its first five drives before Gabe Brkic’s 32-yard field goal with 2:01 left. The Sooners finally clinched the game when Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy was under pressure and threw his third interception, a fluttering pass picked off by Tre Brown inside the 10.
Rattle finished 22-of-34 passing for 272 yards and his 25th TD.
Iowa State was playing in a conference championship game for the first time in school history, though fifth-year coach Matt Campbell was incensed at times. Standout defensive back Isheem Young was ejected after a questionable targeting call in the opening minute, and the Cyclones later didn’t get a fourth-down call when trying to draw Oklahoma offside even when two Sooners appeared to jump over the line.
Rattler hit Mims in stride behind two defenders on the opening play of the second quarter to put Oklahoma up, 14-0. That came after a 16-yard catch by Mims to end the first quarter on a pass that first deflected off two defenders. Campbell lost it on the sideline, pointing and screaming, but like his team calmed down and got back in the game.
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After Iowa State finally scored with 1:34 left in the first half on Purdy’s 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Kolar, the Sooners got a 43-yard kickoff return from Brown. That set up a quick four-play drive capped by Rattler’s 9-yard keeper for a 24-7 halftime lead.
Bielema to take over as Illinois coach
Bret Bielema, who led Wisconsin to three Rose Bowls before a disappointing run at Arkansas, is returning to the Big Ten and his home state to coach Illinois.
The Illini hired Bielema to replace the fired Lovie Smith, hoping he can turn around a program with nine consecutive losing seasons.
Illinois said Bielema, 50, will receive a six-year contract with an annual salary starting at $4.2 million, and begin work immediately. He has spent the last three season as an assistant coach in the NFL, first with the Patriots and then the Giants.
Bielema was 97-58 in 12 years at Wisconsin and Arkansas.
He took over for Barry Alvarez and went 68-24 with the Badgers from 2006 to 2012 before leaving to coach the Razorbacks. He finished with a 29-34 mark at Arkansas and was fired in November 2017.
Bielema was defensive coordinator at Wisconsin when he replaced Alavarez and had immediate success. He became the third coach in NCAA history to win 12 games in his rookie season when Wisconsin went 12-1 in 2006. No other Big Ten coach had won 10 in his first year.
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In 2010, the Badgers beat a No. 1 team for the first time since 1981 when they knocked off Ohio State. They won the Big Ten that year, losing to TCU in the Rose Bowl, and won the first two conference championship games— and trip to the Rose Bowl that went with them — in 2011 and 2012 by beating Michigan State and Nebraska. The Badgers lost all three of those high-profile bowl games.
His move to Arkansas was surprising, ultimately unsuccessful and the legal battle over how much contract buyout money he is still owed by the school’s athletic foundation is ongoing.
In July 2018, the Patriots hired Bielema as a consultant to coach Bill Belichick. He became the Patriots’ defensive line coach in the 2019 season. In January, the Giants and new head coach Joe Judge hired Bielema as outside linebackers coach and senior assistant.
Boutte’s big day saves ugly ending for LSU
Good thing for Kayshon Boutte and LSU that the freshman receiver decided his twisted ankle didn’t hurt enough to duck out of a chilly rain and into the locker room during the tense final minutes of a clash with rival Mississippi.
Boutte turned an 11-yard crossing route into a zig-zagging, tackle-breaking, go-ahead, 45-yard touchdown with 1:30 left — a play that also gave him the LSU record for yards receiving in a game.
Boutte caught 14 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, and the Tigers held on for a 53-48 victory over visiting Ole Miss.
Had LSU lost, Ed Orgeron would have had the dubious distinction of coaching the first team to follow a national title with a losing record since Ohio State in 1943 — when World War II caused a level of chaos and uncertainty not seen again in college football until the onset of the coronavirus pandemic during the past year.
“I was hurting before the play,” said Boutte, who eclipsed Josh Reed’s mark of 293 yards receiving against Alabama in 2001. “You can’t really quit, knowing that you’re getting the most receptions, most catches. It’s like the game is in your hands.”
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral drove the Rebels into LSU territory in the final minute, but his sixth turnover of the game on a fumble caused by Ali Gaye ended the threat and the Tigers (5-5) avoided their first losing season since 1999.
Freshman LSU QB Max Johnson, who won his first career start at Florida a week earlier, passed for 435 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson also scored on 1-yard keepers in the second and fourth quarters.
His lone interception looked costly, coming in the end zone in the fourth quarter with LSU trailing 41-40. But the Tigers pressed on in miserable weather and a mostly empty stadium for about as memorable a comeback as relatively low-stakes game could provide.
Corral was intercepted five times — twice by Jay Ward and once each by Gaye, Todd Harris, and Jabril Cox. Ward returned his first interception for a 31-yard TD.
But Ole Miss’s dual-threat quarterback very nearly overcame his mistakes.
He passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, the last on a pinpoint, over-the-shoulder throw to Braylon Sanders that put the Rebels (4-5) ahead, 41-40, early in the fourth quarter of a game that LSU had led 37-21 in the second half.
Corral also was Ole Miss’ rushing leader with 158 yards and he scored on a naked bootleg on fourth and goal from the 2 that gave the Rebels a 48-40 lead with 8:43 to go. Sanders finished with four catches for 70 yards and two TDs, while Jerrion Ealy returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
USC opts out after loss
No. 13 Southern California became the sixth Pac-12 team to opt out of a bowl game, citing a recommendation from team doctors and discussions with players. The Trojans (5-1), who lost 31-24 to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game Friday night, would have been at risk of falling under the conference’s minimum number of 53 available scholarship players because of positive tests for COVID-19 and injuries after playing their third game in 13 days . . . With the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy at stake, Jakobi Buchanan, facing fourth and goal from the 1, followed senior left guard Mike Johnson through the Air Force line and into the end zone with 73 seconds left to give the Black Knights a 10-7 home victory, their second emotional win in a week. Army (9-2) was coming off a hard-fought 15-0 victory over archrival Navy a week ago in the first game between the schools at West Point in 77 years. The win gave the Black Knights their ninth CIC, emblematic of supremacy among the three academies. The touchdown was the second fourth-down conversion of the march. Quarterback Christian Anderson converted on fourth-and-3 six plays earlier and Arik Smith’s interception on a deflected first-down pass after the ensuing kickoff sealed it for the Black Knights. The Falcons (3-3) beat Army 17-13 at home last year, stopping the Black Knights on fourth down at the goal line in the final seconds to escape, so this was a sweet payback, especially since it gave the senior class its 35th win, an academy record . . . Rocky Lombardi, the quarterback who led Michigan State to its two victories, is looking to transfer. He started nine games in four seasons, including victories this season over Michigan and Northwestern, which eventually won the Big Ten West. But Lombardi struggled against Indiana and Ohio State. He left the Ohio State game after a hard tackle and didn’t play against Penn State.
The Link LonkDecember 20, 2020 at 06:14AM
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/19/sports/trey-sermon-ohio-state-send-message-with-record-outing-big-ten-title-game/
Trey Sermon, Ohio State send a message with record outing in Big Ten title game - The Boston Globe
https://news.google.com/search?q=Send&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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