Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams catches a pass against Wake Forest defensive back Isaiah Wingfield during Clemson’s 51-45 double-overtime victory Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C. Chuck Burton/Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Nate Wiggins broke up Sam Hartman’s fourth-down pass in the end zone to help No. 5 Clemson hold off No. 21 Wake Forest 51-45 in double overtime on Saturday.
Wiggins had been targeted frequently by Hartman and the Wake Forest receivers but came through to knock away Hartman’s final ball for A.T. Perry. He fell to the end zone turf, then sprung up to join his team in celebration after a wild shootout between the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division Demon Deacons and the preseason league favorite Tigers.
D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns to lead Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC), including the go-ahead score over the middle to Davis Allen to start the second overtime.
Hartman threw for 337 yards and a program-record six touchdowns for Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1), including two each to Jahmal Banks and Donavon Greene. But the Demon Deacons stalled out near midfield on a potential winning drive to end regulation, then couldn’t stop the Tigers in the first OT after starting off with Hartman’s TD throw to Perry.
It marked Clemson’s 14th straight win in the series, with Wake Forest’s last win coming in 2008.
Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker blocks a punt by Kent State’s Josh Smith in the first half Saturday in Athens, Georgia. The ball went out of the end zone for a safety. John Bazemore/Associated Press
(1) GEORGIA 39, KENT STATE 22: Brock Bowers scored two more touchdowns and the Bulldogs (4-0) survived a sloppy performance and surprisingly gritty effort from Kent State, holding off the Golden Flashes (1-3) in Athens, Georgia.
The Bulldogs turned it over three times, struggled in the red zone, were burned on a fake punt and gave up several big plays to Kent State in what was easily their worst performance of the season.
Kent State had a chance to make it a one-score game with less than 13 minutes remaining after Marquez Cooper scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive. But a 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Bulldogs with a 32-22 lead.
Georgia then finished off the Golden Flashes, driving 75 yards for Kendall Milton’s 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 5 1/2 minutes to go.
(4) MICHIGAN 34, MARYLAND 27: Blake Corum rushed for a career-high 243 yards and two touchdowns and the Wolverines (4-0) edged the Terrapins (3-1) in the Big Ten opener for both teams, at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Corum, who tied the school record with five rushing touchdowns against UConn a week earlier, had a career-high 30 carries. He became the first Michigan back to rush for 200 yards since Karan Higdon in 2017.
J.J. McCarthy completed 18 of 26 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns for the Wolverines.
Taulia Tagovailoa completed 20 of 30 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown but was also picked off twice for the Terrapins.
(11) TENNESSEE 38, (20) FLORIDA 27: Hendon Hooker threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 112 yards and a score to lead the Volunteers (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) past the Gators (2-2, 0-2) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
It was Tennessee’s second win over Florida in the last 18 meetings and snapped a six-game losing streak in the series. The win gave the Volunteers their first 4-0 start since 2016.
Tennessee took control in the fourth quarter when it traveled 87 yards for a TD after a fumble by Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Richardson had a career-high 453 passing yards and two touchdowns and ran for 62 and two scores in a raucous Neyland Stadium.
(14) PENN STATE 33, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 14: Sean Clifford completed 22 of 34 passes for 217 yards and accounted for four touchdowns to lead the Nittany Lions (4-0) past the Chippewas (1-3) in State College, Pennsylvania.
Tight end Brenton Strange caught two touchdown passes and Mitchell Tinsley caught one. Clifford and Kaytron Allen added touchdown runs for the Nittany Lions, who forced four turnovers.
(15) OREGON 44, WASHINGTON STATE 41: Bo Nix threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin with 1:21 left to give Oregon its first lead, and the Ducks (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) scored three late touchdowns to defeat the Cougars (3-1, 0-1) in Pullman, Washington.
(16) MISSISSIPPI 35, TULSA 27: Jaxson Dart and Quinshon Judkins accounted for four touchdowns in the second quarter as the Rebels (4-0) beat the Golden Hurricane (2-2) in Oxford, Mississippi.
Ole Miss trailed for the first time this season, 14-7, before the decisive 28-point outburst in the second quarter. Dart threw 31-yard touchdown passes to Malik Heath and Jonathan Mingo, and Judkins had scoring runs of 1 and 4 yards.
(17) BAYLOR 31, IOWA STATE 24: Blake Shapen threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) snapped Iowa State’s 11-game home winning streak against conference rivals.
Shapen completed 19 of 26 passes, connecting with 11 receivers.
Iowa State (3-1) was undone by two interceptions. The Cyclones scored 10 points in the final 7 1/2 minutes, but their onside kick with 55 seconds remaining was recovered by the Bears.
TEXAS TECH 37, (22) TEXAS 34: Trey Wolff kicked a 20-yard field goal in overtime, and the Red Raiders (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the second half to beat the Longhorns (2-2, 0-1) in Lubbock, Texas.
Bijan Robinson of Texas fumbled on the first play of overtime, and Donovan Smith led the Red Raiders to the 1-yard line before Wolff’s winning kick.
(24) PITTSBURGH 45, RHODE ISLAND 24: Tailback Israel Abanikanda rushed for four touchdowns and quarterback Kedon Slovis was solid in his return from injury as the Panthers (3-1) beat the Rams (2-2) in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh rushed for 272 yards and scored at least 30 points for the ninth time in 11 games. Slovis had plenty of help on the ground from Abanikanda, who finished with 19 carries for 177 yards. The four touchdowns tied for second-most in program history.
Slovis started after missing last week’s win at Western Michigan because of an undisclosed injury. He was an efficient 20 of 27 for 189 yards.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE 45, (25) MIAMI 31: Chase Cunningham passed for 408 yards and three touchdowns, including a 98-yarder to DJ England-Chisholm, and the Blue Raiders (3-1) stunned the host Hurricanes (2-2) for their first win in 21 tries against ranked opponents.
England-Chisholm also caught a 71-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Key’Shawn Smith returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown for Miami, which turned the ball over on its first three possessions and never escaped the early hole it dug. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year last season, was pulled in the third quarter and replaced by Jake Garcia.
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