Michigan turns a playoff maize Blue

Confetti from a college football weekend.

Michigan 45, Ohio State 23:

— The last time Michigan won in Ohio Stadium, nobody knew if George W. Bush or Al Gore had won the Presidential election. The Wolverines added some clarity to this College Football Playoff discussion with a parade of thunderclap plays, thrashing their rivals, 45-23, and setting up a Big Ten championship with Purdue. It was the first road win for Michigan in the series since 2000 and created the first 2-game win streak for Michigan in 22 years.

— Four touchdown plays of over 60 yards turned this around, and J.J. McCarthy (pictured) became the first QB in series history to throw three touchdown passes of 45 or more yards. Donovan Edwards subbed for injured Blake Corum and sprinted for 75 and 85 yard touchdowns. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud was 31 for 48 but threw two interceptions and couldn’t keep up.

— Michigan (12-0) will be in the CFP if it beats Purdue. The committee now has to judge Ohio State (11-1). Its best wins are over Notre Dame, which USC defeated Saturday, and Penn State (10-2). Can the Trojans match Ohio State’s resume?

USC 38, Notre Dame 27

— Twenty years ago Carson Palmer used prime-time lights and a fired-up Coliseum to throw a Heisman party for himself. He threw for four touchdowns and 425 yards and USC wiped out Notre Dame. On Saturday Caleb Williams tried the same thing with some millenial flair, walking into the Coliseum wearing a cream-colored suit but no shirt, and having his teammates plant an imaginary crown on his head after each of his big plays, which were plentiful. Williams ran for three scores and hit 18 of 22 passes.

— Williams’ elaborate scrambles and his startling throws on the run probably gave him an edge in Heisman voting, especially with the loss by Stroud. But USC also won because Austin Jones rambled for 154 yards in relief of Travis Dye, and its defense stuffed Notre Dame on the ground (90 yards).

— USC (11-1) now plays Utah, its only conqueror, in the Pac-12 championship Friday. A win would be its third in a row over a ranked team.

South Carolina 31, Clemson 30

— The surging Gamecocks ruined Tennessee’s CFP hopes last week and cured its despised rival Clemson of playoff fever by snapping the Tigers’ 40-game win streak at home. They trailed 14-0 and 23-14 but took the lead with nine minutes left and did not allow Clemson to earn a first down in the final three series, one of which ended with Marcellus Dial’s interception. South Carolina punter Kai Kroeger also forced the Tigers to begin late possessions on their own two and three yard lines.

— Clemson (10-2) had won the seven previous meetings and had won the last five by a total of 214—55. But quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei had a disappointing day, throwing for only 99 net yards and completing eight of 29.

— South Carolina has hired several famous coaches who have won elsewhere, like Paul Dietzel, Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier. But Shane Beamer, 45 and in his second year, is the first coach in school history to beat Top 10 teams back-to-back. The son of Frank Beamer, who is Virginia Tech’s alltime winner, will be a highly-watched and coveted coach, particularly whenever Alabama’s Nick Saban decides he’s had enough.

Oregon State 38, Oregon 34

— Beaver receiver Tyjon Lindsey said he felt like he’d won the Super Bowl, but Oregon fans felt like they were watching the Atlanta Falcons come from ahead. Oregon led 31-10, then 34-17 early in the fourth quarter, but Oregon State rolled up 21 points in a span of 5:23, on drives of 26, 2 and 28 yards. The furious rally left both teams at 8-3, and Oregon missed a chance at a Pac-12 championship when Washington beat Washington State and gave Utah the slot opposite USC.

— Offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, 32, will leave Oregon for the head coaching job at Arizona State, and he apparently signed the contract while he was ordering a very weird go-for-it on fourth-and-one from his own 29. Bo Nix was thrown for a one-yard loss, and OSU’s Isaiah Newell ran for a six-yard score.

— Freshman Damien Martinez notched his sixth consecutive 100-yard for the Beavers, who road-graded Oregon with 268 yards on the ground. In Jonathan Smith’s fifth year they are approaching the level of 2000, when they were 11-1 with Chad Johnson, Ken Simonton and….quarterback Jonathan Smith.

Texas A&M 38, LSU 23

— The Tigers were a little too high on their own chicory, after they had beaten Alabama and moved into the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. Did they have a chance to get to the CFP? Not now, not after a supine A&M team awakened and drilled them with 215 rushing yards (on 38 carries) from Devon Achane.

— The Aggies (5-7) had lost six consecutive games before a desultory win over UMass last week. The 38 points Saturday were a career high, thanks to a solid performance by freshman QB Connor Weigman. A one-hand TD pass by Moose Muhammad III in the fourth quarter dissuaded LSU.

— LSU (9-3) still meets Georgia, but an upset probably wouldn’t knock out Georgia and certainly wouldn’t exhume Tiger hopes.

Florida State 45, Florida 38

— The Seminoles (9-3) can call themselves state champs, which, considering the state, usually means you’re pretty good. They have beaten Miami and Florida for the first time since 2016, and have won five consecutive games after losing to Clemson by six, N.C. State by two and Wake Forest by 10.

— Quarterback Jordan Travis kept Florida off balance with scrambles, and Trey Benson had three running touchdowns including the game-winner with 4:07 left. Third-year coach Mike Norvell has quieted some fans’ desires to hire Deion Sanders.

— Billy Napier’s first regular season at Florida ends at 6-6, with wins over Utah and South Carolina. Anthony Richardson is a marvelously talented but inconsistent quarterback, missing on 11 straight passes in the second half.

TCU 62, Iowa State 14

— The Horned Frogs (12-0) finally got to enjoy a fourth quarter. They hadn’t won a game by more than 10 points since Oct. 1 but abused a Cyclone defense that had given up 16.5 points a game. although two of their TDs came on interception returns. They will play Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.

— Max Duggan now has thrown 26 touchdowns and suffered only three interceptins, as TCU begins to mount a Heisman campaign. He was 17 for 24 with three TD passes Saturday.

— TCU becomes the first Big 12 team since 2009 (Texas) to finish a season undefeated, notable in a formidable league in which eight of the 10 teams are bowl eligible.

Georgia Southern 51, Appalachian State 48 (2 OT)

— Appalachian is the drama king of college football, but here it was upstaged by Kyle Vantrease, who lofted a 25-yard TD to Ezrah Archie in double overtime. Georgia Southern, coming off a 3-game losing streak, thus became bowl eligible in Clay Helton’s first season, following a 3-8 record in 2021.

— Vantrease, a transfer from Buffalo, has thrown at least one touchdown in every game. The Eagles have wins over James Madison, ranked at the time, and Nebraska.

— The volatile Sun Belt Conference will decide its champion when Troy plays host to Coastal Carolina.