INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan State’s L.J. Scott stretched the ball over the goal line for a touchdown with 27 seconds left to secure a 16-13 win against Iowa Saturday in the Big Ten conference championship game, all but guaranteeing the Spartans a place in the four-team College Football Playoff.
Alabama definitely secured its place as one of the four teams in the playoff by defeating Florida in the Southeastern Conference decider.
Top-ranked Clemson will also be among the four after it took out the Atlantic Coast Conference title by defeating North Carolina, and Stanford claimed the Pac-12 championship with a win against Southern California.
Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook led the Spartans (12-1) on a 22-play drive that set up Scott’s 1-yard run. A half-dozen Iowa defenders tried to stop Scott, but he wouldn’t be denied.
Five times in the final 2 minutes, the Spartans snapped the ball from the Iowa 5-yard line or closer. Finally, after getting bottled up by three defenders on third-and-goal from the 1, Scott broke free just long enough to get the ball across the goal line for Michigan State’s only TD.
Iowa (12-1) lost for the first time this season.
Alabama’s defense dominated Florida to secure a 29-15 win against Florida in the SEC decider. Heisman Trophy favorite Derrick Henry ran for 189 bruising yards while the Crimson Tide’s defense held the Gators to 3 yards of offense in the second and third quarters.
Henry had a staggering 44 carries against one of the nation’s top defenses to earn MVP honors.
He tied the SEC record for touchdowns in a season with 23 and eclipsed Herschel Walker’s 34-year-old conference mark for yards rushing in a season with 1,986, with at least one more game left.
Clemson’s Deshaun Watson threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores in a 45-37 win against North Carolina. Watson had 420 total yards and five total touchdowns to set ACC championship game records.
North Carolina scored a touchdown with 1:13 left and appeared to recover the subsequent onside kick, but was questionably called for being offside and had to take the kick again. The Tar Heels attempted another onside kick and this time Clemson recovered and ran out the clock.
Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey put in a stunning performance to lead the Cardinal to a 41-22 win against USC and the Pac-12 championship title.
McCaffrey ran for 207 yards and a score, threw a touchdown pass, caught another and broke Barry Sanders’ single-season all-purpose yards record.
Kevin Hogan caught the TD pass from McCaffrey, threw one and ran for a third and Solomon Thomas scored on a 34-yard fumble return for Stanford, who likely will play in the Rose Bowl semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
Texas’ Tyrone Swoopes threw for 151 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in his first start since the season opener to help the Longhorns beat Baylor 23-17. Baylor was in line to be the Big 12’s representative in the Sugar Bowl but three losses in four games had ended that hope.
Houston beat Temple 24-13 in the inaugural American Athletic Conference championship game. — AP
