Perfect Alabama finishes No. 1 in AP Top 25 for 12th time
(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. โ Alabama finished the season No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the 12th time, extending its record by completing the programโs first perfect season since 2009. With 12 AP titles overall โ Paul โBearโ Bryant was coach for five and Gene Stallings for one โ Alabama has four more than Notre Dame, in second place with eight. The Big 12 finished with a perfect record in five bowl games. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25___This story has been updated to correct the number of national titles for Alabama to 12, not.
Roll Tide! No. 1 Alabama beats Notre Dame 31-14 in Rose Bowl
(AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)ARLINGTON, Texas โ A truly untraditional Rose Bowl setting, a very common result for Alabama in the College Football Playoff. 4 Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal Rose Bowl played inside about 1,400 miles from Pasadena, California. โI don't think thereโs anything quite like the Rose Bowl, the tradition, the setting, the mountains. 3 Ohio State, which beat Clemson 49-28 in the other CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. PERFECT AT COWS HOMEAlabama is 5-0 at AT&T Stadium, with a pair of convincing CFP semifinal wins there.
Alabama to meet Notre Dame in relocated CFP semifinal game
4 Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal originally scheduled to serve as the 107th Rose Bowl, the playoff committee announced Sunday. โOur guys recognize what theyโll need to do relative to the mental preparation of playing a great football team in Alabama. But instead of a week amid the pomp and pageantry of the Rose Bowl, the teams will spend their semifinal week in Arlington, Texas. Oregon State beat Duke in Durham, North Carolina, in that version of the Rose Bowl. The festive week of genteel celebrations around the Rose Bowl game had already been mostly canceled.
CFP: Alabama-Notre Dame, Clemson-Ohio St as Aggies left out
Notre Dame was picked Sunday over Texas A&M for the final spot, ending what little drama there had been. Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State have also held the first four spots in the AP Top 25 since Oct. 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the second league to have two teams in the playoff, joining the SEC in 2017. After sitting second in the CFP rankings for a month, Notre Dame was blown out 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC championship. Barta said the disparate number of games played by contenders โ along with far fewer cross-conference games than usual โ- was a challenge for the committee all season.
AP Top 25: Notre Dame over A&M in final regular-season poll
Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book (12) looks for a receiver during the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game against Notre Dame, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State topped the final Associated Press college football poll of the regular season Sunday with No. 4 Notre Dame comfortably ahead of No. Before the College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its selections for the final, AP Top 25 voters released their final rankings. The only team to fall out of the rankings this week was Buffalo, which lost the Mid-American Conference title game. ___Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Lawrence, No. 4 Clemson rout No. 2 Notre Dame for ACC title
2 Notre Dame 34-10 on Saturday to win its sixth straight Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Clemson allowed Notre Dame to pile up 518 yards in the previous meeting, but limited the Fighting Irish (10-1) to 263 yards Saturday and sacked quarterback Ian Book six times. The momentum changed late in the first quarter when Notre Dame kicker Jonathan Doerer, who had converted an ACC title-game record 51-yard field goal on the game's opening drive, clanked a 21-yard attempt off the right upright. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish could get nothing going in the passing game. Notre Dame: Notre Dame hopes to edge No.
Book leads No. 2 Irish past Syracuse 45-21; Clemson next up
It was Bookโs 30th victory as a starter, the most ever for a Notre Dame quarterback. โItโs a dream come true to be able to attend Notre Dame and have a good career,โ Book said. Notre Dame started its run thanks to a roughing the passer by Syracuse that Book later turned into a 28-yard TD run. Book finished with 348 total yards, becoming only the second Irish player to move past 10,000 yards (10,008) in total offense. Notre Dame: The Irish have an extra week to rest up for Clemson after the conference adjusted the schedules earlier this week, canceling their last game.
Kelly earns 100th win, No. 2 Notre Dame rolls past BC 45-31
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)BOSTON โ Notre Dame has a history of following big wins with letdowns against rival Boston College. Iโm fortunate to be at Notre Dame that long. 1 Clemson, Notre Dame (8-0, 7-0 ACC) racked up a season-high 561 total yards against BC. The last time Notre Dame beat a top-ranked team was 1993, and then following week the Fighting Irish were upset by BC on a last-second field goal. It was recovered by Notre Dame defensive end Daelin Hayes on the Eagles 49 with 2:05 left in the quarter.
No. 4 Notre Dame sacks No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in double OT
4 Notre Dame shut down top-ranked Clemson with a couple of sacks to seal a 47-40 win Saturday night. 1 for the first time since taking down Florida State in 1993 at Notre Dame Stadium. Uiagalelei, starting in place of Trevor Lawrence for a second week, passed for 439 yards, the most ever by a Notre Dame opponent. Notre Dame: Avery Davis came to South Bend as a quarterback and has been moved to running back, receiver and defensive back. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are at Boston College, which might bring back some bad memories for Notre Dame fans.
No. 3 Notre Dame rides big plays to 45-3 win over Pitt
Notre Dame wide receiver Ben Skowronek (11) celebrates as he goes in the end zone past Pittsburgh defensive back A.J. 3 Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no such issues while handling the Panthers (3-4, 2-4) their fourth consecutive loss. The Fighting Irish effectively ended any hope Pitt โ which has developed a reputation in recent years of being the occasional giant killer โ might have had late in the second quarter. Three Pitt plays went nowhere and Irish sophomore defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey raced in untouched to block Kirk Christodoulouโs punt. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi called Notre Dame โas good a team we saw on the football field in six years.โโI thought we'd stack up better," Narduzzi said.
Williams, Crawford lead No. 5 Notre Dame past Florida State
5 Fighting Irish beat Florida State 42-26 on Saturday night. I just kept that mindset after I fumbled.โโWe just reminded (Kyren) about ball security,โ said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, whose team lost several workouts due to the pandemic. Notre Dame: The Irish offense was often lethal, especially once it stopped hurting its own cause. Notre Dame had five touchdowns and 365 yards in the first half and finished with 554 yards. Notre Dame is home for the fourth straight game to start the season when Louisville visits Oct. 17.
Notre Dame-Wake Forest postponed after Irish positive tests
Notre Dameโs game at Wake Forest on Saturday has been postponed after positive COVID-19 tests landed 13 Fighting Irish players in isolation and another 10 in quarantine. Notre Dame said 94 football players were tested for COVID-19 on Monday and of those seven were positive. Those players were in isolation along with others who tested positive last week. โWe managed an increase in positivity rates in August, and the players handled it wonderfully," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. BYU had to postpone its game last week at Army after having players test positive for COVID-19.
No. 3 Georgia holds off No. 7 Notre Dame 23-17
Georgia wide receiver Lawrence Cager (15) makes a catch for a touchdown against Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride Jr. (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, in Athens, Ga. Georgia won 23-17. 7 Notre Dame, it was another big-game loss but a performance that should bring more respect. Then, on third-and-7 from the 15, Notre Dame brought a blitz and Fromm coolly lofted one toward Cager along the left side of the end zone. Desperate to cut into the deficit, Notre Dame called a flea-flicker play. A two-touchdown underdog, Notre Dame took advantage of a huge turnover by Georgia punt returner Tyler Simmons to grab the lead.
Georgia routs Arkansas State 55-0
Finishing off a dominating run through their first three games, the Bulldogs romped to a 55-0 win over Arkansas State on Saturday. With thousands of Georgia fans wearing pink instead of red to honor Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson's wife, Wendy, who died last month from breast cancer, the Bulldogs (3-0) took control as soon as they got their hands on the ball. Anderson, coaching his second game since returning from a leave of absence, was moved by the support of the Georgia fans. A group of shirtless students sitting in the first row behind the Arkansas State bench painted their upper bodies pink and wrote ``Remember Wendy'' across their backs. Georgia: It's hard to get a read on a team that's beaten Vanderbilt, Murray State and Arkansas State.