CFP roundup: No. 5 Texas runs away from No. 12 Clemson, off to quarterfinals

Much of the discussion about Texas in its run to its second consecutive spot in the College Football Playoffs this year has been about its quarterback play, specifically whether Quinn Ewers has done enough to continue to be the starter over future star Arch Manning.

It was what Ewers can do, and did Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas, that doesn’t show up in the statistics for the fifth-seeded Longhorns’ 38-24 victory over 12th-seeded Clemson in a CFP first-round game that has kept him as QB1.

The Longhorns (12-2) advance to the CFP quarterfinals, where they will square off against fourth-seeded Arizona State, the Big 12 champion, on Jan. 1 in the Peach Bowl at Atlanta.

Jaydon Blue rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns for Texas in the win, including a 77-yard score in the fourth quarter. Ewers passed for 202 yards and a score, and Quintrevion Wisner added 110 yards and two TDs on 15 carries for the Longhorns, who outgained Clemson 292-76 on the ground.

“The run game is important for us on a lot of levels,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Our offense is better when we can run it. One of the first bullet points I put up in this room in preparation for this game was run to win.”

The Longhorns’ defense stopped Clemson on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 7:24 left. Texas then produced a final march that chewed up almost six minutes.

Sarkisian praised Ewers for his game management and explained that both of Blue’s TD runs came after his quarterback audibled out of the scheduled play and into one that succeeded.

“Quinn made a lot of plays for us on time and he made a couple plays off schedule, which are critical for us as well,” Sarkisian said. “But I thought he managed the game beautifully.”

Ewers credited the Texas offensive line, which played the entire second half with two injured starters on the bench, for “putting in the work the past 10 days and really taking to heart to running the football.”

He stayed with his mantra that it’s just his job to get the offense in a position to make plays.

“It’s a great feeling anytime you’re able to get the offense into the correct play call for a certain look,” Ewers said. “It’s just a testament to the coaches giving us those types of looks in practice.”

Cade Klubnik, who played his prep football in Austin, passed for 336 yards and three TDs to keep the Tigers (10-4) in the game. Nine of Klubnik’s 26 completions on 43 throws went to T.J. Moore, who had career-high 116 receiving yards and a touchdown catch.

Everything went right for the Tigers on the game’s opening possession. They used 12 snaps and nearly seven minutes to drive 75 yards to a 22-yard TD pass from Klubnik to Antonio Williams.

Texas responded with its own 75-yard, 12-play march that culminated in a 3-yard scoring run up the middle by Wisner with 2:04 to play in the first quarter.

The Longhorns got a 38-yard touchdown sprint by Blue with 12:49 to play in the second quarter and then a 16-yard TD run by Wisner 5 1/2 minutes later to push their lead to 21-7.

Clemson’s Nolan Hauser hit a 32-yard field goal with 1:33 left in the second quarter. Texas answered with a 19-yard TD pass from Ewers to Gunnar Helm that extended the Longhorns’ lead to 28-10 at the break.

“Leveraging blocks, missed fits, missed tackles …,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of his team’s troubles in the first half. “Texas is really good and they can make you pay for those things.

Bert Auburn added a 22-yard field goal on the Longhorns’ opening drive of the third quarter.

Klubnik found Jarvis Green out of the backfield for a nifty 25-yard TD pass to pull the Tigers to within 31-17 with 3:29 to play in the third. He then connected with Moore on a 7-yard scoring pass on fourth down with 11:43 remaining to bring Clemson to within seven points.

On the second play of Texas’s ensuing drive, Blue broke free and streaked down the left sideline to lift the Longhorns back up by two scores.

“We put ourselves in too big of a hole, allowing 28 points in the first half,” Swinney added. “But our kids battled. We were in position to win the game. We had every opportunity to win it. Until Texas was taking that final knee, I didn’t think there was a moment we weren’t winning the game.”

Up next: vs. No. 4 seed Arizona State (11-2), Peach Bowl, Jan. 1, Noon EST. (College Football Playoff quarterfinal)

About Arizona State: The Sun Devils won the Big 12 championship in a rout over Iowa State and earned their ticket to the Peach Bowl as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. Arizona State has won six straight games and eight of its last nine and has one of the best run defenses in the nation this season, only allowing 117.5 yards on the ground per game.

The Sun Devils are led by All-America running back Cam Skattebo, who was second in the nation in yards from scrimmage with 2,074 (1,568 rushing and 506 receiving) and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

1Q eruption sends No. 8 Ohio State past Vols

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jeremiah Smith, while TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two scores as No. 8 seed Ohio State routed No. 9 seed Tennessee 42-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday.

Ohio State (11-2) will play No. 1 seed Oregon (13-0) in the quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1.

Smith’s second TD, a 22-yarder with nine minutes left in the third quarter, made it 28-10. Henderson’s 24-yarder early in the fourth extended the lead to 42-10.

Howard finished 24-of-29 passing with an interception, while Smith’s six catches went for 103 yards. Henderson gained 80 yards on 10 carries.

The kickoff temperature was 25 degrees with a wind chill of 17 before a crowd of 102,819, with about 40 percent for the Vols.

The Volunteers (10-3) rallied to trail 21-10 at the half after it looked as if they would be blown out.

Tennessee got a 36-yard field goal by Max Gilbert after an interception by Davison Igbinosun at the Ohio State 19 was nullified by a roughing-the-passer penalty.

The Volunteers pulled within 11 on a 1-yard run by Nico Iamaleava with 20 seconds left before the break to cap a 16-play, 79-yard drive that used 4:03.

Iamaleava completed 14 of 31 passes for 104 yards and rushed 20 times for 47 yards and two TDs.

Ohio State blitzed the Volunteers for first-quarter scoring drives of 75, 68 and 58 yards to lead 21-0 while outgaining the visitors 205-16 in total yards.

On the first possession of the game, the Buckeyes went ahead 7-0 on a 37-yard catch by Smith.

Quinshon Judkins made it 14-0 with a 1-yard run, and Henderson extended the lead to 21-0 on a 29-yard run.

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, had two carries for 6 yards in the first quarter before leaving with an undisclosed injury. He returned in the third quarter to make a 2-yard catch but had no more carries.

Penn State advances in CFP with win over SMU

Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas returned interceptions for touchdowns and No. 6 seed Penn State advanced in the College Football Playoff with an easy 38-10 victory over No. 11 seed SMU on Saturday afternoon at University Park, Pa.

DeLuca also had another interception as the Nittany Lions (12-2) built a 28-point halftime advantage in Happy Valley. Penn State will face No. 3 seed Boise State (12-1) in a quarterfinal game at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 31.

“Being able to come out with a win on the first week of playoffs is huge,” DeLuca said. “I’m excited to celebrate with my brothers.”

Nicholas Singleton rushed for 90 yards and one touchdown and Kaytron Allen had 70 yards and two scores for the Nittany Lions, who thrived in 25-degree weather that felt like 12 degrees at kickoff. Drew Allar completed 13 of 22 passes for 127 yards.

“I thought our defense played lights out, obviously, when you’re able to create three turnovers and two for touchdowns,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.

“Took us a while to get going on offense, but as good of a half as I’ve seen on defense in a long time.”

Kevin Jennings threw all three of his interceptions in the first half for an SMU team that was overmatched from the outset. The Mustangs (11-3) were the final team to earn an at-large bid into the 12-team field, edging Alabama.

Jennings completed 20 of 36 passes for 195 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Roderick Daniels Jr. Brashard Smith had 177 all-purpose yards (77 kickoff, 62 rushing, 24 receiving, 14 punt) for the Mustangs.