Ja’Kyrian Turner ran for 201 yards and a touchdown, Braylan Lovelace had a 100-yard interception return, and Pittsburgh held off No. 15 Georgia Tech 42-28 Saturday night in Atlanta to keep its Atlantic Coast Conference championship holes alive.
Up 28-0 early in the second quarter, Pitt (8-3, 6-1) had only a seven-point advantage in the fourth quarter until Turner went up the middle for 56 yards and a touchdown with 2:41 remaining.
Mason Heintschel was 20 of 27 from 226 yards and two touchdowns for Pitt. Kenny Johnson caught six passes for 91 yards and a score.
Georgia Tech (9-2, 6-2) likely dropped out of the ACC title chase. Haynes King completed 27 of 41 passes, with a pair of scoring throws to Isiah Canion.
SMU wide receiver Jordan Hudson leaps over Louisville cornerback Jabari Mack after catching a pass Saturday in Dallas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP)
SMU 38, Louisville 6: Kevin Jennings threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in Dallas as SMU stayed in contention to reach another ACC title game.
The Mustangs (8-3, 6-1) would make the conference championship game for the second year in a row since joining the league if they win their regular-season finale at California and get a little help — either Georgia Tech or Virginia losing their ACC finale.
Jennings completed 29 of 37 passes in his third consecutive 300-yard game. His nifty 5-yard TD pass put SMU up 21-3 late in the first half. Jennings initially went right, then reversed to avoid defenders and had what seemed a clear lane to the end zone when, still on the run, he flung the ball forward with his right arm to TJ Harden.
Louisville (7-4, 4-4), without starting quarterback Miller Moss and leading rusher Isaac Brown, lost its third game in a row. Moss, a transfer from USC, had started the first 10 games and was in uniform, but didn’t play because of a foot injury. Brown has missed all three of those losses since injuring a leg against Virginia Tech.
Clemson 45, Furman 10: The host Tigers (6-5) finally secured bowl eligibility by beating the FCS Paladins (6-6), extending Clemson’s postseason streak to 21 years. The Tigers, who were a preseason top-five team, needed until nearly Thanksgiving to notch their sixth win.
Senior quarterback Cade Klubnik connected with Antonio Williams for two first-half touchdowns. Williams also had a 30-yard punt return, Clemson’s longest of the season. Furman finished with 155 yards in the second half against Clemson’s backups.
Duke 32, North Carolina 25: Anderson Castle punched in the go-ahead 1-yard touchdown with 2:18 left, set up by an audacious fake field-goal call, and Duke (6-5, 5-2) followed with a late stop to hold off rival UNC (4-7, 2-5) in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils are bowl-eligible, and the Tar Heels were eliminated from consideration.
With the Blue Devils trailing 25-24, Duke lined up a 45-yard field goal for the lead — only to see holder Kade Reynoldson take the snap and flip it to Pelino to the left side. Pelino took off to the open field for 26 yards, getting all the way to the 1-yard line.
No. 9 Notre Dame 70, Syracuse 7: Jeremiyah Love bolstered his Heisman Trophy candidacy with 171 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just eight carries, and host Notre Dame (9-2) blew out injury-plagued Syracuse (3-8) to improve its CFP hopes.
Wake Forest 52, Delaware 14: Robby Ashford threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Wake Forest beat Delaware at home for its third win in a row.
Jake Dickert became the winningest first-year football coach in Wake Forest history. The Demon Deacons (8-3) won for the sixth time in their past seven games.
Carlos Hernandez made two touchdown catches, racking up 197 yards on five receptions. He had TD plays of 79 and 93 yards.
Ashford was 15-for-22 for 292 yards with an interception.
Three Wake Forest players rushed for more than 60 yards, led by Chris Barnes’ 78. Ty Clark III and Demond Claiborne ran for touchdowns. Connor Calvert kicked field goals of 44, 54 and 47 yards.
Nick Minicucci threw for 140 yards and a touchdown for Delaware (5-6).
Stanford 31, California 10: Stanford (4-7, 3-5 ACC) snapped a four-game losing streak against Cal (6-5, 3-4) with a victory in the Big Game. Jay Green and Darrius Davis returned fumbles for touchdowns, helping the homestanding Cardinal capitalize on the Bears’ three lost fumbles and 13 penalties.
Interim coach Frank Reich has led Stanford to a 4-1 home record this season. California’s loss followed a win over No. 14 Louisville and raised questions about coach Justin Wilcox’s job security.
