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Sugar Bowl features Clemson-Ohio State CFP semifinal rematch

3 Ohio State (6-0, No. ... Clemson beat Ohio State 29-23 in a Fiesta Bowl CFP semifinal last season. ... All of Clemson's victories over Ohio State have come in bowl games, including the Orange Bowl at the end of the 2013 season and the 1978 Peach Bowl. ... Clemson is making its third Sugar Bowl appearance and is seeking its first Sugar Bowl win. ... Ohio State is making its sixth Sugar Bowl appearance and has won its last three, including a 42-35 triumph over Alabama in the first CFP semifinal on Jan. 1, 2015.

Tide's DeVonta Smith the 1st WR to win AP Player of the Year

DeVonta Smith is The Associated Press college football player of the year, becoming the first wide receiver to win the award since it was established in 1998, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. Jones received nine first-place votes and 67 points as he and Smith became the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the voting for AP player of the year. Smith is also the first Alabama player to win the award. Derrick Henry won the 2015 Heisman for the Tide, but Stanford's Christian McCaffrey was AP player of the year. ___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/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Alabama's Jones, Smith, Harris lead 6 Tide AP All-Americans

Lawrence, the likely first pick in the next NFL draft, made AP All-America for the first time in his career. ___The 2020 AP All-America team:FIRST TEAMOffenseQuarterback — Mac Jones, junior, Alabama. Running backs — Najee Harris, senior, Alabama; Breece Hall, sophomore, Iowa State. Guards — Ben Cleveland, senior, Georgia; Tommy Kraemer, senior, Notre Dame. Safeties — Kyle Hamilton, sophomore, Notre Dame; Tykee Smith, sophomore, West Virginia.

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.

QB Uiagalelei rallies No. 1 Clemson to 34-28 win over BC

1 Clemson rallied from 18-points down in the first half to defeat Boston College 34-28 on Saturday. Travis Etienne became the ACC's all-time rushing leader and his second TD put the Tigers (7-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead for good. A jarring week for Clemson ended with its 28th straight win over league competition, 10th straight over the Eagles and 27th in a row at home. The Eagles (4-3, 3-3) took advantage, putting Clemson in a 28-10 hole in the second quarter with the virus-reduced crowd stunned to near silence. Boston College took advantage of the Clemson chaos early on with TDs on its first two series.

No. 1 Clemson wakes up late to beat Syracuse 47-21

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) throws a pass during an NCAA college football game against Syracuse in Clemson, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (Ken Ruinard/Pool Photo via AP)CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has seen plenty of tight games against Syracuse. 1 Clemson used a late boost to pull away to a 47-21 victory after Syracuse drew with a score at 27-21. Syracuse (1-5, 1-4 ACC), a 45-point underdog, rallied from 17-0 down to draw within a touchdown late in the third quarter before Clemson regained its footing. The Syracuse Orange couldn't finish this one off, however.

AP Top 25: Clemson remains overwhelming No. 1 over Alabama

POLL POINTSWhen it comes to winning games against ranked teams, Alabama coach Nick Saban is the best ever. Even before beating Georgia, Saban held the record for most victories against AP top-five teams (now 25) and top-10 teams (now 42). The average number of games played in a college football season is also longer now than ever before. The conference has had three of its teams ranked at one point or another. 23 North Carolina State is ranked for the first time since 2018.

Who’s Boss? No. 1 Clemson powers past No. 7 Miami 42-17

Miami entered as the ACC leader in offense at 499 yards a game. Potter out for a 61-yard field field with 3 seconds remaining. Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said Lawrence had the wind knocked out of him and his quick return uplifted the Tigers. Lawrence ended with 292 yards, completing 29 of 41 and went without an interception for a 12th straight game. Clemson: The Tigers have been in four of the last five matchups of Top-10 ACC teams — and won them all.

Lawrence's 3 TDs lead No. 1 Clemson to 41-23 win vs Virginia

CLEMSON, S.C. – Trevor Lawrence was happy with Clemson's win over Virginia. Lawrence threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns as Clemson opened 3-0 for the sixth straight year with a 41-23 victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday night. However, like so often the past few years when pressed, Clemson and Lawrence found what it took to succeed. Rodgers had two TD catches in the final six minutes of the opening half to give Clemson a 24-3 lead that Virginia could not overcome. That's when Lawrence found Etienne for a final scoring throw to restore Clemson's momentum.

Parsons, Sewell among AP preseason All-Americans not playing

Parsons and Oregon tackle Penei Sewell are among 11 players selected who are not slated to play this fall. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons and Oregon tackle Penei Sewell are among 11 players selected to The Associated Press preseason All-America first team who are not slated to play this fall. Tackles x-Penei Sewell, junior, Oregon; Alex Leatherwood, senior, Alabama. Linebackers y-Micah Parsons, junior, Penn State; x-Hamilcar Rashed Jr., senior, Oregon State; Dylan Moses, senior, Alabama. Safeties x-Jevon Holland, junior, Oregon; Trevon Moehrig, junior, TCU.

AP Top 25: Clemson No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Alabama

4 and defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma is No. For now, big conference games such as Ohio State-Michigan and Washington-Washington State could still be made up in the spring. All Division I teams were eligible for the preseason AP Top 25, but after the season starts, only teams scheduled to play in the fall are eligible. STREAKINGOhio State extended the longest active streak of preseason Top 25 appearances with 32, followed by Oklahoma with 21, LSU with 20, Georgia with 19, Alabama with 13 and Clemson with nine. Big 12 4 (Nos.