Cade Klubnick wanted to get out of bounds. Needed to get out of bounds.

The clock was running. Clemson was trailing Pittsburgh and all of the Tigers’ timeouts were gone. So the junior quarterback broke into the secondary on a designed run and then veered right for the safety of the sideline.

Klubnick never got there. He never had to. A well-timed block from wide receiver T.J. Moore gave Klubnick a lane that offered nothing but green grass and victory. Klubnick’s instincts led him to cut up the field for a go-ahead 50-yard touchdown run with 1:16 remaining that lifted the Tigers, No. 20 in the College Football Playoff ranking, past the Panthers 24-20 on Saturday.

“It doesn’t feel real in a moment like that,” said Klubnick. “You’re just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m loose.’ Those last 15-20 yards was a crazy feeling for sure.”

A familiar one too. The Tigers practice that exact situation — field goal ties the game, touchdown wins it — every Wednesday in practice. And head coach Dabo Swinney stressed it wasn’t the first time Klubnick ended one of those drives with his legs rather than his right arm.

“He’s just a relentless competitor,” Swinney said. “He’s got a big heart on him. It was pretty special.”

And necessary. Klubnick’s dash kept Clemson’s outside hopes of reaching the ACC title game alive. The Tigers (8-2, 7-1 ACC) need No. 12 Miami to lose one of its final two games or No. 14 SMU to drop its last two contests to reach the championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 7.

Regardless of how it turns out, Swinney believes the program took a significant step forward this season after going 4-4 in the conference a year ago. Asked if the Tigers deserve to be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff, Swinney pointed to his team’s 4-0 mark in true road games, its lengthy resume of playoff success in the CFP era and its resiliency.

Indiana rewards Cignetti with 8-year contract: Curt Cignetti needed 10 games to make good on his promise to change the direction of Indiana football.

Now he’ll have eight more years to continue working his magic.

The Hoosiers’ 60-year-old coach was rewarded on Saturday for the first 10-0 mark in school history with an eight-year contract that will run through 2032 and pays him an annual average salary of $8 million.

Lagway returns and Florida upsets LSU: DJ Lagway threw for a touchdown and set up another with a long completion in his return from a strained left hamstring, and Florida upset No. 22 LSU 27-16 on Saturday to give the Gators their first series victory since 2018.

Milroe, Williams lead Alabama to win over Mercer: Jalen Milroe passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in just over two quarters to help No. 10 Alabama beat FCS team Mercer 52-7 on Saturday.

Tulane routs Navy to clinch a spot in the AAC championship game: Makhi Hughes ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 25 Tulane locked up its spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game by romping to a 35-0 victory over Navy on Saturday. Darian Mensah threw for two TDs and ran for another as Tulane (9-2, 7-0) guaranteed a championship meeting on Dec. 6 against No. 16 Army, which was idle Saturday.

Allar leads Penn State to rout of Purdue: Drew Allar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 4 Penn State to a 49-10 rout of Purdue on Saturday.

Allar, who completed his first 10 passes, connected on 17 of 19 passes for the Nittany Lions (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) in three quarters. His top target was tight end Tyler Warren, who caught eight passes for 127 yards.

SMU moves closer to ACC title game by beating Boston College: Kevin Jennings threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, Brashard Smith ran for 120 yards with a score and 14th-ranked SMU moved closer to making the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in its league debut with a 38-28 victory over Boston College on Saturday.

Stanford beats Louisville on walk-off field goal: Emmet Kenney made a career-long 52-yard field goal as time expired to give Stanford a 38-35 victory over No. 19 Louisville on Saturday, ending the Cardinal’s six-game losing streak.

Sanders shrugs off shaky start to lead Colorado past Utah: Shedeur Sanders overcame a shaky start to throw three touchdown passes, LaJohntay Wester returned a punt 76 yards for a score and No. 17 Colorado pulled away late to beat Utah 49-24 on Saturday.

Winners of four straight, the Buffaloes (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) remain in the driver’s seat for an appearance in the conference title game and possibly a spot in the College Football Playoff. They’ve doubled their win total from a season ago when they finished 4-8.