No. 2 Georgia flexes muscle in win over Arkansas
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Chauncey Bowens ran for three touchdowns and No. 2 Georgia held Arkansas to just 17 yards on the ground in a 45-17 win Saturday.
Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) led 21-3 at halftime and never truly needed to pass the football. Quarterback Gunner Stockton finished the game 10-of-13 passing for 147 yards with a touchdown. He added a team-high 97 yards on the ground, including a 62-yard run on third down that set up Georgia’s third touchdown, Bowens’ second.
NO. 1 TEXAS 30, UTSA 6
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Arch Manning threw two early touchdown passes to Cam Coleman on a night he mostly struggled, and Texas beat UTSA in the Longhorns’ last game before starting their Southeastern Conference schedule.
Texas (3-0) vaulted to No. 1 after its thrilling 24-23 victory over Ohio State last week when Manning led a 21-point rally in the fourth quarter.
But little came very easy Saturday night against the Roadrunners (2-1). Manning was just 16-of-32 passing for 161 yards, took several hard hits, and left the game with about six minutes to play with the game finally under control.
Texas next heads to No. 15 Tennessee to start SEC play.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 27, MICHIGAN ST. 10
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- C.J. Carr threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown, Nolan James Jr. rushed for 121 yards and a score, and Notre Dame took control in the second half to beat Michigan State.
It was the 13th straight victory dating to last season for the Fighting Irish -- all by double digits. Coach Marcus Freeman broke the Notre Dame record for consecutive double-digit victories, exceeding the 12 by Knute Rockne from 1921-22.
Micah Gilbert had eight catches for 170 yards for Notre Dame (3-0). Carr’s streak of 12 games with a passing touchdown ended, with the Fighting Irish scoring all three TDs on short rushes.
Notre Dame outscored Michigan State 10-0 in the second half, limiting the Spartans (2-1) to 40 yards of offense over the final two quarters.
NO. 4 INDIANA 38, W. KENTUCKY 0
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Josh Hoover threw two touchdown passes, Lee Beebe Jr. added two TD runs and Indiana overcame a sluggish first half to blow out Western Kentucky.
Hoover was 18 of 24 for 273 yards with no turnovers as Indiana (3-0) extended the Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak to 19 games, and the longest active home winning streak to 18. Turbo Richard rushed 15 times for 149 yards and one score, and Charlie Becker added five catches for 127 yards and another touchdown.
The Hoosiers’ defense has posted back-to-back shutouts and has not been scored upon since late in the third quarter of their season opener against North Texas.
NO. 8 MISSISSIPPI 32, NO. 7 LSU 24
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Lane Kiffin’s new team at LSU couldn’t deny Trinidad Chambliss -- the quarterback Kiffin helped transform into a star after recruiting him from a Division II program to Mississippi last year.
Chambliss passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a tiebreaking score in the fourth quarter, and Ole Miss delighted a crowd that was already revved up about Kiffin’s return, beating the Tigers.
LSU stormed back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to tie the game before Chambliss engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive without the services of top running back Kewan Lacy, who left the game with an injured left shoulder.
Chambliss faked a handoff and ran 14 yards against the grain, outracing LSU safety Ty Benefield to the pylon, and Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) added a 2-point conversion to take an eight-point lead with 6:14 to go.
LSU answered by driving 69 yards to the Ole Miss 6 before Sam Leavitt missed open tight end Zach Grace along the goal line with a third-down pass, and then had his fourth-down pass deflected off the helmet of defensive end Kam Franklin. Jaylon Braxton intercepted the ball in the end zone to seal it.
KENTUCKY 31, NO. 9 TEXAS A&M 21
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Kenny Minchey threw two touchdown passes and CJ Baxter added two scoring runs as Kentucky used a huge third quarter to stun Texas A&M.
Led by rookie coach Will Stein in his first road game, Kentucky beat a ranked opponent for the first time since downing No. 6 Mississippi 20-17 on Sept. 28, 2024.
Stein had vowed to do better after Kentucky (2-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) led then-No. 12 Alabama 17-13 at halftime last week before being outscored 32-0 in the second half of a 45-17 loss.
The game pitted Texas A&M’s offense against Kentucky defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who spent the last two years in the same position with the Aggies. He seemed to have Texas A&M’s number, keeping the Aggies off-balance all day and limiting Marcel Reed to 26 of 49 passing for 236 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
NO. 10 ALABAMA 50, FLORIDA ST. 36
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Keelon Russell threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as Alabama overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Florida State.
The Crimson Tide (3-0) struggled to run the ball early and had few answers for Florida State’s explosive plays. Once Alabama settled in, the Seminoles (1-2) struggled to slow it down.
Russell completed 23 of 30 passes without an interception, and Alabama finished with 615 yards. Lotzeir Brooks caught eight passes for 101 yards.
Lightning delayed kickoff and interrupted the second quarter, and the teams agreed to skip halftime after the second delay.
Alabama scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions across the second and third quarters to turn a 21-6 deficit into a 40-28 lead.
NO. 11 BYU 41, COLORADO ST. 23
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- LJ Martin rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns, including a 56-yard run on the second play of the game, and BYU beat Colorado to move to 3-0 for a fourth straight season.
The Cougars now have 20 seasons where they’ve started 3-0, with six under coach Kalani Sitake.
Martin had 173 of his yards rushing in the first half. The reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year carried the ball once in the second half with BYU up big.
Martin and the BYU offense had to wait an extra 37 minutes to get started after a thunderstorm pushed back the kickoff time. The Cougars finished with 559 total yards.
Bear Bachmeier had 227 yards passing and an interception. Freshman receiver Legend Glasker caught five passes for 131 yards and had a rushing TD.
NO. 12 SOUTHERN CAL 42, RUTGERS 35
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Jayden Maiava threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns and King Miller ran for 102 yards and a TD to help Southern California beat Rutgers in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Trojans (4-0) never trailed, building a 35-21 cushion with 5:52 left in the third quarter. NO. 14 PENN ST. 45, BUFFALO 13
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Rocco Becht threw for 212 yards with two touchdowns, Koby Howard scored twice and Penn State cruised past Buffalo.
Becht secured his Bowl Subdivision-leading 29th win and the Nittany Lions (3-0) capped their nonconference schedule in relatively easy fashion against an outmatched Mid-American Conference opponent that was outgained 305-80 in the first half.
Overall, D’Anton Lynn’s defense forced 10 punts and two turnovers and only allowed Buffalo’s Oliver Hautanen to kick a pair of field goals. The Bulls (1-2) crossed midfield just three times.
Howard, who was one of three Nittany Lions players to eclipse 100 all-purpose yards, ran for a 20-yard touchdown on a reverse and caught a 70-yard pass from Becht in the second quarter.
NO. 15 TENNESSEE 42, KENNESAW ST. 9
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Faizon Brandon threw for 178 yards and one touchdown and ran for another to lead Tennessee to a win over Kennesaw State.
Daune Morris, who picked up the slack for an injured running back position, rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown for the Volunteers (3-0). DeSean Bishop was slowed with an injury in the second quarter and Javin Gordon and Justin Baker were unavailable with injuries. Morris had the game’s most explosive play, a 42-yard touchdown run.
NO. 23 LOUISVILLE 41, NO. 16 SMU 31
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Keyjuan Brown ran for a career-high 163 yards and a pair of long touchdowns to guide Louisville to a victory over SMU.
The teams preseason media picks to finish second (SMU) and third (Louisville) in the Atlantic Coast Conference put on a back-and-forth affair, trading the lead eight times before the Cardinals sealed it on Isaac Brown’s 27-yard touchdown with 5:32 remaining to finish the scoring.
The Cardinals (2-1, 1-0 ACC) then stripped SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings of the ball just before the goal line on the Mustangs’ ensuing drive, turning what would have been a 19-yard touchdown into a touchback as the ball rolled out of the end zone with 2:43 remaining.
Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz threw for 177 yards on 14-for-23 passing. He threw for two scores and added another on the ground as Louisville amassed 442 yards of offense.
NO. 17 UTAH 33, UTAH ST. 0
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Devon Dampier threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns, leading Utah to a victory over Utah State.
Braden Pegan had a season-high 122 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches, and Daniel Bray added 82 yards and a score on the ground, helping the Utes (3-0) pile up 480 yards against their rival. Utah averaged 6.5 yards per play.
NO. 18 IOWA 55, N. IOWA 0
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa had three running backs in Xavier Williams, Nathan McNeil and Braeden Jackson run for more than 100 yards apiece, and the Hawkeyes rolled to a victory over Northern Iowa even without their top running back, Kamari Moulton.
Williams had 151 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries, Jackson had 125 yards and a rushing touchdown to go with a 24-yard TD catch, and McNeill had 111 yards and two scores. It was the first time Iowa had three go over 100 yards in a game since Owen Gill, Norm Granger and Eddie Phillips did it in a 61-10 win over Minnesota in 1983.
Moulton, their leading rusher, was hurt in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s 16-13 win over Iowa State. But the Hawkeyes (3-0) still piled up 422 yards on the ground and finished with 640 yards of total offense against their Football Championship Subdivision foe.
The Hawkeyes scored on their first five possessions and led the Panthers 42-0 at halftime.
NO. 19 MICHIGAN 52, UTEP 17
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Bryce Underwood threw two touchdown passes and Savion Hiter had two rushing scores to help Michigan pull away and beat UTEP.
The Wolverines (3-0) were behind twice in the first half before scoring 38 straight points to turn a potential scare into a rout.
Underwood was 19 of 25 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and a lost fumble.
NO. 20 MISSOURI 27, TROY 17
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Jamal Roberts ran for 122 yards and a touchdown, DaMarion Folkes returned a punt 68 yards for another score, and Missouri shook off a slow start before holding on to beat Troy.
Former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons struggled most of the way for Missouri (3-0), completing 10 of 19 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. But the Tigers did enough on defense to win their 16th straight regular-season non-conference game.
NO. 24 OKLAHOMA 14, NEW MEXICO 6
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- John Mateer overcame a shaky start with two touchdown passes, and Oklahoma leaned on its defense to hold off New Mexico and avoid consecutive non-conference losses.
The Sooners (2-1), who were coming off a loss to Michigan and open SEC play at No. 2 Georgia next week, were able to limit the high-scoring Lobos to 69 yards rushing and 185 yards of total offense -- and just two field goals.