Oregon’s national title hopes suffer major setback
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STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- Drew Mestemaker threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 102 yards and a score, and Oklahoma State ended a 21-game skid against FBS opponents by pulling off the first true stunner of the 2026 season, beating Oregon.
Coach Eric Morris’ first victory with the Cowboys won’t be forgotten by any of the delirious fans in Stillwater, particularly after Oklahoma State went 1-11 last season and lost 24-10 to Tulsa in its season opener.
The Ducks (1-1), the preseason No. 2 who looked vulnerable in a season-opening home win over Boise State, suffered a huge blow to their national title hopes. Oregon had been favored by 23 1/2 points.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 70, WESTERN KENTUCKY 20
Gunner Stockton threw five touchdown passes, tying a school record, and No. 2 Georgia gained more momentum for its Southeastern Conference schedule by overwhelming Western Kentucky.
Wearing all-white uniforms for the first time in team history, Georgia (2-0) led 49-0 in the first half -- matching the most productive half in school history -- as it prepared for next week’s SEC opener at Arkansas.
Stockton completed 13 of 16 passes for 234 yards while throwing touchdown passes to five different targets. Stockton has eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in two games. He left each game in the second quarter.
Tyriq Green had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and recovered a fumble in the end zone for another score for the Bulldogs.
Stockton’s five TD passes matched the school record shared by several players, most recently Carson Beck against Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech in 2024.
Landon Roldan’s 9-yard scoring run gave Georgia a 49-0 lead in the second quarter, tying the school record for most points in a half.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 52, RICE 0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- C.J. Carr threw for four touchdowns and No. 3 Notre Dame overpowered visiting Rice early on the way to a victory.
Carr, an early-season Heisman contender, connected on 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards before being replaced by Noah Grubbs in the third quarter.
Notre Dame outgained Rice 478-128 in total yards.
The Owls suffered their worst loss since a 58-0 loss to Texas in 2021.
NO. 5 INDIANA 55, HOWARD 0
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Josh Hoover threw four touchdown passes, three to wide receiver Charlie Becker, and Indiana routed Howard.
Hoover was 6 of 11 for 145 yards, has four TDs in each of his first two games with Indiana and has thrown for 10,006 yards in his career. Becker had 81 yards, finishing one TD catch short of matching the school’s single-game record.
Neither played in the second half, and the two coaches agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes.
Lee Beebe Jr. and Turbo Richard each topped 100 yards as Indiana (2-0) rushed for 301 yards. The defending national champs extended the Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak to 18 and the FBS’ longest active home winning streak to 17.
NO. 8 LSU 45, LOUISIANA TECH 14
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Sam Leavitt overcame three interceptions with a three touchdowns rushing, and No. 8 LSU pulled away in the second half for a victory over a Louisiana Tech team that gave the Tigers fits for the better part of their match-up.
While LSU’s defense was thoroughly dominant, allowing just 140 total net yards while producing seven sacks and three turnovers, Lane Kiffin’s offense will have more than a few corrections to make before what might as well be billed the “Kiffin Bowl” next Saturday.
That’s when the Tigers (2-0) visit No. 9 Mississippi, the program Kiffin left in favor of rival LSU at the end of the 2025 regular season -- when Ole Miss was bound for the College Football Playoff.
NO. 9 MISSISSIPPI 41, CHARLOTTE 9
OXFORD, Miss.(AP) -- Trinidad Chambliss threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns and guided five first half scoring drives as No. 9 Mississippi beat Charlotte.
Ole Miss (2-0) was never seriously threatened as Chambliss was 23-of-26 passing, including scoring passes of 14 and 9 yards to Johntay Cook and Horatio Fields respectively.
Chambliss connected with nine receivers, led by Deuce Alexander with eight receptions for 76 yards.
The Rebels built a 27-0 halftime lead, scoring on five of six first-half possessions, including Kewan Lacy touchdown runs of 9 and 2 yards. Lacy finished with 87 yards on 13 carries before resting most of the second half.
NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 48, ARIZONA ST. 20
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Marcel Reed had three touchdown passes and the defense scored twice in the fourth quarter as Texas A&M pulled away late for a victory over Arizona State.
The Aggies led by 4 before Reed threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Mario Craver on the second play of the fourth quarter to make it 31-20.
Tyler White fumbled before a punt later in the fourth and Arizona State recovered on the Texas A&M 34. But A&M’s T.J. Searcy hit Cutter Boley as he threw on the next play and 261-pound defensive end Marco Jones grabbed the ball and rumbled 55 yards for the score.
A&M led 41-20 later in the fourth when Julio Humphrey intercepted Boley and returned it 45 yards for another score.
week following his transfer from Alabama.
MICHIGAN 17, NO. 11 OKLAHOMA 10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Jordan Marshall scored on a tiebreaking 1-yard run set up by an interception midway through the fourth quarter and Bryce Underwood ran for a 38-yard touchdown to help Michigan bounce back and beat Oklahoma.
The Wolverines (2-0) were the butt of jokes all week after a lucky break put a second on the clock and gave Underwood another chance to complete a game-winning Hail Mary against Western Michigan last weekend.
They responded with a signature win under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham, who said Underwood had to show signs of improvement to keep his job.
He did.
Underwood ran for 87 yards, including his touchdown run late in the first quarter, and threw for 111 yards without a turnover.
The Sooners (1-1) were favored to win by nearly a touchdown and never led. They were scoreless until John Mateer threw a 22-yard touchdown to Mackenzie Alleyne midway through the third quarter.
They had the ball at the 50 with 3:05 left to play and turned the ball over on downs after gaining just 3 yards. They had another opportunity at their 15 with 1:06 to go and ran out of time after gaining just 10 yards.
NO. 12 ALABAMA 45, KENTUCKY 17
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Keelon Russell threw for 188 yards and a touchdown to help No. 12 Alabama beat Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Russell overcame two interceptions in the first half as the Crimson Tide (2-0) overcame a 17-13 halftime deficit, outscoring the Wildcats (1-1) 32-0 in the second half.
Sparked by Russell and running back Daniel Hill, Alabama finished with 343 total yards, including 155 on the ground. Hill had 104 yards rushing and scored a touchdown.
NO. 13 TEXAS TECH 35, OREGON ST. 24
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- Will Hammond hit Coy Eakin with a 32-yard touchdown pass with 6:31 left to put Texas Tech in front and the No. 13 Red Raiders went on to a comeback victory over resilient Oregon State.
J’Koby Williams ran for 116 yards and a touchdown for Texas Tech (2-0), which trailed 24-21 early in the fourth quarter.
After Eakin’s touchdown catch, Oregon State appeared to be marching downfield but Aeryn Hampton’s dropped pass and Braden Atkinson’s subsequent fourth-and-9 pass attempt was unsuccessful.
NO. 14 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 49, LOUISIANA 30
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jayden Maiava threw two of his five touchdown passes to freshman tight end Mark Bowman, freshman receiver Trent Mosley caught a touchdown pass and scored on a punt return, and No. 14 Southern California beat Louisiana.
The Trojans (3-0) concluded their cupcake nonconference by amassing 494 yards, with Maiava completing 19 of 29 passes for 261 yards with an interception.
Lunch Winfield threw for 212 yards and rushed for 91 yards with three total touchdowns, Steven Blanco added a scoring run, but the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1) couldn’t take advantage of early opportunities to hang around.
NO. 15 BYU 28, ARIZONA 17
PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Bear Bachmeier threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns to rally No. 15 BYU to a victory over Arizona.
Bachmeier also ran for a touchdown to help the Cougars (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) earn their first conference victory of the season. LJ Martin led BYU on the ground with 98 yards on 20 carries. The Cougars improved to 6-0 against Arizona under coach Kalani Sitake.
Noah Fifita threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and ran for another to lead the Wildcats. NO. 16 PENN ST. 27, TEMPLE 9
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Rocco Becht threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns, with two of those scores to tight end Benjamin Brahmer, to help Penn State beat Temple.
The Nittany Lions (2-0) survived a first half loaded with failed shots at the end zone and a missed field goal that kept the score close and stirred memories of one of the program’s great losses against an unranked team when former Temple coach Matt Rhule led the Owls to the upset victory in 2105 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Rhule was back Saturday -- well, at least on the big screen at halftime as part of a videotaped message to Temple’s 2016 American Conference title team. There was just no repeat result for Temple in this series matchup 11 years later.
Penn State -- playing in front of a crowd of 61,714 fans mostly dressed in white -- needed a half in first-year coach Matt Campbell’s second game to get some offensive rhythm against the Owls (1-1).
Penn State partially blocked Carl Hardin’s 52-yard field goal early in the third quarter and then scored on Becht’s 16-yard TD pass to Chase Sowell for the 17-3 lead.
Ryan Barker added a 39-yard field goal later in the third quarter for a 20-3 lead as the Nittany Lions started to show why they were a 24-point betting favorite entering the game. Becht connected on a 23-yard TD pass to Brahmer in the fourth that made it 27-3 with 7:48 left.
NO. 17 SMU 56, UC DAVIS 10
DALLAS (AP) -- Kevin Jennings threw for 337 yards and a career-high five touchdowns while playing just the first half, and No. 17 SMU rolled to a victory over lower-division UC Davis in Texas.
The teams agreed to play two 12-minute quarters after halftime with SMU leading 42-0. The temperature for the midafternoon kickoff was 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) with a heat index of 107.
NO. 18 TENNESSEE 45, GEORGIA TECH 24
ATLANTA (AP) -- DeSean Bishop rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns and freshman Faizon Brandon threw for two scores, leading No. 18 Tennessee to a victory over Georgia Tech.
Brandon went 10 of 21 for 148 yards, and his 20-yard TD pass to Braydon Staley gave Tennessee (2-0) a 24-10 lead late in the second quarter.
The Volunteers took the lead for good earlier in the quarter when Dejuan Lane picked off Alberto Mendoza and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown.
Mendoza, the younger brother of last season’s Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, threw for 221 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
NO. 19 WASHINGTON 18, UTAH ST. 14
SEATTLE (AP) -- Freshman Ansu Sanoe capped his first career drive with No. 19 Washington’s lone touchdown and the Huskies overcame another slow start to beat Utah State.
Sanoe dove into the end zone from a yard out with 6:44 remaining in the second quarter to punctuate an eight-play, 65-yard drive and give the Huskies (2-0) a 10-7 lead. Those would be the game’s last points until Tyler Robles made a 26-yard field goal with 12:54 to go in the fourth to stretch the lead to six points.
Grady Brosterhous, a transfer from Virginia, made his first career start for Utah State (0-2) and finished with 196 yards through the air and 81 on the ground.
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was 26 of 41 for 249 yards and also ran for 56 yards.
NO. 20 UTAH 43, ARKANSAS 10
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Devon Dampier threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, Wayshawn Parker added three scores and No. 20 Utah overpowered Arkansas.
Parker rushed for two touchdowns and caught a pass for a third score in the first half to give Utah (2-0) a 29-3 lead at halftime. It was the seventh time in last eight games where the Utes scored at least 20 points before halftime.
The Razorbacks (1-1) capped their first drive with Max Gilbert’s 29-yard field goal to take a brief lead but never advanced past Utah’s 30 again until the fourth quarter.
Dampier was 18 for 24 for 261 yards and Noah Bennee had four catches for a career-best 113 yards in the Utes’ second home game against an SEC team. Utah beat Florida 24-11 in 2023.
Dampier eclipsed 6,000 yards passing for his career, including his two years at New Mexico.
NO. 21 IOWA 16, IOWA ST. 13
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Caden Buhr made a 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to give No. 21 Iowa a victory over Iowa State.
The game ended with a timing question after the Cyclones got the ball to their own 49 after Jaylen Raynor threw a 24-yard pass to Carter Pabst. It appeared time had run out after Pabst had been tackled, but a replay review showed there was one second left. Iowa State, though, was out of timeouts, and by rule there would not have been enough time to get off a snap once the ball was set.
Iowa (2-0) started its winning drive on its own 45, moving 31 yards on nine plays. After Xavier Williams was stopped for no gain on third-and-1 at the 24, Buhr came in and, despite a high snap, hit the winner.
It was the third field goal of the game for Buhr, a second-year player who hit one from 32 yards to tie it with 6:22 to play.
NO. 22 HOUSTON 77, SOUTHERN U. 6
HOUSTON (AP) -- Conner Weigman threw for 120 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to his backup, and No. 22 Houston routed Southern in a game played briefly without stadium lights due to a power outage.
The teams wrapped up the blowout by agreeing to an 8-minute fourth quarter.
The Cougars (2-0) piled up 388 rushing yards from 10 different ballcarriers. Weigman was 9-of-12 passing in 1 1/2 quarters before being relieved by Keisean Henderson, who added two more touchdown passes.
OHIO 29, JAX STATE 27 (4OT)
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Freshman and third-string quarterback Levi Davis ran for a 2-point conversion in the third overtime to give Ohio a 29-27 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday night.
Neither team scored in the first overtime and both kicked field goals in the second. After Davis ran in the conversion, Jacksonville State’s Cade Creel hit Darius Cannon with a pass but DJ James-Hamilton made the tackle just shy of the goal line. James-Hamilton also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Davis entered the game with 1:49 left in regulation when second-stringer Matt Vezza was knocked out of the game after scrambling to the Gamecocks’ 3-yard line and the Bobcats (1-1) trailing 24-17. Davis scrambled just short of the goal line on his first collegiate play from scrimmage and Victor Rosa went over from there to tie the game.
Jacksonville State (1-2) drove down the field but Garrison Rippa’s 38-yard attempt was wide right at the end of regulation.
Vezza, a New Hampshire transfer, came in for Nick Poulos with Ohio trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter after a hard hit on Poulos that was ruled as targeting. Vezza threw one touchdown pass and directed the Bobcats until having to give way to Davis.
Creel threw for 265 yards and a score and ran for 120 more yards that included an 8-yard TD run in the first quarter.
The win was coach John Hauser’s first since having the interim tag removed after leading Ohio to a victory over UNLV in last year’s Frisco Bowl. The Bobcats have won 14 straight games at home, the second-longest active streak in FBS behind Indiana’s 15.
MARSHALL 28, MTSU 26
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw caught a 69-yard touchdown pass and recovered a teammate’s fumble for the go-ahead touchdown as Marshall rallied past Middle Tennessee 28-26 on Saturday.
Marshall trailed 20-14 entering the fourth quarter before Zion Turner had the ball punched out near the goal line and Turner-Bradshaw recovered it for a touchdown with 12:06 remaining.
TJ Lester added a 2-yard touchdown run with 4:18 left to extend Marshall’s lead to 28-20.
Middle Tennessee pulled within two on Roman Gagliano’s 15-yard touchdown pass to AJ Jones with 50 seconds remaining, but the ensuing two-point conversion failed.
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson completed 7 of 8 passes for 92 yards and opened the scoring with the 69-yard touchdown to Turner-Bradshaw. He also scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter.
Turner-Bradshaw finished with two catches for 79 yards.
Gagliano threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 58 yards. Cam’ron Lacy caught nine passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Middle Tennessee kicker Dominic Bourgeois made a career-long 52-yard field goal in the second quarter, tied for the fifth-longest in school history.