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Ohio survives after missed field goal

KENT, Ohio (AP) -- Matt Vezza had a touchdown run, Will Hryszko made two field goals and Ohio won its Mid-American Conference opener with a 13-10 victory over Kent State on Saturday.

Hryszko connected on a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter, and Vezza scored from 35 yards late in the second as Ohio (3-2, 1-0) took a 10-3 lead into the break.

Mason King’s 1-yard touchdown run capped Kent State’s eight-play, 51-yard drive that tied it 10-all. Hryszko’s 44-yard field goal ended the scoring with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.

Dru DeShields led the Golden Flashes on a 10-play, 46-yard drive to the Ohio 15, but Sean Leonard missed a 32-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the game.

Vezza and Levi Davis combined for 8-of-14 passing for 72 yards, and 11 carries for 67 yards rushing for Ohio. Duncan Brune added 86 yards rushing on 18 carries for the Bobcats.

DeShields completed 20 of 35 passes for 217 yards but threw two interceptions for Kent State (2-3, 1-1).

JAMES MADISON 45, MARSHALL 17

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) -- Camden Coleman threw three touchdown passes, and George Pettaway rushed for two scores and a career-high 206 yards to lead unbeaten James Madison to a 45-17 victory over Marshall on Saturday in the Thundering Herd’s Sun Belt Conference opener.

Coleman completed 21 of 32 passes for 263 yards for James Madison (5-0, 2-0), which fell behind for the first time this season before scoring 28 straight in the final 12 minutes of the second quarter.

Pettaway scored on runs of 73 and 33 yards between a pair of touchdown passes from Coleman as the Dukes turned a four-point deficit into a 38-14 halftime lead.

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson had a 3-yard scoring toss to Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw on Marshall’s first possession for a 7-0 lead.

Coleman connected with Corey Scott for a 53-yard touchdown to tie it after Michael Scott’s 45-yard kickoff return set the Dukes up at their own 45-yard line.

TJ Lester’s 1-yard scoring run gave Marshall a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter, but Coleman and Corey Scott teamed up for a 12-yard touchdown and the Dukes never trailed again. Corey Scott finished with five receptions for 104 yards.

Pettaway followed with his long touchdown runs, and Coleman hit Noah Grevious for a 20-yard score and a big lead at halftime after scoring on six straight possessions.

Nick Herman had a 3-yard touchdown run in the final minute for the Dukes.

Del Rio-Wilson totaled 221 yards on 21-for-37 passing for Marshall (3-2). He and backup Zion Turner both had a pass picked off by DJ Kelly.

Marshall junior linebacker Chason Clark was injured near the end of the third quarter and taken off the field on a stretcher.

NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 37, UNC 26

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- CJ Carr threw for four touchdowns and ran for another and third-ranked Notre Dame regained control after halftime to beat North Carolina 37-26 on Saturday.

The Fighting Irish (5-0) led 21-14 after the Tar Heels (2-2) turned a goal-line stand into a long touchdown drive right before halftime, then came out of the break with Jaden Jefferson sprinting through the rain for a 98-yard kickoff return for another score.

That’s when Carr and the Irish offense went to work with a series of methodical and physical drives, carrying the ball right into the heart of the defensive front and consistently moving the chains. Notre Dame responded to Jefferson’s big play with a 17-play, 75-yard drive lasting more than nine minutes by the time Carr got around the right side for a fourth-down TD keeper.

Then, after forcing a three-and-out, Notre Dame went to work again in pummeling fashion. Nolan James Jr. did most of the work on the ground, then caught Carr’s short pass in the left flat and juked a would-be tackler off his feet to go in for a 6-yard TD and a 34-20 lead to open the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame finished with a season-best 241 yards rushing, with freshman Jonaz Walton posting a team-high 120 yards and James adding 65 more. The Irish’s ground output included 122 yards in the third quarter alone in stymieing UNC’s momentum.

Carr threw for 234 yards, with Jordan Faison making eight catches for 132 yards and two scores.

NO. 2 GEORGIA 38, VANDERBILT 14

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Gunner Stockton threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns as Georgia cruised to win over Vanderbilt.

Georgia scored an opening drive touchdown for the fourth time this season as Stockton found Landon Roldan for a two-yard TD.

A Vanderbilt team led by backup quarterback Blaze Berlowitz showed some fight, answering back two drives later as Berlowitz found Junior Sherrill for a 60-yard touchdown and tied the game 7-all. It was the first first-quarter score for a Georgia opponent all season. The Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0 SEC) had outscored opponents 63-0 in the first quarter through the first four games.

Georgia pulled ahead with back-to-back rushing scores by Chauncey Bowens and Jaden Redell before halftime. The Bulldogs took advantage of good field positioning on the latter after blocking a Vanderbilt field goal attempt midway through the second quarter.

NO. 4 MIAMI 41, CLEMSON 13

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Darian Mensah threw for 227 yards and a touchdown and had a 34-yard scoring run as Miami routed Clemson to seize sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns and Cooper Barkate added five catches for 98 yards -- including a 66-yard TD reception -- for the Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0 ACC), who started 5-0 for the second straight season.

Freshman Tait Reynolds completed 29 of 44 passes for a career-high 295 yards with one interception for Clemson (4-2, 2-1), which came in as a 17 1/2-point home underdog, the largest spread in the Dabo Swinney era.

It was the fourth-worst loss for the Tigers under Swinney.

NO. 6 INDIANA 47, RUTGERS 15

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Turbo Richard ran for 204 yards and a touchdown and Josh Hoover passed for 251 yards and four touchdowns to extend Indiana’s win streak to 21 games in a win over Rutgers.

The defending national champions last loss occurred in the first week of the 2025 season.

It is the longest win streak since Washington won 21 straight from 2022-24. Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) amassed a season-high 593 total yards.

Richard returned to the starting lineup after leaving the Northwestern game last week in the second quarter with an ankle injury. He showed no ill effects as he was barely touched running for over 200 yards for the first time in his career.

Lee Beebe Jr. ran for 122 yards and a TD for the Hoosiers, who have scored at least 45 points in three games.

Wide receiver Nick Marsh caught seven passes for 120 yards and a TD and Charlie Becker caught eight passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns. They became the first Indiana duo to amass at least 100 yards since Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt in 2024.

NO. 7 ALABAMA 56, NO. 16 MISSISSIPPI ST. 23

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Keelon Russell passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns to go with another TD rushing, and Alabama routed Mississippi State in a matchup of previously unbeaten teams.

Trae’shawn Brown ran for two touchdowns, Rico Scott caught two scoring passes and Dijon Lee Jr. returned an interception 30 yards for a score during a game that saw Alabama (5-0, 3-0 SEC) reinforce its credentials as contenders.

Alabama outgained Mississippi State (4-1, 2-1) 179-18 in yards rushing in its 17th straight victory in the series -- the last seven by 23 or more points.

The game featured two of college football’s most dynamic quarterbacks this season, but the mobility of the Bulldogs’ Kamario Taylor appeared limited by an ankle injury last week and he struggled Saturday. His early fumble and two interceptions set up Alabama touchdown drives.

Taylor was sacked five times and pulled from the game with the Bulldogs down by 26 early in the fourth quarter.

Leading Bulldogs receiver Anthony Evans III had 12 catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns, one of his team’s few bright spots.

NO. 25 MISSOURI 45, NO. 8 FLORIDA 17

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and three more scores, and Missouri trounced Florida to snap a nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

Cayden Lee had eight catches for 110 yards, and Donovan Olugbode and Caleb Goodie Jr. had TD receptions as the Tigers piled up 560 yards of offense and gave coach Eli Drinkwitz his first regular-season win over a top-10 team in 11 tries with them.

Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC) bounced back from its late collapse at Mississippi State by shutting down one of the nation’s top offenses.

Gators quarterback Aaron Philo threw for 197 yards and a touchdown, but much of that happened as they played from behind. Jadan Baugh, who had been receiving some early Heisman Trophy hype after running for 11 touchdowns over his first four games, carried 12 times for only 13 yards, often struggling to even make it back to the line of scrimmage.

The Gators (4-1, 2-1), who routed No. 4 Mississippi last week, had been averaging 532.8 yards of total offense. They had 325 on Saturday, resulting in the second-most lopsided SEC loss in school history; they lost 63-14 to Auburn in 1970.

NO. 10 BYU 17, TCU 10

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier ran for two touchdowns, including a clinching 21-yarder with 2:06 left and the Cougars survived without injured running back LJ Martin for a victory over TCU.

Martin had two carries for 16 yards in the first quarter, but that was it because of an apparent lower leg injury. The AP Big 12 offensive player of the year last season was averaging 109.3 yards rushing while the Cougars were scoring 44 points a game.

Both teams had trouble moving the ball, with 72 of the 216 total yards by BYU (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) coming of the late drive. Bachmeier bounced off one of his teammates at the line, then ran through several TCU defenders inside the 10 to make it 17-7.

TCU (2-3, 0-2) got a 44-yard field goal from Nate McCashland with 32 seconds left, but was then unable to recover an onside kick.

NO. 11 LSU 63, MCNEESE ST. 14

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Sam Leavitt threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns and LSU beat McNeese State.

Harlem Berry ran for 125 yards and a touch down and Stacy Gage added 110 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, as the Tigers rolled to 731 yards of total offense against their Football Championship Subdivision foe -- the second-most in one game in school history and the most since 2023. The 102 offensive plays run by LSU is a school record.

The defense got things started for LSU (4-1) when Tamarcus Cooley intercepted Jake Strong on McNeese State’s first possession. Nine plays later, Dilin Jones scored from a yard out to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

Three consecutive three-and-outs by the Tigers defense helped LSU put the game out of reach early in the second quarter. Leavitt had a 1-yard touchdown pass to Roman Mothershed and a 6-yard touchdown pass to Corey Barber Jr. sandwiched around a 3-yard touchdown run by Landen Clark to make it 28-0.

Barber finished the game with six catches for 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Leavitt completed 18 of 23 passes.

NO. 12 TEXAS TECH 29, COLORADO 7

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- Linebacker John Curry picked off a pass in the end zone for an easy touchdown, one of four interceptions for Texas Tech in a win over mistake-prone Colorado.

A 13 1/2-point road favorite, the Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) outscored the Buffaloes 29-0 after allowing a touchdown on the opening drive. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Red Raiders improved to 5-0 for a second straight year.

The Buffaloes (2-3, 0-2) had one scoring drive -- their first, with new starter Isaac Wilson leading the way -- and then it was one miscue, turnover or penalty after another.

Colorado missed two missed field goals, had an unsuccessful fake punt, saw receiver Joseph Williams throw an interception on a botched trick play and had Wilson throw three more interceptions. His last one was in the fourth quarter by Curry, who read the short pass and plucked it out of the air for the score.

Coach Deion Sanders tried to ignite his offense by starting Wilson over Julian “JuJu” Lewis. It worked early with Wilson leading the team down the field and connecting with Williams on an 8-yard TD.

It was all downhill from there. Texas Tech cashed the turnovers into 19 points. Brice Pollock had two interceptions.

NO. 17 TENNESSEE 24, AUBURN 14

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- DeSean Bishop rushed for a career-high 220 yards and three touchdowns to lead Tennessee to a 24-14 victory over Auburn.

Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 in Southeastern Conference) overcame a sluggish start with the help of George MacIntyre replacing Faizon Brandon at quarterback late in the second quarter. The Volunteers trailed 7-3 at intermission. MacIntyre completed his first six pass attempts for 80 yards and finish 8 of 10 for 86 yards.

Auburn (3-2, 1-2) was led by quarterback Byrum Brown with 159 passing yards and a touchdown as well as 107 rushing yards and a touchdown. Brown was intercepted twice and had a fumble.

Adding to their struggles, the Tigers were flagged 11 times for 94 yards.

NO 18. SOUTHERN CAL 25, WASHINGTON 21

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jahkeem Stewart returned a fumble 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, and Southern California overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half for a victory over Washington.

Jayden Maiava passed for 245 yards and hit Tanook Hines for a second-half score while the Trojans (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) surged back with the game’s final 15 points for their first victory over the Huskies (3-2, 0-2) since 2016.

Demond Williams Jr. passed for 198 yards and led Washington on a late drive from its 5 to the USC 12, converting two fourth downs and a third-and-11 along the way. But after Kameryn Crawford sacked Williams on third down, Williams’ pass into double coverage in the end zone fell incomplete with 39 seconds left.

The win eases some of the pressure on coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans, who improved sharply on defense after last week’s dispiriting home loss to Oregon.

NO. 20 HOUSTON 27, UCF 17

HOUSTON (AP) -- Conner Weigman threw for 239 yards and rushed for three second-half touchdowns, and Houston rallied to beat Central Florida.

Weigman rushed for 50 yards, Re’Shaun Sanford II ran for 62 yards and Patrick Overmyer caught six passes for 76 yards for Houston (4-1, 1-1 Big 12).

Trailing 17-0, Weigman had a 19-yard touchdown run with 3½ minutes left in the third.

On the next UCF drive, Latreveon McCutchin intercepted Keyone Jenkins and returned it 17 yards to the UCF 2. Two plays later, Weigman rushed it in from a yard out to cut the lead to three.

After the Knights went three-and-out, Weigman capped an 11-play, 62-yard drive with a 1-yard score with 10:15 remaining to give the Cougars a 21-17 lead. Jonathan Dimas made two field goals to push the margin to 10.

NO. 21 SMU 25, BOSTON COLLEGE 16

DALLAS (AP) -- Kevin Jennings threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score and SMU beat Boston College in a soggy defensive struggle.

Jennings, the FBS passing leader at 357 yards per game coming in, had only 160 while going 20 of 30. His passing yardage was his lowest since the week Jennings took over as the starter early in the 2024 season.

Marques White had three of SMU’s five sacks, including one that forced a fumble by Mason McKenzie and was returned 34 yards by Aakil Washington to the Eagles’ 13-yard line. It set up Jennings’ 14-yard scoring pass to Randy Pittman Jr.

Jennings’ other TD toss also came on a short drive when SMU (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) returned a punt to the BC 41. After a roughing the passer penalty on third down, Jennings threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Derrick McFall. Kendrick Raphael had a 2-yard TD run.

The Eagles (2-3, 0-2) had a chance to get within two points early in the fourth quarter, but Cameron Kossmann dropped a pass when he was wide open and probably would have scored easily on fourth-and-inches from the SMU 8.

NO. 22 BOISE ST. 37, UTAH ST. 18

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Maddux Madsen was 17-of-21 passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns, Dylan Riley added two rushing touchdowns and Boise State beat Utah State in the inaugural game as a member of the Pac-12 Conference for both teams.

Boise State (4-1) has won four in a row since a 34-27 loss to then-No. 2 Oregon in the season opener and made its season debut in the AP Top 25.

The Broncos have won 11 straight against Utah State and 12 in a row at home against the Aggies. Boise State leads the series 26-5, including 23-2 in conference play (previously in the Big West Conference, Western Athletic Conference and the Mountain West Conference).

NO. 24 KENTUCKY 35, SOUTH CAROLINA 34, OT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Kenny Minchey threw a 6-yard TD pass to Henry Boyer and a 2-point conversion to Willie Rodriguez as Kentucky rallied from 17-0 down to beat South in overtime.

The Wildcats (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) needed to fight back several times. Minchey’s 32-yard scoring pass to Nic Anderson late in the third quarter gave them their first lead, 24-20. And after South Carolina retook the lead in the fourth quarter on LaNorris Sellers’ 15-yard TD pass to DJ Black, Minchey led a 66-yard drive that ended with Adam Zouagui’s 29-yard tying field goal with 4:13 to play.

Sellers again retook the lead in overtime on a 5-yard throw to Maurice Brown II in the end zone. But after Minchey’s pass to Boyer, Kentucky didn’t hesitate and connected on the winning conversion pass to Rodriguez open in the back of the end zone.

Kentucky’s players exploded in celebration, spilling onto the field after a second major road win for first-year coach Will Stein, who’s team defeated then-ninth-ranked Texas A&M 31-21 at College Station two weeks ago.

Minchey, the Notre Dame transfer, threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns.