Top 25 roundup: No. 11 Texas surges past No. 3 Alabama

 

[September 11, 2023]  No. 11 Texas said an early hello to the Southeastern Conference by scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to stun No. 3 Alabama 34-24 on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

One year after losing to Alabama by one point at home, and one year before becoming a member of the SEC, Texas (2-0) snapped Alabama's 21-game home winning streak. Quinn Ewers led Texas with 24-for-38 passing for 349 yards and three touchdowns, two to Adonai Mitchell.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian joined Jimbo Fisher and Kirby Smart as the only former Nick Saban assistants to beat the Alabama coach. Alabama (1-1) lost a regular-season nonconference game for the first time since 2007. Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe completed 14 of 27 passes for 255 yards with two interceptions.

Alabama committed 10 penalties for 90 yards, two of them nullifying would-be touchdown receptions by Jermaine Burton.

No. 1 Georgia 45, Ball State 3

Carson Beck passed for 283 yards and two touchdowns and the Bulldogs rolled over the Cardinals in Athens, Ga.

Roderick Robinson II, Dillon Bell and Kendall Milton each scored a rushing touchdown. A dozen players caught at least one pass for Georgia. Mekhi Mews put the Bulldogs (2-0) on the board with a 69-yard punt return early in the second quarter, the first score of a 31-point barrage in the period.

Georgia limited Ball State to 224 total yards. Ball State quarterback Kadin Semonza was picked off three times in the first half. Layne Hatcher passed for 82 yards for the Cardinals (0-2).

No. 2 Michigan 35, UNLV 7

Blake Corum rushed for three touchdowns and J.J. McCarthy tossed two touchdown passes as the Wolverines shredded the Rebels in a nonconference game at Ann Arbor, Mich.

McCarthy's scoring passes went to Roman Wilson, who has caught five in two games. McCarthy completed 22 of 25 passes for 278 yards while recording the second-highest completion percentage (88.0) in school history.

Corum rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries before exiting. Wilson had 89 yards on four receptions for the Wolverines (2-0). Doug Brumfield completed 10 of 19 passes for 100 yards for the Rebels (1-1). Jordan Younge-Humphrey scored on a 20-yard run for UNLV, which had just 61 rushing yards on 31 attempts.

No. 4 Florida State 66, Southern Miss 13

Trey Benson ran for three touchdowns and Jordan Travis passed for two as the Seminoles (2-0) followed their impressive Week 1 rout of LSU with a nonconference blowout of the Golden Eagles (1-1) in Tallahassee, Fla.

Backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker also tossed two scoring strikes for the Seminoles, who established a 31-3 halftime lead and never looked back. Florida State rolled up 554 total yards and punted only twice.

Travis connected on 15 of 29 passes for 175 yards, all in the first half. Benson finished with 79 yards on just nine carries as the Seminoles spread the wealth. They used nine rushers and completed passes to 11 receivers.

No. 5 Ohio State 35, Youngstown State 7

Kyle McCord threw for 258 yards and three first-half touchdowns, two of them to Marvin Harrison Jr., as the Buckeyes downed the Penguins at Columbus, Ohio.

McCord was 14-of-20 passing, including 253 yards in the first half. The output came a week after going 20 of 33 for 239 yards with an interception and no TDs against Indiana.

Harrison had a career-long 71-yard catch to make it 7-0 less than three minutes into the game, and his 39-yard TD catch put the Buckeyes ahead 14-7 late in the first quarter. TreVeyon Henderson added two rushing scores for Ohio State.

No. 6 Southern California 56, Stanford 10

Caleb Williams passed for 281 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for a score in one half of action to help the Trojans trounce the Cardinal in Los Angeles.

MarShawn Lloyd, Austin Jones and Miller Moss rushed for touchdowns, and Dorian Singer, Brenden Rice and Lake McRee had scoring receptions for the Trojans (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12). Zachariah Branch returned a punt 75 yards for another USC touchdown.

Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, completed 19 of 21 passes before calling it a night with the Trojans leading 49-3 at the half. Stanford's Ashton Daniels sustained an apparent injury to his throwing arm when USC's Solomon Byrd fiercely hit the arm while sacking him in the opening minute of the second quarter. Daniels, who was 2 of 7 for 19 yards and one interception, didn't return.

No. 7 Penn State 63, Delaware 7

Nicholas Singleton rushed for three touchdowns and Kaytron Allen added 103 rushing yards and a score to help the Nittany Lions roll past the FCS Fightin' Blue Hens at University Park, Pa.

Drew Allar completed 22 of 26 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown and also rushed for a score for Penn State (2-0). Tyler Warren caught a touchdown pass for Penn State, which racked up 33 first downs and totaled 541 yards. Marcus Yarns rushed for 86 yards on six carries, including a 66-yard scoring run for Delaware (1-1).

The Blue Hens, ranked No. 19 in the FCS Coaches Poll, had just 140 yards and five first downs. Ryan O'Connor was just 3-of-10 passing for 21 yards for Delaware. Zach Marker completed 3 of 7 passes for 37 yards and one interception. Penn State ran 91 plays to Delaware's 41.

No. 8 Washington 43, Tulsa 10

Michael Penix Jr. completed 28 of 38 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns as the Huskies defeated the Golden Hurricane in a nonconference game in Seattle.

Wide receivers Ja'Lynn Polk and Rome Odunze rushed for touchdowns for the Huskies (2-0). Jalen McMillan made eight receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown, and Odunze had seven catches for 107 yards and another score as the Huskies amassed 563 yards of total offense.

Tulsa redshirt freshman quarterback Cardell Williams, making his first start because Braylon Braxton was nursing an ankle injury, didn't make it through the first half. He was 6-of-14 passing for 65 yards and an interception before being replaced by Roman Fuller. Jordan Ford, Bill Jackson and Anthony Watkins all gained more than 50 yards on the ground as the Golden Hurricane (1-1) rushed 40 times for 168 yards.

No. 9 Tennessee 30, Austin Peay 13

Joe Milton III threw for two touchdowns and rushed for one more as the Volunteers pulled away for a win over the Governors in Knoxville, Tenn.

Milton completed 21 of 33 passes for 228 yards for Tennessee (2-0). Ramel Keyton and McCallan Castles each had one touchdown reception.

Mike DiLiello completed 29 of 39 passes for 260 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Austin Peay (0-2). Trey Goodman led the Governors' receivers with three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.

No. 10 Notre Dame 45, NC State 24

Sam Hartman threw four touchdowns in a return to his home state as the Fighting Irish defeated the Wolfpack behind a big fourth quarter at Raleigh, N.C.

Audric Estime ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns as the Irish (3-0) found ways to move the ball in the air and on the ground. Hartman, who is in his first season with the Irish, completed 15 of 24 passes for 286 yards. Two of the TD passes went to Holden Staes as the Irish scored the first 21 points of the fourth quarter.

Wolfpack quarterback Brennan Armstrong was intercepted three times while going 22-for-47 for 260 yards and two touchdowns as NC State fell to 1-1.

No. 12 Utah 20, Baylor 13

Jaylon Glover ran 11 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds remaining to lift the Utes over the host Bears in Waco, Texas.

Ja'Quinden Jackson ran for 129 yards on 19 carries for Utah (2-0), while the Utes' two quarterbacks, Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes, passed for a combined 153 yards.

Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson finished with 218 yards passing and two interceptions. Baylor (0-2) made a spirited attempt to tie the game late, but Robertson's pass into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.

No. 13 Oregon 38, Texas Tech 30

Camden Lewis made a 34-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining, linebacker Jeffrey Bassa added a pick-six with 35 seconds to go, and the Ducks escaped Lubbock, Texas, with a victory over the Red Raiders.

Oregon (2-0) trailed 27-18 entering the fourth quarter before outscoring the Red Raiders 20-3 in the final session. Bassa capped the scoring with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown to erase Texas Tech's comeback hopes.

Tyler Shough passed for three touchdowns and rushed for one more for Texas Tech (0-2). The Red Raiders were at Oregon 33-yard line with eight seconds left, but Shough's final heave was intercepted.

Shough finished 24 of 40 for 282 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed 23 times for 101 yards and a score. Oregon's Bo Nix completed 32 of 44 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns.

No. 14 LSU 72, Grambling State 10

Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes in the first half and the LSU Tigers bounced back from a season-opening loss to rout the Grambling State Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.

Daniels completed 18 of 24 passes for 269 yards to lead LSU (1-1) to a 42-10 halftime lead against FCS Grambling (0-2). Brian Thomas Jr. caught two of Daniels' touchdown passes and Chris Hilton Jr., Malik Nabers and Kyren Lacy each caught one. Logan Diggs rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Myles Crawley completed 14 of 25 passes for 148 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and Chance Williams rushed for 106 yards on seven carries for the visitors.

No. 15 Kansas State 42, Troy 13

Will Howard threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as the Wildcats routed Troy in Manhattan, Kan. Howard finished 21-for-32 passing for 250 yards and one interception.

The defense showed up for the Wildcats (2-0), holding Troy to just 286 yards of total offense, one week after the Trojans amassed 540 yards and 48 points.

Gunnar Watson completed 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the Trojans (1-1).

No. 16 Oregon State 55, UC Davis 7

DJ Uiagalelei threw two first-half touchdown passes and ran for another score to spur the Beavers to a victory over the Aggies in Corvallis, Ore.

Uiagalelei, making his home debut after transferring from Clemson, completed 8 of 13 passes for 107 yards as the Beavers built a 38-0 halftime lead, allowing him to remain on the sidelines as freshman Aidan Chiles continued the rout. Damien Martinez contributed 104 rushing yards on seven carries, scoring on a 64-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage for Oregon State (2-0).

UC Davis running back Lan Larison rushed for 58 yards on 15 carries. He also completed his only pass attempt out of the Wildcat formation for 12 yards. Miles Hastings was limited to 51 passing yards for the Aggies (1-1), completing 12 of 22 attempts with an interception.

No. 17 North Carolina 40, Appalachian State 34 (2 OTs)

Quarterback Drake Maye ran 13 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime and the Tar Heels' defense made it stand up against the Mountaineers (1-1) in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Omarion Hampton's third touchdown run in the first overtime helped North Carolina (2-0) extend the game. He ended up with 234 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Maye threw for 208 yards on 21-for-30 passing.

No. 18 Oklahoma 28, SMU 11

Tawee Walker ran for a career-high 117 yards to lift the Sooners over the Mustangs in Norman, Okla.

Walker, a junior walk-on who was a surprise co-No. 1 running back to start the season, hadn't run for more than 44 yards in a game entering Saturday. Walker also had three catches for 25 yards. He had just one career reception before Saturday's game.

Dillon Gabriel threw for 176 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-27 passing for the Sooners (2-0). Preston Stone was 26-of-45 passing for 250 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Mustangs (1-1).

Washington State 31, No. 19 Wisconsin 22

Cameron Ward threw two touchdown passes and directed a late scoring drive as the Cougars won the nonconference game in Pullman, Wash., upsetting a ranked Badgers team for the second straight season.

Wisconsin (1-1), which trailed 24-9 at the half, was within 24-22 with the ball on the Cougars' 49-yard line with 9:45 remaining, but running back Chez Mellusi fumbled on the second play.

Ward then directed a 10-play, 57-yard march, capped by Nakia Watson's 1-yard plunge to put the Cougars (2-0) up 31-22 with 5:30 remaining. Ward completed 20 of 32 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, and added a team-high 43 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

No. 20 Ole Miss 37, No. 24 Tulane 20

Jaxson Dart threw two touchdown passes, Quinshon Judkins rushed for a touchdown and the Rebels held off the Green Wave in the nonconference matchup in New Orleans.

Dart completed 17 of 27 passes for 267 yards and helped Ole Miss (2-0) come back from a 17-7 second-quarter deficit.

Tulane (1-1) played without starting quarterback Michael Pratt, who sustained a knee injury a week earlier. Third-year sophomore Kai Horton made his second career start in Pratt's place and completed 15 of 37 passes for 231 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

No. 21 Duke 42, Lafayette 7

Jordan Waters ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns as the Blue Devils beat the visiting Leopards at Durham, N.C.

Riley Leonard completed all 12 of his pass attempts for 136 yards and a touchdown in less than three quarters as the Blue Devils (2-0) followed Monday night's conquest of visiting Clemson with a drilling of an FCS foe. Duke, playing as a nationally ranked team for the first time since 2018, cranked out 515 yards of total offense.

Dean DeNobile completed 9 of 17 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for Lafayette (1-1). The Leopards, who opened the season by winning at Sacred Heart, were held to 213 yards of total offense and DeNobile was intercepted twice.

No. 22 Colorado 36, Nebraska 14

Shedeur Sanders passed for 393 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for another score and the Buffaloes doubled last season's victory total with a nonconference victory over the Cornhuskers in Boulder, Colo.

Tar'Varish Dawson scored two touchdowns (one receiving, one rushing) and Jace Feely kicked three field goals for the Buffaloes (2-0), who were a woeful 1-11 last season before new coach Deion Sanders dramatically overhauled the roster. Xavier Weaver caught 10 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown for Colorado.

Jeff Sims rushed for a touchdown and completed 9 of 15 passes for 106 yards for Nebraska (0-2). But he also was intercepted once and lost three fumbles to hinder the offense for the second straight game. Sims threw three interceptions in the Cornhuskers' season-opening 13-10 loss to Minnesota on Aug. 31.

Miami 48, No. 23 Texas A&M 33

Tyler Van Dyke fired a career-high five touchdown passes -- three of them to Jacolby George -- leading the host Hurricanes over the Aggies (1-1).

Miami All-American safety Kamren Kinchens, who had one interception and a fumble recovery, was carted off the field on a stretcher with 1:58 left in the game after a big hit and airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Van Dyke completed 21 of 30 passes for 374 yards and no interceptions to lead Miami (2-0).

No. 25 Clemson 66, Charleston Southern 17

Cade Klubnik threw for four touchdowns and the Tigers survived a nervous first half to defeat the visiting Buccaneers.

Five days after a 28-7 upset loss at Duke, Clemson (1-1) trailed 14-7 late in the first quarter due to mistakes on offense. The Tigers outscored the Buccaneers 42-0 after halftime.

Beaux Collins caught seven passes for 137 yards and a touchdown and Antonio Williams had five for 64 yards and two scores for Clemson. Tony Bartalo went 6-for-14 for 61 yards and an interception for Charleston Southern (1-1).

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.