COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Julian Sayin threw for four touchdowns, set an Ohio State record for completed passes to start a game and fell one short of the school record for consecutive completions as the top-ranked Buckeyes rolled to a 70-0 victory over Grambling State on Saturday.
Ohio State scored on eight of its first nine possessions and did not punt until midway through the fourth quarter. It was the ninth victory in school history by at least 70 points and sixth via shutout.
Two of those wins have now come against historically Black colleges or universities. The Buckeyes beat Florida A&M 76-0 in 2013.
Sayin completed his first 16 passes and finished 18 of 19 for 306 yards, all in the first half. The sophomore broke Will Howard’s mark of 13 straight completions to start a game.
NO. 2 PENN STATE 34, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 0
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Drew Allar completed 19 of 33 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Penn State beat Florida International.
Devonte Ross and Khalil Dinkins caught touchdown passes, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton ran for scores and Ryan Barker kicked two field goals for the Nittany Lions (2-0), who shook off a sluggish first half and beat their second-straight Group of Five opponent.
Linebacker Tony Rojas made 10 tackles, Alonzo Ford intercepted a pass and Penn State’s defense notched its first shutout since a 56-0 win over Kent State last year.
NO. 3 LSU 23, LOUISIANA TECH 7
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Garrett Nussmeier passed for 237 yards and a touchdown and LSU held Louisiana Tech to 154 total yards in a victory Saturday.
Caden Durham rushed for a 3-yard touchdown for LSU (2-0), which was favored by about five touchdowns but didn’t lead by more than 10 points until late in the third quarter.
LSU’s defense did its part, shutting out the Bulldogs (1-1) until reserve quarterback Blake Baker’s 33-yard scoring pass to Devin Gandy with 4:02 left in the game.
The Tigers outgained Louisiana Tech by 211 yards and LSU held a large advantage in time of possession, 36:52 to 23:08.
Barion Brown caught eight passes for 94 yards for the Tigers, while Aaron Anderson had eight catches for 73 yards.
NO. 4 GEORGIA 28, AUSTIN PEAY 6
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia failed to gain momentum for next week’s Southeastern Conference opener at Tennessee as the fourth-ranked Bulldogs stumbled on offense in a weather-delayed win over Austin Peay.
Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier each ran for two touchdowns. Frazier and wide receiver London Humphreys lost fumbles, but Georgia (2-0) made a fourth-down goal-line stop to set up a 99-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Gunner Stockton, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for two scores in a 45-7 opening win over Marshall, leaned on the Bulldogs’ running game against the Governors (1-1). He threw for 227 yards without a turnover.
Lightning delayed the start of the second half for 1 hour, 46 minutes. The opening kickoff was moved up by an hour due to the ominous forecast.
Georgia backup tight end Ethan Barbour was carted off the field with a lower left leg injury at the end of the first half.
NO. 5 MIAMI 45, BETHUNE-COOKMAN 3
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Carson Beck completed his first 15 passes to break a Miami record, finishing 22 of 24 for 264 yards with two touchdowns as the Hurricanes eased past Bethune-Cookman.
Beck’s 15 consecutive completions broke a Miami single-game mark that stood for nearly four decades; Vinny Testaverde completed 14 in a row against Oklahoma in 1986.
CJ Daniels caught both of Beck’s touchdown passes, from 40 and 5 yards out. Beck has gone 185 consecutive passes without an interception, dating to last season when he was with Georgia.
Mark Fletcher Jr. had two touchdown runs for the Hurricanes (2-0), who reached the end zone on their first five drives and began substituting liberally in the third quarter. Marty Brown and Girard Pringle also had scoring runs for Miami.
NO. 6 OREGON 69, OKLAHOMA STATE 3
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Dante Moore threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, freshman Dakorien Moore ran for a score and caught a touchdown pass, and No. 6 Oregon routed Oklahoma State.
The loss was the biggest loss for the Cowboys (1-1) in Mike Gundy’s 20-year tenure as coach.
Nine players scored for Oregon (2-0), which had 631 yards in total offense. The Ducks had two interception returns for touchdowns in the third quarter.
On Oregon’s second play of the game, Noah Whittington took off for a 59-yard TD run to give the Ducks a 7-0 lead. It was the longest run of his career.
Dakorien Moore caught a deep 65-yard pass from Dante Moore on the Ducks’ second drive. Dierre Hill Jr. added a 19-yard touchdown run before Logan Ward kicked a 23-yard field goal for the Cowboys’ only points.
Dante Moore hit Malik Benson with a 42-yard pass, Dakorien Moore rushed 25 yards for another score, and Jayden Limar added a 5-yard TD run to make it 41-3 at halftime.
NO. 7 TEXAS 38, SAN JOSE STATE 7
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning passed for four touchdowns and ran for another and No. 7 Texas rebounded from a season-opening loss to defeat San Jose State.
Manning was 19 of 30 for 295 yards and one interception in his second game as the starter. He scrambled for a 20-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for Texas (1-1).
Last week he completed 10 of 17 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception during a 14-7 loss at Ohio State.
Wide receiver Parker Livingstone and tight end Jack Endries each had two touchdown receptions in the first half. Manning and Livingstone combined for an 83-yard touchdown, the longest pass play for the Longhorns since 2017. Livingstone finished with four catches for 128 yards.
NO. 8 CLEMSON 27, TROY 16
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Bryant Wesco Jr. caught two second-half touchdown passes from Cade Klubnik, Adam Randall ran for 112 yards and a score, and Clemson survived a scare from Troy, overcoming a 16-point deficit to win .
The Tigers (1-1), 30 1/2-point favorites, trailed 16-0 midway through the second quarter and 16-3 at halftime, but outscored the Trojans (1-1) 24-0 after the break. Randall ran for a 1-yard TD to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive to open the third quarter.
Moments later, safety Ricardo Jones intercepted Goose Crowder, making an acrobatic grab off a pass breakup by teammate Ashton Hampton. On the next play, Klubnik connected with Wesco for a 26-yard touchdown to put Clemson ahead 17-16.
Wesco added a 34-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven receptions for 118 yards, and Klubnik was 18 of 24 for 196 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Clemson, which fell four spots in the AP Top 25 after losing its opener to LSU, could drop again after this unimpressive performance.
NO. 10 SOUTH CAROLINA 38, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 10
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Vicari Swain returned two punts for touchdowns to rescue a struggling offense for South Carolina as they beat South Carolina State.
South Carolina (2-0) scored more from its special teams and defense than its offense as Jaron Willis also returned a fumble for a score and LaNorris Sellers couldn’t get the offense going for a second week.
Lightning delayed the kickoff for more than two hours, and South Carolina looked like it was up past its bedtime, trailing 3-0 before Swain eluded a tackler right on top of him and then ran 64 yards for a touchdown. His second TD was a 42-yard return after he picked up a partially blocked punt just before it stopped rolling.
With his 80-yard punt return TD in last week’s opener against Virginia Tech, Swain is now tied for the season school record for South Carolina. The sophomore defensive back is the first FBS player with two punt returns scores in a game since Penn State’s Daequan Hardy did it against UMass in October 2023.
NO. 11 ILLINOIS 45, DUKE 19
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Luke Altmyer threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns and No. 11 Illinois capitalized on a series of mistakes by Duke to beat the Blue Devils for a road win against a power-conference opponent.
Kaden Feagin, Hank Beatty and Ca’Lil Valentine ran for scores, while Beatty also had a huge receiving day with eight catches for 128 yards for the Fighting Illini (2-0). Illinois led by just one at halftime but asserted itself from there and outscored Duke 31-6 in what turned into a dominating finish.
The key, though was Illinois’ opportunism in pouncing on every Duke mistake when the game was close — and boy, there were plenty.
Duke (1-1) committed five turnovers, notably a muffed punt deep in its own end to set up a short field on Illinois’ first touchdown and Darian Mensah losing a red-zone fumble in the first half.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 24, NO. 12 ARIZONA STATE 20
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Blake Shapen threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Brenen Thompson with 30 seconds left to lift Mississippi State past Arizona State.
The Sun Devils (1-1) scored 20 straight points, taking the lead with 1:38 left on Jesus Gomez’s 18-yard field goal. Shapen and the Bulldogs (2-0) countered with the winning five-play, 77-yard drive.
Mississippi State beat a top 15 nonconference opponent for the first time since 1991, giving Jeff Lebby his first marquee win as head coach.
The Bulldogs outgained the Sun Devils 209-95 in the first half to build a 17-0 lead, with Arizona State cutting it to 17-3 with a late field goal. That momentum carried into the second half as the Sun Devils outgained the Bulldogs 238-59 in the second half until the final possession turned things.
Shapen was 19 of 33 for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Thompson had six catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Evans finished with nine catches and 108 yards and a score.
SOUTH FLORIDA 18, NO. 13 FLORIDA 16
GAINESVILLE, Fla (AP) — Nico Gramatica hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired and South Florida stunned Florida 18-16.
Gramatica missed a 58-yarder with 2:52 remaining but got a chance to redeem himself after Florida defensive lineman Brandon Bett spit at a South Florida player on the Bulls’ next possession. Bett was ejected with a little more than two minutes to play, and the Bulls (2-0) got 15 yards and an automatic first down to spark an 87-yard drive.
It was the latest setback for embattled Florida coach Billy Napier, whose team is 1-1 for the fourth consecutive year.
Recommended for you
The Gators looked as though they would rally after freshman Vernell Brown III returned a punt 40 yards to set up DJ Lagway’s lone touchdown pass. But the Gators flopped down the stretch, an all-too-familiar feeling during Napier’s tenure.
Napier’s play-calling was scrutinized as much as Lagway’s rehabilitated throwing shoulder, and the Gators found themselves trailing 15-9 in the fourth quarter following a defensive breakdown and a safety caused by a poor snap.
NO. 14 FLORIDA STATE 77, EAST TEXAS A&M 3
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Tommy Castellanos passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Duce Robinson, as No. 14 Florida State routed East Texas A&M.
FSU (2-0) scored on 10 straight drives to open the game and finished with its most points in the Mike Norvell era. The Seminoles’ six passing TDs is their most in a game since 2011.
Gavin Sawchuk had three touchdowns, including a 53-yard catch-and-run on fourth down that was his first career receiving TD. The Oklahoma transfer also had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs as the Seminoles piled up 361 rushing yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
Robinson had four catches for 160 yards in the first 15 minutes, the most receiving yards by a Florida State player in a quarter in program history. Robinson finished with five catches for 173 yards and two scores, including an impressive one-handed snag.
Earl Little Jr. and Jerry Wilson each had interceptions in the first half that led to Florida State touchdowns.
NO 18 OKLAHOMA 24, NO. 15 MICHIGAN 13
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — John Mateer ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and Oklahoma defeated Michigan.
Mateer, a transfer from Washington State playing in his first marquee game for the Sooners, passed for 270 yards and ran for 74.
Deion Burks caught seven passes for 101 yards and Jaren Kanak added five catches for 69 yards for the Sooners (2-0), who got a much-needed signature win for coach Brent Venables. Oklahoma held the Wolverines to 288 total yards.
Justice Haynes ran for 125 yards for the Wolverines (1-1). Bryce Underwood, Michigan’s highly touted freshman quarterback, played in a hostile environment for the first time and struggled. He completed 9 of 24 passes for 142 yards.
Mateer’s 2-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left in the first half put the Sooners up 14-0. Haynes broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 14-7, but the Wolverines got no closer.
NO. 16 IOWA STATE 16, IOWA 13
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Kyle Konrardy kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:52 left to give No. 16 Iowa State a win over Iowa, the Cyclones’ second straight victory against their in-state rival and third in four years.
Konrardy kicked a 54-yarder in the final seconds last year to beat the Hawkeyes 20-19.
His winning kick this time came after Rocco Becht led the Cyclones on a grinding 55-yard drive that chewed 6 1/2 minutes off the clock. Tamatoa McDonough sacked Mark Gronowski twice on Iowa’s last possession, with the Hawkeyes (1-1) turning the ball over on downs.
Iowa State (3-0) won the CyHawk Trophy in Ames for the first time since 2011.
BAYLOR 48, NO. 17 SMU 45, 2OT
DALLAS (AP) — Baylor freshman Connor Hawkins kicked a 27-yard field goal in the second overtime after Sawyer Robertson threw two of his four touchdowns in the final 5 1/2 minutes of regulation as the Bears rallied to beat 17th-ranked SMU.
Robertson was 34-of-50 passing with 440 yards for the Bears (1-1), who have won 14 meetings in a row against their former Southwest Conference rival since 1986. Bryson Washington ran for 115 yards and two scores, including a 2-yard TD in the first overtime.
Collin Rogers was well short on a 57-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation, then was wide right on a 38-yard try when SMU (1-1) had the ball first in the second overtime period.
Kevin Jennings threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns, with two 75-yard scores and then a 25-yarder to Romello Brinson on the Mustangs’ first play in overtime. Brinson had one of the 75-yarders on the first play of the game, and Jennings hit freshman Jalen Cooper in stride for the other long score when he got open behind the secondary late in the second quarter.
NO. 19 TEXAS A&M 44, UTAH STATE 22
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Marcel Reed threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score before leaving late in the third quarter with an injury to lead No. 19 Texas A&M (2-0) to a victory over Utah State (1-1).
Reed threw for 220 yards with TD passes of 34, 12 and eight yards before leaving with about four minutes left in the third quarter after taking an awkward fall and getting hit by a defender. He walked off the field after being checked out and spent time in the medical tent before jogging to the locker room.
There was no immediate update on his condition.
Texas A&M (2-0) led by 1 late in the first quarter before scoring 23 straight points to take a 30-6 lead into halftime.
Reed had a 1-yard scoring run and a 12-yard TD pass in that span to help Texas A&M pull away.
Texas A&M’s defense dominated in that stretch, led by defensive end Cashius Howell, who sacked Bryson Barnes on three consecutive plays to single-handedly force a punt in the second quarter. It’s the first time a player has had sacks on three straight plays since Jack Cichy did it for Wisconsin against Southern California in the 2015 Holiday Bowl, according to research by the Texas A&M communications staff.
Barnes had 169 yards passing with two touchdowns for Utah State (1-1) but was sacked six times and hit six more.
NO. 20 MISSISSIPPI 30, KENTUCKY 23
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kewan Lacy ran for 138 yards and a touchdown to help No. 20 Mississippi beat Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Rebels (2-0) avenged a 20-17 loss to the Wildcats last year in Oxford and have won four of the past five games against Kentucky.
Lacy and quarterback Austin Simmons accounted for 376 of 457 total yards of offense for Ole Miss. Simmons threw for 235 yards and overcame a pair of interceptions that resulted in an early 10-0 deficit.
Harrison Wallace III caught four passes for 117 yards for the Rebels, who had four explosive plays that went for 20 or more yards. Wallace hauled in a 55-yard strike from Simmons in the second quarter that led to Ole Miss’ first score.
Seth McGowan rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns for Kentucky (1-1). Zach Calzada threw for 149 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter after taking an apparent hit to the shoulder.
NO. 21 ALABAMA 73, LOUISIANA-MONROE 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Ty Simpson completed a school-record 17 consecutive passes, with three of them going for touchdowns, and Alabama rebounded from a season-opening loss with a drubbing of Louisiana-Monroe.
The Crimson Tide scored on each of their 11 possessions, with 10 touchdowns and a field goal, and held Louisiana-Monroe to 148 total yards. Alabama (1-1), coming off a stunning 31-17 loss at Florida State, finished with seven TD passes despite playing without star wideout Ryan Williams (concussion protocol).
Backup quarterbacks Austin Mack and Keelon Russell also shined in Alabama’s home opener, with each of them throwing two TD passes.
Simpson was 17 of 17 passing for 226 yards.
NO. 22 TENNESSEE 72, EAST TENNESSEE STATE 1
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joey Aguilar threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns — all in the first half — to lead No. 22 Tennessee to a romp over East Tennessee State.
The Volunteers (2-0), who tuned up for the Southeastern Conference showdown with No. 4 Georgia next week, got help from Star Thomas with 69 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Tennessee had 427 yards of total offense in the first half and led the overmatched Buccaneers (1-1) 48-7 at the break.
NO. 23 INDIANA 56, KENNESAW STATE 9
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza threw for four touchdowns to lead No. 23 Indiana (2-0) to a rout of Kennesaw State (0-2).
Mendoza, a transfer from University of California, completed 18 of 25 passes for 245 yards. He threw scoring passes of 3, 9 and 20 yards to Elijah Sarratt and an 8-yard strike to E.J. Williams early in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers held the Owls to two field goals in the first half and led 21-6 at the break. Kennesaw State’s Daniel Kinney finished with field goals of 28, 29 and 50 yards.
Indiana scored on a 1-yard run by Riley Nowakowski and an 11-yard run by Lee Beebe Jr. in the first half to go with the first of Sarratt’s TD catches. Beebe finished with a team-best 90 rushing yards on 11 carries.
NO. 24 TEXAS TECH 62, KENT STATE 14
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Behren Morton threw for three touchdowns, big defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard returned an interception 55 yards for a score and No. 24 Texas Tech (2-0) blew out another overmatched opponent, beating Kent State (1-1).
Cameron Dickey had two rushing TDs and Reggie Virgil added two receiving scores as the Red Raiders (2-0) led 48-0 at halftime, one point better than the margin at the break a week ago in a 67-7 victory over FCS member Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Morton started Saturday after leaving the victory over Pine Bluff in the second quarter with what coach Joey McGuire described as a hyperextended knee. Morton, who had been listed as questionable, was 18 of 26 for 258 yards while playing only the first half.
Dru DeShields threw for a touchdown and ran for a score in the fourth quarter for the Golden Flashes (1-1), who ended a 21-game losing streak with a 21-17 victory over Merrimack in their opener.
NO. 25 UTAH 63, CAL POLY 9
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devon Dampier tied a career-best with three touchdown passes to lead Utah to a win over FCS foe Cal Poly.
Dampier’s toss to Wayshawn Parker capped Utah’s first drive with a 52-yard reception. He then found Ryan Davis 4-yard TD catch in the second quarter. Dampier, who was 17-for-23 and 192 yards, added an 11-yard scoring strike to Dallen Bentley in the third quarter before taking a seat.
NaQuari Rogers added two 1-yard TDs in the last 1:44 of the second quarter for a 35-6 lead at halftime.
The Mustangs (1-1) had two field goals from Noah Serna and one from Giancula Dimauro.
Utah (2-0) moved to 17-1 in their last 18 home openers under Coach Kyle Whittingham as plenty of reserves got playing time, including QB Byrd Ficklin who scored twice.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.