Late touchdown saves Nebraska in 31-24 win over McNeese State

Ameer Abdullah’s jaw-dropping 58-yard touchdown after a short pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. broke a tie with 20 seconds left and allowed No. 19 Nebraska to beat FCS school McNeese State, 31-24, on Saturday at Lincoln, Neb.

McNeese State erased a 10-point deficit to tie Nebraska (2-0) at 24-all with 4:21 to play. The Huskers’ winning possession started with 1:14 to play, and they were facing third-and-6 when Abdullah made the play of his career.

After catching a pass short of the first-down marker, he first made McNeese State’s Bo Brown miss. Then he rammed into a pack of three Cowboys’ defenders, bounced off Aaron Sam and then zoomed past Brent Spikes on his way to the end zone.

Armstrong passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 131 yards and a TD.

Daniel Sams ran for 74 yards for McNeese State (0-1), and Tyler Bolfing passed for 101.

No. 1 Florida State 37, The Citadel 12

Quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns as the top-ranked Seminoles cakewalked to a win over their FCS opponent.

The 18th consecutive win set a FSU school record.

Winston completed 22 of 27 passes and the offense scored touchdowns on all four first-half drives and field goals on his two third-quarter drives. The Heisman winner sat down with a 34-0 lead.

The Citadel quarterback Aaron Miller completed 3-of-11 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown and ran for 61 yards. The Bulldogs (0-2) had eight rushers carry in their triple-option offense as the ground game accounted for 250 of the team’s 322 offensive yards. The Seminoles (2-0) host Clemson on Sept. 20, the same day Citadel travels to Charleston Southern.

No. 2 Alabama 41, Florida Atlantic 0

Blake Sims had 214 passing yards and Jake Coker threw for 202 to lead Alabama to victory in a game shortened by lightning in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Both quarterbacks got a chance to stake a claim to the starting job for the Crimson Tide (2-0) in a one-sided game. Both schools agreed to end the game with 7:53 left.

Sims passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in his second straight start and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. He was 11-of-13 passing.

Coker went 15 of 24 with a touchdown in his first significant action but the Florida State transfer missed some open receivers downfield.

Amari Cooker had 189 receiving yards and tied DJ Hall’s 8-year-old school record with 13 catches. The Tide outgained the Owls, 620 yard to 145.

No. 4 Oklahoma 52, Tulsa 7

Sterling Shepard had a career-high 177 yards receiving to help Oklahoma coast to victory at Norman, Okla.

Trevor Knight passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. Alex Ross ran for 90 yards and a touchdown, Keith Ford ran for 87 yards and two scores and Blake Bell, a converted quarterback who now plays tight end, caught his first career touchdown pass for the Sooners (2-0).

It was Oklahoma’s sixth straight win overall and eighth in a row in the series against Tulsa. It came with a cost — star cornerback Zack Sanchez left the game in the second quarter after injuring his right shoulder and did not return. Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans passed for 204 yards and Keevan Lucas caught 10 passes for 84 yards for the Golden Hurricane (1-1).

No. 5 Auburn 59, San Jose State 13

Cameron Artis-Payne ran for three touchdowns, all in the first half, and the Tigers used a dominant ground game to beat the Spartans at Auburn, Ala.

Auburn (2-0) had six touchdowns and 358 yards on the ground, including 112 from Artis-Payne. Quarterback Nick Marshall, making his first start of the season, ran for 103 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown on his final drive late in the third quarter.

Artis-Payne, a senior, had his first career game with more than one touchdown for the Tigers.

Blake Jurich threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Ervin in the opening quarter but had two first-half interceptions for San Jose State (1-1).

Quan Bray scored on a 55- yard punt return as Auburn led 38-10 at halftime.

No. 12 Louisiana State 56, Sam Houston State 0

Anthony Jennings threw three scoring passes to Travin Dural, running back Leornard Fournette scored his first touchdown, and the Tiger secured an overwhelming victory at Baton Rouge, La.

All three of Dural’s catches went for touchdowns, including a 94-yarder on the first offensive play LSU (2-0) ran. Fournette carried 13 times for 92 yards, highlighted by a 40-yard run. The highly hyped freshman struck a Heisman Trophy-like pose after his 4-yard touchdown reception, drawing a stern lecture from coach Les Miles.

LSU freshman quarterback Brandon Harris ran for a 46-yard score and threw his first touchdown pass to fellow freshman Malachi Dupre.

Jared Johnson completed only 8 of 25 passes for 142 yards for Sam Houston (1-2), which plays in the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision. Johnson threw two interceptions twice, the second picked off by Rickey Jefferson at the LSU 2.

No. 15 Mississippi 41, Vanderbilt 3

Bo Wallace threw for 320 yards and a touchdown to lead the Rebels to the rout in Nashville, Tenn., in the SEC opener for both teams.

The Rebels (2-0) have beaten Vanderbilt in Nashville in consecutive seasons after the Commodores had won five of the previous six. The Rebels won in dominating fashion.

Ole Miss scored on seven of its first eight possessions with the shortest drive covering 67 yards. Jaylen Walton started the scoring with a 20-yard TD, and I’Tavius Mathers and DeVante Kincade also ran for TDs.

Wallace put the Rebels up 20-0 with a 20-yard TD pass to Cody Core, and he was sacked as the first half ended with Ole Miss threatening to score again. The Commodores (0-2) still are searching for first-year coach Derek Mason’s inaugural win, but at least got their first offensive points with a field goal.

No. 18 Wisconsin 37, Western Illinois 3

Tanner McEvoy overcame a slow start to throw for three touchdowns and run for another, and Wisconsin pulled away to win its home opener.

Melvin Gordon ran for just 38 yards on 17 carries with the Fighting Leathernecks (1-1) consistently stacking the box against one of the country’s best rushers. McEvoy shook off a couple bad throws early to finish 23 of 28 for 283 yards with one interception.

Leading just 9-3 at halftime, the Badgers (1-1) opened things by throwing on first down and using more play-action.

McEvoy hit fullback Austin Ramesh on fourth-and-2 for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 9:18 left in the third quarter before connecting with Gordon on an 8-yard scoring pass three minutes later for a 20-point lead.

No. 20 Kansas State 32, Iowa State 28

Jake Waters ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 1:30 left as Kansas State rallied to victory in Ames, Iowa.

Waters threw for 239 yards and ran for a career-high 138 yards for the Wildcats (2-0, 1-0 Big 12). They trailed by as much as 28-13 late in the first half before Waters rescued them on a game-winning drive.

Waters followed a key 23-yard completion to Tyler Lockett with a 25-yard run with just under two minutes left. Waters then capped an 80-yard drive that took just 1:31 with his second touchdown run of the day.

Jarvis West caught and threw touchdown passes and ran a punt back for a third TD for Iowa State (0-2, 0-1), which was held scoreless in the second half.

No. 21 South Carolina 33, East Carolina 23

Mike Davis ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns as the Gamecocks bounced back from an embarrassing opening-week loss to Texas A&M to hold off the Pirates in Columbia, S.C.

The Gamecocks (1-1) trailed 13-7 early on with the Pirates (1-1) threatening to put another Aggie-style beating on them. But behind Davis’ grinding runs and the defense’s improving play, South Carolina found its footing in its first win of the season.

The victory was Steve Spurrier’s 200th as a Southeastern Conference coach at Florida and with the Gamecocks. Only Paul “Bear” Bryant with 292 and Vince Dooley with 201 have more than the head ball coach. Spurrier can tie Dooley next week against his old team when the Gamecocks host No. 6 Georgia at Williams-Brice Stadium.

No. 23 Clemson 73, South Carolina State 7

Cole Stoudt completed 22 of his 31 passes for 302 yards as the Tigers scored their highest point total in 33 years.

The Tigers (1-1) gained 735 yards against the outmatched FCS Bulldogs (1-1), who were held to 44 yards, at Clemson, S.C.

The 73 points were the most scored by the Tigers since an 82-24 win over Wake Forest in 1981 and it was their biggest margin since beating Presbyterian 67-0 in 1957. The Tigers are now 29-0 against FCS teams.

Clemson scored on six of its first seven possessions and 11 players caught passes before halftime.

No. 24 Missouri 49, Toledo 24

Maty Mauk threw for 325 yards and five touchdowns, and Missouri gave coach Gary Pinkel a win against his former program in a game at Toledo, Ohio.

Mauk also ran for a touchdown, and the Tigers (2-0) never trailed in what was expected to be a tricky road game against one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference. Missouri led 35-7 in the third quarter, and the Rockets (1-1) could get no closer than 14 points in the second half.

Pinkel coached Toledo from 1991-2000 before taking over at Missouri. He is the winningest coach at both schools.

Toledo’s Kareem Hunt ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns, but Rockets quarterback Phillip Ely went down with what looked like a right leg injury late in the third quarter.

No. 25 Louisville 66, Murray State 21

Backup quarterback Reggie Bonnafon ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and the Cardinals scored on nine straight possessions in a rout at Louisville, Ky.

After an opening-game test by Miami on Monday night, Louisville (2-0) cruised past its downstate opponent. The Cardinals followed a first-possession punt with the offensive outburst first-year coach Bobby Petrino envisioned, and the list of contributors was long.

Besides Bonnafon’s two TDs, three other Louisville backs rushed for scores. Three receivers caught TD passes from the true freshman and sophomore starter Will Gardner, who threw two in just over a quarter of action. The Cardinals had 357 yards at halftime, 21 more than they totaled against Miami as they outgained the FCS-level Racers (1-1), 603-292.

Bonnafon ran for touchdowns of 8 and 16 yards and threw a 27-yard TD pass to Michaelee Harris.

Army 47, Buffalo 39

Larry Dixon ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns, Raymond Maples scored on a 4-yard run and had two receptions for 69 yards to lead the Black Knights on a sweltering day at West Point, N.Y., to start the Jeff Monken era on a positive note.

Monken, who served as an assistant coach to Paul Johnson at Navy and Georgia Tech, was hired last December after a four-year stint as head coach at FCS power Georgia Southern.

Army (1-0) overcame a lost fumble on the game’s second play from scrimmage and too many careless penalties to snap a five-game losing streak.

Some timely runs against a stacked Buffalo line, a conservative-but-flawless passing game that surprised the Bulls (1-1) more than once, and a defense that stiffened when it had to and forced a critical turnover helped stake Army to an 18-point halftime lead that was too much to overcome.

Navy 31, Temple 24

Keenan Reynolds ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns and the Midshipmen held on for the win in Philadelphia.

Reynolds only completed 4 of 8 passes for 30 yards while leading a triple-option rushing attack to 487 yards rushing and helping Navy (1-1) rebound from a tough loss in its season opener.

The Midshipmen had a 14-13 lead over then-No. 5 Ohio State in the third quarter before losing 34-17 last Saturday. P.J. Walker had 240 yards passing and two TDs for Temple (1-1). The Owls were coming off an impressive 37-7 upset over Vanderbilt last week.