College football: No. 16 TCU tops No. 6 Oklahoma State; No. 4 Penn State avoids upset at Iowa
Darius Anderson ran for a career-high 160 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 16 TCU upset No. 6 Oklahoma State 44-31 on Saturday to stamp the Horned Frogs as a Big 12 contender.
Kenny Hill passed for 228 yards for the Horned Frogs (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), who put themselves in a great position to start league play. The Frogs ran 52 times for 238 yards.
TCU gave Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph plenty of time to throw, but he often couldn’t find enough open receivers. He completed 22 of 41 passes for 398 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions.
James Washington caught six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown and Marcell Ateman caught six passes for 100 yards for the Cowboys (3-1, 0-1).
The Horned Frogs led 37-17 in the fourth quarter before the Cowboys rallied and cut the deficit to six points. Anderson’s 42-yard touchdown run with 2:37 remaining closed the deal.
No. 4 Penn State 21, Iowa 19: Juwan Johnson caught a seven-yard TD pass as time expired and the Nittany Lions avoided an upset by stunning the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Saquon Barkley had 211 yards rushing and 94 yards receiving for the Nittany Lions (4-0, 1-0), who outgained Iowa 579-273 but nearly blew a game that could’ve been crippling to their postseason hopes.
Akrum Wadley had a 70-yard TD reception midway through the fourth quarter and a 35-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left to put the Hawkeyes (3-1, 0-1) ahead 19-15.
Penn State went 80 yards on 12 plays to close out the game, and Trace McSorley found Johnson in a crowded end zone on fourth down.
North Carolina State 27, at No. 12 Florida State 21: Ryan Finley threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns and the Wolfpack got their first road win over a ranked team since 2008.
Jaylen Samuels had two touchdowns as the Wolfpack broke a 10-game losing streak to ranked teams. Their last win over a Top 25 team coincidentally was against Florida State in 2012. Their last victory on the road over a ranked team was at North Carolina.
Finley, who completed 22 of 32 passes, had a 71-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to give the Wolfpack (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 17-7 lead. Nyheim Hines rushed for 94 yards in 24 carries.
The Seminoles, who had a 21-day layoff due to Hurricane Irma, have dropped their first two games to open a season for the first time in 28 years. It also marks the first time since 2011 that FSU has dropped back-to-back games.
James Blackman was 22 of 38 for 278 yards in his first start. Blackman, the first true freshman to start for FSU since 1985, moved into the starting spot after Deondre Francois suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Sept. 2 loss to Alabama.
Auden Tate had nine receptions for 138 yards, including a four-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that drew the Seminoles within 10-7.
No. 1 Alabama 59, at Vanderbilt 0: Damien Harris ran for a career-high 151 yards and three touchdowns, Bo Scarbrough added two TDs and the Crimson Tide cruised to the win in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Alabama (4-0) now has won 19 straight over the SEC East. Better yet, the Crimson Tide hasn’t lost to Vanderbilt since 1984 or in Nashville since 1969. Both streaks were assured at the end of the first quarter with Alabama up 21-0 after the second of Harris’ TDs.
Vanderbilt (3-1) came in as one of the five remaining undefeated teams in the SEC with the nation’s stingiest defense in points, total yards and against the pass. The Commodores had allowed just 13 points combined through three games, yet they proved no match against Alabama’s dominating ground game.
at No. 2 Clemson 34, Boston College 7: Adam Choice had a six-yard tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter and Travis Etienne had two scoring runs in the final six minutes for the Tigers, who are coming off top-15 wins over Auburn and Louisville the last two weeks and were five-touchdown favorites over the Eagles (1-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
But Boston College quieted the large Death Valley crowd on AJ Dillon’s one-yard TD late in the third quarter to tie the game at 7-all. Clemson finally got going in the fourth quarter. The Tigers (4-0, 2-0) won their seventh straight over the Eagles and opened 4-0 for a third consecutive season.
No. 3 Oklahoma 49, at Baylor 41: Baker Mayfield threw three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score the next snap after his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Sooners avoided the upset to stretch the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games.
Abdul Adams had a 99-yard touchdown for the Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), his school-record run coming after a botched kickoff return. Baylor (0-4, 0-1) led 31-28 after Connor Martin’s 46-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Adams finished with 11 carries for 164 yards. Mayfield completed 13 of 19 passes for 283 yards, including TDs on his first two drives, as the Sooners piled up 634 total yards.
Zach Smith threw for 463 yards with four TDs, and Mims had 11 catches for 192 yards for Baylor. Trey Sermon ran 13 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns, the freshman getting all of that in the fourth quarter.
No. 8 Michigan 28, at Purdue 10: Chris Evans ran for two touchdowns in the second half and backup quarterback John O’Korn rallied the Wolverines. Evans finished with 14 carries for 97 yards for Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten).
O’Korn was forced into action when starting quarterback Wilson Speight left late in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury, and the former Houston starter came up every bit as big as the Wolverines’ defense in the second half.
He finished 18 of 26 for 270 yards with one touchdown and one interception after throwing only one pass in Michigan’s first three games. There was no immediate update on Speight’s injury.
Purdue (2-2, 0-1) rewarded its first home sellout crowd in almost nine years by jumping to a 10-7 halftime lead. But the Boilermakers managed only 10 yards of offense and one first down in the second half.
at No. 10 Ohio State 54, UNLV 21: J.T. Barrett threw touchdown passes to five different receivers in the first half, and the Buckeyes cruised to the nonconference win.
Barrett, who has taken the brunt of the criticism for Ohio State’s inconsistent passing game this season, was barely slowed by an outgunned UNLV defense, completing 12 of 17 passes for 209 yards before handing the game over to backup Dwayne Haskins near the end of the first half.
The big half for Barrett moved him into second place behind Art Schlichter for all-time passing yards at Ohio State. The Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) rolled, but the opponent was no real test in the last tuneup game before Ohio State begins its conference schedule.
The Rebels fall to 1-2 on the season.
at No. 11 Georgia 31, No. 17 Mississippi State 3: Freshman Jake Fromm threw a pair of touchdown passes in another poised showing on the big stage, the defense stifled Nick Fitzgerald and the Bulldogs roke out plenty of trickery during their rout of the Bulldogs.
After the defense forced a three and out from Mississippi State on the opening possession — a sign of things to come — Fromm handed off to Nick Chubb for what looked to be a routine run up the middle. Instead, Chubb wheeled around and tossed the ball back to the quarterback on a flea flicker. Terry Godwin broke into the clear downfield, the Mississippi State secondary having totally bought the ruse. Fromm delivered the pass in stride for a 59-yard touchdown less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game .
It was pretty much all Georgia (4-0, 1-0) from there. Fromm threw for 201 yards on just 9-of-12 passing. Chubb rushed for 81 yards and a pair of TDs, leading a parade of Georgia runners who pounded Mississippi State (3-1, 1-1).
at No. 13 Virginia Tech 38, Old Dominion 0: Josh Jackson threw for three touchdowns and Steven Peoples scored three to lead the Hokies to the shutout win.
Peoples scored on receptions of 17 and 43 yards, the latter when Jackson threw for a well-covered Cam Phillips in the end zone and the ball was tipped into Peoples’ arms. Peoples also scored on a 1-yard run, and Jackson hit C.J. Carroll with a five-yard scoring pass for the Hokies (4-0). Virginia Tech started slowly for the second consecutive game, but has scored 95 consecutive points since it last allowed any.
The Monarchs (2-2), playing an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent for the second week in a row, fell to 0-9 against Power Five schools.
at No. 14 Miami 52, Toledo 30: Malik Rosier threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns while Mark Walton needed only 11 carries to rush for a career-best 204 yards and another score for the Hurricanes.
Travis Homer ran for two touchdowns and Braxton Berrios, Dayall Harris and Christopher Herndon each caught TD throws for the Hurricanes (2-0), who hadn’t played in 21 days because of the effects of Hurricane Irma. Miami gave up 16 unanswered points and trailed 16-10 at the half, before controlling the final 30 minutes.
Walton missed about half the game with what appeared to be a left ankle problem, but returned in the latter stages. He now has 28 touchdowns, 26 of them rushing, in 28 collegiate games.
Logan Woodside completed 28 of 48 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns for Toledo (3-1).
No. 15 Auburn 51, Missouri 14: Kerryon Johnson rushed for a career-high five touchdowns as the Tigers ended their recent offensive struggles. Johnson, who had missed the previous two games with a hamstring injury, finished with 48 yards rushing on 18 carries and fell one short of Carnell Williams’ school record of six rushing touchdowns in a game.
Jarrett Stidham added 218 yards passing and a touchdown while completing 13 of 17 passes for Auburn (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference). Auburn’s Carlton Davis also had an interception, one of four Missouri (1-3, 0-2) turnovers in the game.
Drew Lock finished 23-of-39 passing for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Missouri, which allowed its most points since a 63-37 loss to Tennessee last season.
at No. 19 Louisville 42, Kent State 3: Lamar Jackson accounted for three touchdowns to set a Louisville career record during the rout of the Golden Flashes.
Despite missing Jaylen Smith, the team’s top receiver , the reigning Heisman Trophy winner threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-22 passing. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Javonte Bagley in the third quarter ended the scoring and gave him 88 total touchdowns, breaking Chris Redman’s career mark. In all, Jackson, who did not play in the fourth quarter, finished with 333 yards total offense.
He also helped the Cardinals (3-1) quickly move on from last week’s blowout loss to Clemson. On the first play of the game, he connected with tight end Jordan Davis on a 69-yard reception. Four plays later, on fourth and goal, Malik Williams’ three-yard run gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead over the Golden Flashes (1-3) less than two minutes into the game.
No. 20 Florida 28, at Kentucky 27: Freddie Swain caught a five-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Luke Del Rio with 43 seconds left to cap the Gators’ rally from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit. The Gators extended their winning streak over the Wildcats to 31 games, the nation’s longest streak in FBS, and took early control of the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division.
Down 27-14 in the fourth quarter, Florida (2-1, 2-0) got within a touchdown on Brandon Powell’s six-yard TD run with 7:58 left. Del Rio then marched the Gators 58 yards for the winning score to stun a blue-clad sellout crowd of 61,000 hungry to see Kentucky end a generation of frustration against the Gators.
Kentucky’s last chance to win ended when Austin MacGinnis’ 57-yard field goal fell short as time expired. Del Rio, who relieved Feleipe Franks in the second half, completed nine of 14 passes for 74 yards. Kadarius Toney rushed for a 36-yard TD and Tyrie Cleveland caught a 45-yard TD pass from Franks for a 14-all tie at halftime.
No. 22 San Diego State 28, at Air Force 24: Rashaad Penny scored three times, including a 53-yard scamper with 5:39 left, and Aztecs hung on to win a game that was delayed 88 minutes because of lightning.
The nation’s leading rusher struggled early in the soggy conditions, but finally found some running room as the Aztecs (4-0, 1-0 Mountain West) began their quest to capture a third straight conference title. Penny finished with 128 yards rushing, which was 68 below his season average.
Penny’s go-ahead run came moments after Air Force (1-2, 0-1) took the lead when Tim McVey took a pitch, jumped over a San Diego State defender on the ground, landed backward and twirled into the end zone for a 12-yard score. Air Force got the ball back with 2:12 left, but the Trey Lomax intercepted Arion Worthman’s fourth-down pass to help the Aztecs extend their winning streak to seven straight over the Falcons.
at No. 25 LSU 35, Syracuse 26: Danny Etling responded to a barrage of bruising blitzes with touchdown passes of 87 and 43 yards, and No. 25 LSU overcame bouts of inconsistency to beat Syracuse. Darrel Williams rushed for 92 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Backup quarterback Myles Brennan entered the game in the middle of the third quarter with LSU (3-1) leading 21-10. It was unclear if Etling, who was sacked twice and leveled as he released several passes, was in pain. He remained standing on the sideline wearing a headset for three series, returning in the fourth quarter after Brennan threw an interception which helped Syracuse (2-2) pull as close as 28-26 with 5:40 left.
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