STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford still had every answer for Matt Barkley and Southern California.
STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford still had every answer for Matt Barkley and Southern California.
Josh Nunes threw a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz, Stepfan Taylor ran for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns, and No. 21 Stanford upset second-ranked USC 21-14 for its fourth straight win in this series.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Matt Barkley threw for 254 yards and two interceptions while completing only 20 of 41 passes.
He was sacked twice on the final drive for the Trojans (2-1, 0-1 Pac-12) and threw out of bounds on a final, desperate heave on fourth-and-39 from USC’s 25-yard line.
Coming out of a two-year bowl ban, USC had national title hopes. Now the Trojans will have to climb out of a hole to get there.
A sold-out crowd at Stanford Stadium rushed the field, tossing streamers and jumping in a wild celebration at midfield with Stanford coach David Shaw and players caught in the middle of the mess.
No. 1 ALABAMA 52,
ARKANSAS 0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Eddie Lacy ran for three touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide forced five turnovers to win its 21st straight SEC opener.
Vinnie Sunseri and Haha Clinton-Dix had interceptions against the Razorbacks, who played without quarterback Tyler Wilson because he had a head injury in last week’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
The shutout was the second straight for the Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference). The last time Alabama, which has forced 12 turnovers this season, had back-to-back shutouts was against Vanderbilt and Kentucky in 1980.
AJ McCarron was 11-of-16 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Arkansas (1-2, 0-1) had just 44 yards of total offense at halftime and 137 for the game. The Razorbacks were held scoreless in Razorback Stadium for the first time since a 7-0 loss to Baylor in 1966.
No. 3 LSU 63,
IDAHO 14
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tigers safety Ronald Martin and defensive end Lavar Edwards each snagged deflected passes and returned them for scores.
The victory gave LSU (3-0) an NCAA FBS record 40th-straight non-conference regular season victory. LSU also set a Tiger Stadium mark with 20 straight home wins, while extending its nation-long regular-season winning streak to 16 games.
Kansas State had 39 straight non-conference regular-season wins from 1993-2003.
LSU intercepted Idaho’s Dominique Blackman four times. Martin, a sophomore making his first start with Craig Loston getting the night off, had two, both off deflections by cornerback Jalen Collins. Both also resulted in touchdowns.
No. 4 OREGON 63,
TENNESSEE TECH 14
EUGENE, Ore. — Marcus Mariota threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns before Oregon pulled its starters.
Multitalented De’Anthony Thomas had 222 all-purpose yards on 10 touches. He ran for a 59-yard touchdown and caught a 16-yard scoring pass from Mariota.
The Ducks (3-0) had 652 yards in total offense, compared to 177 yards for Tennessee Tech.
The Golden Eagles (2-1) have never defeated an FBS-level team in 28 tries.
No. 5 FLORIDA STATE 52,
WAKE FOREST 0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Chris Thompson scored on runs of 74 and 80 yards on consecutive carries in the first half to lead the Seminoles.
Thompson, who suffered a broken back at Wake Forest a year ago that nearly ended his career, already had a career-high 197 yards following his 80-yard touchdown run that put the Seminoles into a 28-0 lead with 9:42 remaining in the first half.
His 74-yard touchdown followed a 60-yard punt return TD by Rashad Greene as the Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 38-0 at the half.
Florida State’s defense, which has allowed just three points this season and plays Clemson at home next week, held Wake Forest (2-1, 1-1 ACC) to 126 yards. Tanner Price managed only 82 passing yards.
NO. 7 GEORGIA 56,
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 20
ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray passed for a career-best 342 yards and two touchdowns, and scored twice on short runs as Georgia bounced back from another slow start.
Playing without Jarvis Jones and two other defensive stalwarts, Georgia (3-0) struggled in the first half to slow a Florida Atlantic team that scored a single touchdown against lower-division Wagner. The 44-point underdog Owls (1-2) kept converting third downs and found themselves tied at 14 early in the second quarter.
But the Bulldogs simply had too many weapons, piling up a school-record 713 yards. Murray hooked up with Michael Bennett on a 67-yard touchdown and went to Arthur Lynch for a 36-yard TD. The junior quarterback scored himself on a pair of 1-yard sneaks.
No. 8 South Carolina 49,
UAB 6
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Shaw went 8-of-14 for 107 yards before reinjuring his throwing shoulder for the Gamecocks.
Shaw left the game after taking a brutal hit late in the first half. Team officials said the junior aggravated the bruised right shoulder that kept him out of last week’s game.
Sophomore Dylan Thompson took over again, throwing a 95-yard touchdown pass to Damiere Byrd that put South Carolina (3-0) up 35-6 midway through the third quarter.
Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier picked up his 200th college coaching win, joining Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, Texas’ Mack Brown and Nevada’s Chris Ault as the only active Division I coaches to reach that mark.
UAB (0-2) gained 267 yards.
No. 9 WEST VIRGINIA 42,
JAMES MADISON 12
LANDOVER, Md. — Geno Smith completed 34 of 39 passes for 411 yards and five touchdowns for West Virginia.
Smith set the school’s career passing yardage record, topping Marc Bulger.
Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin both had 100 yards receiving before halftime for the Mountaineers, who improved to 2-0 and are 13-0 against FCS schools.
Bailey finished with 173 yards on 13 catches and three touchdowns. Austin had 113 yards on 11 receptions and one score. The Dukes upset then-No. 13 Virginia Tech two years ago, but they never challenged the Mountaineers. They fell to 2-1.
The Mountaineers hosted the game at the Washington Redskins stadium to help maintain an East Coast profile now that they’ve moved to the Big 12.
No. 20 NOTRE DAME 20,
No. 10 MICHIGAN STATE 3
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Everett Golson made plays with his arms and legs, and an inspired Manti Teo helped Notre Dame’s defense smother Michigan State.
The Fighting Irish are off to their best start in 10 years, with the type of marquee victory that’s eluded them for almost as long.
Golson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in the first half to help the 20th-ranked Fighting Irish dominate the 10th-ranked Spartans.
The Fighting Irish (3-0) snapped a six-game losing streak against ranked teams and beat a top-10 opponent for the first time in seven years.
Teo had 12 tackles, one for a loss, and broke up two passes, playing just a few days after the deaths of his girlfriend, who had a long battle with leukemia, and his grandmother.
No. 11 CLEMSON 41,
FURMAN 7
CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for 310 yards and three touchdown passes, Sammy Watkins had a 58-yard touchdown run in his season debut, and Clemson won its 30th straight over Furman.
Watkins scored in the first quarter after taking an inside handoff from Boyd and rushing past the right side of Furman’s defense. The All-American sophomore receiver spent the past two games on the sideline, suspended for a May drug arrest. He finished with four catches for 52 yards.
Boyd’s three scoring throws gave him 43 for his career, second at Clemson (3-0) and just six behind the record held by Charlie Whitehurst.
Furman of the Football Championship Subdivision opened 0-3 for the first time since 1979.
No. 12 OHIO STATE 35,
CALIFORNIA 28
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Braxton Miller lofted a 72-yard touchdown pass to an all-alone Devin Smith with 3:26 left, and Christian Bryant snuffed out California’s last chance with an interception for the Buckeyes.
The Golden Bears (1-2) missed three field goals and had a touchdown called back by a penalty, while the Buckeyes (3-0) gave up 512 yards and were outplayed for much of the second half.
Maynard completed 26 of 37 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown. Brendan Bigelow had touchdown runs of 81 and 59 yards for Cal.
PITTSBURGH 35,
No. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 17
PITTSBURGH — Ray Graham ran for 94 yards and two scores and added an 18-yard touchdown reception to lead Pitt to its first victory of the season.
Tino Sunseri passed for 283 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman running back Rushel Shell added 157 yards as Pitt (1-2) gave coach Paul Chryst his first career victory in emphatic fashion.
Virginia Tech (2-1) had won 13 straight true road games, the longest active streak in the country but let Pitt race to a quick three-touchdown lead and never really threatened.
Logan Thomas completed just 14 of 31 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown against three interceptions.
No. 15 Kansas State 35,
North Texas 21
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Collin Klein threw for 230 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, Tyler Lockett returned a kickoff 96 yards for another score and No. 15 Kansas State eased past pesky North Texas 35-21.
Tramaine Thompson caught five passes for 102 yards and two scores, and John Hubert added a touchdown on the ground for Kansas State (3-0), which struggled to put away the Mean Green (1-2).
North Texas scratched and clawed its way within 14-13 late in the third quarter before Klein and Thompson hooked up for their second touchdown.
No. 16 TCU 20,
KANSAS 6
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Casey Pachall threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns, both to Brandon Carter, and TCU won its Big 12 debut.
Carter finished with eight catches for 141 yards, and Waymon James added 99 yards rushing for the Horned Frogs (2-0, 1-0).
Dayne Crist led the Jayhawks (1-2, 0-1) with 303 yards passing, but he also threw an interception, fumbled as he was heading into the end zone in the fourth quarter, and missed several third-down throws that prevented Kansas from capitalizing on TCU turnovers.
No. 17 MICHIGAN 63,
UMASS 13
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Denard Robinson put up 397 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns for Michigan.
Robinson, who came out of the game with Michigan (2-1) leading 56-13 late in the third quarter, rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown, and completed 16 of 24 passes for 291 yards and three scores.
Fitzgerald Toussaint, who missed Michigan’s opener because of suspension and then carried for just 7 yards against Air Force, had 85 yards and a touchdown against the Minutemen.
Former Wolverine Michael Cox, now a grad student at UMass, led the Minutemen (0-3) with 76 yards rushing.
No. 18 FLORIDA 37,
No. 23 TENNESSEE 20
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jeff Driskel threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Trey Burton rushed for two more scores as Florida scored the final 24 points to beat the Vols for the eighth straight time.
Mike Gillislee ran for 115 yards to lead a 336-yard rushing effort for the Gators (3-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who have outrushed Tennessee in each game of the streak.
Burton added 91 rushing yards on only three carries, and Driskel ran for 81 yards on eight attempts.
Tyler Bray went 22 of 44 for 257 yards and threw touchdown passes to Cordarrelle Patterson and Mychal Rivera for Tennessee (2-1, 0-1). Bray also threw his first two interceptions of the season.
No. 19 LOUISVILLE 39,
NORTH CAROLINA 34
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Teddy Bridgewater threw three first-half touchdowns, and No. 19 Louisville scored on its first six possessions before thwarting a North Carolina comeback with a late defensive stand.
Bryn Renner settled down from a rough first half to rally the Tar Heels (1-2) from a 36-7 deficit with four second-half touchdowns, including a screen pass to Romar Morris for a 50-yard touchdown with 1:45 remaining.
North Carolina’s Norkeithus Otis then forced Adrian Bushell to fumble the ensuing kickoff, and the Tar Heels recovered at the Cardinals 10. But after moving to the 3, North Carolina was penalized for a false start and Renner’s final pass two plays later was broken up by Andrew Johnson in the end zone.
Bridgewater finished 23-of-28 passing for 279 for the Cardinals (3-0).
Renner finished with five TD passes.
No. 22 UCLA 37,
HOUSTON 6
PASADENA, Calif. — Redshirt freshman Brett Hundley passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns, and UCLA’s hard-hitting defense held high-scoring Houston in check.
Johnathan Franklin, the nation’s leading rusher, gained 110 yards on 25 carries, Sheldon Price tied a school record with three of UCLA’s five interceptions, and Kaimi Fairbairn kicked three field goals to help the unbeaten Bruins earn their third straight victory under first-year coach Jim Mora.
No. 24 ARIZONA 56,
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 0
TUCSON, Ariz. — Matt Scott accounted for 349 total yards and four touchdowns in three quarters, and Arizona breezed through its final nonconference game, rolling over South Carolina State.
Arizona (3-0) did what it was supposed to against a team from the Football Championship Subdivision, racing out to a 28-0 lead by halftime and a school-record 43 first downs overall.
Scott threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-36 passing, and added a 10-yard scoring run in another stellar performance to start his senior season.
UTAH 24, No. 25 BYU 21
SALT LAKE CITY — Jon Hays had two touchdown passes, Moe Lee returned a fumble 57 yards for another and BYU missed two last-second field goal attempts as Utah upset the Cougars.
The Utes (2-1) blocked Justin Sorensen’s 51-yard attempt with 1 second remaining, but BYU (2-1) got a second shot because the crowd prematurely rushed the field, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
Riley Stephenson’s 36-yard attempt with no time left clanked off the left upright, sending the frenzied crowd back on the field for good to celebrate the upset.