Officials’ mistake allows Central Michigan to top No. 22 Okla. St.
STILLWATER, Okla. — A mistake by the officials that extended the game when it should have been over allowed Central Michigan to score the winning touchdown on a desperation pass and lateral for an astonishing 30-27 upset of No. 22 Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State tried to kill the final 4 seconds by throwing the ball away on fourth down, but the Cowboys were penalized for intentional grounding, which is a loss of down penalty. Rules state that the game cannot end on an accepted live-ball penalty, referee Tim O’Dey of the Mid-American Conference, CMU’s league, said.
“There’s an exception to the rule that says if enforcement of the foul involves a loss of down, then that brings the game to an end,” O’Dey told a pool reporter after the game.”
O’Dey said after conferring with NCAA rules committee secretary Rogers Redding after the game, the crew determined the “extension should not have happened.”
But the final result stood. Article 3b of the NCAA rulebook states: When the referee declares that the game is ended, the score is final.
Corey Willis scored the winning touchdown after grabbing a lateral from Jesse Kroll at the 12. Cooper Rush lofted the pass that hit Kroll just inside the 10. As Kroll was being taken down, he pitched it back to Willis, who cut across the field and barely managed to score while being dragged down.
Oklahoma State (1-1) thought it had won when Mason Rudolph threw the ball away on fourth down as the clock expired, but after the officials conferred, they assessed an intentional grounding penalty and gave Central Michigan (2-0) another play.
ARKANSAS 41, NO. 15 TCU 38, 2OT
FORT WORTH, Texas — Austin Allen ran 5 yards for the winning score in the second overtime, and Arkansas pulled out a wild victory over TCU.
Allen led the Razorbacks (2-0) to the tying score in the final 2 minutes of regulation, throwing a touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher and then catching the tying 2-point conversion from Hatcher with 1:03 left.
The Horned Frogs (1-1) rallied from 13 down in the fourth quarter to take a 28-20 lead, but couldn’t hang on as their 14-game home winning streak ended in the first meeting of these former Southwest Conference rivals since 1991. That was the year before Arkansas started play in the SEC.
Allen threw three touchdowns passes, including a 19-yarder to Jeremy Sprinkle to start overtime.
TCU’s Kenny Hill threw for 377 yards and an overtime TD to Taj Williams and also had 93 yards rushing and two scores. But he couldn’t get the Horned Frogs in the end zone in the second OT, and they settled for Ryan Graf’s 37-yard field goal.
NO. 9 GEORGIA 26, NICHOLLS 24
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia scored two quick-strike touchdowns — one on offense, one on defense — in a span of about two minutes after Nicholls took a third-quarter lead.
Georgia (2-0) opened the game with a fast touchdown drive capped by Nick Chubb’s 6-yard run and appeared headed for the easy win over the FCS Colonels in Kirby Smart’s home debut as coach.
Smart called the sloppy win disappointing.
Nicholls (0-1) led 14-13 midway through the third after freshman quarterback Chase Fourcade, a surprise starter, threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jarrell Rogers.
Georgia freshman quarterback Jacob Eason completed 11 of 20 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 38, WESTERN KENTUCKY 10
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Freshman Jalen Hurts passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start to lead Alabama past Western Kentucky.
Hurts likely nailed down the quarterback job with a 23-of-36 passing performance. The Crimson Tide (2-0) piled it on with big plays from the defense and receivers Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart.
Western Kentucky (1-1) was outgained 475-239 in total yards against a defense that has allowed 16 points in the first two games. Ridley had nine catches for 129 yards, Stewart five for 90.
NO. 2 CLEMSON 30, TROY 24
CLEMSON, S.C. — Deshaun Watson threw three touchdown passes and Clemson avoided a host of mistakes — including an embarrassing early celebration punt-return gaffe by Ray-Ray McCloud that cost the Tigers a touchdown — to hold off pesky Troy.
The Tigers (2-0) were out of synch on offense and could not break away from the Trojans (1-1) until the fourth quarter. Watson hit beefy defensive lineman Christian Wilkins for a 1-yard score in Clemson’s jumbo goal line package, then connected with Deon Cain on a 23-yard pass for a 27-10 lead.
Troy rallied with two touchdowns in the last five minutes, the second one with 44 seconds to go. But Cain grabbed the on-side kick attempt and Clemson ran out the clock.
NO. 3 FLORIDA STATE 52, CHARLESTON South 8
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Deondre Francois threw three touchdown passes and Dalvin Cook ran for two more score in Florida State’s victory over depleted Charleston Southern.
Florida State (2-0) led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. It scored on the first three drives and Bobo Wilson had an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Francois completed 10 of his first 12 passes, including two for touchdowns to Travis Rudolph.
FCS Charleston Southern (1-2) was without 14 players — 10 starters — serving one-game suspensions for violating NCAA rules by using financial aid meant for books to purchase other items.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 48, TULSA 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State overcame a sluggish offensive start, a lightning delay and a driving rainstorm in the second half to beat Tulsa.
Ohio State (2-0) didn’t score an offensive touchdown against Tulsa (1-1) until quarterback J.T. Barrett ran in from 16 yards with 9:42 left in the third quarter. Tailback Mike Weber, Barrett and back Curtis Samuel added scoring runs later in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Barrett was 14 for 22 for 149 yards and no touchdowns.
NO. 5 MICHIGAN 51, UCF 14
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Wilton Speight threw two of his four touchdown passes to Jake Butt, and Khalid Hill ran for two scores in Michigan’s victory over Central Florida.
The Wolverines (2-0) have won their first two games by a combined total of 97 points.
The Knights (1-1) got off to a relatively good start before getting blown out. They ran for a first down on the first snap and forced Michigan to punt after its first three plays.
Butt’s second TD reception early in the second quarter gave Michigan a 31-0 lead.
Hill, a 6-foot, 2, 263-pound fullback, plunged into the end zone for his second score early in the third to pad the Wolverines’ lead to 41-7.
NO. 6 HOUSTON 42, LAMAR 0
HOUSTON — Houston easily overcame the absence of injured quarterback Greg Ward Jr. and a 3 1/2-hour lightning delay to rout Lamar.
With Ward on the sideline nursing an injured right shoulder, backup Kyle Postma ran 39 yards for a score in the first quarter in a game that lasted 6 hours, 18 minutes.
The Cougars (2-0) had three players top 100 yards rushing for the first time since 1971, and piled up 381 yards on the ground. Kevrin Justice had 111 yards and two touchdowns, freshman Mulbah Car added 109 yards and a score in his debut, and Postma scrambled for a career-high 106 yards with two TDs.
Dark clouds descended on the stadium soon after Postma’s score, and a lightning strike forced the game to be suspended at 11:36 a.m. with 3:13 left in the first quarter. FCS Lamar is 0-2.
NO. 8 WASHINGTON 59, IDAHO 14
SEATTLE — Jake Browning matched Washington’s school record with five touchdown passes — two each to Dante Pettis and John Ross — and finished with 294 yards in the Huskies’ victory over Idaho.
Browning has helped Washington (2-0) to its highest ranking since 2001. After throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns last week against Rutgers, Browning was nearly flawless against Idaho.
Following a fumble on the opening kickoff by Lloyd Hightower that was recovered by Washington, Browning threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Pettis on his first attempt of the game. He completed 13 consecutive passes at one point as the Huskies marched through the Vandals en route to a 35-0 halftime advantage. Browning joined Keith Price (2012), Jake Locker (2010) and Chris Rowland (1973) as the only Huskies to throw five touchdown passes in a game.
Idaho is 1-1.
NO. 10 WISCONSIN 54, AKRON 10
MADISON, Wis. — Corey Clement ran for two scores before leaving with an injury, Jazz Peavy had two touchdown catches and Wisconsin stuffed Akron’s spread offense.
The Badgers (2-0) didn’t slack off in their 2016 debut at Camp Randall Stadium, a week after outmuscling SEC power LSU 16-14 in the opener.
Bart Houston threw for 231 yards, showing chemistry with Peavy against the porous Zips (1-1). Peavy finished with seven catches for 100 yards. Wisconsin’s defense had a safety, and the secondary accounted for two second-quarter turnovers. The Badgers led 30-10 at halftime.
Clement senior rushed for 111 yards before departing with a left leg injury suffered on the last of his 21 carries, late in the second.
NO. 11 TEXAS 41, UTEP 7
AUSTIN, Texas — Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns and Texas backed up its first national ranking since 2013 with a victory over UTEP.
Buechele also showed some skills running the zone read option, giving the Longhorns (2-0) another wrinkle in their new offense. Buechele threw touchdown passes of 29 and 7 yards to Jerrod Heard, who started at quarterback most of 2015 but moved to wide receiver this season. He also connected with Dorian Leonard for a 46-yard score in the third quarter that made it 34-7.
The Longhorns avoided a big letdown after their 50-47 overtime victory over Notre Dame that eased some of the pressure off coach Charlie Strong after two losing seasons.
Aaron Jones ran for 123 yards and a 51-yard touchdown for UTEP (1-1).
NO. 14 OKLAHOMA 59, LOUISIANA-MONROE 17
NORMAN, Okla. — Baker Mayfield passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a half of work and Oklahoma beat Louisiana-Monroe in a warmup for its showdown with Ohio State.
Joe Mixon rushed for 117 yards, and Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns. The Sooners (1-1) outgained the Warhawks (1-1) 640 yards to 350.
Garrett Smith passed for 251 yards and two touchdowns for Louisiana-Monroe. R.J. Turner caught seven passes for 135 yards.
NO. 16 IOWA 42, IOWA STATE 3
IOWA CITY, Iowa — C.J. Beathard threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns and Iowa throttled Iowa State for its biggest win over the rival Cyclones in 18 seasons under coach Kirk Ferentz.
LeShun Daniels rushed for 112 yards and a TD to help the Hawkeyes (2-0) beat Iowa State in consecutive seasons for the first time in six years.
Joel Lanning was 8 of 20 for 86 yards and an interception for Iowa State (0-2).
NO. 17 TENNESSEE 45, VIRGINIA TECH 24
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores and Tennessee overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat Virginia Tech in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The crowd total shattered the previous NCAA record of 115,109 who attended a Michigan victory over Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium in 2013
Tennessee’s Micah Abernathy set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries. Virginia Tech (1-1) ended up losing five fumbles, and three of those turnovers resulted in Tennessee touchdowns.
NO. 18 NOTRE DAME 39, NEVADA 10
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — DeShone Kizer threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, Josh Adams rushed for 106 yards and Notre Dame’s defense rebounded from a disappointing performance a week ago.
After being held scoreless in the first quarter by Nevada (1-1), the Irish (1-1) took control with a 25-point second quarter — the most points in the quarter for Notre Dame since scoring 28 points against Pittsburgh in Charlie Weis’ debut as coach in 2005. Kizer was 15 of 18 for 156 yards with one interception and Equanimeous St. Brown led Irish receivers with six catches for 85 yards with Torii Hunter Jr. out with a concussion sustained against Texas.
NO. 19 MISSISSIPPI 38, WOFFORD 13
OXFORD, Miss. — Chad Kelly threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi.
Ole Miss (1-1) played just five days after losing to Florida State 45-34 on Monday night. The Rebels didn’t appear tired, though, scoring on all four of their first-half drives to take a 24-3 halftime lead.
Kelly completed short touchdown throws in the first half to Markell Pack, D.K. Metcalf and Quincy Adeboyejo, and Gary Wunderlich made a 40-yard field goal as the Rebels methodically moved the ball against overmatched Wofford of the Football Championship Subdivision level.
It was an efficient, mistake-free performance from Kelly, who threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the Florida State loss. He completed 20 of 27 passes against Wofford.
NO. 20 TEXAS A&M 67, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 0
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — Trevor Knight threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in Texas A&M’s romp over Prairie View.
Knight was 21 of 37 and threw touchdowns of 8 yards to Speedy Noil and 34 and 64 yards to Christian Kirk in the second quarter to help the Aggies (2-0) build a 38-0 halftime lead. Knight also rushed for a game-high 78 yards on seven carries in just over a half of play.
The Aggies extended their home nonconference winning streak to 23 games. Texas A&M outgained the FCS Panthers (1-1) 672-205 in its largest shutout since beaying Missouri 73-0 in 1993.
NO. 23 BAYLOR 40, SMU 13
WACO, Texas — Seth Russell threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, and Baylor recovered from a slow start to rout SMU.
Russell and the Bears (2-0) struggled offensively in the first half and had to settle for a 6-6 tie at intermission, but broke through with a 20-point third quarter on their way to a 13th straight victory over their former Southwest Conference rival.
NO. 24 OREGON 44, VIRGINIA 26
EUGENE, Ore. — Dakota Prukop threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, Royce Freeman ran for 207 yards and two scores, and Oregon beat Virginia.
Olympic hurdler Devon Allen caught four passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, which he celebrated by pretending to clear hurdles in the end zone, and the Ducks got their second win to start the season before next Saturday’s game against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium.
Albert Reid rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown for Virginia (1-1). The Cavaliers fell 37-20 to Richmond in the team’s opener last weekend, spoiling Bronco Mendenhall’s debut as coach.
NO. 25 MIAMI 38, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 10
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Mark Walton ran for 155 yards and four touchdowns, and Miami shook off a slow start to beat Florida Atlantic.
Mark Richt improved to 2-0 at Miami, becoming the 10th coach to win his first two games on the Hurricane sideline.
Walton scored on runs of 7, 3, 16 and 30 yards. He became the sixth Miami runner to run for at least four TDs in a game, and has seven in two games against FAU (1-1).
