SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Steven Gilmore returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and Khalan Labron ran for 163 yards as Marshall shocked No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21 on Saturday, making Marcus Freeman the first Fighting Irish coach to lose his first three games.
Gilmore, the brother of Stephon Gilmore of the Indianapolis Colts, picked off a pass by Tyler Buchner with 4:35 left, raced to the end zone and then jumped into the stands where Marshall fans were already celebrating.
Marshall (2-0), the first Sun Belt Conference team to play at Notre Dame Stadium, beat a team ranked in the top 10 for just the second time in school history.
The Irish had a streak of 42 straight wins against unranked opponents snapped. Freeman, the 36-yeard-old first-time head coach who was promoted after Brian Kelly left for LSU, had lost a bowl game to Oklahoma State and also lost at Ohio State last week.
The Herd took a 19-15 lead with 5:16 remaining when Henry Colombi completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Devin Miller. The score was set up by a 42-yard run by Laborn, who broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and juked Irish safety Brandon Joseph before breaking free.
Any hope for a comeback by the Irish (0-2) ended when Owen Porter intercepted a pass by backup Irish quarterback Drew Pyne with three minutes remaining.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 20, TEXAS 19
AUSTIN, Texas — Will Reichard kicked a 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds left, and Bryce Young and Alabama overcame a stifling defensive effort by Texas to earn a hard-fought victory. Young was hit and harassed by the Texas defense most of the game, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback put together a big fourth quarter.
He had a twisting, off-balance touchdown pass, and then a 20-yard scramble in the final minute to set up Reichard’s winning kick. Young easily dodged a blitzing defender, then had wide open field ahead of him to scamper.
Young’s clutch play rescued Alabama on an uncharacteristically sloppy day when the Crimson Tide (2-0) struggled with penalties and dropped passes and was forced into six consecutive punts in one stretch. Texas (1-1) stuffed Alabama on fourth-and-inches late to set up a go-ahead field goal by Bert Auburn with 1:39 remaining.
Young also spoiled what could have been a program-defining victory for Texas and second-year coach Steve Sarkisian. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers was knocked out with a shoulder injury at the end of the first quarter.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 33, SAMFORD 0
ATHENS, Ga. — Stetson Bennett passed for 300 yards while throwing and running for touchdowns and Georgia’s rebuilt defense delivered another dominant performance.
One week after giving up only a field goal in a 49-3 season-opening rout of then-No. 11 Oregon, Georgia’s defense again played up to the standard it set while winning last season’s national championship. Samford (1-1) was held to 128 yards and three first downs.
Georgia (2-0) has reloaded on defense after losing eight players in this year’s NFL draft, including five in the first round. Overall, Georgia had a record 15 players taken in the draft.
Bennett completed 24 of 34 passes, including a 3-yard scoring pass to freshman Dillon Bell.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 45, ARKANSAS STATE 12
COLUMBUS, Ohio — C.J. Stroud threw three touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison Jr., TreVeyon Henderson ran for another two scores and Ohio State raced past Arkansas State.
Harrison had a career-best seven catches for 184 yards. Coupled with his three-touchdown performance as a first-year player in the Rose Bowl last season, Harrison became only the second Ohio State receiver to have a pair of three-touchdown games in his career. Joey Galloway had multiple touchdown games in 1993 and 1994.
Stroud had 207 passing yards and a pair of 42-yard touchdowns to Harrison in the first half. He finished 16 for 24 for 351 yards and four touchdowns as the Buckeyes (2-0) rolled up 538 yards.
Henderson busted through for an 8-yard scoring run in the first quarter and a 23-yard romp to open the second half. He finished with 10 carries for 87 yards.
Kicker Dominic Zvada was responsible for all of the scoring for Arkansas State (1-1).
NO. 4 MICHIGAN 56, HAWAII 10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — J.J. McCarthy was sharp in his first start, throwing for three touchdowns to help Michigan overwhelm Hawaii.
The sophomore made the most of his starting quarterback opportunity against the Rainbow Warriors, throwing a 42-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson on his second snap and 13-yard pass to Ronnie Bell early in the second quarter to give the Wolverines (2-0) a four-touchdown lead.
The former five-star recruit finished 11 of 12 for 229 yards without a turnover, a performance that likely helps him start next week against Connecticut.
The Rainbow Warriors (0-3) were scoreless until late in the third quarter when Matthew Shipley made a 26-yard field goal.
NO. 5 CLEMSON 35, FURMAN 12
CLEMSON, S.C. — DJ Uiagalelei threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, Will Shipley ran for two scores and Clemson moved to 37-0 against FCS opponents.
Uiagalelei directed the Tigers (2-0) to touchdowns on his first five drives and Clemson was up 21-3 early in the second quarter. It was Clemson’s eighth straight victory, longest among Power Five teams. It was also the Tigers’ 35th straight win at home and 32nd in a row over Furman.
Furman (1-1) punched holes in Clemson’s defense, gaining 384 yards.
APPALACHIAN STATE 17, NO. 6 TEXAS A&M 14
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Chase Brice threw for 134 yards and a touchdown and Appalachian State took advantage of two turnovers to stun Texas A&M.
Appalachian State won a week after scoring six touchdowns and 40 points in the fourth quarter in a 63-61 opening loss to North Carolina.
Appalachian State (1-1) settled for a 29-yard field goal by Michael Hughes to take a 17-14 lead with about eight minutes left after Christian Wells was wide open but dropped a touchdown pass on third down.
The Aggies (1-1) had a chance to tie it with about 3 1/2 minutes to go, but a 47-yard field goal attempt by Caden Davis was short.
It’s Appalachian State’s first win over a team in the AP Top 10 as a FBS team after losing in overtime to No. 9 Tennessee in 2016 and dropping an OT game to No. 9 Penn State in 2018.
NO. 7 OKLAHOMA 33, KENT STATE 3
NORMAN, Okla. — Marvin Mims caught seven passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns to help Oklahoma overcome a slow start and beat Kent State,
Dillon Gabriel completed 21 of 28 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns, and the Sooners finished with 430 yards of offense. Oklahoma has won 11 straight home games and 29 of its last 30.
Oklahoma (2-0) was scoreless and trailed Kent State (0-2) as late as the final minute of the first half before Mims played key roles on touchdown drives to end the half and start the second. That helped the Sooners move to 4-0 against current Mid-American Conference teams.
Collin Schlee passed for 131 yards and rushed for 55 yards for Kent State, which is the only Football Bowl Subdivision team this season playing three nonconference games against opponents from Power 5 conferences.
NO. 21 BYU 26, NO. 9 BAYLOR 20, 2OT
PROVO, Utah — Lopini Katoa barreled into the end zone on a 3-yard run to lift BYU past Baylor in double overtime.
Jaren Hall threw for 261 yards and a touchdown, and added a 22-yard TD catch, to lead BYU (2-0). Chase Roberts had a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown on eight catches for the Cougars. Roberts also threw a touchdown pass to Hall in the third quarter.
Blake Shapen threw for 134 yards and a touchdown while Qualan Jones added a pair of touchdown runs for Baylor. Jones and Craig Williams combined for 135 yards on 33 carries.
Shapen’s incompletion on fourth down in double overtime sealed the upset win for BYU. The Bears (1-1) were one of three Top 10 teams to lose on Saturday along with No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 8 Notre Dame.
Bears kicker Isaiah Hankins missed a 43-yard field goal attempt in the first overtime after missing a PAT on Baylor’s only first-half touchdown. Cougars kicker Jake Oldroyd missed a 35-yard attempt with 8 seconds left in regulation and then missed from 37 yards to force a second overtime.
NO. 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 41, STANFORD 28
STANFORD, Calif. — Caleb Williams threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns, with two of those going to Jordan Addison, leading Southern California past Stanford in the teams’ Pac-12 opener.
Addison wound up with seven catches for 172 yards and Travis Dye ran for 105 yards and a touchdown, while the Trojans’ opportunistic defense shined again with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries — four turnovers that led to 17 points.
Dominant USC (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) didn’t have a third-down play until 52 seconds before halftime and punted for the first time with 8:02 left. USC’s defense has forced eight total turnovers this season.
Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee threw an interception on his third play from scrimmage for Stanford (1-1, 0-1) that Max Williams tipped and caught before returning it 32 yards. Then McKee threw another pick Cain the end zone by Mekhi Blackmon on 4th-and-2 with a chance to tie the game.
McKee connected on a 3-yard TD pass to E.J. Smith to cap a seven-play, 93-yard drive that got Stanford within 14-7. But the Trojans answered immediately.
USC running back Austin Jones carried eight times for 38 yards facing his former Stanford team after transferring during the offseason.
NO. 11 OKLAHOMA STATE 34, ARIZONA STATE 17
STILLWATER, Okla. — Spencer Sanders passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Oklahoma State defeated Arizona State on a rainy evening.
Sanders passed for 268 yards and ran for 54, and Dominic Richardson ran for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 44 yards for the Cowboys (2-0).
Emory Jones passed for 223 yards and a touchdown and Xazavian Valladay rushed for 118 yards and a score for Arizona State (1-1).
The Cowboys were up 17-3 at the break, but Valladay’s 1-yard touchdown run, which came shortly after a 73-yard reception by Giovanni Sanders, cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 17-10.
After an Oklahoma State field goal, Jones connected with Elijhah Badger for a 21-yard touchdown that pulled Arizona State to 20-17 with 14:25 to play. The Cowboys responded with trickery as Sanders found Bryson Green wide open on a flea-flicker, and the 31-yard score put Oklahoma State in control for good.
NO. 20 KENTUCKY 26, NO. 12 FLORIDA 20
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kentucky intercepted Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson twice, including one Keidron Smith returned 65 yards for a touchdown, and the Wildcats toppled Florida in the Swamp to notch consecutive wins in the series for the first time in 45 years.
Richardson was off all night, a stark contrast from last week’s three-touchdown, turnover-free performance against then-No. 7 Utah. He had two throws in this one that were complete head-scratchers, and the Wildcats (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) made him pay dearly.
Linebacker Jordan Wright, cleared to play Thursday after sitting out the opener, made a one-handed catch on Richardson’s pass to the flat late in the second quarter. Will Levis scored three plays later.
It was the third of three big plays that gave Kentucky back-to-back wins over Florida (1-1, 0-1) for the first time since 1976-77.
Richardson completed 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards. He also ran six times for 4 yards.
Levis was considerably better. He completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
NO. 13 UTAH 73, SOUTHERN UTAH 7
SALT LAKE CITY — Cameron Rising threw for 254 yards in the first half and Dalton Kincaid had 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns in Utah’s rout of Southern Utah.
Utah scored on nine consecutive drives, including eight touchdowns, over the final three quarters against the FCS Thunderbirds (1-1). The Utes (1-1) had 599 yards of total offense.
As six-touchdown underdogs, the Thunderbirds weren’t afraid of taking some risks. They started the game with an unsuccessful onside kick that led to a 13-yard touchdown run by Tavion Thomas.
Thomas scored on another touchdown run early in the second quarter. Utah then turned a fourth-down stop into a field goal and a diving interception by Junior Tafuna into Chris Curry’s TD run.
The Ute defense held the Thunderbirds to 85 total yards despite scoring quickly throughout the game.
NO. 14 MICHIGAN STATE 52, AKRON 0
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Jalen Berger ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns and Michigan State’s defense forced four fumbles in its win over Akron.
It was the largest margin of victory for Michigan State (2-0) since it beat Eastern Michigan by 59 points in 2014.
Kendell Brooks, filling in for injured starting safety Xavier Henderson, forced the ball out twice in the first quarter. He has forced three fumbles in the Spartans’ first two games.
Akron (1-1) starting quarterback DJ Irons was knocked out of the game with just over six minutes left in the first half.
NO. 15 MIAMI 30, SOUTHERN MISS 7
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami used a pair of third-quarter touchdowns barely 2 minutes apart to pull away in the second half against Southern Miss.
The Hurricanes (2-0) trailed for most of the second quarter, then shook off the slow start by scoring the game’s final 27 points. Henry Parrish rushed for 97 yards and a score.
Thaddius Franklin Jr. rushed in from 7 yards out for a 17-7 third-quarter lead, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke connected with Key’Shawn Smith for a 35-yard flea-flicker touchdown on Miami’s next offensive snap, and the outcome wasn’t in doubt again.
Jason Brownlee caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Zach Wilcke for Southern Miss (0-2). That capped a six-play, 75-yard drive for the Golden Eagles — but they managed only 122 yards on their next seven drives, five of which ended in punts.
NO. 16 ARKANSAS 44, SOUTH CAROLINA 30
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Rocket Sanders ran for a career-high 156 yards and scored Arkansas’ first two touchdowns, and KJ Jefferson ran for a score and threw for another to lift the Razorbacks past the Gamecocks.
Jefferson led Arkansas (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) on three scoring drives in the fourth quarter, never allowing South Carolina to rally.
He finished 18 of 21 for 162 yards passing and ran for 67 yards.
A 23-yard touchdown pass to Warren Thompson with 12:09 left provided the key score, giving Arkansas a 19-point edge.
Spencer Rattler was 23 of 38 with 361 yards passing for South Carolina (1-1, 0-1), though 173 of those came in the fourth quarter when the Gamecocks were chasing from way behind.
NO. 24 TENNESSEE 34, NO. 17 PITTSBURGH 27, OT
PITTSBURGH — Hendon Hookier threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, the final one a 28-yard heave to Cedric Tillman in overtime, to give the Volunteers an overtime win against the Panthers.
The Volunteers (2-0) picked up the first significant nonconference win under second-year coach Josh Heupel by relying on Hooker and a defense that was just good enough against a game effort by the Panthers (1-1), who lost starting quarterback Kedon Slovis to a injury at the end of the first half.
Backup Nick Patti essentially played the fourth quarter and overtime on one leg, limping noticeably on every play after absorbing a sack early in the final quarter. But Patti found Jared Wayne for a diving 4-yard touchdown with 2:23 to go in regulation to tie the game.
Tillman caught nine passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Jabari Small ran for two short scores for the Volunteers.
Israel Abanikanda ran for 154 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers. Slovis completed 14 of 24 for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
NO. 18 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 55, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 3
RALEIGH, N.C. — Devin Leary tied a program record by accounting for six touchdowns and No. 18 North Carolina State’s defense surrendered 150 total yards in the Wolfpack’s big win over Charleston Southern.
Leary threw four TD passes, including a perfect 24-yard wheel route to Jordan Houston down the left side and then a 40-yard strike over the middle to Anthony Smith.
N.C. State (2-0) regrouped from last week’s 21-20 win at East Carolina. The top highlight for Charleston Southern (0-2) was a 48-yard field goal from Sam Babbush midway through the third quarter to break up the Wolfpack’s shutout bid.
WASHINGTON STATE 17, NO. 19 WISCONSIN 14
MADISON, Wis. — Nakia Watson scored two touchdowns against his former team and Washington State beat Wisconsin.
Watson scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter and put the Cougars (2-0) ahead for good by turning a short completion into a 31-yard score with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Watson rushed for 522 yards and five touchdowns at Wisconsin from 2019-20 before transferring.
Wisconsin (1-1) trailed 17-14 and faced third-and-6 from the Washington State 9 midway through the fourth quarter when defensive tackle Christian Mejia picked off a Graham Mertz pass before losing the football. Wisconsin recovered at the Washington State 20, but a personal foul on Badgers tight end Clay Cundiff after the play pushed them back to the 35.
Cundiff then caught a 24-yard pass, but Quinn Roff forced a fumble that Sam Lockett III recovered at the 12 with 5:14 left. Washington State never gave up possession the rest of the way.
NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI 59, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 3
OXFORD, Miss. — Luke Altmyer threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, Michael Trigg had three touchdown catches and Mississippi routed Central Arkansas.
Ole Miss (2-0) raced to a 28-0 first-quarter lead, highlighted by touchdown passes of 1 and 7 yards from Altmyer to Trigg before adding a 1-yard scoring run to cap the decisive surge.
Altmyer was 6 of 13 for 90 yards before being lifted late in the second quarter with what a school spokesperson described as an upper-body injury, pending evaluation.
Atlantic Sun Conference member Central Arkansas (0-2), trailed 31-0 at halftime. It had 182 yards of total offense. Hayden Ray made a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout.
NO. 23 WAKE FOREST 45, VANDERBILT 25
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sam Hartman passed for 300 yards and four touchdowns in Wake Forest’s win over Vanderbilt, connecting on 18 of 27 passes after he missed the season opener against VMI because of a blood clot.
Hartman’s 68-yard touchdown pass to A.T. Perry lifted Wake Forest (2-0) to a 14-3 lead with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. He found Christian Turner for a 2-yarder early in the second quarter, and then threw second-half touchdown passes to Taylor Morin and Cameron Hite.
A.J. Swann passed for two touchdowns for Vanderbilt in relief of Mike Wright. Swann also ran for a 2-point conversion.
Re’Mahn Davis had 18 carries for 87 yards for the Commodores (2-1), including a 2-yarder with 11:06 left in the first half that trimmed Wake Forest’s lead to 21-10.
TEXAS TECH 33, NO. 25 HOUSTON 30, 2 OT
LUBBOCK, Texas — Donovan Smith ran 9 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime, lifting Texas Tech over Houston.
A back-and-forth finish ended with the Red Raiders (2-0) beating a ranked nonconference opponent in the regular season for the first time since 1989, a span of 14 games.
After Houston’s Bubba Baxa opened the second OT with a 20-yard field goal, Smith broke into the open field and ran untouched to the end zone, sending Texas Tech students and fans streaming onto the field.
Baxa kicked a go-ahead 35-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in regulation after Gervarrius Owens returned Smith’s second interception to the Texas Tech 21 in the final two minutes. Smith answered by leading the Red Raiders to a tying 47-yarder from Trey Wolff with three seconds to go.
The Cougars (1-1) erased a 17-3 halftime deficit, but still saw their 12-game regular-season winning streak end.