Hollywood Smothers scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds to play and Arch Manning came alive in the fourth quarter to direct three scoring drives as No. 4 Texas rallied for a 24-23 victory over top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday in a titanic early-season clash in Austin, Texas.
Manning finished with 196 yards passing after collecting only 60 yards in a dreary first half. He completed 23 of his 37 throws and ran for 22 yards on seven carries, while Smothers finished with 74 yards and two scores on the ground for Texas (2-0).
Ohio State ruled through three quarters before Texas dominated the fourth. The Longhorns fell into a 23-3 hole midway through the third quarter but drew to within six points on Smothers’ 1-yard TD with 7:14 to play.
The Buckeyes’ Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt with 4:16 remaining, and the Longhorns drove 73 yards in 12 plays for the winning score.
Julian Sayin passed for 278 yards and a touchdown to Jeremiah Smith to lead Ohio State (1-1). Smith finished with eight catches for 164 yards, but only two of those catches came in the second half.
The Buckeyes took advantage of the Longhorns’ early mistakes to build a 10-0 lead. Raleek Brown fumbled on the game’s first offensive snap with Ohio State’s Jay Timmons both forcing the miscue and recovering it on the Texas 18-yard line. The Buckeyes settled for Hawkins’ 26-yard field goal.
Later in the quarter, Ohio State’s Jaylen McClain intercepted a Manning pass that bounced out of Cam Coleman’s hands when he dove for the ball. The Buckeyes drove 81 yards in 10 plays, culminating with Ja’Kobi Jackson’s 8-yard TD run with 5:39 left in the first quarter.
Gianni Spetic got the Longhorns on the board with a 37-yard field goal with 5:42 to play in the second quarter. Hawkins answered with a 30-yard FG with 1:41 to go until halftime.
The Buckeyes had the half’s final score, a 19-yard Sayin-to-Smith scoring pass that gave Ohio State a 20-3 lead at the break.
The Buckeyes outgained Texas 240-97 in the half, with Sayin producing 192 yards through the air to Manning’s 60.
Ohio State added to the margin when Hawkins converted his third FG of the game, this one from 48 yards away, with 8:09 to play in the third quarter.
Oklahoma State
stuns No. 6 Oregon
to end skid
Drew Mestemaker passed for 317 yards with a pair of touchdowns, and added 109 rushing yards with a touchdown to lead Oklahoma State to a stunning 39-31 upset of No. 6 Oregon in a weather-delayed game in Stillwater, Okla. on Saturday afternoon.
The Cowboys (1-1) put up 554 yards of total offense, with Caleb Hawkins adding 110 rushing yards on 23 carries to go with a score. Oregon (1-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to take a 31-30 lead with Dante Moore’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart on the second play of the fourth quarter.
But the Ducks’ defense couldn’t hold the lead — with Mestemaker putting the Cowboys ahead for good on a 10-yard scoring run — and the Oregon offense didn’t score another point. The final blow was a lost fumble by running back Dierre Hill Jr. with 1:55 left that cost Oregon a final chance to tie the game.
Oregon led 7-3 in the early going on Devon Jackson’s 96-yard interception return for a touchdown. But the Ducks managed just 281 yards of offense and saw their 12-game road winning streak snapped.
No. 2 Georgia 70, Western Kentucky 20
Gunner Stockton completed 13 of 16 passes for 234 yards and a program-record-tying five touchdowns to help the Bulldogs dispatch of the Hilltoppers in Athens, Ga.
Backup quarterback Ryan Puglisi rushed for a 70-yard touchdown for Georgia (2-0), which has outscored its first two opponents by a combined score of 133-23. Tyriq Green scored twice for the Bulldogs, recovering a fumble in the end zone and returning a 91-yard kickoff. Georgia scored on its first seven possessions.
Rodney Tisdale Jr. threw for 31 yards for Western Kentucky (0-2) before Brock Glenn took over under center, who had a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns in a relief effort despite the Hilltoppers being outgained 493-225.
No. 3 Notre Dame 52, Rice 0
CJ Carr completed 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns and the Fighting Irish crushed the Owls in South Bend, Ind.
Jordan Faison caught two touchdown passes for Notre Dame (2-0), which was playing its home opener after facing Wisconsin at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field six days earlier. Nolan James Jr. added two touchdowns on the ground.
Jacurri Brown completed 8 of 12 passes for 64 yards to lead Rice (1-1). Brown also had a team-high 32 rushing yards for the Owls. Notre Dame outgained Rice 478-128, including a 360-64 advantage in passing yards, and had four takeaways without turning the ball over.
No. 5 Indiana 55, Howard 0
Josh Hoover connected with Charlie Becker for three touchdowns in the first half to spark the Hoosiers past the Bison in Bloomington, Ind. — Indiana’s first game against an HBCU opponent in program history.
Hoover finished 6 of 11 for 146 yards and four scores before taking a seat for the second half. Becker, who scored on all three of his touches, also rested after halftime as he pushed his season touchdown total to five. Lee Beebe Jr. (16 carries, 112 yards) and Turbo Richard (11 carries, 108 yards) earned their first 100-yard games for Indiana (2-0).
Ja’Shawn Scroggins completed 8 of 15 passes for 43 yards and one interception for Howard (1-2) before being replaced in the second half by Isaiah Freeman.
No. 10 Texas A&M 48, Arizona State 20
Marcel Reed tossed three touchdown passes while Marco Jones and Julio Humphrey returned interceptions for touchdowns to help the No. 10 Aggies beat the Sun Devils in College Station, Texas.
Isaiah Horton caught two touchdown passes, Mario Craver also grabbed one and Rueben Owens II scored on the ground for Texas A&M (2-0), which forced four turnovers. Reed completed 15 of 25 passes for 163 yards and was intercepted once for the Aggies.
Cutter Boley was 21-of-34 passing for 254 yards, two touchdowns and the two costly interceptions for Arizona State (1-1). Boley threw for six touchdowns against Morgan State in Week 1 in his Sun Devils debut after transferring from Kentucky.
Michigan 17, No. 11 Oklahoma 10
Bryce Underwood threw for 111 yards and ran for 87 yards and a touchdown as the host Wolverines upset the Sooners in Ann Arbor, Mich., a week after Michigan needed a controversial Hail Mary on the final play to beat Western Michigan.
After forcing Michigan to punt, the Sooners took possession on their own 15 with 1:06 remaining and no timeouts while trailing by seven.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer broke off a 22-yard gain to open the drive, then nearly connected with Rocky Beers to get deep in Michigan territory two plays later. But after Chase Taylor broke up that pass, Nate Marshall sacked Mateer on the next play, and time expired before the Sooners could get off another play.
No. 12 Alabama 45, Kentucky 17
Daniel Hill ran for a career-high 104 yards to help the Crimson Tide overcome three first-half turnovers and run away from the Wildcats in their Southeastern Conference opener in Lexington, Ky.
Hill, Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell each scored on the ground for Alabama, which finished with 155 rushing yards — 150 of which came after halftime. Keelon Russell threw for 188 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first road start for the Crimson Tide (2-0, 1-0 SEC), who outscored Kentucky 32-0 in the second half.
Kenny Minchey completed 18 of 31 passes for 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Wildcats (1-1, 0-1), who managed just 62 yards of offense after halftime. Will Stein became the ninth straight Kentucky coach to lose his first SEC game.
No. 15 BYU 28, Arizona 17
Bear Bachmeier threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the host Cougars rallied past the Wildcats in Provo, Utah.
Bachmeier went 16 of 26 for 217 yards and three touchdowns — two caught by Kyler Kasper in the second half — and added 37 rushing yards with the score. LJ Martin ran for 98 yards, including 73 in the second half as the Cougars (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) shut Arizona out in the second half.
Arizona (1-1, 0-1) got 268 yards of total offense from Noah Fifita, who threw for 230 yards and one touchdown and ran for 38 yards and a score.
No. 16 Penn State 27, Temple 9
Rocco Becht threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns to guide the Nittany Lions to a road win over the Owls in Philadelphia.
Becht went 21 of 27 on the day, including five completions to Benjamin Brahmer, who racked up 79 yards and two touchdowns. Chase Sowell also caught a TD pass for Penn State (2-0), while Carson Hansen chipped in with 84 yards on 19 carries.
Temple’s Jaxon Smolik, who previously played for the Nittany Lions, completed 10-of-16 passes for 59 yards with an interception. He also added 71 rushing yards for Temple (1-1), while Keveun Mason rushed 14 times for 76 yards.
No. 17 SMU 56, UC Davis 10
Kevin Jennings passed for 337 yards and five touchdowns, all in the first half, leading the Mustangs to a runaway win over the Aggies in Dallas.
Jennings completed 14 of 16 passes without a turnover, throwing touchdown passes to four different receivers. Yamir Knight caught three passes for 62 yards, Derrick McFall added two receptions for 57 yards and a score, and Theo Melin Ohrstrom caught three passes for 25 yards and two touchdowns for SMU (2-0), which won its second game in a six-day span.
UC Davis (2-1) starting quarterback Treynor Cleeland was 11-for-26 passing for 83 yards with one interception. Jackson Kollock replaced him and completed eight of 10 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
No. 19 Washington State 16, Utah State 14
Tyler Robles kicked three field goals and the Huskies held on for a nonconference victory against the Aggies in Seattle.
Utah State’s Grady Brosterhous threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Eli Wood with 1:50 remaining. Washington (2-0) recovered the ensuing onside kick but couldn’t run out the clock. The Aggies (0-2) got the ball back on their 15-yard line with 46 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, but a last-second Hail Mary into the end zone was intercepted by Rahshawn Clark.
The Huskies’ Demond Williams Jr. completed 26 of 41 passes for 249 yards and rushed for a team-high 56 yards on 11 carries.
