Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (10) reacts after a quarterback sack during the second half of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
By The Associated Press
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Carson Beck passed for 269 yards, Daijun Edwards, Dillon Bell and Cash Jones ran for second-half touchdowns, and No. 1 Georgia rallied from 11 points down to beat South Carolina 24-14 on Saturday.
The two-time reigning national champion Bulldogs won their 20th consecutive game in uncharacteristic fashion, trotting off to a smattering of boos from their home fans and facing their biggest halftime deficit in nearly three years.
But Georgia (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) played like a champ after the teams returned to the field on a soggy, gloomy day between the hedges.
The defense totally shut down Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks (1-2, 0-1), who couldn’t build on their 14-3 lead at the break. They managed just 129 yards over the final two quarters, with Rattler held to 6 of 24 passing for 104 yards with two interceptions.
No. 3 FLORIDA STATE 31, BOSTON COLLEGE 29
BOSTON (AP) — DJ Lundy intercepted a pass to set up his own 1-yard touchdown run and Florida State scored four unanswered touchdowns to build a 21-point lead but then blew almost all of it, surviving a late Boston College charge.
Boston College set a school record for penalties, missed an extra point, went for 2 after another touchdown and failed, and opted not to kick a field goal from the Seminoles 5 when trailing by 15 points early in the fourth quarter. But the Eagles still trailed by only 2 points with the ball in the final three minutes before Kalen DeLoach sacked Thomas Castellanos on third down to stall BC’s last possession.
The Eagles would have gotten the ball back with about a minute left after stopping Florida State on third down, but they were called for face masking on the tackle — their 18th penalty of the game.
Jordan Travis completed 16 of 24 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 38 yards for the Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Thomas Castellanos threw for 305 yards and one touchdown and ran for 95 and another score for BC (1-2, 0-1),
No. 5 OHIO STATE 63, WESTERN KENTUCKY 10
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kyle McCord threw for three touchdowns and 318 yards and Ohio State used a 35-point second quarter to rout Western Kentucky.
McCord’s 75-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. on the first play from scrimmage after Western Kentucky had pulled to within four points gave the Buckeyes (3-0) a 21-10 lead and Chip Trayanum ran for a 40-yard score on the first play of their next series to make it 28-10.
The last time OSU scored five TDs in a quarter was Sept. 21, 2013, vs. Florida A&M.
TreVeyon Henderson ran for 88 yards and his touchdowns of 21 and 10 yards put the Buckeyes ahead 14-3 nearly five minutes into the second quarter against the Hilltoppers (2-1),
No. 7 PENN STATE 30, ILLINOIS 13
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Cam Miller, Abdul Carter, Daequan Dixon and Johnny Hardy had interceptions and No. 7 Penn State took advantage of five turnovers by Illinois.
The Nittany Lions (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) overcame a sub-par effort by Drew Allar, who completed just 16 of 33 passes for 208 yards, and the offense. The second-year quarterback connected on 78% of his passes in his first two games.
Luke Altmyer was intercepted four times before he was benched, and running back Josh McCray lost a fumble for Illinois (1-2, 0-1), which has lost two straight.
No. 9 NOTRE DAME 41, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 17
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Sam Hartman threw three touchdown passes to move into seventh place on major college football’s career list and Notre Dame pulled away from Central Michigan.
Notre Dame (4-0) now awaits a top-10 showdown with No. 6 Ohio State next Saturday.
Hartman now has 123 career touchdown passes. He passed Aaron Murray of Georgia and Ty Detmer of BYU and is tied with Oklahoma’s Landry Jones at No. 7 all-time.
Audric Estime rushed for 176 yards on 20 carries and scored a touchdown for the Irish, who outscored Central Michigan (1-2) 20-3 after leading 21-14 at halftime.
No. 10 ALABAMA 17, SOUTH FLORIDA 3
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Roydell Williams rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, helping third-string quarterback Ty Simpson and Alabama shrug off a slow start and beat South Florida.
The Crimson Tide (2-1) rebounded from a 10-point loss to Texas, improving to 14-1 in games following a regular-season loss since 2008.
To do it, though, Alabama had to overcome inconsistent quarterback play and several costly mistakes that kept USF (1-2) in the game. The Bulls led 3-0 when lightning delayed play for 55 minutes in the second quarter, and it was 3-3 at halftime.
No. 12 UTAH 31, WEBER STATE 7
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Nate Johnson threw for 193 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in his first start, helping Utah to a victory over Weber State in another game without Cameron Rising.
Though he is practicing without limits, Rising still hasn’t suited up for the Utes (3-0) since tearing an ACL in the Rose Bowl last season.
Weber State’s Damon Bankston, who came in as the leading rusher in FCS game at 132 yards per game, was held to 59 yards on eight carries. The running back had 47 of those on a second-quarter carry that set up the only score for the Wildcats (2-1).
No. 14 LSU 41, MISSISSIPPI STATE 14
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Malik Nabers set career highs with 13 catches for 239 yards and scored two touchdowns, Jayden Daniels ran for two scores, and LSU beat Mississippi State.
The Tigers (2-1) outgained the Bulldogs 310-79 in the first half on the way to a 24-7 lead.
Will Rogers had his worst game as a starting quarterback at Mississippi State (2-1) as the senior was 11 of 28 for 103 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the fewest completions and yardage Rogers has had as a starter.
MISSOURI 30, No. 15 KANSAS STATE 27
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Harrison Mevis kicked a 61-yard field goal with no time remaining Saturday, sending Missouri to a field-storming, come-from-behind victory over Kansas State in a nonconference showdown of former Big 12 rivals.
The Tigers (3-0) had a chance to give their big-legged kicker a shorter attempt after Brady Cook had driven them into Kansas State territory in the final seconds. But after huddling on the sideline, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was too slow getting his field-goal unit onto the field, and the delay-of-game penalty pushed the Tigers back 5 yards.
Cook proceeded to throw an incomplete pass in the final seconds, but it left just enough time for Mevis to make some magic.
Will Howard threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns with an interception for the Wildcats (2-1).
No. 16 OREGON STATE 26, SAN DIEGO STATE 9
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — DJ Uiagalelei passed for 284 yards and a touchdown, ran for a touchdown for the third consecutive game, and Oregon State’s defense had seven sacks in a win over San Diego State.
In his third game as the Beavers’ starting quarterback after transferring from Clemson, Uiagalelei completed 14 of 30 passes and had two interceptions.
Damien Martinez anchored Oregon State’s running game with 102 yards.
The Beavers (3-0) kept the Aztecs (2-2) out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.
No. 19 OKLAHOMA 66, TULSA 17
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Dillon Gabriel threw for 421 yards and five touchdowns, receiver Nic Anderson scored three times and No. 19 Oklahoma rolled to a victory over in-state rival Tulsa.
Gabriel was 28 of 31 with an interception as three of his receivers had at least 100 yards apiece.
Drake Stoops added a game-high eight catches for 53 yards with two TDs.
After gaining 365 yards in a 28-11 win over SMU last week, the Sooners (3-0) piled up 595 yards, just shy of the 642 they gained in the season-opening 73-0 blowout of Arkansas State.
Cardell Williams didn’t start for Tulsa (2-1), but came on in relief to complete 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
No. 20 NORTH CAROLINA 31, MINNESOTA 13
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Drake Maye threw for a season-high 414 yards to go with two touchdowns, Nate McCollum flirted with a single-game UNC receiving record and North Carolina pushed past Minnesota.
Maye overcame two interceptions and ultimately provided the only reliable source of offense for the Tar Heels (3-0), who were unable to run the ball against one of nation’s top defenses.
Darius Taylor ran for 138 yards and a touchdown shortly before halftime to lead Minnesota (2-1).
No. 21 DUKE 38, NORTHWESTERN 14
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns and threw for 219 yards to lead Duke to a win over Northwestern.
Jordan Waters also ran for two touchdowns and Jalon Calhoun caught five passes for 112 yards as the Blue Devils (3-0, 1-0 ACC) opened the season with three straight wins for the second year in a row under coach Mike Elko.
Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant was 17-for-34 for 123 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Wildcats (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) had 267 yards of total offense, with 90 of those in the fourth quarter.
No. 25 IOWA 41, WESTERN MICHIGAN 10
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Cade McNamara threw for two touchdowns and freshman Kamari Moulton scored twice after halftime in his debut, helping Iowa beat Western Michigan.
Leshon Williams rushed for a career-high 145 yards on 12 carries as the Hawkeyes (3-0) pulled away in the second half of a game delayed 42 minutes by lightning in the first quarter.
Iowa, which led just 14-10 at halftime, had a season-high 387 total yards.
Western Michigan (1-2) scored first when quarterback Treyson Bourguet threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Sambucci in the first quarter.
