Sooners ride out Green Wave
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma nearly took its hospitality too far.
The Sooners’ game against Tulane was relocated from New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida, and Oklahoma’s athletic department and fans went all out to make their guests feel at home. Oklahoma had the Green Wave painted on the 25-yard lines, and Sooners fans cheered when Tulane’s players ran onto the field before the game.
The Sooners then nearly let the Green Wave claim their first win over a Top 10 opponent since 1973. Spencer Rattler passed for 304 yards and a touchdown as No. 2 Oklahoma, playing a road game on its home field, narrowly avoided a shocking upset by holding on for a 4035 victory over Tulane on Saturday.
“That was one of the hardest-hitting teams, one of the most physical teams I’ve played,” Rattler said. “They came out there, and they played great, better than us, for sure. They wanted to win more than us. You could tell it. We have to be cleaner, sharper and have to be better.”
The Sooners, who led 4022 early in the fourth quarter, gave up a pair of late touchdowns. Tulane had fourth and 13 just short of midfield with just under two minutes to go when quarterback Michael Pratt ran for only 12 yards and the Green Wave turned the ball over on downs. The Sooners ran out the clock.
Oklahoma led 37-14 at halftime.
“The second half, I think clearly our team felt like the game was over,” Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley said. “That’s obviously my job to make sure our mentality is right. I don’t think it was. I think we were playing well at that point and had separated a little bit. And then you could just see we weren’t quite the same team coming out.”
Oklahoma’s Gabe Brkic tied an FBS record with three field goals of 50 or more yards, and Marvin Mims had five catches for 117 yards.
Rattler, a preseason firstteam AP All-American, completed 30 of 39 passes, ran for a score and threw for another, but he also threw 2 interceptions.
Pratt passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns for the Green Wave. He also ran for a score.
NO. 7 IOWA STATE 16, NORTHERN IOWA 10
AMES, Iowa — Datrone Young had a big interception with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter and Iowa State staved off upset-minded Northern Iowa to avoid becoming just the second top-10 team to lose to a team from Division I’s second tier.
Iowa State was in danger of joining Michigan as the only top-10 team to lose to an FCS opponent, a memorable upset by Appalachian State in 2007.
Brock Purdy completed 21 of 26 passes for 197 yards, but the Cyclones were kept off-balance by a defense that returned all of its starters.
NO. 8 CINCINNATI 49, MIAMI (OHIO) 14
CINCINNATI — Desmond Ridder was 20 of 25 for 295 yards and 4 touchdowns as Cincinnati beat Miami (Ohio).
The Bearcats tied the series that began in 1888 at 59-59-7.
Ridder threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Scott on the second play from scrimmage. It was the longest TD toss of his career. Ridder also ran six times for 31 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown carry.
Jerome Ford added 121 yards rushing yards on 12 carries.
NO. 19 PENN STATE 16, NO. 12 WISCONSIN 10
MADISON, Wis. — Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown had interceptions deep in Penn State territory in the final 21/2 minutes to help the Nittany Lions beat Wisconsin.
Wisconsin had its string of 25 consecutive victories in home openers snapped because of its red-zone failures. The Badgers dominated time of possession but had four scoreless trips inside Penn State’s 25, including three inside the 10.
NO. 11 OREGON 31, FRESNO STATE 24
EUGENE, Ore. — Anthony Brown scored on a 30-yard quarterback keeper with 2:57 left and Oregon beat Fresno State.
Oregon jumped to a 21-6 lead, but Fresno State (1-1) scored two straight touchdowns to tie it midway through the third quarter, then took the lead early in the fourth on Abraham Montano’s field goal.
A fumble recovery gave Oregon the ball at the Fresno State 32, but the Ducks settled for Camden Lewis’ 25yard field goal to tie it before Brown’s go-ahead touchdown.
Brown threw for 172 yards and a touchdown and ran for 62 yards.
NO. 15 SOUTHERN CAL 30, SAN JOSE STATE 7
LOS ANGELES — Drake London caught a career-high 13 passes for 144 yards, Greg Johnson returned a late interception 37 yards for a touchdown and Southern California pulled away to beat San Jose State.
Kedon Slovis passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns, with more than half of his completions finding their way to the dominant London. Slovis also hit Tahj Washington with a 29-yard touchdown pass in the first half, but the rest of USC’s passing game struggled until the Trojans’ final surge.
Former University of Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel passed for 308 yards and Tyler Nevens rushed for a touchdown for the Spartans.
NO. 18 IOWA 34, NO. 17 INDIANA 6
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Riley Moss returned two first-half interceptions for touchdowns and Iowa beat Indiana.
Iowa intercepted three of Michael Penix Jr.’s passes and had a fourth wiped out by a roughing-the-passer call.
Tyler Goodson rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes. Spencer Petras had a 9-yard touchdown run and completed 13 of 27 passes for 145 yards.
MONTANA 13,
NO. 20 WASHINGTON 7
SEATTLE — Montana became the first FCS team to upset a ranked FBS team in five years, shocking No. 20 Washington.
Montana quarterback Cam Humphrey scored on a 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter, and the Grizzlies added a short field goal with 2:54 left to take a six-point lead.
Needing a touchdown to avoid the stunning upset, Washington’s Dylan Morris was incomplete on fourth and 2 with 1:33 left giving the ball back to the Grizzlies.
Montana is the first FCS team to beat a ranked FBS team since North Dakota State won at No. 13 Iowa 23-21 early in the 2016 season, and the fifth time it has happened since Appalachian State’s famous upset of No. 5 Michigan in 2007.
NO. 21 TEXAS 38,
NO. 23 LA-LAFAYETTE 18
AUSTIN, Texas — Bijan Robinson scored twice and Hudson Card threw two touchdown passes in his first career start, leading Texas past Louisiana-Lafayette in Coach Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns debut.
Robinson scored Texas’ first touchdown on a pass from Card in the first quarter, then punched in another on a 7-yard run on the first possession of the third that put Texas ahead 21-6. Robinson finished with 176 total yards rushing and receiving in the kind of allaround game Sarkisian had promised to use.
Card, a second-year freshman who won the starting job over fourth-year player Casey Thompson, was 14-of-21 passing for 224 yards and no interceptions. He also scrambled out of pressure well and had a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter after Louisiana closed to 21-12.