Bama QB stellar in his first start
ATLANTA — Bryce Young didn’t take long to prove he’s the man to lead No. 1 Alabama in its quest for another national title.
Young became the first Crimson Tide quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his starting debut and the defending champions romped past No. 14 Miami 44-13 on Saturday.
After sending another batch of stars off to the NFL, it looks like Nick Saban’s team simply reloaded for another run at the title.
Young, a sophomore from Southern California, completed 27 of 38 passes for 344 yards — a performance that even managed to please his demanding coach.
“I thought Bryce did really, really well,” Saban said. “The poise he played with, the command he had. He kind of took what the defense gave him and really directed the offense in a positive way.”
Young opened with a 37yard touchdown pass to John Metchie, hooked up with tight end Cameron Latu on a pair of scoring plays and buried the Hurricanes with a 94yard TD strike to Jameson Williams early in the third quarter.
“He did a great job of getting the ball to the right guy at the right time in the right place,” Saban said of Young.
Before Young, Mac Jones and Joe Namath had been the only quarterbacks to throw three TD passes in their first starts for Alabama.
“There was a lot of anticipation,” Young said. “It was definitely fun to be out there with my guys.”
Williams had four receptions for 126 yards in his stellar debut for the Tide after transferring from Ohio State.
NO. 6 TEXAS A&M 41, KENT STATE 10
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Leon O’Neal Jr. had two interceptions, returning the second one 85 yards for a touchdown, and Devon Achane added two scores to help No. 6 Texas A&M beat Kent State.
It was Texas A&M’s ninth consecutive victory after ending last season with an eight-game winning streak.
O’Neal and Achane’s big performances helped make up for a mistake-riddled night by Haynes King, who threw three interceptions in his first career start.
King looked good at times but often overthrew receivers, and his first two interceptions came throwing into tight coverage in the second quarter. He was 21 of 33 for 292 yards and threw 2 touchdown passes to Ainias Smith.
NO. 13 FLORIDA 35, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 14
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Emory Jones’ first career start included a touchdown pass, two interceptions and a victory against Florida Atlantic.
Jones was far from sharp in the Swamp, but the fourth-year junior had some moments to build on moving forward. He did much of his damage with his legs, finishing with 74 of the team’s 400 yards rushing.
His backup, Anthony Richardson, looked more ready for the spotlight. Richardson ran 7 times for 160 yards, including a 73-yard score late in the game and an 11-yarder in which he broke three tackles and hurdled another defender. He was 3-for-8 passing for 40 yards.
Malik Davis had 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
UCLA 38, NO. 16 LSU 26
PASADENA, Calif. — Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns, Zach Charbonnet added 117 rushing yards and a score and UCLA beat No. 16 LSU.
Thompson-Robinson completed 9 of 16 passes and had an interception. Tight end Greg Dulich had 117 yards receiving, including a 75-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter to tie it at 7-7.
It is the first time in 13 years a Pac-12 team has defeated a ranked SEC squad. Coincidentally, UCLA was the last to do it, when it beat Tennessee in 2008.
Charbonnet’s 12-yard run off right end with 9:49 remaining in the second quarter gave UCLA a 14-7 lead that it would not relinquish.
LSU quarterback Max Johnson was 26 of 46 for 330 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception. Kayshon Boutte finished with 9 receptions for 148 yards, including all 3 scores.
MISSOURI 34, CENTRAL MICH. 24
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Tyler Badie ran for 185 yards with touchdowns on the ground and through the air, and Connor Bazelak threw for 257 yards and 2 scores, helping Missouri hold off Central Michigan.
Elijah Young also had a touchdown run for the Tigers, who found themselves in a 14-14 tussle late in the first half before eventually pulling away. Bazelak clinched the win with a TD pass to Niko Hea that made it 31-21 in the final minutes.
Washington transfer Jacob Sirmon threw for 292 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Central Michigan. Lew Nichols III, the reigning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, finished with 135 yards rushing and a score.
KENTUCKY 45, LOUISIANA-MONROE 10
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Will Levis threw for career highs of 367 yards and four touchdowns in his Kentucky debut, including two to fellow transfer Wan’Dale Robinson, and the Wildcats overcame an early deficit to blow out Louisiana-Monroe.
The Wildcats shrugged off a 7-0 deficit after a turnover to overwhelm the rebuilding Warhawks. Unveiling a new pro set offense with former Penn State quarterback Levis behind center, Kentucky piled up 341 of its 554 yards by halftime to lead 28-7 and only allowed the Warhawks past midfield twice after the giveaway.
Levis hit Robinson, a Kentucky native and Nebraska transfer, with TD passes of 33 and 15 yards around a 58-yard scoring pass to Josh Ali. He hit Brendan Bates with a 4-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to finish 18-of-26 passing for 367 yards.
AUBURN 60, AKRON 10
AUBURN, Ala. — Bo Nix passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in just over a half, and Auburn gave new Coach Bryan Harsin a victory in his debut.
Nix was nearly flawless his first time running the offense of Harsin and coordinator Mike Bobo, going 20-of-22 passing while hitting a couple of wideopen receivers for touchdowns. Auburn sprinted to a 37-0 halftime lead and scored on its first eight drives, reaching the end zone on seven of them.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 35, LOUISIANA TECH 34
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Will Rogers threw for 370 yards and Mississippi State scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure a come-from-behind victory over Louisiana Tech.
Tech trailed 14-0 in the first quarter before rattling off 34 unanswered points against the SEC’s No. 4-ranked total defense from a season ago.
Mississippi State turned the ball over four times and committed 12 penalties for 95 yards.
Louisiana Tech kicker Caleb Phillips missed a 46-yard field goal attempt in the game’s final seconds.
EAST TENN. STATE 23, VANDERBILT 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Linebacker Stephen Scott returned a fumble 27 yards for a touchdown, and East Tennessee State upset Vanderbilt to ruin the head coaching debut of Clark Lea at his alma mater.
The Buccaneers also became the sixth FCS team to beat a FBS team to open this season and third of the day joining Holy Cross and Montana. The victory was ETSU’s first over a Power 5 program since upsetting North Carolina State on Nov. 7, 1987.
Vanderbilt became the first SEC program to lose to a FCS program since South Carolina lost to The Citadel on Nov. 21, 2015.