Knox, Wells help Marshall beat No. 23 App State, 17-7
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Brenden Knox rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Grant Wells came up with back-to-back big plays when Marshall needed them, and the Thundering Herd beat No. 23 Appalachian State 17-7 on Saturday.
Marshall (2-0) beat a ranked opponent for the first time since winning at No. 6 Kansas State in 2003. It also was the Thundering Herd’s first win over a ranked opponent at home since 1976.
Appalachian State (1-1) squandered a couple of late opportunities and was held scoreless in the second half.
“For our program, it’s huge,” Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. “I thought our guys accepted that challenge. I thought the defensive play was special.”
Knox got the edge over Appalachian State quarterback Zac Thomas in a matchup between two preseason offensive players of the year in their respective conferences.
Wells had a lackluster game but put together consecutive big plays that made the difference. The redshirt freshman threw a 67-yard pass down the middle to a wide open Xavier Gaines to set up Wells’ 12-yard scoring run on the next play for a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter.
Wells finished 11-of-25 for 163 yards after throwing four touchdown passes in his debut two weeks ago, a 59-0 win over Eastern Kentucky.
Appalachian State lost a chance to close the gap early in the fourth. Thomas connected with Mike Evans on a 41-yard pass play. But as Evans was heading toward the end zone, Marshall’s Brandon Drayton punched the ball loose and teammate Nazeeh Johnson recovered for a touchback.
“That’s a big momentum swing,” Appalachian State coach Shawn Clark said. “If we score a touchdown, we’re down three and we’ve got the momentum on our side. You go from having the momentum on your side to, ‘Here we go, another turnover.’ We have to get that corrected in a hurry.” › No. 1 Clemson 49, The Citadel 0 CLEMSON, S.C. — Trevor Lawrence threw for three touchdowns in just nine passes to help Clemson beat
The Citadel (1-1), a Southern Conference team taking on an Atlantic Coast Conference power and perennial national contender.
Lawrence also rushed for his third score of the season, leading the way as the Tigers (2-0) improved to 35-0 against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. Clemson came out fast, stayed sharp and played just about everybody available in the runaway victory.
Lawrence was 8-for-9 for 168 yards, including scoring passes of 54 and 17 yards to Frank Ladson Jr. and 44 yards to Amari Rodgers.
› No. 7 Notre Dame 52, South Florida 0
SOUTH BEND — Ian Book ran for three first-half touchdowns as Notre Dame won its 20th straight home game.
The Fighting Irish (2-0) led 35-0 at halftime and for the second year in a row posted a 52-point shutout.
Book capped the opening drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, and freshman Chris Tyree scored from a yard out five minutes later.
It never got better for firstyear coach Jeff Scott’s Bulls (1-1), who were a late add to Notre Dame’s schedule after the Irish joined the ACC for this season played in a pandemic.
› No. 11 Okla. State 16, Tulsa 7
STILLWATER, Okla. — Chuba Hubbard was limited to 35 yards in the first half but scored on a 3-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to lift Oklahoma State to a victory over Tulsa in the season opener for both teams.
Trailing 7-3 late in the third quarter, Oklahoma State’s offense received a big spark when the Cowboys’ third quarterback, freshman Shane Illingworth, entered the game and immediately connected on his first three passes, including the two longest plays of the day, hitting Tylan Wallace for receptions of 36 and 29 yards.
Illingworth completed four of five passes for 74 yards in just more than a quarter of work, helping Wallace end up with four receptions for 94 yards. Freshman Alex Hale made three field goals (two in the fourth quarter) — from 27, 40 and 29 yards.
For Tulsa, Zach Smith completed 18 of 28 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown, a 16-yard toss to Josh Johnson with 1:38 left in the first half that put the Golden Hurricane up 7-3.
› No. 14 C. Florida 49, Georgia Tech 21
ATLANTA — Dillon Gabriel threw for a careerbest 417 yards and four touchdowns to lead Central Florida past Georgia Tech in the Knights’ season opener.
After giving up a long return on the opening kickoff, UCF rebounded behind its left-handed sophomore to beat a team looking to build on a big road win against Florida State in its opener.
Tre Nixon and Marlon Williams each hauled in a pair of touchdown passes as Gabriel eclipsed his previous career high of 365 yards in a game last season at East Carolina. He finished 27-of-41, also eclipsing his career high for completions and matching his mark for most scoring passes in a game.
Former Dalton High School player Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 66 yards on 15 carries and scored on a 33-yard run for Georgia Tech (1-1). The freshman also had four catches for 63 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown, in his first start.
› No. 19 Cincinnati 55, Austin Peay 20
CINCINNATI — Gerrid Doaks scored four touchdowns, including a careerhigh three rushing, as Cincinnati beat Austin Peay in the Bearcats’ season opener.
Desmond Ridder passed for 196 yards and two scores for Cincinnati in a game that originally was scheduled for Sept. 3. It was the latest start for a Bearcats season since 1968, when they played at Texas Tech on Sept. 21.
Cincinnati (1-0) has high hopes for this year after it went 11-3 last season and ranked No. 21 in the final AP poll. It quickly jumped all over the Governors.
Junior QB Jeremiah Otsvall passed for 202 yards for Austin Peay (0-3), which allowed 55 points in each of its past two games, including last week’s 55-0 loss to Pittsburgh.
› No. 19 La.-Lafayette 34, Georgia State 31
ATLANTA — Elijah Mitchell rushed for 164 yards, including the winning touchdown in overtime, as Louisiana-Lafayette beat Georgia State.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (2-0, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) — coached by Murray County (Georgia) High School graduate Billy Napier — were ranked for the first time since 1943 after last week’s 20-point win at Iowa State. Louisiana was a 17-point favorite but trailed 14-7 at intermission.
The Panthers (0-1, 0-1) pushed the lead to 21-7 lead on Marcus Carroll’s 2-yard run, but it didn’t last long. In overtime, Mitchell ran 12 yards around the right side and was untouched as he crossed the goal line for the final score.
› No. 25 Pittsburgh 21, Syracuse 10
PITTSBURGH — Kenny Pickett threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score, and Pittsburgh’s defense did the rest as the Panthers beat Syracuse.
Pitt (2-0, 1-0 ACC) limited the Orange (0-2, 0-2) to 171 total yards, 69 of them coming on backup quarterback Rex Culpepper’s second-quarter touchdown strike to a streaking Taj Harris. Otherwise, Syracuse mustered very little against the Panthers’ dominant front seven.
The Panthers sacked Culpepper and starter Tommy DeVito seven times, rarely letting the quarterbacks get comfortable. Still, Pitt was sloppy enough to let the Orange hang around well into the second half. The Panthers were flagged seven times for 70 yards, missed three field goals and lacked the precision they showed during an easy opening win against overmatched Austin Peay.
› Troy 47, MTSU 14
MURFREESBORO — Gunnar Watson threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns and Troy opened its season with a victory over Middle Tennessee State University.
Watson threw both of his touchdown passes to Khalil McClain in the first half, including a 5-yarder with three seconds left before the break to lead 26-7.
Three Trojans running backs scored on short runs, with Troy rushing for 240 yards. Troy outgained MTSU 496-241.
MTSU (0-2) limited fan capacity to 7,000 in its 30,788seat stadium with face coverings required.