Buckeyes survive against TCU
Defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones returned an interception thrown right at him 28 yards for one of No. 4 Ohio State’s three touchdowns in a four-minute span of the third quarter in a 40-28 victory against No. 15 TCU on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
The Buckeyes, in their last game without suspended coach Urban Meyer on the sideline, finally went ahead to stay with that spurt that started when Dwayne Haskins threw a short pass that Parris Campbell turned into a 63yard touchdown.
“Once we found [the momentum], we had to hold on to it,” Jones said.
Ohio State still trailed 21-19 after a two-point try failed, but TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson was under pressure on the ensuing third down when he tried to shovel a pass to his running back — but instead it went to Jones, a 286-pound tackle, who rumbled to the end zone. The next drive for the Horned Frogs ended with a blocked punt, and two plays later Haskins threw a 24-yard touchdown to K.J. Hill.
“Getting through this game, we knew there were going to be ebbs and flows in a game like this,” acting coach Ryan Day said. “We knew that there were going to be times when we’d hit adversity and we’d have to stick together at times like that. I thought we did, and we really turned the momentum there in the third quarter.”
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 10-0 lead after All-America defensive end Nick Bosa’s strip-sack in the end zone, a fumble that was recovered by Davon Hamilton for a touchdown.
Penn State 63, Kent State 10
Quarterback Trace McSorley accounted for five touchdowns, including three on the ground, to lead the No. 11 Nittany Lions. His 24 career rushing touchdowns passes Daryll Clark for most by a quarterback and he joins Michael Robinson as the only Penn State quarterbacks to rush for over 1,000 yards.
Backup quarterback Sean Clifford threw a 95-yard touchdown pass to Daniel George that was the longest play from scrimmage in school history.
Troy 24, Nebraska 19
With starting quarterback Adrian Martinez (right knee) unable to play, sophomore Andrew Bunch filled in and went 19-for-27 for 177 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions as new coach Scott Frost still seeks his first win.
The Cornhuskers, who haven’t started a season 0-2 since 1957, have lost six consecutive home games. The Trojans (2-1), out of the Sun Belt Conference, earned a $1.15 million guarantee for traveling to Lincoln.
Michigan 45, SMU 20
Shea Patterson threw three touchdown passes to Donovan Peoples-Jones to pace the No. 19 Wolverines. Michigan receivers only caught three touchdown passes in all of 2017.
“We’re getting closer to being good — really good,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We’re still not quite there yet.”
Kansas 55, Rutgers 14
Scarlet Knights freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski, who was questionable with an injury to his right shoulder, started and threw three interceptions, including two pick-sixes. Rutgers also lost four fumbles.
Kansas won consecutive games against FBS foes for the first time since 2009.
Missouri 40, Purdue 37
Despite a 572-yard passing game from quarterback David Blough, the Boilermakers fell to Missouri on a 25-yard field goal as time expired. Blough completed 39 of 55 passes and Purdue had three 100-yard receivers: Rondale Moore (137), Brycen Hopkins (136) and Isaac Zico (100).