Leary rises up to rally N.C. State late at Pitt
North Carolina State head coach Dave Doeren kept waiting for quarterback Devin Leary to take a firm grasp of the starting job. Doeren knew Leary had all the tools necessary to provide some stability at a position where there's been little of it recently for the Wolfpack.
At some point, Doeren figured it would all come together for the charismatic redshirt sophomore with the big arm.
That point arrived in the fourth quarter on Saturday at Heinz Field against No. 24 Pittsburgh. Twice the Wolfpack needed to go the length of the field to reclaim the lead. Twice they did it, the last time coming on a 13-yard strike from Leary to Emeka Emezie with 23 seconds to go to give N.C. State a stunning 30-29 win over the previously unbeaten Panthers.
Leary, making his first start of the season, drove the Wolfpack 79 yards in 12 plays, the last a perfect backshoulder throw to Emezie, who made a perfect spinning grab to give N.C. State its first victory over a ranked team since 2017. Leary finished 28 of 44 for 336 yards and four touchdowns as the Wolfpack (2-1, 2-1 ACC) bounced back from a dismal loss at Virginia Tech to stop Pitt's bid for the program's first 4-0 start since 2000.
“We've been waiting for him to become ‘The guy,' ” Doeren said of Leary. “We've always known what his arm was. This team believes in him. You can see it in the locker room. They rally around him.”
Trask, Pitts carry Gators: No. 3 Florida was nearly flawless on offense in its season opener, a 51-point, 642-yard barrage that set a school record. Two turnovers a week later made the Gators look vulnerable.
Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts hooked up for two more touchdowns, continuing their hot start and leading Florida to a 38-24 victory over South Carolina in Gainesville, Fla.
It wasn't as clean as the Gators (2-0) had hoped, especially considering they were at home in the Swamp, but they'll take it and move on.
“We expect to score every single time we have the ball and we should have scored every time we had the ball,” Trask said.
Trask completed 21 of 29 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. But his first-half fumble and fourthquarter interception kept the Gamecocks (0-2) in it.
Pitts finished with four receptions for 57 yards, commanding extra attention and beating South Carolina's top defenders. He nearly made a one-handed catch in the third quarter, but the ball slipped off his left fingertips.
As far as his coach is concerned, the numbers looked good for Jarrett Guarantano.
The fifth-year Tennessee quarterback was productive through the air and clutch on the ground, accounting for three touchdowns to lead the Volunteers to a 35-12 victory over Missouri in Knoxville, Tenn.
“There were three times Jarrett didn't make the right read,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “That's three out of about 76 (plays). We'll continue to work hard. We put a lot on him.”
The win was Tennessee's eighth in a row, tying the Vols (2-0) with Notre Dame for the most among Power Five teams.
Guarantano was an efficient 14 of
Guarantano leads Vols’ rout:
23 for 190 yards and a touchdown and had two short touchdown runs as the Vols leaned on their excellent offensive line to control the game.
Eric Gray and Ty Chandler combine for 195 yards on the ground.
The Pac-12 football season will begin with a morning start on Nov. 7 —Arizona State at USC.
The conference schedule released Saturday includes eight Friday games, at least one every week after the first weekend of the season. Each Pac-12 team has six opponents scheduled, five from its division and from across the conference.
The Nov. 7 opener kicks off at 9 a.m. local time. The conference has been toying with morning starts to boost nationwide exposure. TV partner Fox has emphasized its noon Eastern time window, trying to put high-profile games in that spot. Arizona State and USC will be Fox's “Big Noon Kickoff” game, with its pregame show coming from the Los Angeles Coliseum
The Pac-12 championship game will match division winners and be played Dec. 18. The other teams in the conference will also play a cross-division game that weekend for a total of seven games each.
Pac-12 sets schedule: