No. 10 Penn St. thwarts No. 22 Auburn’s charge
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Jaquan Brisker broke up a desperation pass toward the end zone by Auburn’s Bo Nix as time expired and No. 10 Penn State held on to beat No. 22 Auburn 28-20 on Saturday night.
Sean Clifford completed 28 of 32 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns as Penn State (3-0) welcomed back its white out crowd to Beaver Stadium for a rare visit from a Southeastern Conference teams.
Jahan Dotson added 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, tight end Brenton Strange caught a touchdown and tight end Tyler Warren and Noah Cain ran for scores to help the Nittany Lions beat an SEC opponent for the first time since.
Penn State had to make two late defensive stand to make the lead hold. First, they kept Auburn (2-1) out of the end zone after a first-and-goal at the 10. An incomplete fade from the 2 on fourth down with 3:08 left gave Penn State the ball back, but the Nittany Lions could not run out the whole clock.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 40 SOUTH CAROLINA 13
JT Daniels returned to the lineup with three touchdown passes, and the Bulldogs’ fearsome defense almost made it three straight games without allowing a TD in a romp of the Gamecocks in Athens, Ga. Daniels completed 23 of 31 passes for 303 yards, including scoring throws of 43 yards to Jermaine Burton, 38 yards to freshman Adonai Mitchell and 4 yards to James Cook for the Bulldogs
(3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference).
NO. 4 OREGON 48 STONY BROOK 7
Freshman Ty Thompson threw for a pair of second-half touchdowns, and the Ducks (3-0) overcame a sluggish start in a game that was delayed because of lightning.
NO. 5 IOWA 30, KENT STATE 7
Tyler Goodson ran for a career-high 153 yards and three touchdowns, and the host Hawkeyes (3-0) beat the Golden Flashes. The Hawkeyes have won nine straight games. They have won 14th consecutive nonconference games, the second-longest current streak in the nation.
NO. 6 CLEMSON 14 GEORGIA TECH 8
Will Shipley ran for two touchdowns, and the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a goal-line stand in the final seconds in wild victory in Clemson, S.C. The game was delayed nearly two hours just before the half because of the threat of lightning around Memorial Stadium.
Clemson was favored by nearly four touchdowns and had beaten the Yellow Jackets 73-7 a season ago. This time, though, Clemson and quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei couldn’t get the offense going for the second time in three games.
NO. 8 CINCINNATI 38 INDIANA 24
In Bloomington, Ind., Desmond Ridder threw the goahead touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then scored on a 7-yard TD run. Jerome Ford ran for two scores and Tre Tucker scored on a 99-yard kickoff return as the Bearcats (3-0) won their first road game of the season. They’ve won 12 of 13 since the start of 2020.
NO. 9 OHIO STATE 41, TULSA 20
TreVeyon Henderson broke Archie Griffin’s 49-year-old freshman rushing record, romping for 277 yards and three touchdowns to help the host Buckeyes (2-1) beat the Golden Hurricane in Columbus, Ohio. Cameron Martinez’s 61-yard interception return for a touchdown made the score look worse than it was for the persistent Golden Hurricane (0-3).
NO. 12 NOTRE DAME 27 PURDUE 13
Kyren Williams had two long touchdown plays, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05 remaining, and the Fighting Irish (3-0) held off Purdue for their 26th straight victory at home.
The victory was the 105th in Brian Kelly’s 12-year career at Notre Dame, tying him with Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in school history.
NO. 16 COASTAL CAROLINA 28 BUFFALO 25
Grayson McCall threw for three touchdowns, Shermari Jones ran for 149 yards and another score for the Chanticleers (3-0) in Amherst, N.Y.
McCall, who entered the day leading the nation in passing efficiency and completion rate, was 13 of 19 for 232 yards with his first interception of the season.
NO. 20 ARKANSAS 45 GEORGIA SOUTHERN 10
KJ Jefferson threw for a careerhigh 366 yards and tied a career high with three touchdowns to lead the host Razorbacks (3-0).
Arkansas all but ended it on a 91-yard pass from Jefferson to preseason All-SEC wide receiver Treylon Burks with 11:18 left in the third quarter. It was Jefferson’s final touchdown pass of the game and gave Arkansas a 38-10 lead.
NO. 21 NORTH CAROLINA 59 VIRGINIA 39
Sam Howell threw five touchdown passes and ran for a career-best 112 yards as the Tar Heels (2-1, 1-1 ACC) took over after halftime.
MICHIGAN STATE 38 NO. 24 MIAMI 17
In Miami Gardens, Fla., Payton Thorne passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns, two of those scoring throws going to Jalen Nailor.
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 172 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Spartans (3-0), who are off to their best start since 2015. Jayden Reed also had a scoring catch and a touchdown run for Michigan State, which forced Miami quarterback D’Eriq King into four turnovers.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 63 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 10
Blake Corum rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
The host Wolverines (3-0) scored touchdowns on their first nine drives, eight of them on the ground. The 10th drive also included a touchdown run, but it was called back for a holding penalty and Michigan turned the ball over on downs. The Wolverines never punted.