Lombardi leads Michigan State over Michigan
Outside of Michigan State’s football program, few expected the Spartans to beat No. 13 Michigan.
The people who mattered, though, had all the confidence they needed to pull off the upset.
Rocky Lombardi threw for 323 yards, including 196 to Ricky White, and three touchdowns to help Michigan State stun the Wolverines 27-24 on Saturday at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“I know we were threetouchdown underdogs, but everybody on this team knew going into the game that we had a chance and we had a good chance,” Lombardi said.
The Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) appeared to be the better team all afternoon on both sides of the ball in Mel Tucker’s debut as coach in the rivalry.
Tucker became just the second coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt with the Spartans, joining Alabama coach Nick Saban, who did it in 1995. The former Colorado coach started his career as a graduate assistant for Saban at Michigan State in 1997.
“Just to be mentioned in the same breath with coach Saban is humbling for me,” Tucker said. “But it’s more about our players and our staff coming together.”
The Wolverines (1-1, 1-1) were favored to win by 20-plus points and ended up needing a late score to avoid losing by double digits.
Jim Harbaugh’s team never led and didn’t appear to have much energy in front of family and friends in their mostly empty stadium that holds 110,000-plus fans when there isn’t a pandemic.
Running back Hassan Haskins scored on a 2-yard run with 37 seconds left to help Michigan pull within three points. The onside kick was recovered by Michigan State running back Connor Heyward. Lombardi converted a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan 36 with a sneak to seal the victory.
Lombardi completed 17 of 32 passes and Heyward caught two of his TD passes. White, who averaged 24.5 yards on eight receptions against a shaky secondary, also scored on a catch in a breakout performance from a freshman wide receiver.
A No. 1 Clemson 34, Boston College 28: Freshman DJ Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Trevor Lawrence, home with COVID-19, and the host Tigers rallied from 18-points down in the first half to defeat the Eagles (4-3, 3-3).
Travis Etienne became the ACC’s all-time rushing leader and his second TD put the Tigers (7-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead for good.
A jarring week for Clemson ended with its 28th straight win over league competition, 10th straight over the Eagles and 27th in a row at home.
A No. 4 Notre Dame 31, Georgia Tech 13: Kyren Williams ran for two touchdowns, Ian Book passed for another and the Fighting Irish moved on to its biggest game of the season with a dominant defensive performance, stifling the host Yellow Jackets (2-5, 2-4). Book completed 18 of 26 passes for 199 yards in another efficient performance for the Fighting Irish (6-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
A No. 5 Georgia 14, Kentucky 3: Zamir White rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, Stetson Bennett also ran for a score and the Bulldogs (4-1 Southeastern Conference) improved to
5-1 after byes under coach Kirby Smart by winning the 11th straight game in the series with host Wildcats (2-4).
A No. 7 Cincinnati 49, Memphis 10: Desmond Ridder threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and ran for two and Jerome Ford also scored twice as the host Bearcats (5-0, 3-0 AAC) remained undefeated and decisively snapped a five-game losing streak against the Tigers (3-2, 2-2.
A West Virginia 37, No. 16 Kansas State 10: Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Dylan Tonkery returned an interception for a score and the host Mountaineers (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) knocked the Wildcats (4-2, 4-1) from their solo perch atop the league standings.
A No. 17 Indiana 37, Rutgers 21: Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the visiting Hoosiers beat mistake-prone Rutgers in a game that almost included a crazy TD. Penix had touchdown tosses of 15, 2 and 1 yard. He also scored on a quarterback sneak as the Hoosiers (2-0, 2-0 Big Ten) followed up their stunning win over then-No. 8 Penn State last week.
A No. 20 Coastal Carolina 51, Georgia State 0: Grayson McCall passed for 254 yards and four touchdowns, Jaivon Heiligh scored twice, and the Chanticleers (6-0, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) cruised past the host Panthers (2-3, 1-3).
A No. 23 Iowa State 52, Kansas 22: Breece Hall matched a career high with 185 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy threw two TD passes and had another score on the ground and the Cyclones (4-2, 4-1 Big 12) bounced back from a tough loss to No. 6 Oklahoma State by beating the host Jayhawks (0-6, 0-5) for the sixth straight time.
STATE SCHOOLS
A UCF 44, Houston 21: Dillon Gabriel passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns, UCF (4-2, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) rushed for another 300-plus and the Kinghts’ balanced, high-octane offense swamped the host Cougars (2-2, 2-1).
FAU 24, UTSA 3: Nick
A Tronti threw for a touchdown, ran for another and the host Owls (2-1, 2-1 Conference USA) beat the Roadrunners (4-4, 2-2).
Malcomb Davidson rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries for FAU.