COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP
No. 1 Alabama 59, Vanderbilt 0: Damien Harris ran for a career-high 151 yards and three touchdowns, Bo Scarbrough added two TDs and Alabama (4-0) routed host Vanderbilt (3-1) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Alabama now has won 19 straight over the SEC East. Better yet, the Crimson Tide hasn’t lost to Vanderbilt since 1984 or in Nashville since 1969. Both streaks were assured at the end of the first quarter with Alabama up 21-0 after the second of Harris’ TDs. Vanderbilt came in as one of the five remaining undefeated teams in the SEC with the nation’s stingiest defense in points, total yards and against the pass. The Commodores had allowed just 13 points combined through three games, yet they proved no match against Alabama’s dominating ground game. Harris topped his season’s best by the end of the first quarter and needed only 12 carries for his big day, thanks to a 61-yarder in the first quarter . Scarbrough ran 11 times for 79 yards more with TD runs of 6 and 2 yards. Brian Robinson added a 17-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for a 59-0 lead.
No. 2 Clemson 34, Boston College 7: Adam Choice had a 6-yard tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter and Travis Etienne had two scoring runs in the final six minutes as host Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC) wore down Boston College (1-3, 0-2). The Tigers, who came in off top-15 wins over Auburn and Louisville the last two weeks, were five-touchdown favorites over the Eagles. But Boston College quieted the large Death Valley crowd on AJ Dillon’s 1-yard TD late in the third quarter to tie the game at 7-7. Clemson finally got going in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kelly Bryant led the Tigers on a 76-yard drive, capped by Choice’s go-ahead score. The next series, they were at it once more on a 90-yard series and the speedy freshman Etienne burst through the weary Eagles to finally give the Tigers some breathing room. Bryant added a 4-yard TD before Etienne closed the scoring with a 10-yard run. Clemson won its seventh straight over the Eagles and opened 4-0 for a third consecutive season.
No. 5 Southern California 30, California 20:Stephen Carr ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown two plays after Southern California’s defense forced one of its six turnovers and the Trojans (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) beat host California (3-1, 0-1) for their 13th straight victory. USC has dominated the series with its in-state rival by winning 14 straight against the Golden Bears, but this was one of the tightest matchups in years as the game was tied early in the fourth quarter. Sam Darnold threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans but also had an interception and was under pressure for much of the day. It was the defense that stepped up for USC, intercepting a pass from Ross Bowers in the first quarter to set up a field goal and then delivering the big play early in the fourth quarter after Chase McGrath gave the Trojans a 16-13 lead with his third field goal of the game.
No. 15 TCU 44, No. 7 Oklahoma State 31: Darius Anderson ran for a career-high 160 yards and three touchdowns, and TCU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) upset host Oklahoma State (3-1, 0-1) to stamp the Horned Frogs as a Big 12 contender. Kenny Hill passed for 228 yards for the Horned Frogs (No. 16 AP), who put themselves in a great position to start league play. The Frogs ran 52 times for 238 yards. TCU gave Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph plenty of time to throw, but he often couldn’t find enough open receivers. He completed 22 of 41 passes for 398 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions. James Washington caught six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown and Marcell Ateman caught six passes for 100 yards for the Cowboys (No. 6 AP).
No. 8 Michigan 28, Purdue 10: Chris Evans ran for two touchdowns in the second half and backup quarterback John O’Korn rallied Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) from a halftime deficit to a 10 victory at Purdue (2-2, 0-1). Evans finished with 14 carries for 97 yards for the Wolverines. O’Korn was forced into action when starting quarterback Wilson Speight left late in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury, and the former Houston starter came up every bit as big as the Wolverines’ defense in the second half. He finished 18 of 26 for 270 yards with one touchdown and one interception after throwing only one pass in Michigan’s first three games. There was no immediate update on Speight’s injury. Purdue rewarded its first home sellout crowd in almost nine years by jumping to a 10-7 halftime lead. But the Boilermakers managed only 10 yards of offense and one first down in the second half.
No. 9 Ohio State 54, UNLV 21: J.T. Barrett threw touchdown passes to five different receivers in the first half, and host Ohio State (3-1) cruised to a win over UNLV (1-2). Barrett, who has taken the brunt of the criticism for Ohio State’s inconsistent passing game this season, was barely slowed by an outgunned UNLV defense, completing 12 of 17 passes for 209 yards before handing the game over to backup Dwayne Haskins near the end of the first half. The big half for Barrett moved him into second place behind Art Schlichter for all-time passing yards at Ohio State (No. 10 AP). The Buckeyes rolled, but the opponent was no real test in the last tune-up game before Ohio State begins its conference schedule. Barrett threw scoring passes to Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Binjimen Victor, Terry McLaurin and K.J. Hill. True freshman running back J.K. Dobbins added to his growing resume by rushing for 95 yards on 14 carries before taking a seat just before halftime.
NC State 27, No. 11 Florida State 21: Ryan Finley threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns as North Carolina State (3-1, 1-0 ACC) got its first road win over a ranked team since 2008, defeating Florida State (0-2, 0-1). Jaylen Samuels had two touchdowns as the Wolfpack broke a 10-game losing streak to ranked teams. Their last win over a Top 25 team coincidentally was against Florida State (No. 12 AP) in 2012. Their last victory on the road over a ranked team was at North Carolina. Finley, who completed 22 of 32 passes, had a 71-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to give the Wolfpack a 17-7 lead. Nyheim Hines rushed for 94 yards on 24 carries. The Seminoles, who had a 21-day layoff due to Hurricane Irma, have dropped their first two games to open a season for the first time in 28 years. It also marks the first time since 2011 that FSU has dropped back-to-back games. James Blackman was 22 of 38 for 278 yards in his first start. Blackman, the first true freshman to start for FSU since 1985, moved into the starting spot after Deondre Francois suffered a seasonending knee injury in the Sept. 2 loss to Alabama.
No. 13 Virginia Tech 38, Old Dominion 0: Josh Jackson threw for three touchdowns and Steven Peoples scored three, leading host Virginia Tech (4-0) past Old Dominion (2-2). Peoples scored on receptions of 17 and 43 yards, the latter when Jackson threw for a well-covered Cam Phillips in the end zone and the ball was tipped into Peoples’ arms. Peoples also scored on a 1-yard run, and Jackson hit C.J. Carroll with a 5-yard scoring pass for the Hokies. Virginia Tech started slowly for the second consecutive game, but has scored 95 consecutive points since it last allowed any. The Monarchs, playing an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent for the second week in a row, fell to 0-9 against Power Five schools. The game was the first meeting between the schools and featured the first career start for 17-year-old Old Dominion quarterback Steven Williams Jr.