Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ducks win without top defenders
COLUMBUS, Ohio — C.J. Verdell watched on TV last week as Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim shredded Ohio State’s disheveled defense early. The Oregon running back thought he could take advantage in the same fashion.
Verdell, who has struggled with injuries the past two seasons, made it happen. He ran for 161 yards and scored three touchdowns as shorthanded No. 12 Oregon stunned No. 3 Ohio State 35-28 on Saturday.
“We saw the Minnesota running back was having a good game, and we wanted to do the same thing,” the 5-foot8, 211-pound Verdell said.
Verdell and quarterback Anthony Brown exploited holes in Ohio State’s defense and handed the Buckeyes their first regular-season loss in nearly three years and the first of third-year Coach Ryan Day’s tenure.
The Buckeyes’ last loss in the regular season came at Purdue in October 2018 under Urban Meyer.
Ohio State (1-1) never led the game it was favored to win by 141/ points despite gaudy numbers from freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud. Its front seven struggled to contain Verdell, control the edge and get after Brown in front.
“They quickly adapted and just played with grit and toughness, knowing this was going to be a slugfest,” Oregon Coach Mario Cristobal said.
The Ducks ( 2- 0) were without star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and linebacker Justin Flowe.
“It’s hard to express in words the magnitude of coming out here down a couple of guys due to injury, and just playing really, really gutsy football, executing at a high level,” Cristobal said. “A tremendous job of preparation and turning it into a reality by our players and coaching staff.”
The Buckeyes had a chance to tie it late after pulling within a touchdown with 7:55 to go. But when they got the ball again, Stroud took his first sack of the day and then was intercepted by Verone McKinley III on a desperation sideline pass on third-and-18 at the Oregon 35 with 2:50 left as a crowd of more than 100,000 sat stunned.
Stroud, trying to show he is a worthy heir to Justin Fields, likely will be fine. It’s the Ohio State defense that needs work.
Twice in the first half Verdell scurried around the left end — one of them was a pitch pass on fourth-and-1 — and went untouched into the end zone from 14 yards out. Travis Dye exploited the left side again, running from 5 yards out to give the Ducks a 28-14 third-quarter lead.
Three plays into the second half, Verdell blasted through the middle untouched and outran defensive backs for a 77-yard score. He went left again for a 7-yard gain and a first down in the fourth quarter, one play before Brown connected with Moliki Matavao for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Ducks a 35-21 lead with 12:46 left.
“This is not fatal,” Day said. “Certainly, it hurts.”
NO. 4 OKLAHOMA 76, WESTERN CAROLINA 0
NORMAN, Okla. — Spencer Rattler threw five touchdown passes, and Oklahoma matched its fifth-highest point total in school history.
The Sooners led 62- 0 after three quarters, and the fourth quarter was shortened to 12 minutes.
Rattler completed 20 of 26 passes for 243 yards before resting in the second half of Oklahoma’s 10th consecutive victory. He joined Jason White as the only Sooners to pass for five touchdowns in a half.
Jadon Haselwood caught two touchdown passes and Jaden Knowles had 102 yards from scrimmage and ran for two touchdowns for the Sooners (2-0). Gabe Brkic kicked a 56-yard field goal in the first half, his fourth of 50 or more yards in the first two games.
NO. 6 CLEMSON 49, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 3
CLEMSON, S. C. — D. J. Uiagalelei ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third as No. 6 Clemson defeated South Carolina State, cranking up its offense after a sorry showing in a loss to second-ranked Georgia a week earlier.
Uiagalelei and the Tigers ( 1- 1) had touchdowns on all four of their first-quarter possessions and pulled away for their 36th consecutive win over teams from the Football Championship Subdivision.
Uiagalelei began the rout with a 4-yard scoring burst. Will Shipley and Kobe Pace added scoring runs before Uiagalelei closed the surge with an 11yard pass to receiver Justyn Ross. It was Ross’ first touchdown catch since 2019, after he missed last season due to spinal surgery.
Uiagalelei went 14 of 24 for 171 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed for scores of 4 and 5 yards.
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 42, MURRAY STATE 7
CINCINNATI — Jerome Ford rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns, Desmond Ridder passed for 243 yards and two TDs, and Cincinnati scored on four of its first five possessions in the second half.
The Bearcats (2-0) were heavy favorites coming in, but the Racers (1-1) outgained them 190-83 in the first half and led 7-0 in the second quarter. The score was tied at halftime.
Racers QB Preston Rice completed his first five passes but was intercepted in the end zone by Ja’Von Hicks on his sixth attempt. He threw two more interceptions in the first half.
NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 32, TOLEDO 29
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jack Coan hit Michael Mayer for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:09 remaining for the third lead change in a wild fourth quarter and Notre Dame held off determined Toledo.
The victory preserved a 25- game home winning streak for Notre Dame (2-0) and came after Toledo (1-1) had taken a 29-24 lead on freshman quarterback Dequan Finn’s 26-yard bootleg TD run with 1:35 remaining. Finn split playing time with sophomore Carter Bradley, who threw for 213 yards.
Coan shared playing time with true freshman Tyler Buchner. He directed the three-play, 75-yard scoring drive, which took just 26 seconds with the aid of two Toledo penalties.
Despite being sacked six times, intercepted once by Chris McDonald for a touchdown and fumbling the ball away on another drive, Coan threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns, both to Mayer. Buchner rushed for 68 yards on seven carries and was 3-for-3 passing for 68 yards, including a 55-yard TD pass to Chris Tyree.
NO. 10 IOWA 27, NO. 9 IOWA STATE 17
AMES, Iowa — Jack Campbell returned a fumble 6 yards for a touchdown and No. 10 Iowa ran its winning streak against No. 9 Iowa State to six games with a victory that ruined the most-anticipated home game in Cyclones history.
In the first Cy- Hawk Trophy game matching ranked teams in 65 total meetings, the Hawkeyes (2-0) turned four takeaways into 20 points, ran its overall winning streak to eight games and its winning streak against ranked teams to five. Iowa has not won that many in a row against ranked opponents since 1960.
NO. 11 PENN STATE 44, BALL STATE 13
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Sean Clifford completed 21 of 29 passes for 230 yards, ran for a touchdown and threw for another as Penn State won its sixth consecutive game dating to last season.
Running back Noah Cain added a rushing touchdown and wide receiver Jahan Dotson added another, linebacker Jesse Luketa returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown and Jordan Stout kicked three field goals for the Nittany Lions (2-0).
Backup quarterback Ta-Quan Roberson added a 23-yard touchdown pass to Theo Johnson.
Ball State ( 1- 1) quarterback Drew Plitt completed 25 of 39 passes for 176 yards with two interceptions.
NO. 19 VIRGINIA TECH 35, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 14
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Raheem Blackshear rushed for two touchdowns and the Hokies scored on their first three possessions of the second half.
Blackshear had two consecutive short TD runs in the spurt for the Hokies (20), who broke open the game when Jalen Holston scored on a 29-yard run for a 21-7 lead.
Braxton Burmeister threw for 142 yards and a score for Virginia Tech.
NO. 18 WISCONSIN 37, EASTERN MICHIGAN 7
MADISON, Wis. — Chez Mellusi ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, leading No. 18 Wisconsin to a victory over Eastern Michigan.
Wisconsin (1-1) piled up 352 rushing yards and also dominated on defense against Eastern Michigan (0-2), which had 92 total yards on offense. The Eagles had three first downs.
Mellusi, a Clemson transfer, became the first Wisconsin running back to record consecutive 100-yard rushing games in his first two contests since Corey Clement in 2013.
NO. 22 MIAMI 25, APPALACHIAN STATE 23
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — D’Eriq King threw for 200 yards and rushed for 67 more, freshman Andy Borregales kicked a go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 2:04 remaining and Miami rallied from a halftime deficit.
Cam’Ron Harris rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown for Miami (1-1), and Don Chaney Jr. had a rushing score before leaving in the first half with a leg injury. King led a 10-play, 55-yard drive in the fourth that set up Borregales for what became the winning points.
Jalen Virgil had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Camerun Peoples had 95 rushing yards and a score for the Mountaineers (1-1), who took a 23-22 lead with 5:48 left when Malik Williams caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Chase Brice.
But Appalachian State’s last chance stalled near midfield, and Miami got the ball back with 55 seconds left and ran out the clock.
Brice completed 21 of 34 passes for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 59, GEORGIA STATE 17
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Sam Howell threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two more scores as the Tar Heels shook off the disappointment a loss in its opener with a rout of Georgia State.
Howell played a role in four of the Tar Heels’ first six touchdowns. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 352 yards without an interception.
Georgia State (0-2) was held to 90 passing yards. Quarterback Cornelious Brown IV was12 for 26 for 68 yards.