The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Oregon stuns No. 3 Buckeyes in Columbus
C.J. Verdell ran for 161 yards and had three touchdowns as shorthanded No. 12 Oregon exploited a porous Ohio State defense to upset the No. 3 Buckeyes 35-28 for their first regular-season loss in nearly three years.
Ohio State (1-1) never led the game it was favored the win by 14½ points despite gaudy numbers from freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud. Its front seven struggled to contain Verdell, control the edge and get after Ducks quarterback Anthony Brown in front.
The Buckeyes had a chance to tie it late after pulling within a touchdown with 7:55 left. But when they got the ball again, Stroud, who passed for 472 yards and three touchdowns, 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 to go in front of a stunned crowd of more than 100,000.
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.
It was third-year Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s first loss in the regular season. The Buckeyes’ last loss in the regular season came at Purdue in October 2018 under Urban Meyer.
Oregon (2-0) played without star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and linebacker Justin Flowe.
(At) No. 8 Notre Dame 32, Toledo 29: 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 No. 8 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, who threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns in Notre Dame’s season-opening 41-38 overtime victory at Florida State last Sunday, shared playing time with true freshman Tyler Buchner. But he directed the threeplay,
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.
No. 10 Iowa 27, (at) No. 9 Iowa State 17: 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) were not about to play the foil for Iowa State’s feel-good story.
Iowa 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.
The Hawkeyes used a familiar formula as last week when they had two defensive touchdowns in a rout of Indiana, another upstart program looking to build off 2020’s success.
(At) No. 11 Penn State 44, Ball State 13: Sean Clifford completed 21 of 29 passes for 230 yards, ran for a touchdown and threw for another to lead No. 11 Penn State over Ball State.
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).
(At) No. 7 Cincinnati 42, Murray State 7: Jerome Ford rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns, Desmond Ridder passed for 243 yards and two TDs, and No. 7 Cincinnati beat Murray State (1-1).
The Bearcats were heavy favorites, but the Racers outgained them 190-83 in the first half and led 7-0 in the second quarter. The score was tied at halftime before the Bearcats (2-0) scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions in the second half.
The Bearcats had forced a turnover in 20 straight games before that streak was snapped in the season-opener against Miami (Ohio). They had five takeaways against Murray State, including two fumble recoveries and three interceptions.
Late Friday
(At) No. 17 Coastal Carolina 49, Kansas 22: Reese White ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns and the Chanticleers beat Kansas (1-1) for a third straight year as the fledging FBS program hosted a Power Five team for the first time.
Quarterback Grayson McCall threw for two scores and ran for a third for Coastal Carolina (2-0).