TCU stuns No. 9 Texas with a goal-line fumble recovery

AUSTIN, Texas — TCU quarterback Max Duggan ran for the go-ahead score with 4 minutes left and the Horned Frogs’ defense made it stand with a goal-line fumble recovery to stun No. 9 Texas 33-31 on Saturday in a game that had 26 penalties and ended when TCU took a safety as time ran out.

Texas looked primed for its second straight fourth-quarter comeback when Sam Ehlinger connected on a 52-yard pass to Keontay Ingram to put the Longohorns in scoring position. But Ingram fumbled on the TCU 1 with 2:32 to play.

Darwin Barlow ran 9 yards to pick up a big first down for the Horned Frogs. Duggan then took a deep snap all the way to the back of the end zone to run out the final 6 seconds.

TCU (1-1, 1-1 Big 12) is 7-2 against Texas since joining the Big 12 in 2012. The Texas loss delivers another blow to the Big 12 s College Football Playoff hopes. The Longhorns (2-1, 1-1) and Oklahoma, who were the league’s highest ranked teams, have dropped early home games to unranked opponents.

Duggan made his first start of the season after missing much of training camp while treating a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He passed for 231 yards and ran for 79 more and scored twice. His late 26-yard TD run caught the Texas defense by surprise.

Ehlinger threw four touchdown passes on an otherwise difficult day for him. He was just 17 of 36 for 236 yards.

NO. 2 ALABAMA 52, NO. 13 TEXAS A&M 24

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mac Jones passed for a career-high 435 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair of deep throws to John Metchie III and an even longer one to Jaylen Waddle, and Alabama romped past Texas A&M.

Briefly threatened early, Jones and the Crimson Tide (2-0) flexed their considerable big-play muscle in the passing game to put away the Aggies (1-1). A sign of things to come: His first attempt went 78 yards to Metchie, ‘Bama’s latest major receiving threat.

Jones topped that with an 87-yard TD to Waddle, who had sprinted past two Aggies defenders to make the grab with nothing but green in between himself and the end zone. Metchie and Jones hooked up for a 63-yarder in the fourth, giving the sophomore five catches for 181 yards.

Jones finished 19-of-26 passing for a second straight surgically precise performance marred by one interception off a deflection. Waddle had 142 yards receiving and his touchdown catch was tied for the fifth longest in program history.

NO. 3 FLORIDA 38, SOUTH CAROLINA 24

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts hooked up for two more touchdowns, leading Florida past South Carolina.

Trask completed 21 of 29 passes for 268 yards, with four touchdowns and an interception. His second-quarter fumble kept the Gamecocks (0-2) in the game early.

Pitts finished with four receptions for 57 yards, commanding extra attention and beating South Carolina’s top defenders. He nearly made a one-handed catch in the third quarter, but the ball slipped off his left fingertips.

Some thought former Florida coach Will Muschamp and his Gamecocks would find a way. But the Gators (2-0) had their way with South Carolina for three quarters. They finished with 347 yards and punted twice.

NO. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 26, BOSTON COLLEGE 22

BOSTON — Sam Howell threw two touchdown passes and Trey Morrison scored after intercepting the potential tying 2-point conversion with 45 seconds left to lead North Carolina.

With the cancellation of one game because of the virus and a scheduled off week leaving North Carolina idle since Sept. 12, the Tar Heels (2-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) sent BC (2-1, 1-1) to its first loss under new coach Jeff Hafley.

Howell completed 14 of 26 passes for 225 yards, including a 41-yard score to Javonte Williams that gave Carolina a 2113 lead with just over a minute left in the first half. Williams ran for 57 yards and caught two passes for 56, and Michael Carter carried 16 times for 121 yards for the Tar Heels.

UNC led 24-16 with just under six minutes left before Phil Jurkovec drove BC into Tar Heels territory and completed three passes in the end zone. The first two were negated by penalties, but a 6-yard pass to C.J. Lewis made it a twopoint game with 45 seconds left, with the 2-point conversion to come. Jurkovec scrambled and threw to the end zone, but Morrison picked it him off and ran down the left sideline for the defensive 2-point conversion.

Jurkovec completed 37 of 56 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, hitting tight end Hunter Long nine times for 96 yards.

NO. 15 CINCINNATI 28, SOUTH FLORIDA 7

CINCINNATI — Gerrid Doaks ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, Tre Tucker returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score and Cincinnati had five interceptions.

Tucker returned the kickoff late in the third quarter to put Cincinnati (3-0) ahead 28-7. It was the first kick return TD by a Bearcats player since Ralph David Abernathy IV in the Liberty Bowl against Vanderbilt in December 2011.

The game started sloppily with four turnovers, two by each team, in the first 11 snaps.

South Florida (1-2) used four quarterbacks, with sophmore Jordan McCloud going 12 of 21 for 137 yards with two interceptions. Freshman Katravis Marsh got the start, but he threw three interceptions, including two in his first four attempts. USF tied a school record with the five interceptions.

NO. 17 OKLAHOMA STATE 47, KANSAS 7

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Shane Illingworth threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, Chuba Hubbard ran for 145 yards and two more scores, and Oklahoma State was able to rest its starters the final 20 minutes in its victory over Kansas.

Tylan Wallace had nine catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and Braylon Johnson had four catches for 74 yards and the other passing TD, as the Cowboys (3-0, 2-0 Big 12) built a 31-0 lead by halftime.

Oklahoma State finished with 298 yards through the air and 295 on the ground for 593 yards of total offense. But as gaudy as those numbers might be, the Cowboys’ defense may have been even more impressive.

Jalon Daniels and Miles Kendrick were a combined 14 of 24 for 92 yards and a pick for the Jayhawks (0-3, 0-2).

NO. 20 LSU 41, VANDERBILT 7

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Myles Brennan threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns and LSU bounced back to beat Vanderbilt.

The defending national champs never trailed after losing their season opener last week to Mississippi State. LSU also extended its winning streak over the Commodores to nine in a series it leads 24-7-1.

The Tigers outgained Vanderbilt 498266, and the defense came up with two interceptions and a pair of sacks.

Terrace Marshall Jr. finished with two TDs on two catches, and Jontre Kirklin had 65 yards receiving and two TD catches, the second a toe-tapper at the back of the end zone off a flea flicker. John Emery ran for 103 yards and a TD.

Vanderbilt (0-2) had its chances with freshman Ken Seals making his home debut. When Randall Haynie picked off an overthrown pass from Brennan, Seals hit tight end Ben Bresnahan with an 8-yard TD pass to pull the Commodores to 14-7 in the second quarter.

NO. 21 TENNESSEE 35, MISSOURI 12

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Eric Gray ran for 105 yards and a touchdown and caught a scoring pass to help Tennessee beat Missouri

The Vols (2-0) have won eight in a row, tying Notre Dame for the most among Power Five teams.

Jarrett Guarantano played a mistake-free game for Tennessee, completing 14 of 23 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. He also converted on three fourth-down runs in the first quarter and had two short touchdown runs.

Connor Bazelak relieved Shawn Robinson at quarterback in the second quarter for Missouri (0-2).

NC STATE 30, NO. 24 PITTSBURGH 29

PITTSBURGH — Devin Leary hit Emeka Emezie for the go-ahead touchdown with 23 seconds remaining and North Carolina State beat Pittsburgh.

Leary, making his first start of the season, drove the Wolfpack 79 yards in 12 plays, the final 13 coming on a perfect back-shoulder throw to Emezie, who made a perfect spinning grab to give N.C. State its first victory over a ranked team since 2017.

Leary finished 28 of 44 for 336 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to put N.C. State (2-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) in front.

Kenny Pickett threw for a career-high 411 yards and a touchdown and added two more on the ground for the Panthers.

SMU 30, NO. 25 MEMPHIS 27

DALLAS — Chris Naggar kicked a 43yard field goal with nine seconds left and SMU beat Memphis after the Mustangs blew an early three-touchdown lead against a team playing its first game in four weeks.

Memphis (1-1), which because of COVID-19 issues hadn’t played since winning its opener Sept. 5, was driving for a potential go-ahead score when Brady White was sacked and fumbled with 1:25 left. That set up the final drive for SMU (4-0).

Shane Buechele was 32-of-45 passing for 474 yards and three touchdowns. That included catch-and-run scores of 70 and 85 yards to Reggie Roberson before the star receiver left the game with an apparent left knee injury late in the third. Roberson finished with five catches for 243 yards.