Freshman QB leads Badgers past Spartans
Wisconsin routs Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. — By the time Alex Hornibrook’s first start was over, there wasn’t much question about whether he could handle one of the toughest road tests in the Big Ten.
Hornibrook threw for 195 yards and a touchdown, and 10th-ranked Wisconsin turned its early-season showdown with No. 8 Michigan State into a rout, beating the Spartans 30-6 on Saturday.
“You’ve got to have respect for a guy whose first start is against a Michigan State defense,” Wisconsin running back Corey Clement said.
“He’s going to come out the next game and do even better. I think he’s just getting his feet wet.”
The freshman quarterback outplayed fifth-year senior Tyler O’Connor, his Michigan State counterpart. The Badgers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) were the better team in the first half, then outscored the Spartans 17-0 in the third quarter.
Michigan State (2-1, 0-1) was down 13-6 early in the third and had the ball in Wisconsin territory when L.J. Scott’s fumble bounced to Wisconsin’s Leo Musso in the secondary. O’Connor was the only player with a decent shot at him on the return, and Musso spun past the quarterback and ran for a 66-yard touchdown.
O’Connor finished 18 of 38 for 224 yards with three interceptions.
“People have been saying a lot of good things about us lately,” Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said. “And now we’ll take some shots.”
Clement ran for two touchdowns for Wisconsin, which went with Hornibrook at quarterback after Bart Houston started the first three games. Hornibrook wasn’t spectacular, but he kept his cool.
“That’s something that I take pride in, just staying the same level, not going too far up or too far down,” he said.
TOP 25
No. 5 Michigan 49, Penn State 10 at Ann Arbor, Mich.: De’Veon Smith led an overwhelming ground game with 107 yards rushing and a touchdown and Karan Higdon ran for two scores for the Wolverines (4-0) against the Nittany Lions (2-2) in the Big Ten opener for both.
The Wolverines had six touchdowns on the ground and finished with 326 yards rushing. Wilton Speight threw one touchdown pass. Penn State has lost three straight to the Wolverines.
Jabrill Peppers gave the fans an early thrill by returning Penn State’s first punt to the 9, although a bench-interference penalty moved the ball to the Nittany Lions’ 24. Seven plays later, Khalid Hill dived in on fourthand-goal from the 1. The Wolverines also scored touchdowns on their next two drives and took a 28-0 halftime lead on Higdon’s 2-yard run.
No. 7 Stanford 22, UCLA 13 at Pasadena, Calif.: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Burns with 24 seconds left, and the Cardinal (3-0, 2-0 Pac-12) rallied on the final drive for their ninth consecutive victory over the Bruins (2-2, 0-1).
Christian McCaffrey rushed for 138 yards for the Cardinal, who haven’t lost to their downstate rivals since 2008.
After struggling on offense for 3½ quarters at the Rose Bowl, Stanford put together a 70-yard winning drive capped by Burns’ fade to Arcega-Whiteside, who got one foot inbounds on an acrobatic play. Solomon Thomas then returned Josh Rosen’s fumble 42 yards for a touchdown on the game’s final play.
Rosen passed for 248 yards for the Bruins. UCLA’s defense faltered late after severely limiting the Cardinal and McCaffrey, who had his 14th consecutive 100-yard rushing game, for most of the night at the Rose Bowl.
No. 20 Nebraska 24, Northwestern 13 at Evanston, Ill.: Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 246 yards and ran for a careerhigh 132 to lead the Cornhuskers (4-0) past the Wildcats (1-3) in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Cornhuskers lost two fumbles near the Northwestern goal line in the first half but scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to stretch their lead from three to 11.
The Wildcats matched their loss total from last year when they went 10-3.
Armstrong went 18 of 29, hitting Alonzo Moore with a 59-yarder in the first half and throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Cethan Carter that made it 17-7 early in the third.
OTHERS
Middle Tennessee State 38, Louisiana Tech 34 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.: Brent Stockstill fired a 23-yard TD pass to Ty Lee with 2:36 left to rally the Blue Raiders (3-1, 1-0 Conference USA) past the Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1).
Ryan Higgins threw his second TD pass to Trent Taylor early in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 27-7 lead.
Stockstill hit I’Tavius Mathers with a 37-yard scoring strike to start the comeback and Mathers ran for two more scores in the fourth quarter, the second giving the Blue Raiders 3127 lead.
Kam McKnight capped an eight-play, 82-yard drive with a 1-yard run to give Louisiana Tech a 3431 lead with 3:56 left, but Stockstill completed the comeback with a five-play, 75-yard drive for the win.
Stockstill finished with 356 yards on 27 of 46 passing for Middle Tennessee.
Higgins was 36 of 59 for 504 yards and three touchdowns for Louisiana Tech.
Central Arkansas 28, Arkansas State 23 at Jonesboro, Ark.: Hayden Hildebrand threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and Central Arkansas got its first win against an FBS school.
Jatavious Wilson was Hildebrand’s primary target, catching seven passes for 130 yards. Antwon Wells ran for 47 yards and a touchdown for Central Arkansas (3-1).
The Bears trailed 16-13 at the half and 23-22 deep into the fourth quarter. But Jaylon Lofton recovered a fumble at the Central Arkansas 14 that set up a 14play, 86-yard touchdown drive, capped by an 18yard TD strike from Hildebrand to Brandon Cox, which gave the Bears a 2822 lead with 6:26 left.
The Red Wolves (0-4) threatened on the ensuing drive, but the Central Arkansas defense came up big again, as Tyler Williams intercepted Justice Hansen at the Bears’ 32.
Hansen threw for 424 yards and three scores. Blake Mack had 142 yards receiving for Arkansas State.
Buffalo 23, Army 20 (OT) at Amherst, N.Y.: Tyree Jackson passed for 178 yards and a touchdown and ran for 34 yards and two more touchdowns to lead the Bulls (1-2) past the Black Knights (3-1).
Adam Mitcheson secured the win with a 33yard field goal in overtime for Buffalo. Army’s Blake Wilson had missed a 43yard field goal attempt in OT and also missed a 34-yarder in the final three seconds of regulation.
Buffalo scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tie the game at 20-20 with 2:26 remaining. Army had not allowed an opponent to score in the fourth quarter in its first three wins.
Army rushed for 396 yards on 67 carries. The Black Knights’ had the nation’s No. 2 rushing attack, averaging 367 yards in its first three games.
Colorado 41, Oregon 38 at Eugene, Ore.: Steven Montez threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start and the Buffaloes (3-1) got their first victory over the Ducks (2-2) since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted Dakota Prukop’s pass to Darren Carrington in the end zone on Oregon’s final drive to preserve the win for Colorado.
The Buffaloes had retaken the lead following a 31-yard touchdown from Montez to Bryce Bobo. After review, the officials ruled Bobo had control of the ball in his right hand when his right foot came down in the end zone but the crowd at Autzen Stadium booed in disagreement.
North Carolina 37, Pittsburgh 36 at Chapel Hill, N.C.: Mitch Trubisky capped a huge day by throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Bug Howard with 2 seconds left to help North Carolina rally past Pittsburgh.
Trubisky threw for career highs of 453 yards and five touchdowns for the Tar Heels (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never led until the final play and trailed by 13 midway through the fourth quarter.
But Trubisky directed a 17-play, 63-yard drive that included three fourthdown conversions in a stunning finish in which UNC’s players ran onto the field to celebrate stopping Pitt’s last-play kick return.
Quadree Henderson ran for 107 yards for the Panthers, who ran for 281 yards but went three-andout on their last two drives to give UNC its opening.