Colorado spoils Frost’s Huskers’ debut
Steven Montez connected with Laviska Shenault Jr. for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:06 to play and Colorado’s defense held at the end, allowing the Buffaloes to beat Nebraska 33-28 in Lincoln on Saturday and spoil Scott Frost’s debut as the Cornhuskers’ coach.
There was no lack of drama in the teams’ first meeting since 2010, the last season in the Big 12 for both.
“We knew we were going to win,” CU receiver Jay MacIntyre said. “You’ve got to have that mentality. I’m sure they have that mentality. But we went out there and did it.”
Colorado (2-0) got the ball for the last time with 2:23 left after Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez went out of the game because of an injury.
Montez moved the Buffaloes from their 23 to the Nebraska 41 before Ben Stille sacked him to set up a third-and-19 that became third and 24 after a false start. Montez overthrew MacIntyre over the middle, but safety Aaron Williams was called for a personal foul for hitting the defenseless MacIntyre.
“I got drilled,” MacIntyre said. “I kind of made eye contact before he hit me. We got a 15-yarder, so I’m glad he hit me.”
Given new life, Montez hit Shenault along the right sideline for the goahead score.
Sophomore walk-on Andrew Bunch, who took over for Martinez, moved the Huskers to the CU 21, but JD Spielman couldn’t come down with the ball in the end zone on the game’s final play.
Martinez, the first Nebraska true freshman to start at quarterback in an opener, ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 187 yards and
another score. Martinez was injured on a short run with 3:29 left. The Huskers (0-1) were playing their opener a week late. Last week’s game against Akron was canceled right after the opening kickoff because of inclement weather.
“I will never make an excuse, but having a game last week certainly probably would have helped the way we came out and played,” Frost said. “Those are the cards dealt to us.” OKLAHOMA 49, UCLA 21 >> A’s draft pick Kyler Murray threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, but the No. 6 Sooners (2-0) lost star running back Rodney Anderson to a leg injury in the win. Anderson
ran for 10 yards on the final play of the first quarter, and then got up slowly. He limped off on his own and did not return. CLEMSON 28, TEXAS A&M 26 >> Kelly Bryant threw for 205 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score to help the second-ranked Tigers escape on the road. Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond was spectacular in the second half, throwing for three touchdowns, with a 14-yard pass to Kendrick Rogers cutting the lead to 28-26 with 46 seconds left. But his big performance came up just short when the 2-point conversion attempt was intercepted in the end zone.
Mond finished with a career-high
430 yards passing, and Rogers had 120 yards receiving and two TDs.
GEORGIA 41, SOUTH CAROLINA 17 >> Jake Fromm threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, all three of No. 3 Georgia’s (2-0, 1-0 SEC) latest running backs combo scored touchdowns and the expected Southeastern Conference showdown turned into a blowout in Columbia, South Carolina. The No. 24 Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1) came in ranked for the first time in four years. WISCONSIN 45, NEW MEXICO 14 >> Jonathan Taylor ran for a career-high 253 yards and three touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Wisconsin rolled after allowing a
score on the game-opening drive to the Lobos (1-1). A.J. Taylor had 134 yards receiving and a score to help the Badgers (2-0) win their 41st straight home nonconference game. WASHINGTON 45, NORTH DAKOTA 3 >> Jake Browning threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, Ty Jones had two touchdown receptions, and No. 9 Washington (1-1) pulled away in the second half. Backup QB Jake Haener added a 12-yard TD pass to Jones in the fourth quarter.
OREGON 62, PORTLAND STATE 14 >> Justin Herbert threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns for the No. 23 Ducks (2-0) before heading to the bench in the third quarter. They have won 22nd straight nonconference games. VANDERBILT 41, NEVADA 10 >> Vanderbilt (2-0) overcame two early red-zone disappointments and bottled up a high-scoring Wolf Pack in winning the nonconference game with a dominant second-half performance in Nashville, Tennessee. The Commodores held Nevada (1-1) to 124 yards in the first half and 250 overall, a week after coach Jay Norvell’s team scored 72 points on 636 yards against Portland State.
HOUSTON 45, ARIZONA 18 >> The Kevin Sumlin reign in Tucson is not off to a great start as the Wildcats (0-2) picked up their second loss of the season. Quarterback Khalil Tate, who started the season in the Heisman Trophy conversation, tweaked his ankle in the first half but played through the injury.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 33, AIR FORCE 27 >> Freshman Chris Robison completed 33-of40 passes for a school-record 471 yards and three touchdowns, and FAU (1-1) notched its first victory over a service academy. MINNESOTA 21, FRESNO STATE 14 >> Seth Green ran for two short touchdowns, including the game-winning 3-yard score late in the fourth quarter, and Antione Winfield Jr. sealed the game with an interception off a trick play in the end zone as the host Gophers (20) held off the Bulldogs (1-1). OREGON STATE 48, SOUTHERN UTAH 25 >> Freshman Jermar Jefferson rushed for 238 yards and four touchdowns, including a 62-yard score as the host Beavers (11) rolled.
UTAH 17, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 6 >> Zack Moss ran for a touchdown while Chase Hanson added another score on a late interception return as the Utes (2-0) extended their nonconference winning streak to 21.