No. 1 Alabama holds off No. 11 Florida
GAINESVILLE, FLA. » Bryce Young’s first collegiate road start was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped top-ranked Alabama hold off No. 11 Florida 31-29 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday.
The defending national champion Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0) stopped a 2-point conversion with 3:10 left and extended its winning streak to 17, making it 32 in a row against teams from the SEC’s Eastern Division.
The Gators (2-1, 0-1) have dropped eight straight in the series and fell to 0-5 against No. 1-ranked teams at Florida Field.
This one was closer than oddsmakers and just about everyone else expected, with 14 ½-point underdog Florida having a chance to tie the game in the closing minutes despite playing without dynamic backup quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Coach Dan Mullen held Richardson out as a precaution because of a strained right hamstring and said he would only be available in case of an emergency.
That never became the case even though the Gators trailed 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. Young built the lead with TD passes to Jase McClellan, Jahleel Billingsley and Brian Johnson.
The Gators rallied and were in position to tie late. Dameon Pierce capped a 75-yard drive with a 17yard run that made it 31-29. But fellow running back Malik Davis failed to get the 3 yards needed on the 2-point conversion. ***
NO. 3OKLAHOMA 23, NEBRASKA 16»
Spencer Rattler passed for a touchdown and ran for another and Oklahoma held on to beat Nebraska.
Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the “Game of the Century” — No. 1Nebraska’s 35-31win over No. 2Oklahoma in 1971— the teams rewarded their nostalgic fans with a competitive contest.
In the first meeting between the former conference rivals since 2010, Nebraska got the ball trailing by a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Cornhuskers could not manage a first down. Eric Gray ran for 84yards on 15carries and Kennedy Brooks added 75yards on 14 attempts for the Sooners (3-0). Adrian Martinez passed for 289yards and a touchdown for Nebraska (2-2), which was seeking its first win over a ranked team since 2015.
NO. 6 CLEMSON 14, GEORGIA TECH 9 » Will Shipley ran for two touchdowns and Clemson had a goal-line stand in the final seconds to hold off Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a chance to force overtime after recovering an onside kick with 1:19 to play. But they were held out of the end zone on four plays from the Clemson 2in the closing seconds — the last when linebacker James Skalski tackled Dylan Deveney a yard short.
The chaos continued, though, when Shipley fumbled in the end zone with Clemson (2-1, 1-0) attempting to run out the clock and was tackled after recovering for a safety with seven seconds left. The Tigers kicked the ball away and Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates’ last ditch throw with 3seconds left was ruled an incomplete forward pass, ending the game.
The game was delayed nearly two hours just before the half because of the threat of lightning around Memorial Stadium.
NO. 5 IOWA 30, KENT STATE 7 »
Tyler Goodson ran for a careerhigh 153yards and three touchdowns and Iowa beat Kent State. The Hawkeyes (3-0) have won nine straight games. They have won 14th consecutive nonconference games, the second-longest current streak in the nation. Goodson had a 46-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give Iowa a 9-0lead, then added a 35-yard scoring run in the third quarter. He had a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
NO. 7TEXAS A&M 34, NEW MEXICO 0 »
Zach Calzada threw for 275yards and three touchdowns in his first career start. The victory extends A&M’s winning streak to 11games and gives the Aggies a 3-0start for the first time since opening the 2016season with six consecutive wins.
NO. 8 CINCINNATI 38, INDIANA 24 »
Desmond Ridder threw the go-ahead touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then scored on a 7-yard TD run. Jerome Ford ran for two scores and Tre Tucker scored on a 99-yard kickoff return as the Bearcats (3-0) won their first road game of the season. They’ve won 12of 13since the start of 2020.
Indiana (1-2) lost despite taking a 14-0lead — and playing in front of its largest crowd for a nonconference game since September 1987.
NO. 9 OHIO STATE 41, TULSA 20 »
TreVeyon Henderson broke Archie Griffin’s 49-year-old freshman rushing record, romping for 277yards and three touchdowns to help Ohio State beat Tulsa. Henderson scored on runs of 5, 48and 52yards, which managed to paper over some of the same weaknesses Ohio State showed in a 32-25loss to Oregon last week that sent the Buckeyes tumbling in the AP Top 25poll.
As a team, the Buckeyes (2-1) were not sharp. But Tulsa (0-3) couldn’t match them blow for blow, and Henderson, who ran for 69 yards in the first two games combined, broke through with some huge plays at critical times. A late interception that Cameron Martinez returned for a 61-yard touchdown made the score look worse than it was for the persistent Golden Hurricane.
NO. 12 NOTRE DAME 27, PURDUE 13 »
Kyren Williams had two long touchdown plays, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05remaining, and Notre Dame held off Purdue for its 26th straight victory at home.
The victory was the 105th in Brian Kelly’s 12-year career at
Notre Dame, tying him with Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in school history. The Fighting Irish won their eighth straight over Purdue and first since 2014. Williams, who scored on a fourthand-3pass play of 39yards from Jack Coan early in the second quarter to give the Irish their first lead 7-3, finished with 86yards on 11carries and two receptions for 47 yards.
Coan, who was sacked four times and struggled with his accuracy, completed 15of 31for 223yards and two touchdowns. He connected on a 62-yarder to Avery Davis in the third quarter that put the Irish up 17-6. Davis led the Irish in receptions with five for 120 yards.
The Boilermakers (2-1) outgained the Irish 348-343thanks to a 291-223edge through the air and got their only touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Jack Plummer to Milton Wright in the third quarter.
WEST VIRGINIA 27, NO. 15 VIRGINIA TECH 21 »
Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Leddie Brown rushed for 106yards and a score and West Virginia survived Virginia Tech’s furious rally from a 20-point deficit.
The Mountaineers (2-1) built a 27-7-point lead midway through the third quarter but saw that mostly evaporate due to Virginia Tech’s Braxton Burmeister. Burmeister threw for two scores, including a 29-yard toss to Jalen Holston with 3:10left. Virginia Tech got the ball back with 2:11 remaining on Jermaine Waller’s interception of Doege at the West Virginia 17, but Burmeister threw incomplete on fourth-andgoal from the 3and West Virginia ran out the clock.
It was one of three Virginia Tech (2-1) drives that stalled inside the West Virginia 10, with the Hokies coming away with no points.