The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
No. 12 Oregon stuns third-ranked Ohio St.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — C.J. Verdell ran for 161 yards and had three touchdowns as shorthanded No. 12 Oregon exploited a porous Ohio State defense, handing the No. 3 Buckeyes their first regular-season loss in nearly three years, 35-28 on Saturday.
Ohio State (1-1, 1-0 Big Ten) never led despite being more than a two touchdown favorite and 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 Ducks (2-0, 2-0 Pac-12) were without star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and linebacker Justin Flowe.
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 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, in his second start, passed for the second-most yards in Ohio State history, coming up 15 short of Dwayne Haskins Jr.’s 499 against Northwestern in 2018. He was 33 for 54 and connected for two touchdowns with Jaxson Smith-Njigba and another with Garrett Wilson.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 48, MERCER 14
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Bryce Young threw three touchdown passes and Jase McClellan scored three times in Alabama’s rout of FCS Mercer.
The Crimson Tide (2-0) started sluggishly on offense in what amounted to a warmup game before the Southeastern Conference opener at No. 13 Florida, but potentially more notably had star linebacker Will Anderson Jr. leave with an apparent right leg injury.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 56, UAB 7
ATHENS, Ga. — Stetson Bennett tied a school record with five touchdown passes filling in for injured starter JT Daniels, leading the Bulldogs in the rout.
Bennett completed his first six passes — four of them going all the way to the end zone for the Bulldogs (2-0), who didn’t show any signs of a letdown despite the absence of their No. 1 quarterback.
NO. 5 TEXAS A&M 10, COLORADO 7
DENVER — Sophomore backup quarterback Zach Calzada threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Spiller with 2:41 remaining and Texas A&M edged Colorado.
Spiller’s TD gave the Aggies (2-0) their first lead in a game in which they lost freshman QB Haynes King to a lower right leg injury and eight of their first nine drives were three-and-outs.
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 42, MURRAY STATE 7
CINCINNATI — Jerome Ford rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns, Desmond Ridder passed for 243 yards and two TDs, and Cincinnati scored on four of its first five possessions in the second half.
The Bearcats (2-0) were heavy favorites coming in, but the Racers (1-1) outgained them 190-83 in the first half and led 7-0 in the second quarter. The score was tied at halftime.
NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 32, TOLEDO 29
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — 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 Notre Dame held off determined Toledo.
The victory preserved a 25-game home winning streak for Notre Dame (2-0, 1-0 independent) and came after Toledo (1-1, 0-1 MAC) 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.
NO. 11 PENN STATE 44, BALL STATE 13
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Sean Clifford completed 21 of 29 passes for 230 yards, ran for a touchdown and threw for another as Penn State won its sixth straight game dating to last season.
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).
NO. 13 FLORIDA 42, USF 20
TAMPA, Fla. — Florida tuned up for Southeastern Conference play with a rout of the overmatched Bulls. The win did little to answer the question of whether starter Emory Jones or backup Anthony Richardson is best suited to run the Gators offense.
NO. 19 VIRGINIA TECH 35, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 14
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Raheem Blackshear rushed for two touchdowns and the Hokies scored on their first three possessions of the second half.
NO. 25 AUBURN 62, ALABAMA ST. 0
AUBURN, Ala. — Demetris Robertson scored three touchdowns and Jarquez Hunter rushed for 147 yards as the Tigers raced past their overmatched FCS foe.