USC rallies to beat Arizona State in Pac-12 opener
LOS ANGELES — Drake London caught a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:20 to play, and No. 20 Southern California overcame a late 13-point deficit to beat Arizona State 28-27 on Saturday in the Pac-12’s longdelayed season opener.
Bru McCoy caught a deflected 26-yard TD pass with 2:52 left for the Trojans, and McCoy recovered the ensuing onside kick as well. On fourth-and-9, Kedon Slovis fired a pass down the middle to London, and the two-sport athlete beat double coverage to haul it in for an electrifying score.
USC stopped Arizona State on downs near midfield with 50 seconds left to preserve an astonishing comeback for perpetually embattled coach Clay Helton’s team.
Until their rally, the Trojans were struggling for poise and precision in a game that began at 9 a.m. USC agreed to its earliest kickoff in at least 70 years for a national television audience, but it looked like another embarrassment for Helton and his Trojans — before it abruptly turned into a thrilling triumph.
USC racked up 556 yards of offense and outgained the Sun Devils by 164 yards, but the Trojans were nearly finished because they committed three turnovers and turned the ball over on downs two more times — all inside ASU territory.
Slovis passed for 381 yards for USC, while Stephen Carr and Markese Stepp made scoring runs in the first half. London also caught eight passes for 125 yards, none bigger than his winning TD reception.
Freshman DeaMonte Trayanum rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while Rachaad White had a 55-yard TD reception in a similarly strong debut for the Sun Devils.
NO. 8 FLORIDA 44, NO. 5 GEORGIA 28
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Trask had another four-touchdown night, becoming the first quarterback in SEC history to accomplish the feat in five consecutive games, and Florida beat undermanned Georgia.
The Gators (4-1) ended a three-game losing streak in the rivalry known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” — it was coach Dan Mullen’s most significant victory in three years in Gainesville — and now have a stranglehold on the SEC’s East Division.
The Bulldogs (4-2), who entered the game as 31⁄ 2- point favorites, were likely eliminated from College Football Playoff consideration and probably have a quarterback competition moving forward.
Florida, meanwhile, has a Heisman Trophy contender.
Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for a career-high 474 yards — 8 yards shy of Tim Tebow’s single-game school record — despite playing much of the night without standout tight end Kyle Pitts.
NO. 6 CINCINNATI 38, HOUSTON 10
CINCINNATI — Gerrid Doaks rushed for a career-high 184 yards and one touchdown, Desmond Ridder ran for three scores and threw for another, and Cincinnati rolled past Houston.
Doaks ran for the most yards by a Bearcats player since Mike Boone’s 212 in 2014 against South Florida. It was Doaks’ best total since he had 149 on Nov. 4, 2017, at Tulane.
Ridder rushed for 103 yards and threw for 162. He has accounted for 13 touchdowns (eight running, five passing) in the past three games.
The Bearcats (6-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) extended their school-record home winning streak to 18 games.
NO. 13 INDIANA 38, NO. 23 MICHIGAN 21
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns and Indiana beat Michigan for the first time in 33 years.
Penix helped Indiana (3-0) snap a 24game losing streak in the series — tied for the longest active skid in the Football Bowl
Subdivision. It was the Hoosiers’ first victory over the Wolverines since Oct. 24, 1987, just their second in 41 games and only the second in the 21 games played at Memorial Stadium.
The Wolverines (1-2) still don’t have a top-15 road win since beating Notre Dame in 2006. Their second consecutive loss could turn up the pressure on coach Jim Harbaugh in his sixth season at Michigan
Penix was 30 of 50, helping Indiana convert nine of 16 third downs. Ty Fryfogle caught seven passes for a career-high 142 yards — all in the first half.
NO. 14 OKLAHOMA STATE 20, KANSAS STATE 18
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Jason Taylor II returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma State stopped Kansas State’s 2-point try that would have tied it with 2:08 to go, allowing the Cowboys to escape.
The Cowboys’ Spencer Sanders was held to just 108 yards passing without dynamic wide receiver Tylan Wallace and with running back Chuba Hubbard slowed by an injury. LD Brown helped to pick up the load, running 15 times for 110 yards, as Oklahoma State (5-1, 4-1 Big 12) leaned on its defense to bounce back from an overtime loss to Texas.
The Wildcats (4-3, 4-2) were forced to try for a 2-point conversion after Will Howard’s short TD run because of their odd decision to attempt a 2-point try to stretch a 12-0 lead in the first half. Howard was incomplete on that one, and he never got a pass off on the second — he fumbled the ball as the pocket collapsed around him.
NO. 16 MARSHALL 51, UMASS 10
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Grant Wells threw three touchdown passes, Brenden Knox ran for two scores and Marshall pummeled Massachusetts.
The game was added to Marshall’s schedule last month after several other opponents had previously pulled out due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Marshall (6-0) continued to produce a season-long balance on offense that keeps opponents guessing. Knox scored on firstquarter runs of 45 and 14 yards and got nearly all of his 118 yards in the first half. It was his fifth straight game over 100 yards.
Massachusetts (0-2), in its fourth season as a Bowl Subdivision independent, has 22 true or redshirt freshmen on its depth chart. Wells took advantage of a UMass secondary that consisted entirely of freshmen and sophomores and completed 21 of 30 passes for 228 yards.
NO. 18 SMU 47, TEMPLE 23
PHILADELPHIA — Shane Buechele threw four touchdown passes, two to Tyler Page, and SMU broke away from undermanned Temple.
The game was pushed back from its original Thursday date while Temple dealt with virus-related issues. The Owls were missing 15 players who were in COVID-19 protocol.
NO. 19 OKLAHOMA 62, KANSAS 9
NORMAN, Okla. — Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns as Oklahoma routed winless Kansas.
Stevenson, in his second game back from a suspension, also caught four passes for 60 yards.
NO. 22 TEXAS 17, WEST VIRGINIA 13
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas stopped West Virginia on fourth-down passes into the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, enabling the Longhorns to escape.
Texas (5-2, 4-2 Big 12) overcame an offense that produced nearly 100 yards and 27 points fewer than its average.
NO. 25 LIBERTY 38, VIRGINIA TECH 35
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Alex Barbir hit a career-long 51-yard field goal with a second left to lift Liberty past Virginia Tech.
The Flames rallied from a 20-14 halftime deficit to move to 7-0 for the first time in program history.