Brian Kelly ties Rockne as Notre Dame holds off Purdue
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kyren Williams scored two long touchdowns, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05 remaining, as No. 12 Notre Dame held off Purdue 27-13 Saturday 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 fourth-and-3 pass play of 39 yards from Jack Coan early in the second quarter to give the Irish their first lead 7-3, finished with 86 yards on 11 carries and two receptions for 47 yards.
Coan, who was sacked four times and struggled with his accuracy, completed 15 of 31 for 223 yards 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. Notre Dame also had a pair of field goals by Jonathan Doerer.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 31, NO. 11 FLORIDA 29
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bryce Young’s first collegiate road start was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped Alabama hold off Florida in the SEC opener for both teams.
The defending national champion Crimson Tide 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 SEC) have now dropped eight straight in the series and fell to 0-5 against No. 1-ranked teams at Florida Field.
NO. 3 OKLAHOMA 23, NEBRASKA 16
NORMAN, Okla. — 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. 1 Nebraska’s 35-31 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in 1971, the teams rewarded their nostalgic fans with a competitive contest.
NO 5 IOWA 30, KENT STATE 7
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tyler Goodson ran for a career-high 153 yards and three touchdowns andIowa beat Kent State.
The Hawkeyes (3-0) have won nine straight games. They have won 14th consecutive nonconference games, the secondlongest current streak in the nation.
NO. 7 A&M 34, NEW MEXICO 0
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Zach Calzada threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to power Texas A&M.
The victory extends A&M’s winning streak to 11 games and gives the Aggies a 3-0 start for the first time since opening the 2016 season with six consecutive wins.
NO. 8 CINCINNATI 38, INDIANA 24
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Desmond Ridder threw the go-ahead touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then scored on a 7-yard TD run to helpCincinnati seal a come-from-behind victory.
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 12 of 13 since the start of 2020.
NO. 9 OHIO STATE 41, TULSA 20
COLUMBUS, Ohio — TreVeyon Henderson broke Archie Griffin’s 49-year-old freshman rushing record, romping for 277 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio State pulled away late.
Henderson ran for scores of 5, 48 and 52 yards, which managed to paper over some of the same weaknesses Ohio State showed in the 32-25 upset by Oregon last week that sent the Buckeyes tumbling in the AP Top 25 poll.
WEST VIRGINIA 27, NO. 15 VA TECH 21
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Leddie Brown rushed for 106 yards 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 behind Virginia Tech’s Braxton Burmeister.
NO. 16 COASTAL CAROLINA 28, BUFFALO 25
AMHERST, N.Y. — Grayson McCall threw for three touchdowns, Shermari Jones ran for 149 yards and another score, and Coastal Carolina held on to beat Buffalo for its first road win of the season.
McCall, who entered the day leading the nation in passing efficiency and completion rate, was 13-of-19 passing for 232 yards with his first interception of the season.
NO. 20 ARKANSAS 45, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 10
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — KJ Jefferson threw for a career-high 366 yards and tied a career high with three touchdowns to lead Arkansas.
Arkansas all but clinched the win on a 91-yard pass from Jefferson to preseason All-SEC wide receiver Treylon Burks with 11:18 left in the third quarter. It was Jefferson’s final touchdown pass of the game and gave Arkansas a 38-10 lead.
MICHIGAN STATE 38, NO. 24 MIAMI 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Payton Thorne passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns, two of those scoring throws going to Jalen Nailor, and Michigan State extended its unbeaten start.
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 172 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Spartans (3-0), who are off to their best start since 2015.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 63, N. ILLINOIS 10
ANN ARBOR, Mich — Blake Corum rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns as Michigan routed Northern Illinois.
The Wolverines (3-0) scored touchdowns on their first nine drives, eight of them on the ground. The 10th drive also included a touchdown run, but it was called back for a holding penalty and Michigan turned the ball over on downs. The Wolverines never punted.