Verdell, Oregon stun Ohio St.
No. 12 Ducks deploy explosive rushing attack, never trail No. 3 Buckeyes
C.J. Verdell ran for 161 yards and had three touchdowns as shorthanded No. 12 Oregon exploited a porous Ohio State defense to upset the No. 3 Buckeyes 35-28 for their first regular-season loss in nearly three years.
Ohio State (1-1) never led the game it was favored the win by 14 ½ points despite 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 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 then 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.
Alabama 48, Mercer 14: Bryce Young threw three touchdown passes and Jase McClellan scored three times in No. 1 Alabama’s rout of FCS Mercer.
Georgia 56, UAB 7: Stetson Bennett tied a school record with five touchdown passes filling in for injured starter JT Daniels, leading the No. 2 Bulldogs in the rout.
Oklahoma 76, Western Carolina 0: Spencer Rattler threw five touchdown passes, and No. 4 Oklahoma matched its fifthhighest point total in school history. The Sooners led 62-0 after three quarters, and the fourth quarter was shortened to 12 minutes.
Texas A&M 10, Colorado 7: Sophomore backup quarterback Zach Calzada threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Spiller with 2:41 remaining and No. 5 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.
Clemson 49, South Carolina State 3: D.J. Uiagalelei ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third as Clemson cranked up its offense after a sorry showing in a loss to second-ranked Georgia a week earlier.
Cincinnati 42, Murray State 7: Jerome Ford rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns, Desmond Ridder passed for 243 yards and two TDs, and No. 7 Cincinnati scored on four of its first five possessions in the second half.
Notre Dame 32, Toledo 29: 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 No. 8 Notre Dame held off determined Toledo.
Iowa 27, Iowa State 17: Jack Campbell returned a fumble 6 yards for a touchdown and No. 10 Iowa ran its winning streak against No. 9 Iowa State to six games with a victory that ruined the most-anticipated home game in Cyclones history.
Penn State 44, Ball State 13: Sean Clifford completed 21 of 29 passes for 230 yards, ran for a touchdown and threw for another as No. 11 Penn State won its sixth straight game dating to last season.
Florida 42, South Florida 20: No. 13 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.
Arkansas 40, Texas 21: Arkansas piled up 333 rushing yards and got touchdowns from four players on the ground while its defense stuffed No. 15 Texas. Dominique Johnson scored from 5 yards in the second quarter, Trelon Smith from 1, and Raheim Sanders from 26 in the third and AJ Green from 30 in the fourth as the Razorbacks (2-0) racked up its most rushing yards since 2016, their last winning season.
Wisconsin 37, Eastern Michigan 7: Chez Mellusi ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, leading No. 18 Wisconsin to a victory over Eastern Michigan.
Virginia Tech 35, Middle Tennessee 14: Raheem Blackshear rushed for two touchdowns and the No. 19 Hokies scored on their first three possessions of the second half.
Miami 25, Appalachian State 23: D’Eriq King threw for 200 yards and rushed for 67 more, freshman Andy Borregales kicked a go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 2:04 remaining and No. 22 Miami rallied from a halftime deficit. Cam’Ron Harris rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown for Miami (1-1), and Don Chaney Jr. had a rushing score before leaving in the first half with a leg injury. King led a 10-play, 55-yard drive in the fourth that set up Borregales for what became the winning points.
Auburn 62, Alabama St. 0: Demetris Robertson scored three touchdowns and Jarquez Hunter rushed for 147 yards as the No. 25 Tigers raced past their overmatched FCS foe.