Crimson Tide storms past ’Canes
No. 1 ’Bama wins 44-13
Looking very much like a team capable of making another run at a national title, No. 1 Alabama opened its season with a 44-13 rout of No. 14 Miami on Saturday behind four touchdown passes from Bryce Young in his first college start.
The sophomore from Southern California completed 27 of 38 for 344 yards, hooking up with Cameron Latu on a pair of scoring plays and burying the Hurricanes with a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams early in the third quarter.
Young became the first Alabama quarterback to throw four TD passes in his starting debut. Mac Jones and Joe Namath had shared the school record with three scoring throws to begin their stints as the Tide’s No. 1 QB.
Williams, a transfer from Ohio State, had four receptions for 126 yards in his Alabama debut.
The Crimson Tide also turned in a dazzling defensive effort at the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, sacking D’Eriq King four times, forcing him into three turnovers and stuffing him on a goal-line stand.
Alabama led 27-0 before Miami crossed midfield. King and the Hurricanes simply made too many mistakes to compete with perhaps the greatest dynasty in college football history.
No. 2 Oklahoma 40, Tulane 35 — Spencer Rattler passed for 304 yards, and No. 2 Oklahoma beat Tulane in a game that was relocated from New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida.
Oklahoma led by five in the fourth quarter and Tulane had possession, but quarterback Michael Pratt ran for 12 yards on a fourthand-13 play. Tulane turned the ball over on downs, and Oklahoma ran out the clock.
Oklahoma’s Gabe Brkic tied an FBS record with three field goals of 50 or more yards, and Marvin Mims had five catches for 117 yards for the Sooners (1-0).
Pratt passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns for the Green Wave (0-1). He also ran for another score.
Oklahoma had the Green Wave painted on the 25-yard lines, and Sooners fans cheered when Tulane’s players ran onto the field before the game.
No. 11 Oregon 31, Fresno St. 24 — Anthony Brown scored on a 30yard quarterback keeper with 2:57 left and the No. 11 Oregon Ducks overcame a wobbly season opener with a 31-24 victory over Fresno State on Saturday.
Oregon jumped to a 21-6 lead, but Fresno State scored two unanswered touchdowns to tie the game midway through the third quarter, then took the lead early in the fourth on Abraham Montano’s field goal.
A fumble recovery gave Oregon the ball at the Fresno State 32, but the Ducks settled for Camden Lewis’ 25-yard field goal to tie it before Brown’s go-ahead touchdown.
Brown threw for 172 yards and a touchdown while running for 62 yards and the game-winner. It was Oregon’s 17th straight home-opening victory.
Brown, a sixth-year senior, transferred to Oregon last year from Boston College but was backup to Tyler Shough until getting playing time in the Pac-12 title game and the Fiesta Bowl. Shough transferred to Texas Tech in the offseason.
Oregon had not played a game at Autzen Stadium for 644 days and the game came amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
Oregon and Oregon State were among the first schools to require proof of vaccination or a negative virus test to attend football games. Gov. Kate Brown also imposed a mask mandate, even at outdoor events.
The game was also marred by smoky conditions from wildfires in the region. Air quality was deemed unhealthy in the Eugene region by the U.S. Air Quality Index.
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener threw for 285 yards and a touchdown. The Bulldogs (1-1) already started the season with a 45-0 victory over Connecticut.
No. 19 Penn State 16, No. 12 Wisconsin 10 — Jaquan Brister and Ji’Ayir Brown intercepted Graham Mertz deep in Penn State territory in the final minutes to preserve the 19thranked Nittany Lions’ victory.
Wisconsin (0-1) had its string of 25 consecutive victories in home openers snapped because of its red-zone failures. The Badgers dominated time of possession but had four scoreless trips inside Penn State’s 25-yard line, including three inside the 10.
The Badgers had first-and-goal at the 1 in the closing minutes on a drive that included a targeting penalty on Ellis Brooks that knocked Penn State’s top tackler out of the game.
Then things went awry. Mertz lost the ball on an apparent handoff attempt on first down, though Wisconsin’s Isaac Guerendo recovered the fumble at the 4. Guerendo lost a yard on second down, then Joey Porter Jr. broke up a pass to Jack Dunn.
On fourth down, Mertz attempted a pass across the middle to tight end Jake Ferguson, but Brisker picked it off and delivered a 41yard return with 2:16 remaining.
Wisconsin got the ball back on its own 18 with 1:11 left and got all the way to the Penn State 25 with 26 seconds remaining, thanks in part to a personal foul on Arnold Ebiketie. But after an intentional grounding call pushed Wisconsin back to the 32, Brown intercepted a Mertz pass on the game’s final play.
No. 18 Cincinnati 49, Miami of Ohio 14— Desmond Ridder was 20 of 25 for 295 yards and four touchdowns and Cincinnati beat Miami of Ohio.
The Bearcats tied the series that began in 1888 at 59-59-7.
No. 18 Iowa 34, No. 17 Indiana 6 — Riley Moss returned two first-half interceptions for touchdowns and Iowa beat Indiana.
Iowa intercepted three of Michael Penix, Jr.’s passes and had a fourth wiped out by a roughing-the-passer call.
Tyler Goodson rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes. Spencer Petras had a 9-yard touchdown run, and completed 13 of 27 passes for 145 yards.
It was the seventh consecutive win for the Hawkeyes dating to last season.
Pitt 51, UMass 7 — Kenny Pickett threw for two touchdowns passes and the Pitt defense held Massachusetts to 209 yards of total offense.
Pickett linked up with Lucas Krull and Jordan Addison for firstquarter touchdowns as the Panthers jumped out to a two-score lead in the first 15 minutes.
The fifth-year senior directed the offense efficiently, completing 27 of 37 passes for 272 yards and the two scores. Pickett also rushed six times for 39 yards on a combination of scrambles and designed runs. The Minutemen were kept from the end zone until the fourth quarter, when Tyler Lytle scored on a one-yard keeper. He threw 26 times, completing 11 for 139.
Holy Cross 38, UConn 28 — Sophomore Matt Sluka passed for two touchdowns, ran for another and his 76-yard keeper in the fourth quarter iced Holy Cross’ seasonopening win.
Sluka passed for 123 yards and ran for 112. His long run set up Tyler Purdy’s 14-yard TD carry — his second score of the game — to give Holy Cross a 10-point lead with just over eight minutes left.
Holy Cross, two-time defending Patriot League champion, gained the FCS playoff field last spring and the defeat of UConn is its first against an FBS opponent since 2002 (Army).
Merrimack 55, St. Anselm 23 — Westin Elliott threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns, and Merrimack opened its season by beating Division-II member St. Anselm.
Merrimack trailed 9-0 before leading by just five points at the break. Merrimack had scoring runs of 21, spanning halftime, and 27 points to take control in the second half.
Matt Brehon rushed for 57 yards, including a 26-yard run on fourth down to put Merrimack ahead 21-9. Kenneth Cooper scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 46-yard pick-six to make it 41-16 early in the fourth.
Johnny Rosario caught five passes for 104 yards, and Anthony Norcia added 87 yards receiving and two scores for Merrimack. Pat Conroy, Tyler Roberts and Cam Tillman each had a receiving touchdown. Elliott, a transfer graduate student from Louisiana Tech, was 29-of-35 passing.
Drew Willoughby was intercepted three times, going 22 of 51 for 172 yards.
Merrimack won’t return to Duane Stadium until Oct. 2 as the rest of its non-conference schedule is on the road.