Mews sparks Bulldogs’ rout of Ball State
ATHENS, Ga. — Stetson Bennett has moved on, but twotime reigning national champion Georgia has a new walk-on star.
Mekhi Mews sparked the Southeastern Conference power with a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown, and the top-ranked Bulldogs took advantage of three interceptions to blow away Ball State 45-3 on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
“It’s almost surreal,” said the 5-foot-8, 185-pound Mews, who came to Georgia without a scholarship two years ago and is emerging as one of the Bulldogs’ most exciting weapons. “I just work my butt off every day and let the results come.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Georgia (2-0) finally got rolling with a 31-point outburst in the second period against the overmatched Cardinals (0-2) of the Mid-American Conference.
Mews deserves credit for the momentum swing. He fielded a punt at his own 31, shook off a couple of would-be tacklers, weaved past another defender and found a wall of blockers down the sideline.
“All I saw was green grass. I feel like everybody executed well. I was just doing my job,” said Mews, who had three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown a week earlier in a seasonopening win over the University of Tennessee at Martin, a Football Championship Subdivision program.
Mews also had a 47-yard kickoff return to start the game against the Cardinals, but Georgia botched the ensuing scoring opportunity when Peyton Woodring missed a chip-shot field-goal attempt from 28 yards.
There was a bit of grumbling in the stands when Georgia’s offense, led by new starting quarterback Carson Beck, began sluggishly for the second week in a row. However, Beck finished 23-of-30 for 283 yards with two touchdown passes, a 7-yarder to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and a 21-yarder to Cash Jones, who made an over-the-shoulder catch.
“I’m extremely pleased,” coach Kirby Smart said when asked about Bennett’s replacement at the most prominent spot on the field. “He’s getting the ball out of his hands quick. He’s seeing the field. He does a good job playing that position.”
Beck did make some noticeable mistakes, fumbling while attempting to run for a first down — though the Bulldogs recovered — and getting picked off on a deep throw to a tightly guarded receiver.
However, the Georgia defense totally stifled Ball State. Malaki Starks, Chaz Chambliss and Tykee Smith had interceptions in the second quarter, all followed by Georgia touchdowns.
› No. 2 Michigan 35, UNLV 7
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Blake Corum ran for three scores and J.J. McCarthy threw two touchdown passes to Roman Wilson to lead a rout for the Wolverines (2-0), who were without suspended coach Jim Harbaugh for the second game of his threegame, school-imposed suspension for breaking NCAA rules. Harbaugh’s absence didn’t slow them down, and the Rebels (0-1) were overmatched as expected
› No. 5 Ohio State 35, Youngstown State 7
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kyle McCord threw for three touchdowns in the first half — two of them to All-American Marvin Harrison Jr. and the other to Emeka Egbuka — TreVeyon Henderson rushed for a pair of scores, and the Buckeyes (2-0) won a blowout against the Penguins (1-1), an in-state foe from the Football Championship Subdivision. McCord, starting in his third year in the program, was 14-for-20 for 258 yards, a solid bounce-back performance against a lesser opponent after a shaky opener at Indiana a week earlier in a Big Ten matchup.
› No. 7 Penn State 63, Delaware 7
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Nick Singleton ran for three touchdowns and Penn State’s defense was nearly perfect as the Nittany Lions (2-0) shut down the Blue Hens (1-1). Kaytron Allen ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, while quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula each scored on second-half runs against their FCS opponent. Penn State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and led 35-7 at halftime.
› No. 8 Washington 43, Tulsa 10
SEATTLE — Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes, wide receivers Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk both ran for touchdowns on reverses and the Huskies (2-0) cruised past the Golden Hurricane (1-1). Penix was 28-of-38 for 409 yards and completed passes to 10 receivers, with Jalen McMillan having the biggest game with eight catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.
› No. 10 Notre Dame 45, N.C. State 24
RALEIGH, N.C. — Audric Estime ran for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play after an extended weather delay, and Sam Hartman threw for four scores to help the Fighting Irish improve to 3-0 while dropping the Wolfpack to 1-1. Estime ran for 134 yards and two scores, including a 7-yard burst through traffic with 10:42 left that put the visitors in firm control. Notre Dame has now won 29 straight regular-season matchups against Atlantic Coast Conference teams in its scheduling partnership with the league as a football independent but a member in all other ACC sports.
› No. 12 Utah 20, Baylor 13
WACO, Texas — Jaylon Glover scored on an 11-yard run with 17 seconds left for Utah’s second touchdown in the final two minutes, and the Utes (2-0) escaped Baylor (0-2) in a matchup of future Big 12 foes missing their starting quarterbacks.
Utah’s winning drive was set up at the Baylor 29 after Cole Bishop’s interception on a pass Sawyer Robertson threw under pressure. The Utes — who are leaving the Pac-12 next year for the Big 12, which already has the Bears — tied the game at 13 with 1:59 left when redshirt freshman quarterback Nate Johnson scored on a 7-yard draw to cap an 88-yard drive. Baylor had one last chance to tie the game with one second left after Robertson’s 47-yard pass to Hal Presley to the Utah 22, but the final pass into the end zone was incomplete.
› No. 15 Kansas State 42, Troy 13
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Will Howard threw for three touchdowns and ran for two scores as the Wildcats (2-0) pulled away from the Trojans (1-1). Howard finished 21-of-32 for 250 yards and had eight carries for 33 yards. Kansas State’s defense held the Trojans to 286 total yards a week after they gained 540 against Stephen F. Austin.
› No. 17 North Carolina 40, Appalachian State 34, OT
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Drake Maye’s 13-yard run in the second overtime helped rescue North Carolina (2-0), and the Tar Heels’ defense made it hold up against Appalachian State (1-1).
Omarion Hampton ran for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including the 17-yard run that allowed the Tar Heels to pull even in the first overtime. Nate Noel ran 7 yards for a touchdown on the first OT possession for the Mountaineers, and he finished with 127 yards on 26 carries.
Ryan Coe kicked two field goals for North Carolina, but he missed from 39 yards on the last play of regulation.
› No 20 Ole Miss 37, No. 24 Tulane 20
NEW ORLEANS —Jaxson Dart accounted for 308 yards and passed for two touchdowns, and the Rebels (2-0) pulled away to beat Tulane (1-1) as injured Green Wave quarterback Michael Pratt watched from the sideline.
Caden Davis kicked a careerlong 56-yard field goal to give Ole Miss a 10-point lead with 1:53 left, and defensive end Jared Ivey picked up a fumble caused by Khari Coleman’s sack and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown to nail down the victory.
After Tulane coach Willie Fritz said Tuesday that Pratt was “fine,” the coach elected to start backup Kai Horton, who helped the Green Wave build a 10-point lead in the first half. Pratt took a big hit at the end of a 37-17 victory over South Alabama last weekend, and he was wearing shorts with a protective sleeve on his left knee when he appeared on the sideline Saturday.
› No. 21 Duke 42, Lafayette 7
DURHAM, N.C. — Jordan Waters ran for a career-high 112 yards to go with two scores, helping Duke (2-0) beat Lafayette (1-1) to cap a short week after its season-opening upset of Clemson. Duke played five days after the 28-7 win against preseason ACC favorite Clemson, which was ranked ninth at the time. That game ended with fans charging to midfield to celebrate the program’s first win against a top-10 opponent in 34 years, and it had the Blue Devils in the AP Top 25 the next afternoon for the first time in five years.
› No. 22 Colorado 36, Nebraska 14
BOULDER, Colo. — Shedeur Sanders accounted for three scores, Colorado’s defense forced four turnovers and the Buffaloes (2-0) beat longtime rival Nebraska (0-2) in the home debut of coach Deion Sanders at sold-out Folsom Field.
After Coach Prime’s team was the story of the first full week of the season with an upset of TCU, last season’s national runnerup, the Buffs showed it was no fluke. Shedeur Sanders threw for 393 yards and two scores, while running for another touchdown and capping his 6-yard romp with the dance steps his dad and coach made famous during his playing days as a cornerback at Florida State and in the NFL.
The Cornhuskers forced Colorado to punt on its first four drives, but after that the Buffs scored on seven of eight possessions to put the rout in motion.
› Miami 48, No. 23 Texas A&M 33
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tyler Van Dyke threw a careerhigh five touchdown passes, Brashard Smith returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score and Miami (2-0) overcame a slow start to defeat the Aggies (1-1).
Smith’s touchdown gave the Hurricanes an eight-point lead in the third quarter, and they built on that. It was a stark turnaround after Texas A&M jumped out to a 10-point first-quarter lead.
The Hurricanes lost to Texas A&M 17-9 a year ago in a down 5-7 season.
› No. 25 Clemson 66, Charleston Southern 17
CLEMSON, S.C. — Cade Klubnik threw for a career-high 315 yards and four touchdowns as the quarterback and Clemson (1-1) rallied from a mistake-filled first half to roll past Charleston Southern (1-1), which led 14-7 early on the strength of two Clemson turnovers. Antonio Williams had touchdown catches of 10 and 5 yards, and Phil Mafah ran for two short touchdowns as the Tigers improved to 38-0 all-time against FCS foes.
› Arkansas 28, Kent State 6
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — KJ Jefferson threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Razorbacks (2-0) past the Golden Flashes (0-2). Arkansas finished with a modest 308 yards of total offense against the team picked to finish last in the MidAmerican Conference. The Razorbacks trailed 3-0 before Antonio Grier, a South Florida transfer, returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown on the first snap he was on the field for in an Arkansas uniform.
› Georgia Tech 48, S.C. State 13
ATLANTA — Haynes King passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns, Jamal Haynes ran for 113 yards and one score, and Georgia Tech bounced back from a season-opening loss to beat South Carolina State (0-3), which has lost seven games in a row and 11 of its past 14. King, a transfer from Texas A&M, was 21-of-29 before giving way to let Zach Pyron in the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets churned out 578 yards of total offense.
› Kentucky 28, Eastern Kentucky 17
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Devin Leary passed for four scores, including two to Tayvion Robinson, as the SEC’s Wildcats (2-0) notched four consecutive touchdowns to rally past and hold off Eastern Kentucky (1-1). The Wildcats entered as heavy favorites, but they spent much of an overcast day having to overcome their FCS neighbor. Leary was 24-of-38 for 299 yards as Kentucky won the yardage battle 414-311, and Robinson caught six passes for 136 yards.
› Wake Forest 36, Vanderbilt 20
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Mitch Griffis threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, Brendon Harris returned a fumble 31 yards to score against his former team, and the ACC’s Wake Forest (2-0) held off the SEC’s Vanderbilt (2-1).
Wake Forest seemed in danger of squandering a 10-point lead before Harris — a Nashville native who spent four years at his hometown program before transferring — capped the game’s most critical play by scooping up a fumble by Commodores punt returner Will Sheppard and running uncontested into the end zone. Walker Merrill caused the fumble with a hit after Sheppard had taken a few strides after making the catch. Prior to that, the visitors had scored on Sheppard’s 10-yard catch on a pass from AJ Swann to cut the lead to 17-14, and the Vanderbilt defense then quickly forced the Demon Deacons to punt.