Norfolk State runs past Towson
Norfolk State registered one of its most notable victories in recent years, holding off Towson 21-14 Saturday at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Maryland.
The Tigers (1-3) became the second Coastal Athletic Association team NSU (2-2) has beaten on the road this year, but unlike Hampton, Towson is a longtime CAA member.
A strong defense and rushing game — 54 carries for 350 yards — propelled the Spartans. Seven NSU players ran for at least 20 yards, and quarterback Otto Kuhns broke a 7-7 tie by racing 67 yards for a touchdown with 12:46 left in third quarter.
Kevon King, an Oscar Smith High alum, led the Spartans with 97 yards on 11 rushes. Kuhns had 70 yards on 10 carries, though he completed just 5 of 14 passes, and X’Zavion Evans had nine rushes for 56 yards.
Kuhns’ 10-yard pass to Aaron Moore with 11:34 left in the first quarter gave NSU a 7-0 lead. Towson pulled even on quarterback Nathan Kent’s 14-yard TD run with 12:15 on the second-quarter clock.
Kuhns’ long run and Jaylen White’s 16-yard touchdown burst with 7:16 left in the third quarter, followed by Grandin Willcox’s third PAT, gave NSU a 21-7 edge.
Towson’s Devin Matthews ran for a 10-yard touchdown with 5:02 remaining, and the Tigers made a stop to get the ball back. They got as far as the NSU 17, but their final pass was batted down to end the game. Kent was 21 of 36 for 201 yards, but Terron Mallory intercepted him.
Running back Hunter Rice ran for 90 yards and a touchdown and later threw a 3-yard scoring pass to help VMI get past Wofford (0-4) in Lexington in the Southern Conference opener for both teams.
Hunter Robbins sacked Wofford’s Pauly Seeley at the VMI 33-yard line as time expired, ending the Keydets’ two-game slide in Danny Rocco’s first season as coach. The Keydets are 2-2 despite averaging just 11 points.
After Wofford took a 7-0 lead on Ryan Ingram’s 4-yard scoring run with 5:40 left in the first quarter, VMI responded with a nineplay, 75-yard drive that ended with Rice’s 7-yard scoring run. Just before halftime, Rice threw a 3-yard pass to Aidan Twombly for a 14-7 advantage.
VMI 17, Wofford 14:
Richmond 20, Stony Brook 19:
Andrew Lopez made a 28-yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining on New York’s Long Island, lifting the Spiders (2-2, 1-0 CAA) past the Seawolves (0-4, 0-3) in rainy conditions.
Jackson Hardy’s 56-yard pass to Nick DeGennaro and Savon Smith’s 36-yard run provided UR’s touchdowns. A Stony Brook PAT try was blocked with 11:43 remaining, keeping the Seawolves from pulling even at 17.
Spencer Biscoe made a 31-yard field goal with 9:29 left, but the Spiders — led by quarterback Ashten Snelsire in his first college game — drove 57 yards on 11 plays in 5:25 for the winning points. An interception ended Stony Brook’s last-ditch comeback hopes.
Robert Morris 46, Virginia University of Lynchburg 0:
The Colonials (2-2) reached .500 by blowing out VUL in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Anthony Chiccitt set the tone by throwing touchdown passes of 60 and 66 yards in the first six minutes.
The National Christian College Athletic Association’s Dragons (0-4), who almost always play road games, have been outscored 173-20 this year.
Late Friday
Air Force 45, San Jose State 20:
Emmanuel Michel ran for a career-high 148 yards and three touchdowns, John Lee Eldridge III ran for 102 and two scores, and the visiting Falcons extended their winning streak to nine games.
Air Force (4-0, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) took control in the third quarter in California, opening with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Eldridge’s 5-yard run. After the Spartans (1-4, 0-1) ran three plays in 50 seconds, the Falcons started a 13-play, 71-yard drive, capped by Michel’s 1-yard run with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter.
Air Force scored on five straight possessions and had five drives of at least 10 plays. The Falcons had an 18-minute advantage in time of possession.
Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes as No. 10 Oregon emphatically slammed the brakes on Coach Prime’s “Cinderella story,” routing No. 19 Colorado 42-6 Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.
The Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) were up 35-0 at halftime after coach Dan Lanning sent them into the matchup of unbeatens with a fiery pregame speech that took direct aim at the star-studded, hype machine that has followed coach Deion Sanders’ team for the first three weeks of the season.
“The Cinderella story’s over, men. They’re fighting for clicks, we’re fighting for wins. There’s a difference,” Lanning told his team in front of ESPN’s cameras.
Troy Franklin caught eight passes for 126 yards and two scores for Oregon.
Sanders turned around a Colorado program that won just one game last year, bringing aboard 67 new scholarship players and opening the season with wins over TCU, Nebraska and last weekend’s double-overtime thriller against Colorado State.
He got a nice welcome to Autzen Stadium before the game from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, the patriarch of Oregon sports. And former NFL star Terrell Owens made the trip to see his friend coach. Oregon’s duck mascot came out on the field wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses, copying Sanders’ style.
It was a big-game atmosphere, but the Buffs (3-1, 0-1) were no match for the Ducks.
Nix completed his first 11 passes and 28 of 33. He also ran for an 11-yard TD. One fan held a sign that said: “This is Nix Country.”
Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin catches a touchdown pass against Colorado cornerback Travis Jay in the second quarter Saturday.
Coach Prime’s son Shedeur Sanders went into Saturday averaging 417.0 passing yards per game, with 10 touchdowns against one interception. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 159 yards and a late touchdown against the Ducks. He was sacked seven times.
No. 2 Michigan 31, Rutgers 7:
J.J. McCarthy threw a tiebreaking 18-yard touchdown pass to Semaj Morgan late in the first half for the Wolverines (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) with coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline for the first time since serving a school-imposed three game suspension. Rutgers fell to 3-1, 1-1.
The Wolverines went ahead by 17 points on Mike Sainristil’s 71-yard interception return with 4:31 left in the third quarter. Blake Corum’s second rushing touchdown of the game put Michigan up 31-7 early in the fourth.
The Scarlet Knights took a 7-0 lead early in the game on Gavin Wimsatt’s 69-yard touchdown pass to Christian Dremel, but they missed chances to score more.
No. 16 Oklahoma 20, Cincinnati 6:
Dillon Gabriel threw for 322 yards and accounted for two touchdowns as Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0) welcomed Cincinnati (2-2, 0-1) to the Big 12 by beating the Bearcats in Ohio.
The Central Florida transfer completed 26 of 38 passes, rebounding from his three-interception performance in his last trip to Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium in 2019 and notching his first victory in three tries against the Bearcats. Oklahoma outgained Cincinnati 322 yards to 202 through the air as the Bearcats got their first taste of the Big 12 since moving from the American
Athletic Conference in July.
No. 13 Alabama 24, No. 15 Mississippi 10:
Jalen Milroe and Alabama’s offense busted out of the doldrums in the second half, and the Crimson Tide’s defense was strong throughout in Tuscaloosa.
The Crimson Tide (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) scored 18 points in a 14-minute span — one more than Alabama managed against South Florida last weekend — to pull away from the Rebels (3-1, 0-1). Milroe passed for 225 yards.
The Rebels’ Jaxson Dart threw for 244 yards.
West Virginia 20, Texas Tech 13:
Nicco Marchiol threw a touchdown pass, CJ Donaldson added a short TD run and the host Mountaineers (3-1) held off Texas Tech (1-3) in the Big 12 opener for both.
Texas Tech backup quarterback Behren Morton came on for the injured Tyler Shough in the first quarter and put together a pair of scoring drives. But Morton couldn’t bring the Red Raiders back from a 13-3 deficit.
Maryland 31, Michigan State 9:
Taulia Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns and also ran for another in a Big Ten opener, and Maryland’s defense forced five turnovers for a victory inEast Lansing, Michigan.
Tagovailoa completed 21 of 36 passes for 223 yards to lead the Terrapins (4-0) to touchdowns on three of their four first-half drives. Maryland’s defense forced three interceptions and two fumbles. The Spartans (2-2) have dropped their first two games under interim coach Harlon Barnett.