Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
No. 2 Clemson survives 19-13 scare against Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Deshaun Watson passed for 248 yards, including 174 to Mike Williams in his return from an injury, and No. 2 Clemson escaped with a 19-13 victory over Auburn on Saturday night.
Clemson struggled to put the away the opener even though Auburn produced little offense for much of the game while swapping three quarterbacks in and out. Finally, Watson hit former walk-on receiver Hunter Renfrow in the back of the end zone on third and goal from the 16 with 9:59 left in the fourth quarter.
Ben Boulware’s subsequent goal line interception only provided a temporary reprieve for a team that made the national championship game last season and is among the favorites to win it this time. Auburn finally got a touchdown with 3:22 left on a 9-yard direct snap run by Kerryon Johnson and Clemson’s failed fourthdown try deep in Auburn territory set up another shot with 40 seconds and 85 yards to go.
Sean White drove the offense to the Clemson 40, but two desperation heaves into the end zone fell incomplete, with the second getting batted around.
Watson, the 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist, had looked the part for much of a final drive. Coach Dabo Swinney went for it on fourth and 4 instead of attempting a 34-yard field goal. Tray Matthews stopped Wayne Gallman short, and Auburn’s hopes still lived.
Gallman gained 123 yards on 30 carries, and Williams had nine catches after missing most of last season with a neck injury.
The Takeaway
If Watson didn’t exactly pick right up from his 478-yard bonanza in the national championship game against Alabama, he was still good enough. And Williams provides Clemson’s offense with yet another threat. Auburn’s offensive problems continued from last season, with three quarterbacks attempting passes on the first six plays. …
No. 9 Tennessee 20, Appalachian State 13, OT: Jalen Hurd recovered quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ overtime fumble in the end zone and No. 9 Tennessee overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to escape with a victory over Appalachian State on Thursday night.
Tennessee faced third-and-goal from the 2 when Dobbs ran to his right and lost control of the ball as he tried to stretch his arms across the goal line. Hurd won the scramble for the loose ball in the end zone to give the Volunteers their only lead of the night.
Micah Abernathy ended the game by breaking up a pass into the end zone on fourth-and-5 from the 20.
Tennessee’s comeback prevented Appalachian State from producing another shocker nine years to the day after the Mountaineers stunned No. 5 Michigan in one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
The Vols tied it on Dobbs’ 67-yard touchdown pass to Josh Malone with 10:30 left in regulation. Appalachian State’s Michael Rubino, who earlier missed an extra point, was wide right on a 42-yard field goal attempt with 5:24 remaining.
Tennessee entered the season with its highest ranking since 2006 after winning its final six games last year, but the Volunteers looked nothing like a Top 10 team Thursday. The Volunteers committed two turnovers and lost linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin to a targeting penalty in the first half as Appalachian State built a 13-3 lead. …
South Carolina 13, Vanderbilt 10: Elliott Fry kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal with 35 seconds left, and the South Carolina Gamecocks rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Vanderbilt Thursday night in Will Muschamp’s debut as head coach.
Muschamp started Perry Orth at quarterback and also played freshman Brandon McIlwain. But it was Orth who went back into the game in the third quarter and threw for 152 yards rallying the Gamecocks to their eighth straight victory over Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Vanderbilt now is 0-3 in season openers under coach Derek Mason, though his Commodores did manage to score an offensive touchdown in the first half. But Tommy Openshaw missed a 45-yard field goal wide left with 3:44 left, and Vandy turned it over on downs with 14 seconds left.
Fry also kicked a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Deebo Samuel atoned for a fumbled punt in the first quarter by scoring an 8-yard TD on an end-around with 7:30 left. …
South Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20: South Alabama quarterback Dallas Davis thought he’d be nervous before his first career start — against a Southeastern Conference opponent, no less — until he walked onto the field at Mississippi State.
He heard the deafening cowbells. He saw the big crowd. He knew his side was a huge underdog. And somehow, he relaxed. The Jaguars pulled the first major upset of the college football season, holding off Mississippi State 21-20 Saturday when Westin Graves’ 28-yard field goal try smacked off the upright and fell away in the final seconds.
Facing a team favored by four touchdowns, Davis capped a late comeback by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Everett with 57 seconds left.
Davis, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore, completed 24 of 34 passes for 285 yards and two scores. He also had a highlight-reel run in the second half, hurdling Brandon Bryant on the way to another big gain.
The Jaguars took down an SEC team for the first time in school history. The players on this littleknown Sun Belt Conference school down in Mobile will have quite a story to tell for the rest of their lives.
The Jaguars were in jeopardy of letting their lead get away until the very end.
It certainly was one of the worst losses in the eight-year tenure of Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen.
Two days after Appalachian State — another Sun Belt program — almost toppled No. 9 Tennessee before losing in overtime, South Alabama kicked off a season that follows a year full of wild endings. …
Texas A&M 31, No. 16 UCLA 24: Trevor Knight threw for 239 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores, including one in overtime to lead Texas A&M to a victory over No. 16 UCLA on Saturday in his debut with the Aggies.
The Aggies had a fourth-and-1 from the 1 in overtime when Knight waltzed into the end zone untouched for the score in the opener for both teams.
Texas A&M sealed the victory when Justin Evans knocked down Josh Rosen’s pass at the goal line on fourth down.
The Aggies looked to have this one wrapped up when they led by 15 in the fourth quarter after using two third-quarter touchdowns.
But UCLA’s offense finally got going after that, scoring twice in two minutes with the second one coming on a 62-yard pass by Rosen to cut it two 2. A 2-point conversion after that TD tied it with 2:39 remaining.
The Bruins were driving again after a third straight punt by A&M when Evans intercepted Rosen’s pass for the second time to give A&M a chance to win it in regulation.
But Knight’s pass was knocked down in the end zone to force overtime. …
Arkansas 21, Louisiana Tech 20: Austin Allen connected with tight end Jeremy Sprinkle for a fourth-down touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Arkansas rallied for a win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
The game-winning pass was from four yards out and came after the Razorbacks (1-0) trailed for much of the second half.
Making his first start at quarterback for Arkansas, Allen finished 20-of-29 passing for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns along with two interceptions. Rawleigh Williams led the Razorbacks with 96 yards rushing on 24 carries, including a touchdown.
Freshman J’Mar Smith, playing in place of suspended starter Ryan Higgins, finished 19 of 31 for 212 yards passing for the Bulldogs (0-1).
Louisiana Tech took a 20-14 lead in the third quarter after a 20-yard field goal by kicker Jonathan Barnes.
Arkansas — after struggling to slow the Bulldogs pass rush for much of the game — then righted itself and put together a 13-play, 67-yard touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter. Allen capped the drive by finding Sprinkle on a throwback to the left side of the end zone on fourth down.
After opening last season 2-5, including a loss to Toledo, Arkansas had stressed the need for a faster start to the season entering Saturday’s home opener.
However, a pair of first-half turnovers by the Razorbacks led to two touchdowns by the Bulldogs — who settled for a 14-14 tie at halftime after kicker Barnes’ 54-yard field goal attempt went wide right to end the half.
Barnes missed another kick off the left upright from 39 yards that would have put Louisiana Tech up 23-14 in the fourth quarter.
Arkansas then went ahead on the Sprinkle touchdown and then sealed with win with another fourth-down conversion late, this one on a run on fourth-and-inches by Kody Walker. …
Southern Mississippi 44, Kentucky 35: Nick Mullens ran for two 1-yard touchdowns — including the go-ahead score late in the third quarter — and passed for two TDs as Southern Mississippi scored 34 unanswered points to upset Kentucky 44-35 in its season opener on Saturday night.
Kentucky appeared in control with a 35-10 second quarter lead as Drew Barker threw TD passes of 72, 43, 9 and 53 yards on drives totaling 13 plays. Jojo Kemp’s 7-yard TD run seemed to provide a cushion that the Wildcats’ defense complemented with three interceptions of Mullens.
Neither Mullens nor the Golden Eagles quarterback panicked as he answered Kentucky’s final score with a 71-yard TD pass to Isaiah Jones with 26 seconds left before halftime. Mullens then sandwiched 1-yard TD runs around an 18-yard scoring pass to Julian Allen, followed by two Parker Schaun field field goals.
Mullens finished 18 of 28 passing for 258 yards to help Jay Hopson win his debut as Golden Eagles coach. …
No. 25 Florida 24, UMass 7: Luke Del Rio threw two touchdown passes in his first career start, and No. 25 Florida did just enough to beat UMass 24-7 on Saturday night and extend the nation’s longest winning streak in season openers to 27.
It was far from the offensive resurgence the Gators were hoping for after ending last season with three consecutive losses.
Spurrier said the best parts of the day were watching his name unveiled on the stadium and then seeing band members wearing visors to honor him.
The Gators had trouble blocking the Minutemen up front and creating holes in the running game. Del Rio completed 29 of 44 passes for 256 yards, with TD passes to Antonio Callaway in the first quarter and Brandon Powell in the fourth.
Newcomer Eddy Pineiro kicked three field goals, including from 49 and 48 yards in the fourth that gave Florida a little extra breathing room and started chants of “Eddy, Eddy.”
Florida’s defense was solid except for one scoring drive in which it was flagged three times for 35 yards and allowed a fourth-and-14 conversion. …