Kansas State triumphs over Charlotte for 55-7 win

MANHATTAN, Kan.—Kendall Adams scored two defensive touchdowns in the first half to propel No. 19 Kansas State to a 55-7 victory over Charlotte on Saturday.

The Wildcats (2-0) led 14-0 midway through the first quarter, before Adams took a 30 yard interception up the far sideline and made it 21-0. The pick was Adams first of the season. With just over four minutes remaining before halftime, Adams was in the right place again as he picked up a fumble from 46 yards out to make the score 31-7.

On offense, the Wildcats were just as effective with Alex Barnes, Jesse Ertz and Winston Dimel all scoring a touchdown on the ground against Charlotte (0-2).

Iowa 44, Iowa State 41

AMES, Iowa—Nate Stanley threw a 5-yard TD pass to Ihmir Smith-Marsette in overtime and Iowa rallied to stun Iowa State 44-41 on Saturday, its third straight win over the rival Cyclones.

Stanley threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns in his first road start for the Hawkeyes (2-0), who blew an early 11-point lead before rallying to force overtime on a brilliant catch and run by Akrum Wadley.

Iowa’s defense forced the Cyclones to settle for a field goal to open OT. Stanley then found Smith-Marsette to cap one of the most thrilling games this rivalry had ever seen.

“It was a dog fight,” Wadley said. “We knew we were going to get their best effort.”

Hakeem Butler caught a 74-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter to give the Cyclones a 38-31 lead. But Wadley, one of the nation’s most dangerous players in space, caught a short pass over the middle and shredded Iowa State’s defense to tie it up with 1:09 left.

Jacob Park had 347 yards and four TD passes for Iowa State (1-1), and David Montgomery rushed for 112 yards and caught five passes.

West Virginia 56, East Carolina 20

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Will Grier gave West Virginia fans the offensive show they had been waiting more than a year for.

Grier threw five touchdown passes, including three to David Sills, to lead the Mountaineers to a 56-20 victory over East Carolina on Saturday.

“It was unbelievable, man,” Grier said. “It was awesome to play out there for the first time. I can’t wait to do it again. You can never be unhappy with a win for Mountaineer nation.”

Grier has infused some excitement into a program that was coming off 10 wins from a year ago but lost quarterback Skyler Howard to graduation and wasn’t expected to compete for a Big 12 title in 2017.

Before the season, fans weren’t exactly sure what they were getting in the Florida transfer. Grier was solid as a freshman for the Gators in 2015, but midway through that season he was suspended for one year for violating the NCAA’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Grier announced in April 2016 that he was transferring to West Virginia. In his first home start, he completed 19 of 25 passes for 352 yards. His TD tosses covered 7, 52, 9, 75 and 4 yards.

“This week, it appeared that he looked very comfortable from snap one,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. “I think that’s going to continue to improve, just the timing aspect of it. He’s getting the speed of the game and getting comfortable with that and just the overall timing with the receivers.”

Four of Grier’s TD tosses came in the first half, when West Virginia built a 49-3 lead. It was the highest-scoring first half for the Mountaineers since they scored 49 in a 70-33 Orange Bowl win over Clemson following the 2011 season.

Sills caught seven passes for a career-high 153 yards and has five TD catches already this season. West Virginia’s Justin Crawford provided some balance with 15 carries for 118 yards, including TD runs of 5 and 41 yards.

West Virginia (1-1) scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives spanning the first and second quarters and was never threatened. The Mountaineers scored just once after halftime, when backup quarterback Chris Chugunov played most of the half.

Thomas Sirk, a graduate transfer from Duke, couldn’t get much going in his first start for East Carolina (0-2). Kyzir White intercepted him twice and Sirk finished 16 of 34 for 191 yards with one score before being replaced by Gardner Minshew midway through the third quarter.

“I think in the first half, defensively, we didn’t show up at all,” said East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery. “It was at times it was almost like we were playing with 10 out there.”

Central Michigan 45, Kansas 27

LAWRENCE, Kan.—Shane Morris threw for 467 yards and five touchdowns on an efficient 28 of 37 attempts while leading Central Michigan to a 45-27 victory over Kansas on Saturday.

In their first road game of the season, the Chippewas rolled into Memorial Stadium and took control late in the second quarter after a quiet start to the game for both teams.

A Kansas field goal made the score 10-6 in Central Michigan’s favor with just under five minutes left until halftime, as the two teams seemed to be fairly evenly-matched.

Less than two minutes later, however, Chippewa tight end Logan Hessbrook took a Morris pass 40 yards to the end zone. Then, with just six seconds remaining, receiver Corey Willis snagged a six-yard score as well. Suddenly, it was 24-6 and Central Michigan wouldn’t look back.

Offense was the key for Central Michigan, racking up 590 total yards. Most of their work came through the air, but five Chippewas combined for 123 yards on the ground as well.

Mark Chapman led the game with 168 yards on eight receptions, and reeled in three touchdowns as well. He delivered the knockout blow, turning a short Morris pass into a 75-yard dash to the end zone after the Jayhawks had started to trim the deficit in the fourth.

Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender had a poor start to the game, but played decently once he got things together. He finished with 323 yards on 32 of 62 passing, but failed to find the end zone and threw two picks.

Jayhawks true freshman running back Dom Williams accounted for two touchdowns on the ground, and led the game in rushing with 64 yards. Receiver Ryan Schadler also ran it in for a score on a 33-yard reverse.