LOS ANGELES (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns and No. 5 Oklahoma knocked off No. 2 Ohio State 31-16 on Saturday night to give first-year head coach Lincoln Riley an early signature victory.
Mayfield lived up to his billing as a Heisman Trophy contender in shifting the Sooners (2-0) into overdrive and piling up the yards in the second half as the Buckeyes' offense sputtered. Oklahoma took its first lead near the end of the third quarter and cruised in the fourth.
Ohio State's title hopes didn't evaporate, but the Buckeyes (1-1) will have to solve myriad offensive problems and play much better to get back in it.
True freshman J.K. Dobbins again was a bright spot for the Buckeyes, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown, but quarterback J.T. Barrett couldn't hit the big passes when he needed them to extend drives. He often resorted to pulling the ball down and taking off himself.
Mayfield was 27 of 35 with TD passes to Dimitri Flowers, Lee Morris and Trey Sermon.
Oklahoma avenged a 45-24 loss to the Buckeyes' last year in Norman.
NO. 6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 42, NO. 14 STANFORD 24
Steven Mitchell and Deontay Burnett caught two touchdown passes apiece from Sam Darnold, and Southern California extended its winning streak to 11 games.
Darnold went 21 of 26 with 316 yards passing for the Trojans (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12), who snapped their three-game losing streak in this California private-school rivalry. USC racked up 623 total yards and won the first Pac-12 game of the new season by beating the hard-nosed Cardinal (1-1, 0-1) at their own physical game.
Ronald Jones II rushed for 116 yards and scored a touchdown in his ninth consecutive game as USC excelled at Stanford's traditional strengths, running the ball for 307 yards and controlling both lines of scrimmage. Turnovers and penalties by the Trojans kept it fairly close, but freshman Stephen Carr added 119 yards rushing, and Jones cartwheeled into the end zone with a clinching 23-yard TD run with 4:15 to play.
Keller Chryst passed for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while Bryce Love had a 75-yard TD run among his 160 yards rushing for the Cardinal, who hadn't played since their season-opening win over Rice in Australia last month.
NO. 15 GEORGIA 20, NO. 24 NOTRE DAME 19
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy led a swarming Georgia defense and the No. 15 Bulldogs got just enough plays from an offense starting a freshman quarterback.
Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:39 remaining to give the Bulldogs (2-0) a one-point lead, and that was enough for Carter and company.
Georgia stopped Brandon Wimbush and the Fighting Irish (1-1) on downs once. Then, on Notre Dame's final drive, Bellamy blind-sided the quarterback and Carter recovered the fumble with 1:27 left.
Wimbush scored Notre Dame's only touchdown in the first half on a 1-yard run and finished 20 for 40 for 210 yards with two lost fumbles. Carter had a strip sack in the second-half, too.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 41, FRESNO STATE 10
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jalen Hurts ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns and passed for a third score for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (2-0) polished off the 44-point underdog Bulldogs (1-1) with a workmanlike performance on the heels of an opening victory over No. 10 Florida State in Atlanta.
Hurts completed 14 of 18 passes for 128 yards, but his biggest play came in the opening minute. He faked a handoff and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown on the second offensive play, stepping out of a last-gasp tackle attempt at the 15.
Hurts also hit a wide-open Hale Hentges for a 23-yarder in the first quarter. It was the tight end's first career touchdown.
The Tide led 28-3 at halftime against Fresno State, which had opened coach Jeff Tedford's first season with a 66-0 win over FCS Incarnate Word.
Fresno State scored on Chason Virgil's 26-yard pass to Derrion Grim with just over six minutes left. That was set up by Da'Mari Scott's 63-yard kick return
Alabama outgained the Bulldogs 305-58 on the ground.
NO. 3 CLEMSON 14, NO. 13 AUBURN 6
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Kelly Bryant had two touchdown runs after getting knocked hard to the ground and defensive end Austin Bryant had four of Clemson's 11 sacks.
This was billed as an early showcase between elite teams with dreams of the College Football Playoffs. Instead, Clemson's Bryants never gave Auburn (1-1) much of a chance.
Bryant, making his second career start at quarterback for defending national champion Clemson, appeared to be seriously hurt after he remained on the ground on a hit by Dontavius Russell. But after a few moments in the medical tent, Bryant returned to direct a pair of touchdown drives that gave Clemson (2-0) the lead for good. Bryant's 3-yard run right before halftime put Clemson ahead 7-6. He finished the next possession with a spinning, 27-yard burst.
Clemson's defense squashed any chance of an Auburn comeback. Bryant was nearly unblockable and created havoc quarterback Jarrett Stidham and Auburn, which was held to 117 yards.
Austin Byrant sacked Stidham on Auburn's final two plays as the Baylor transfer desperately tried to get the ball downfield. Byrant threw for 181 yards on 19-of-29 passing. He also rushed for 68 yards.
NO. 4 PENN STATE 33. PITTSBURGH 14
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Trace McSorley threw for three touchdowns, including Saquon Barkley's 46-yard catch-and-run, and Penn State pulled away.
McSorley completed 15 of 28 passes for 164 yards, helping the Nittany Lions (2-0) avenge a loss to their in-state rivals a year ago. Tight end Mike Gesicki had two touchdown receptions and Barkley ran for 88 yards to help Penn State ended a two-game skid against the Panthers.
Qadree Ollison ran for 96 yards for the Panthers (1-1), but Pitt's offense struggled to finish drives early on and the Nittany Lions pulled away late. Max Browne completed 19 of 32 passes for only 138 yards and was intercepted twice.
NO. 7 WASHINGTON 63, MONTANA 7
SEATTLE (AP) — Dante Pettis weaved his way 67 yards for his Pac-12 record-breaking seventh career punt return touchdown, and Jake Browning threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns for Washington.
Pettis returned a punt for a score for the second straight game. His 61-yard return at Rutgers last week tied him with DeSean Jackson for the conference mark and ignited Washington (2-0) after a sluggish start.
Montana (1-1) made the unwise decision to punt to Pettis on the final play of the first quarter. The senior veered to the sideline nearest where he caught the kick, cut all the way across the field, juked Montana punter Eric Williams and sprinted the final few yards to give the Huskies a 21-7 lead.
Pettis is one shy of the NCAA record for punt return touchdowns in a career, held by Wes Welker (Texas Tech) and Antonio Perkins (Oklahoma).
NO. 8 MICHIGAN 36, CINCINNATI 14
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Ty Isaac ran for a career-high 133 yards and Wilton Speight threw two touchdown passes to help Michigan pull away.
The Wolverines (2-0) led by just three points early in the second half before scoring 19 straight points to turn a closely contested game into a lopsided one.
The Bearcats (1-1) failed to take advantage of Michigan's many mistakes and made some miscues of their own to spoil an upset bid.
Cincinnati's Hayden Moore was 15 of 40 for 132 yards with a TD pass to Kahlil Lewis that cut Michigan's lead to 17-14 in the third quarter. Moore had some passes dropped and had some errant throws, two of which were intercepted and returned for scores by Tyree Kinnel in the first quarter and Lavert Hill late in the fourth.
Speight completed 17 of 29 passes for 221 yards. He had TD passes to Kekoa Crawford early in the game and to Grant Perry in the third that gave Michigan a 10-point cushion.
NO. 9 WISCONSIN 31, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 14
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Freshman Jonathan Taylor ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns and Alex Hornibrook threw for 201 yards and a score for Wisconsin.
The bigger Badgers (2-0) wore down the Owls (0-2) despite some middling play in the middle of the game. Wisconsin opened up 14-0 lead in the first quarter o Taylor's 64- and 29-yard touchdown runs, but didn't have the game in hand until his third score with 1:12 left in the third quarter,
The threat of Hurricane Irma bearing down on South Florida put the stakes in perspective for the Owls and first-year coach Lane Kiffin. The Owls will stay in Madison at least through Sunday.
NO. 12 LSU 45, CHATTANOOGA 10
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Derrius Guice ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns, D.J. Chark returned a punt 65 yards for a score, and LSU overcame bouts of sloppiness.
Danny Etling passed for 227 yards and a TD, connecting on eight of 14 attempts in less than three quarters of work for the Tigers (2-0). Etling's scoring pass was a 36-yarder to Drake Davis.
Chark had three receptions for 103 yards, including a 48-yard catch from Etling in the third quarter. Chark also had a 79-yard punt return for a would-be TD negated by a holding penalty.
While LSU coach Ed Orgeron is bound to be pleased overall by a two-game start in which the Tigers have outscored opponents 72-10 combined, he also could be concerned about a rash of penalties and place-kicking problems as his team prepares for its first Southeastern Conference game next week. LSU was penalized 11 times for 74 yards, one week after committing 10 penalties for 86 yards against BYU.
Chattanooga is 0-2.
NO. 17 LOUISVILLE 47, NORTH CAROLINA 35
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson accounted for 525 total yards and six touchdowns and Louisville pulled away late.
Jackson threw for 393 yards and three scores and ran for 132 yards and three TDs. The last came on a spinning-through-tacklers 11-yard run with 3:06 left to punctuate a dominant fourth-quarter effort by the Cardinals (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Junior Jaylen Smith had nine catches for a career-high 183 yards and a score, and Dez Fitzpatrick hauled in two TDs as the Cardinals rolled to 705 yards.
Chazz Surratt and Brandon Harris combined to throw for North Carolina (0-2, 0-1).
NO. 18 VIRGINIA TECH 27, DELAWARE 0
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Greg Stroman returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown and Josh Jackson threw two scoring passes for Virginia Tech.
Stroman is the first player in Virginia Tech history to return a punt for a touchdown in three consecutive seasons.
The Hokies (2-0), coming off a last-second win over West Virginia, struggled offensively for much of the game, but got scoring strikes of 4 and 28 yards from Jackson. The latter one went to Cam Phillips, who broke free on a post pattern to give the Hokies breathing room in the fourth quarter.
Jackson completed 16 of 27 passes for 222 yards.
Delaware is 1-1.
NO. 19 KANSAS STATE 55, CHARLOTTE 7
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kendall Adams scored on interception and fumble returns in the first half for Kansas State.
Adams returned an interception 30 yards to give the Wildcats (2-0) a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and had a 46-yard fumble return late in the second to make it 31-7.
Alex Barnes, Jesse Ertz and Winston Dimel had touchdown runs.
Charlotte dropped to 0-2.
NO. 23 TCU 28, ARKANSAS 7
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Darius Anderson ran for a career-high 106 yards and a touchdown and No. 23 TCU's defense dominated once again.
Anderson had 15 carries to help the Horned Frogs (2-0) win in Fayetteville for the first time since 1984 when both schools were in the Southwest Conference. The sophomore's previous rushing best was 103 yards in a victory over Texas last season.
Kenny Hill was 21-of-31 passing for 166 yards for TCU, and the Horned Frogs held the Razorbacks (1-1) to 267 yards of total offense — a week after allowing only 65 yards in a 63-0 victory over Jackson State.
Arkansas' Austin Allen was 9 of 23 for 138 yards, a year after accounting for four touchdowns in the Razorbacks' double-overtime win at TCU. Arkansas has lost three of its last four games to fall to 26-27 under fifth-season year coach Bret Bielema.
NO. 25 TENNESSEE 42, INDIANA STATE 7
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ty Chandler returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, Carlin Fils-aime had two scoring runs and Tennessee breezed past Indiana State,
Five days after John Kelly ran for four touchdowns in Tennessee's 42-41 double-overtime triumph over Georgia Tech, he shared the spotlight with his backups in a game that had much less suspense. Kelly ran for 80 yards and caught five passes for 60 yards to lead the Volunteers (2-0) in rushing and receiving, but two guys below him on the depth chart scored Tennessee's first three touchdowns.
Chandler took the opening kickoff just to the right of the right hash, easily shed an attempted arm tackle as he approached his own 35 and ran untouched the rest of the way. Chandler is the first Tennessee true freshman to score on a kickoff return since Leonard Scott did it against Georgia in 1999.
Indiana State is 0-2.
___
More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Brad Keselowski Bypasses Busch, Ices XFINITY Win at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. — In the long run, Brad Keselowski knew he had the superior car.
And that’s exactly what Keselowski got – a long run to close Friday night’s Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond Raceway.
“When you can race with him (Busch), you know you’re having a good day, especially in this series,” Keselowski said after completing a spectacular celebratory burnout on the frontstretch. “When you race with Kyle, you race with the best. He and I may not always get along, but I have a lot of respect for his talent.”
After the second stage, which Keselowski won with a pass of Busch on the final circuit (Lap 150), the race ran without caution for the final 89 laps. Keselowski was driving a car with the new flange-fit composite body, which will be mandatory in the series by 2019.
“We weren’t quite where we wanted to be on the short runs, but good enough to be right there,” said Keselowski, who won for the second time this season, the fourth time at the .75-mile track and the 36th time in his career. “We just hung with him and got the long runs and we were able to pounce.
“That’s a testament to the team. (NBC Sports Analyst Jeff) Burton was asking me if it was the setup or the driver. I think it was both. I’m happy to get another win in this series. It’s a lot of fun and the first one in these new bodies. At least you know it isn’t an aero advantage. A great night at Richmond. I’m proud of my whole team.”
The cars of Keselowski and Busch were the clear class of the field, but behind them, series regular Elliott Sadler rolled home in fifth place and clinched the regular-season championship, along with the bonus of 15 playoff points that goes with it.
“We’re getting ourselves in playoff form,” said Sadler, who locked up the title with one race left in the regular season. “We’re fired up and ready to go.”
Making his last XFINITY start of the season, Busch had to settle for second.
“We just didn’t have long-run speed,” said Busch, who lost the lead for the final time in heavy traffic through Turns 1 and 2, after leading on five occasions for a total of 182 laps. “It”s tough to finish second, especially in the last go-round for the year.”
Ty Dillon ran third, followed by Daniel Hemric, Sadler, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Justin Allgaier and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was the last car on the lead lap, thanks to the long green-flag run to finish the race — the same long run Keselowski was so glad to see.
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