Raleek Brown ran for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and his 4-yarder with 5:41 left gave the Longhorns the winning margin in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Giannis Spetic had a pair of field goals.
It was a defensive day with Texas (4-0) dominating with 10 sacks, led by Simmons. The linebacker’s day for the record books also will be remembered for his vulgar celebration after one sack. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct with the referee saying Simmons was “simulating” using the restroom.
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Raleek Brown ran for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and his 4-yarder with 5:41 left gave the Longhorns the winning margin in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Giannis Spetic had a pair of field goals.
It was a defensive day with Texas (4-0) dominating with 10 sacks, led by Simmons. The linebacker’s day for the record books also will be remembered for his vulgar celebration after one sack. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct with the referee saying Simmons was “simulating” using the restroom.
Tennessee quarterback Brandon Faizon made it interesting late, capping an 80-yard drive with a 30-yard TD pass to Mike Matthews with 1:22 left. Linebacker Arion Carter recovered the onside kick, and Jelani McDonald batted away Brandon’s pass to Travis Smith Jr. on the final play in the end zone.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 41, OKLAHOMA 13
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Chris Cole scored on a 85-yard fumble return as Georgia took advantage of three first-half turnovers by John Mateer and overwhelmed struggling Oklahoma.
Mateer lost two fumbles, each recovered by Cole, and threw an interception in the first half as Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) fell behind 28-0. K.J. Bolden picked off a pass from Mateer in the second quarter.
While Mateer struggled with turnovers, Gunner Stockton was almost perfect in the first half for Georgia (4-0, 2-0). Stockton completed his first nine passes, including a 35-yard touchdown throw to Talyn Taylor.
The Sooners finished with four turnovers, including a fumble by tight end Rocky Beers in the third quarter.
Mateer’s second lost fumble, forced by Raylen Wilson, was returned 23 yards by Cole late in the first half to set up Chauncey Bowens’ second touchdown run.
Georgia rolled despite holding out its top running back, Nate Frazier, due to injured ribs. Bowens had touchdown runs of 2 and 6 yards as the fill-in starter. Dwight Phillips added a 54-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 49, PURDUE 10
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — CJ Carr threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, linebacker Drayk Bowen scored his first career TD on a 15-yard fumble return and Notre Dame beat Purdue.
Carr was 14 of 22 for 237 yards and threw his first interception of the season. It’s the second straight week Carr has had a TD pass and a TD run in the same game. Aneyas Williams carried 14 times for 80 yards with one TD as the Fighting Irish (4-0) produced a season-high 177 yards rushing.
Notre Dame has won 14 straight and will start October with a perfect record for the first time since 2021.
It was another miserable day for the struggling Boilermakers (1-3). Ryan Browne was 18 of 28 for 111 yards and lost the fumble that Bowen returned for the touchdown. Purdue had only 12 yards rushing in the first half and finished the game with only 218 total yards as it lost its third straight.
NO. 21 FLORIDA 52, NO. 4 MISSISSIPPI 28
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, Duke Clark added 126 yards and a score on the ground, and Florida manhandled Mississippi to reach 4-0 for the first time since 2019.
The Gators (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), installed as 3 1/2-point favorites, proved Las Vegas oddsmakers right by leading from start to finish. They scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives in the second half.
The Rebels (3-1, 1-1) insisted that last week’s victory against LSU, the one that spoiled former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s return, was not their “Super Bowl.” But they failed to build off that emotional win.
Florida had a lot to do with it.
The Gators jumped on the Rebels early, leading 10-0 before Heisman Trophy front-runner Trinidad Chambliss even threw a pass, and set the pace the rest of the afternoon. Florida was unstoppable running the ball.
NO. 7 OHIO ST. 42, ILLINOIS 19
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jeremiah Smith tied an Ohio State record with four touchdown catches and also had career highs with 12 receptions for 217 yards as the Buckeyes beat Illinois.
According to Sportradar, it is the 23rd time since 2000 a FBS player has had double-digit catches for at least 200 yards and four scores in a game. The last to do it was Western Michigan’s Sky Moore against Northern Illinois in 2021.
It is the fifth time an Ohio State receiver has had four touchdowns. The last time it happened before Saturday was Noah Brown at Oklahoma in 2016.
It also tied for the sixth-most receiving yards in an OSU game and tied for sixth-most receptions.
Smith tied the mark with 10:07 remaining in the fourth quarter when he was wide open on a 26-yard touchdown to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 35-13.
Smith also became the third receiver since 2015 from a Power Four conference to have at least three games with at least 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns in one half. DeVonta Smith had four at Alabama and Ja’Marr Chase did it three times at LSU.
NO. 11 TEXAS TECH 49, SAM HOUSTON 14
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech linebacker Austin Romaine became the first FBS player in 13 years to return two interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive throws, Cameron Dickey ran for two scores and the Red Raiders beat Sam Houston.
Both pick-6s by Romaine came in the opening minute of the second quarter, and were against different quarterbacks.
The Red Raiders (4-0) extended their home winning streak to 11 games, their longest since 12 in a row from 2007-09.
A nearly five TD favorite, Texas Tech led only 21-14 at halftime before Dickey’s second scoring run, a 13-yarder, and Will Hammond’s 21-yard TD to Coy Eakin in the first five minutes after the break.
Hammond finished 17-of-29 passing for 224 yards, but threw three interceptions in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first half — though Sam Houston (1-3) got only seven points off those. Hammond added a 23-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
NO. 15 UTAH 31, IOWA ST. 17
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Wayshawn Parker broke a 54-yard run on the game’s opening play from scrimmage for the first of his three touchdowns and Utah held off Iowa State in the second half to beat the Cyclones.
Parker rushed for a career-high 174 yards and two TDs on 18 carries and caught five passes for 65 yards and a score for the Utes (4-0, 1-0 Big 12).
Jaylen Raynor got the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1) within 24-17 early in the fourth quarter, scoring on an 8-yard run and throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Overby after Overby had stretched the ball over the line to convert a fourth-and-12 on the previous play.
The Utes punted on their first three series of the second half and then put away the Cyclones with a 61-yard drive ending with Devon Dampier’s 13-yard TD pass to Parker and Jackson Bennett’s interception on the first play of Iowa State’s ensuing possession.
Parker led a Utah rushing attack that finished with 206 yards, and Dampier was 18 of 27 for 206 yards and two TDs.
WAKE FOREST 30, NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 27
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Connor Calvert kicked three field goals, including a 32-yarder with 6:20 remaining, to lift Wake Forest to a 30-27 upset win over Louisville.
Gio Lopez threw for 225 yards and a touchdown on 12 of 19 passing for the Demon Deacons (3-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who scored their first conference win of the season. Carlos Hernandez caught nine of those for 194 yards, just three yards off the career best he set last season against Delaware.
Ty Clark III carried the ball 21 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
Louisville (2-2, 1-1) played without two starting defensive backs, and Lopez and Hernandez took full advantage. The duo connected on a 77-yard touchdown pass to put the Demon Deacons up 17-14 with 5:49 left in the first half. After the defense picked off Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, their 31-yard pass led to Clark’s second score, a 6-yard run that made it a 10-point lead with 1:19 to go in the half.
The Cardinals rallied to tie the game, using a 61-yard touchdown pass from Kienholz to Jaleel Skinner to make it a three-point game just 22 seconds after Clark’s last score. Carson Hilbert tied it with 9:37 left in the third on a 41-yard field goal.
Hilbert, who also made a 54-yarder late in the third to tie the game at 27, missed a 42-yarder with 2:29 remaining. Nick Keller lined up for a 57-yarder with 15 seconds remaining, but Gabe Kirschke blocked it to seal the upset.
NO. 17 IOWA 20, NO. 18 MICHIGAN 19
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Hank Brown threw a game-ending, 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee to lift Iowa to a win over Michigan.
The Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) went 91 yards on the final drive — boosted by an unnecessary roughness penalty against Michigan on a third down at midfield. Brown’s 29-yard pass to Addison Ostrenga set up the final play with 2 seconds on the clock.
Bryce Underwood threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan early in the fourth quarter — their second scoring connection of the game — but the Wolverines (3-1, 0-1) could not make enough plays on both sides of the ball to hold on for the win.
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