No. 1 Georgia rolls; No. 5 Irish topple

By The Associated Press undefined

ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a little more than a half and No. 1 Georgia romped to a 48-3 victory against outmanned Tennessee Tech.

With a brief respite in their daunting schedule, the Bulldogs (2-0) breezed past an FCS school that received $550,000 to make the trip to Athens for what amounted to little more than a glorified scrimmage.

Beck completed 18 of 25 passes for 242 yards before calling it a day less than three minutes into the second half. He had scoring throws of 22 yards to Dillon Bell, 6 yards to Colbie Young, 10 yards to Dominic Lovett, 50 yards to Arian Smith and 37 yards to Lawson Luckie.

Many in the announced crowd of more than 93,000 headed for the exits at halftime on a sweltering day with temperatures in the upper 80s. They didn’t miss much as the Bulldogs pulled most of their starters shortly into the third quarter.

N. ILLINOIS 16, NO. 5 NOTRE DAME 14

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Kanon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play, Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard try as time expired and Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday.

Haberman blocked the 62-yard attempt by Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter, allowing the jubilant Huskies to claim their first nonconference victory against a ranked opponent since a 19-16 upset of No. 21 Alabama in 2003. It was also the Huskies’ first victory over a top 10 opponent.

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock was emotional after the dramatic victory.

“We didn’t need luck,” Hammock said. “That was our theme. I didn’t think we needed luck. We just need to play our best. It wasn’t the cleanest for us, but we played hard for four quarters and stayed together. They worked together, they believed, and they made enough plays to win a game.

“This is a program-changing type win, no different than when we beat Alabama a while ago.”

Hammond said his Huskies measured up to Notre Dame.

“I think we were bigger than what they thought,” Hammock said. “We’re not a normal MAC team, in my opinion. We’re big on the offensive and defensive lines and we’re physical. I didn’t look at it as a mismatch in that capacity.”

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the loss was disappointing, especially on the heels of an impressive road win over then-No. 20 Texas A&M.

You know, it’s our job as coaches to make sure these guys are ready to go. You go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in a tale of two weeks, but we’ve got to own this thing,” Freeman said. “As coaches and players, we’ve got to own it, and we’ve got to fix it.”

Notre Dame (1-1) looked like it was in position to get some separation from Northern Illinois (2-0) as it clung to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession after a punt with 7:49 left and drove from their 25 to the Northern Illinois 49.

Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard launched a pass deep up the middle intended for Kris Mitchell, but Amariyun Knighten made the interception and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 to play.

“It was a completely bad read,” Leonard said of the interception. “That single high safety was attached to the inside post. I thought he wouldn’t attach again. Bad eyes, bad feet, bad ball. That resulted in a pick. Can’t happen. Completely my fault.”

The Huskies worked the clock and drove to the Notre Dame 19, setting the stage for Woodill’s field goal. A key play on the drive was converting a fourth-and-two with a three-yard run by quarterback Ethan Hampton to the Notre Dame 28.

The first-down conversion from Hampton, who was 10 of 19 for 198 yards and a touchdown, set up the winning field goal from Woodill, his third made kick of the day.

“It’s amazing,” Hampton said of the victory. “It’s something I’ll remember forever. I grew up a Huskie fan. Playing here has been a dream for me.”

Notre Dame struck first as Leonard side-stepped the defense for an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

It only took five plays for Northern Illinois to answer as Antario Brown broke loose between two defensive backs for an 83-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Hampton.

A pair of field goals by Woodill from 42 and 21 yards gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had the chance to make it 13-10 before half, but Haberman blocked a 48-yard try from Jeter.

Woodill missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of the second half, and Notre Dame took advantage.

Jeremiyah Love broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run, hurdling a defender on the way to the end zone. Mitch Jeter’s extra point gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter.

NO. 8 PENN ST. 34, BOWLING GREEN 27

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Drew Allar threw for two touchdowns and ran for another TD, and Penn State’s defense clamped down after a rough first half to push the No. 8 Nittany Lions past Bowling Green.

Nick Singleton scored twice, Omari Evans caught a touchdown pass and Sander Sahaydak kicked two field goals for the Nittany Lions (2-0) who trailed at halftime after their worst defensive start in years.

The Nittany Lions allowed 24 or more points just twice in the regular season last year, but couldn’t stop the Falcons early on Saturday. Led by quarterback Connor Bazelak, Bowling Green scored on four of its six first-half possessions to take a 24-20 lead, causing home fans to boo the Nittany Lions off the field.

Penn State’s defense looked like a different unit in the second half.

It forced three straight punts before intercepting Bazelak to end the Falcons’ next two drives in the fourth quarter.

NO. 11 UTAH 23, BAYLOR 12

SALT LAKE CITY — Cam Rising threw for 92 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game due to an injury to his throwing hand as No. 11 Utah beat Baylor.

Rising scrambled and released the ball just before being driven out of bounds and was shoved into the water coolers on the Baylor sideline with 1:55 left in the second quarter, and went to the locker room for X-rays. Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson led the Utes’ offense after halftime for a second straight game.

Micah Bernard rushed for 118 yards to lead Utah (2-0).

Dequan Finn threw for 115 yards and a touchdown in his second start for Baylor (1-1). Finn struggled against Utah’s defense, losing a fumble and getting sacked three times.

No. 12 MIAMI 56, FLORIDA A&M 9

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns in his first home start for Miami, then he capped his day with a rushing score and the 12th-ranked Hurricanes beat Florida A&M 56-9 on Saturday night.

Ward’s first pass was a touchdown throw to Elijah Arroyo on Miami’s opening possession, then he found Xavier Restrepo for a 50-yard scoring pass as the Hurricanes (2-0) had a 99-yard drive on their second possession.

Ward finished 20 of 26 to help Miami win its 17th consecutive home opener. Restrepo had four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, and Damien Martinez rushed for 90 yards and another score.

“Cam’s a special player,” Restrepo said. “We’ve all had a really special relationship with Cam since the day he’s come in here, and we’re still building.”

Ward — who passed for 385 yards in Miami’s Week 1 win at Florida — is the third Hurricanes quarterback in the last 25 years with at least 600 yards passing in the season’s first two games, with 689 so far. The others on that list: Jacory Harris (656) in 2009 and Ken Dorsey (659) in 2001, Miami’s most recent national title season.

“He is the alpha dog leader. … He changes things,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “Certain guys bring a spark and it catches with everybody. He’s that guy.”

Daniel Richardson was 13 for 17 for 135 yards for FCS member Florida A&M (2-1), which saw its 13-game winning streak snapped. The Rattlers beat Miami in the programs’ first meeting in 1979 and have gone 0-11 against the Hurricanes since.

“They’re a bunch of really good players and tough guys,” said Cristobal, who crossed paths with Richardson after the game and lauded his play. “They’re going to have a good season.”

Tyler Baron had three sacks for the Hurricanes — “he’s built like an avatar,” Cristobal said — while Mark Fletcher and Jordan Lyle had rushing scores for Miami and Chris Johnson Jr. got a receiving score.

NO. 17 KANSAS ST. 34, TULANE 27

NEW ORLEANS — Kansas State safety Jack Fabris returned Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah’s fumble 60 yards for a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and VJ Payne’s interception in the end zone helped the 17th-ranked Wildcats hold on for a victory over Tulane.

Tulane appeared to have scored a potential tying touchdown with 17 seconds left when Mensah hit Yulkeith Brown near the left pylon, but receiver Dontae Fleming was flagged for offensive pass interference.

IOWA ST. 20, NO. 21 IOWA 19

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Kyle Konrardy made a 54-yard field goal with six seconds left to give Iowa State a 20-19 victory over No. 21 Iowa, only the Cyclones’ third victory in the last 11 games against the Hawkeyes.

Iowa State (2-0) got the ball at its own 22 with 34 seconds remaining and drove 42 yards on Rocco Becht’s three completions to get up the kick.

Iowa (1-1) got a 35-yard return from Max White on the ensuing kickoff and had time for one play, but Cade McNamara’s pass was intercepted by Darien Porter.

The Hawkeyes led 19-7 with 4:47 left in the third quarter after Kaleb Johnson’s 4-yard touchdown run. McNamara’s two-point conversion pass was incomplete.

NO. 22 LOUISVILLE 42, JACKSONVILLE ST. 14

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tyler Shough threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns as No. 22 Louisville cruised to a victory over Jacksonville State.

It was the sixth time the seventh-year signal caller threw for more than 300 yards in a game. Shough, who completed 21 of 33 attempts, put the game away with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Chris Bell that gave the Cardinals (2-0) a 35-14 lead with 8:58 left in the third quarter. He added another midway through the fourth quarter and then was pulled.

Louisville’s victory was also aided by a solid ground game by committee. The Cardinals rushed for 233 yards and five backs scored, with four coming in the first half.

The Gamecocks (0-2) were led by quarterback Tyler Huff. The senior threw for 160 yards and a touchdown on 17 of 27 passing. He also ran 18 times for 101 yards and a score, marking the second career 100-yard rushing game for Huff, who transferred from Furman after last season.

SYRACUSE 31, NO. 23 GEORGIA TECH 28

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kyle McCord passed for 381 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Trebor Pena and Oronde Gadsden II, and Syracuse held on to knock off newly ranked No. 23 Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (2-1, 1-1 ACC), ranked in the AP Top 25 last week for the first time since 2015, cut the lead to three with 2:31 to go on a 15-yard scoring run by Jamal Haynes.

The Orange made sure Georgia Tech never got the ball back, running out the clock for their first win against a ranked opponent since October 2022 against North Carolina State.

McCord was 32-of-46 passing, with career highs in attempts and completions. Gadsden had six catches for 93 yards. Pena has five touchdowns on the young season.