College football: Michigan beats Army in two OTs; LSU prevails at Texas

Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson delivers a pass against Army during the second quarter Saturday.

By Associated Press

Sept. 7, 2019 9:20 PM PT

Jake Moody made a 43-yard field goal and No. 7 Michigan forced and recovered a fumble to hold on for a 24-21 double-overtime win over Army on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Wolverines (2-0) didn’t lead until the second extra period and would have lost at the end of regulation to the Black Knights (1-1) if Cole Talley made a 50-yard kick that sailed just to the right of the goal post.

It marked the second consecutive year the U.S. Military Academy nearly beat a top-10 team for the first time in more than a half-century. The Black Knights pushed No. 5 Oklahoma into overtime on the road last year before losing 28-21. Army had won 10 in a row since, a run that college football’s winningest program barely stopped.

“The entire football game we made mistakes offensively — penalties, and turnovers, and turnovers on downs,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “The defense was not in the best positions, but they played great.”

In overtime at the quiet Big House, Black Knights quarterback Kelvin Hopkins ran for a go-ahead, six-yard touchdown and Michigan extended the game with Zach Charbonnet’s third touchdown. Hopkins was sacked and lost a fumble to end the game in the second overtime.

Michigan turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth, including early in the quarter when Harbaugh could have chosen to kick a go-ahead, 36-yard field goal.

The Black Knights appeared to have the stronger and smarter team for much of the afternoon, running their triple option offense effectively and making fewer mistakes.

Army’s Sandon McCoy scored on a one-yard touchdown in the opening quarter after Patterson lost a fumble on his first drive. The Wolverines answered with Charbonnet’s two-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession to pull into a 7-all tie.

Michigan running back Ben VanSumeren lost a fumble and the Black Knights took advantage, going ahead on Hopkins’ one-yard TD run.

Hopkins threw an ill-advised pass on third-and-five from the Michigan five-yard line, and Lavert Hill intercepted it early in the third quarter. Michigan made the most of the opportunity with the ball, capping a 12-play drive with Charbonnet’s one-yard touchdown run to pull into a 14-all tie.

No. 6 LSU 45, at No. 9 Texas 38: Joe Burrow passed for 471 yards and four touchdowns, including a 61-yarder to Justin Jefferson with 2:27 left, and the Tigers (2-0) pulled out a wild victory over the Longhorns (1-1).

The biggest nonconference game in Austin, Texas, since No. 1 Ohio State came to town in 2006 was one the most anticipated matchups of the season and delivered on its promise. Texas stormed back from a 20-7 halftime deficit and the teams traded seven touchdowns in the second half.

Burrow and Texas’ Sam Ehlinger picked apart the defenses at will. LSU didn’t put it away until Texas came up inches short from covering an onside kick after its final touchdown with 22 seconds left.

Jefferson had three touchdown catches. His clincher came after Burrow stepped away from blitzing Longhorns on third-and-long to fire a pass that would have been good enough for a first down, before Jefferson slipped a tackle and burst down the sideline.

Burrow is just the third LSU quarterback to pass for 400 yards and the first since 2001.

Ehlinger passed for 401 yards and four touchdowns for the Longhorns.

at No. 1 Clemson 24, No. 12 Texas A&M 10: Trevor Lawrence threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and the Tigers (2-0) won their record-tying 17th straight game with a dominating victory over the Aggies (1-1) in Clemson, S.C.

Texas A&M talked of an upset all week and figured to be the sternest test left for the defending national champions. Instead, Clemson methodically made plays, stretched out drives and pressured A&M junior quarterback Kellen Mond into an awful showing.

The decisive win tied the Tigers’ best-ever run of success that spanned the 2014 and 2015 seasons. It also left a major question in college football: Who can stop these guys?

Clemson will be a double-digit favorite the rest of the regular season in its try for a fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference title and College Football Playoff berth.

at No. 2 Alabama 62, New Mexico State 10: Tua Tagovailoa passed for three touchdowns and ran 25 yards for a fourth, all in the first half as the Crimson Tide (2-0) rolled to a victory over the Aggies (0-2).

Alabama was off to the races starting with the game’s first play, when Henry Ruggs III collected a lateral and sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown. It didn’t get any better for New Mexico State after that in sweltering conditions that contributed to thousands of empty seats at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Crimson Tide wide receiver Jerry Jeudy tied the school record with three touchdown catches, covering 21, 23 and 19 yards. He caught eight passes for 103 yards in his second straight big game.

at No. 3 Georgia 63, Murray State 17: D’Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns, Jake Fromm threw for 166 yards and a score, and the Bullldogs broke loose in the second quarter on the way to a blowout of the Racers of the Football Championship Subdivision.

With temperatures climbing into the mid-90s, Georgia got off to a sluggish start and went to the second quarter tied at 7 after giving up a long touchdown pass to Murray State. But the Bulldogs finally erupted for a 35-point barrage in the second period.

Fromm and most of the starters were able to take the rest of the day off, giving Georgia a chance to give some of its young prospects their first extensive playing time.

at No. 4 Oklahoma 70, South Dakota 14: Jalen Hurts passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns in just over two quarters, and the Sooners rolled past the FCS Coyotes.

It was Oklahoma’s highest points total since scoring 79 in a victory over North Texas in 2007. CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 144 yards and a touchdown, and Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 104 yards and a score for the Sooners (2-0). They gained 733 yards against the Coyotes (0-2).

Austin Simmons passed for 244 yards and two touchdowns for South Dakota, but he threw two interceptions.

at No. 5 Ohio State 42, Cincinnati 0: Justin Fields passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more scores as the Buckeyes shut out the Bearcats. J.K. Dobbins rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns — all in the first half — as Ohio State (2-0) dismantled Cincinnati in Luke Fickell’s return to Ohio Stadium. The third-year Bearcats coach played at Ohio State and then spent years on the other sideline as an assistant, and interim coach in 2011.

The Bearcats (1-1) came in with confidence after an opening week win over UCLA, but their chances of beating Ohio State for the first time in 122 years began to dissipate when Justin Fields scurried up for the middle for a seven-yard touchdown run on the Buckeyes’ second drive of the game. By halftime it was 28-0.

The Ohio State defense held down Cincinnati and shut the door with a blocked field goal, an interception and fumble for a touchback on the three occasions the Bearcats threatened. The Buckeyes sacked quarterback Desmond Ritter five times.

at No. 10 Auburn 24, Tulane 6: Bo Nix threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, the Tigers ran for 172 yards after amassing just 20 in the first half, and Auburn’s defense dominated in a victory over the Green Wave.

With a broken game clock already making for a slow and low-energy start to the game, the teams combined for 86 yards of offense across the first nine drives, with Tulane kicking a field goal on its opening series and Auburn (2-0) losing a fumble on its second.

After Tulane’s first scoring drive, Auburn’s defense locked down the Green Wave (1-1), allowing minus-three yards over the next four possessions.

at No. 11 Florida 45, Tennessee-Martin 0: Elusive wide receiver Kadarius Toney and speedy cornerback CJ Henderson left in the first half and did not return in the Gators’ victory over the lower-division Skyhawks (1-1).

Toney took a hit on his left arm late in the first quarter, walked off the field in pain and eventually headed to the locker room for further evaluation. Henderson injured his left ankle while covering a receiver in the second quarter, limped into the locker room, and returned wearing a walking boot and using crutches.

Florida (2-0) barely missed either of them against the Skyhawks (1-1), who fell to 0-10 against SEC teams and failed to cover the 44½-point spread. But the Gators know being without two standouts in league play would be a crushing blow to both sides of the ball.

Feleipe Franks completed 25 of 27 passes, including 15 straight to start the game, for 270 yards and two touchdowns.

at No. 15 Penn State 45, Buffalo 13: Sean Clifford threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions overcame a halftime deficit to beat the Bulls.

Trailing 10-7 at half, Penn State (1-0) took the lead for good when John Reid ran back an interception 37 yards for a touchdown early in the third.

Jaret Patterson led Buffalo (1-1) with 75 yards on 23 carries. Matt Myers was 16 for 31 for 236 yards with a touchdown pass.

at No. 17 Wisconsin 61, Central Michigan 0: Jonathan Taylor rushed for three touchdowns and caught another, Quintez Cephus scored his first two touchdowns of the season, and the Badgers cruised past the Chippewas.

While Wisconsin (2-0) had 599 yards of total offense, Central Michigan (1-1) managed just 58 yards and three first downs. Chippewas quarterback Quinten Dormady completed five of 12 passes for 36 yards and was picked off by Badgers linebacker Jack Sanborn.

Cephus finished with six receptions for 130 yards — both career highs — and tied a career high with his two scores.

The junior wide receiver did not play last year after being expelled from school following sexual assault charges. He was acquitted by a jury last month, reinstated by school officials and was ruled academically eligible for last week’s opener at South Florida. Cephus had three catches for 39 yards in the Badgers’ 49-0 victory last week.

Taylor had 102 yards on the ground, surpassing the 100-yard rushing mark for the 24th time in 29 career games.

No. 18 Central Florida 48, at Florida Atlantic 14: Dillon Gabriel went seven for 19 in his first start but threw touchdown passes of 57 and 74 yards, and the Knights (2-0) extended their regular-season winning streak to 24 games with a victory over the Owls (0-2) in Boca Raton, Fla.

The game was called because of lightning in the area with 4:20 to play.

Gabriel also connected on passes of 45 and 32 yards, which more than made up for his frequent misfires. The freshman left-hander had 245 yards passing — 35 per completion — and ran four times for 19 yards and a score.

UCF totaled 574 yards and reached the 30-point mark for the 28th game in a row, the longest such streak since at least 1936. Florida Atlantic disappointed a home crowd of 30,811, largest in the program’s history. The Owls have never beaten a top 25 team in 15 tries.

at No. 20 Iowa 30, Rutgers 0: Nate Stanley threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawkeyes won their Big Ten opener. New Jersey native Ihmir Smith-Marsette caught two touchdown passes for Iowa (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten), which allowed just 14 points in two games ahead of next week’s rivalry showdown at No. 25 Iowa State.

Stanley found Smith-Marsette and Tyrone Tracy for first-half touchdowns to help Iowa take a 20-0 lead at the break. Stanley then connected with Smith-Marsette from 23 yards out to make it 27-0. Smith-Marsette finished with 113 yards receiving.

Iowa’s defense smothered Rutgers (1-1, 0-1), which scored 48 points in its opener over UMass. The Scarlet Knights gained just 125 yards, punted 10 times and turned it over three times.

at Maryland 63, No. 21 Syracuse 20: Josh Jackson threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns to anchor another prolific offensive performance by the Terrapins, who scored 42 first-half points in a surprisingly lopsided game.

Anthony McFarland Jr. ran for two scores and caught a six-yard TD pass from Jackson during a sparkling first half in which the Terrapins amassed 397 yards and built a 29-point lead against an Orange team (1-1) coming off a season-opening shutout of Liberty.

After beating Howard 79-0 in their first game under coach Michael Locksley, the Terrapins (2-0) came up with an impressive encore against a highly regarded foe.

The 63 points were the most ever by Maryland against a ranked opponent. Although Locksley eased up after a 64-yard touchdown run by Javon Leake early in the third quarter, the Terrapins finished with 650 yards. This marks the first time in the history of the program that Maryland has scored at least 56 points in successive games.

In other games Saturday:

— Cam Akers had a program-record 36 carries, the final one a four-yard touchdown, as host Florida State defeated Louisiana Monroe 45-44 in overtime. Caleb Evans had a five-yard touchdown run just moments later, but the Warhawks’ Jacob Meeks missed the extra-point attempt. The result left both teams 1-1.

— Ty’Son Williams scored a five-yard touchdown run in the second overtime after BYU made a stunning drive for a game-tying field goal in the closing seconds of regulation as the Cougars edged host Tennessee 29-26. Ty Chandler rushed for 154 yards on 26 carries, but the Volunteers fell to 0-2 for the first time since dropping their first six games in 1988.

— Sam Howell found Dazz Newsome just inside the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:01 left to help North Carolina rally past visiting Miami 28-25. The Hurricanes fell to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Howell threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns for the Tar Heels (2-0, 1-0).

— Brandon Peters set career highs in throwing for 225 yards and four touchdowns, and Illinois overcame an early 13-point deficit to defeat Connecticut 31-23. It was the first nonconference road win for the Illini in a dozen years.

— CJ Marable rushed for 148 yards and recorded two touchdowns to lead Coastal Carolina to a 12-7 victory over host Kansas.

— Jordan Mason and Tobias Oliver each scored second-quarter touchdowns, and the Georgia Tech defense recovered a critical fumble at the goal line in the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets held on for a 14-10 victory over South Florida to give first-year coach Geoff Collins his first win since returning to his hometown of Atlanta.

— Elijah Sindelar passed for 509 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another touchdown in Purdue’s 42-24 victory over visiting Vanderbilt. Boilermakers speedy sophomore Rondale Moore caught 13 passes for 220 yards, both career highs.

— Kenny Pickett passed for a career-high 321 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown to Maurice Ffrench, to lead Pittsburgh to a 20-10 win over visiting Ohio. Pickett completed 26 of 37 passes.

— Kelly Bryant threw three touchdown passes, Missouri held rebuilding West Virginia to 171 yards of total offense, and the Tigers rolled to a 38-7 victory in their home opener.

— Malik Knowles had 99 receiving yards and two touchdown catches and Skylar Thompson threw for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Kansas State routed visiting Bowling Green 52-0.

— Brady White threw for two touchdowns, Kenneth Gainwell scored three and Memphis’ defense smothered Southern in the second half to pull away to a 55-24 home victory.

— Kylin Hill rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown to lead Mississippi State to a 38-14 win over visiting Southern Miss.