No. 3 Oklahoma tested but holds on to beat Nebraska 23-16
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Spencer Rattler passed for a touchdown and ran for another, and No. 3 Oklahoma held on to beat Nebraska 23-16 on Saturday.
Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the “Game of the Century” — No. 1 Nebraska’s 35-31 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in 1971 — the teams rewarded their nostalgic fans with a competitive contest.
In the first meeting between the former conference rivals since 2010, Nebraska got the ball trailing by a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Cornhuskers could not manage a first down.
Eric Gray ran for 84 yards on 15 carries and Kennedy Brooks added 75 yards on 14 attempts for the Sooners (3-0).
Adrian Martinez passed for 289 yards and a touchdown for Nebraska (2-2), which was seeking its first win over a ranked team since 2015.
NO. 7 TEXAS A&M 34, NEW MEXICO 0
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Zach Calzada threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start. The victory extends A&M’s winning streak to 11 games and gives the Aggies a 3-0 start for the first time since opening the 2016 season with six consecutive wins.
Calzada was thrust into the job last weekend against Colorado when Haynes King was injured on A&M’s second possession. King had surgery this week to repair a broken right leg, leaving Calzada to run the offense.
Calzada looked more comfortable, and the Aggies moved the ball much better Saturday than last week while scoring just 10 points in a win over the Buffaloes. They eclipsed their total points from that game in the first six minutes of this one and built a 24-point lead by halftime.
Terry Wilson, a transfer from Kentucky who had 559 yards passing in the first two games, threw for just 33 yards Saturday for New Mexico (2-1) while being hurried and harassed all day.
NO. 8 CINCINNATI 38, INDIANA 24
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Desmond Ridder threw the go-ahead touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then scored on a 7-yard TD run. Jerome Ford ran for two scores and Tre Tucker scored on a 99-yard kickoff return as the Bearcats (3-0) won their first road game of the season. They’ve won 12 of 13 since the start of 2020.
Indiana (1-2) lost despite taking a 14-0 lead — and playing in front of its largest crowd for a non-conference game since September 1987.
The turning point came when starting linebacker Micah McFadden was ejected for targeting late in the first half. The Bearcats, who struggled to move the ball, scored 10 points in the final 93 seconds of the first half and finally took the lead on Ford’s 3-yard TD run in the third quarter.
The Hoosiers regained the lead on D.J. Matthews Jr.’s 14-yard scoring run then gave it right back on the kickoff return. A missed extra point opened the door for Indiana, and the Hoosiers grabbed a 24-23 advantage on Charles Campbell’s 49-yard field goal late in the third.
Then Ridder got hot. He made it 30-24 with the scoring throw to Pierce before the scoring run and a successful 2-point conversion pass.
WEST VIRGINIA 27, NO. 15 VIRGINIA TECH 21
MORGANTOWN, W. Va (AP) — Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Leddie Brown rushed for 106 yards and a score and West Virginia survived Virginia Tech’s furious rally from a 20-point deficit.
The Mountaineers (2-1) built a 27-7-point lead midway through the third quarter but saw that mostly evaporate due to Virginia Tech’s Braxton Burmeister.
Burmeister threw for two scores, including a 29-yard toss to Jalen Holston with 3:10 left. Virginia Tech got the ball back with 2:11 remaining on Jermaine Waller’s interception of Doege at the West Virginia 17, but Burmeister threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the 3 and West Virginia ran out the clock.
It was one of three Virginia Tech (2-1) drives that stalled inside the West Virginia 10, with the Hokies coming away with no points.
NO. 16 COASTAL CAROLINA 28, BUFFALO 25
AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) — Grayson McCall threw for three touchdowns, Shermari Jones ran for 149 yards and another score.
McCall, who entered the day leading the nation in passing efficiency and completion rate, was 13 of 19 for 232 yards with his first interception of the season. Jaivon Heiligh caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown for the Chanticleers (3-0), becoming the fourth receiver in school history to surpass 2,000 career yards.
Buffalo (1-2) got within a field goal with 2:41 remaining. Kevin Marks’ 7-yard touchdown run capped a 92-yard drive that started when Logic Hudgens intercepted McCall in the end zone. But the Chanticleers held on.
MICHIGAN STATE 38, NO. 24 MIAMI 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Payton Thorne passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns, two of those scoring throws going to Jalen Nailor.
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 172 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Spartans (3-0), who are off to their best start since 2015. Jayden Reed also had a scoring catch and a touchdown run for Michigan State, which forced Miami quarterback D’Eriq King into four turnovers.
King was 38 of 59 — both of them Miami (1-3) school records — for 388 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Charleston Rambo tied a school record with 12 catches for Miami, good for 156 yards and both of the Hurricanes’ touchdowns.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 63, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Blake Corum rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns. The Wolverines (3-0) scored touchdowns on their first nine drives, eight of them on the ground. The 10th drive also included a touchdown run, but it was called back for a holding penalty and Michigan turned the ball over on downs. The Wolverines never punted.
The Huskies (1-2) kicked a field goal on their second possession of the game, but it was already clear they were in major trouble. Michigan scored short rushing touchdowns on its first four possessions, two by Hassan Haskins, to take a 28-3 lead in the second quarter.
The Wolverines changed up a bit on the fifth possession, scoring on an 87-yard pass from Cade McNamara to Cornelius Johnson – the third-longest passing play in school history – to lead 35-3 at the half.
____
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25