Top 25 Roundup: No. 18 Michigan Edges No. 11 USC on Late TD

Michigan Wolverines running back Kalel Mullings (20) rushes for a touchdown in the second half against the USC Trojans at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sept. 21, 2024. Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images via Reuters

Kalel Mullings rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead score on fourth down with 37 seconds remaining, and No. 18 Michigan held off No. 11 Southern California, 27–24, on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Trailing for the first time all game after USC quarterback Miller Moss found Ja'Kobi Lane for a 24-touchdown strike that put the Trojans ahead 24–20, Michigan (3–1, 1–0) leaned on Mullings to jumpstart its sputtering offense.

The Wolverines had not scored on offense in the second half; five of their six drives ended in punts, and in the other drive, they lost a fumble that set up the Trojans’ go-ahead touchdown. But Mullings delivered when Michigan needed it most, breaking tackles to go 63 yards and set up the Wolverines in the red zone.

Moss went 28-of-51 passing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. The run game for USC (2–1, 0–1) was held by Michigan to 96 yards. Marks finished with 100 yards on just 13 rushes, but 65 came on a single rush.

No. 1 Texas 51, Louisiana-Monroe 3

Arch Manning passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start and Jaydon Blue scored four times as the Longhorns rolled over the Warhawks in Austin, Texas.

With star quarterback Quinn Ewers on the shelf with a strained oblique, Manning was workmanlike as he played into the fourth quarter, completing 15 of his 29 passes while uncorking two interceptions—both on tipped balls. Blue ran for 124 yards and three scores on 25 carries and caught a pass for a score for Texas (4–0).

General Booty threw for 42 yards to pace Louisiana-Monroe (2–1), which had no play longer than 23 yards.

No. 3 Ohio State 49, Marshall 14

Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for 249 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes over the visiting Thundering Herd.

Henderson had 76 yards on six carries, scoring from 14 and 40 yards out. Judkins’s 86-yard TD was part of his 173 yards on 14 attempts. He made it 49–14 early in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard run.

The Buckeyes (3–0) had four scoring plays of 40-plus yards, including a 53-yard catch by Jeremiah Smith to make it 42–14 in the third quarter. Marshall (1–2) opened and closed the first half with touchdowns.

No. 5 Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13

Jaxson Dart continued to build his Heisman Trophy resume as he threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Rebels to a victory over the Eagles in Oxford, Mississippi.

In their final nonconference game before entering SEC play, the Rebels (4–0) gave up a touchdown for the first time this year but still were dominant as they outgained the Eagles 607–194. Dart, who entered with an FBS-high average of 390.7 passing yards per game, finished with 22 completions in 31 attempts with one interception.

Tre Harris had 11 receptions for a career-high 225 yards and two touchdowns. Antwane Wells Jr. and Jordan Watkins also had touchdown catches for Ole Miss. Georgia Southern (2–2) of the Sun Belt Conference was paced by JC French, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 109 yards with one interception.

No. 6 Tennessee 25, No. 15 Oklahoma 15

Nico Iamaleava threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, overcoming a pair of lost fumbles, as the Volunteers held on for a win over the Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma.

Volunteers coach Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked the Sooners to the 2000 national title as the Heisman Trophy runner-up, was honored before the game. Then Heupel’s defense dominated the Sooners as Iamaleava did enough to keep Tennessee (4–0, 1–0 SEC) undefeated.

The Volunteers held Oklahoma to minus-4 yards combined in the second and third quarters as they steadily stretched their lead. The Sooners (3–1, 0–1) came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns, but couldn’t cut their deficit below 10 points.

No. 7 Missouri 30, Vanderbilt 27 (OT)

Blake Craig kicked the decisive 37-yard field goal as the Tigers outlasted the Commodores in overtime in Columbia, Mo.

Brady Cook completed 23 of 37 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns to Luther Burden II for the Tigers (4–0, 1–0 SEC), who overcame 7–0, 10–7, 13–10, and 27–20 deficits to dodge an upset. Nate Noel rushed for 199 yards and Craig also kicked field goals of 54 and 23 yards—but he also missed from 24, 40, and 46 yards.

Diego Pavia completed 14 of 23 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns for the Commodores (2–2, 0–1). He rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries. Brock Taylor kicked field goals of 57 and 27 yards, but he missed from 50 yards with 3:06 to play and from 31 yards in overtime.

No. 8 Miami 50, South Florida 15

Cam Ward passed for 404 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Hurricanes to a win over host South Florida in Tampa, Fla.

Miami (4–0) also got three short touchdown runs and a two-point-conversion reception from Damien Martinez. Hurricanes wide receiver Isaiah Horton (eight catches, 108 yards) caught one TD pass. Miami also got a 91-yard touchdown run from freshman Jordan Lyle. Xavier Restrepo had six catches for 99 yards and one touchdown.

USF (2–2) led twice in the first half before wearing down. Quarterback Byrum Brown completed 19 of 30 passes for 254 yards for the Bulls. He also caught a 12-yard TD pass. However, he limped off the field in the second half and didn’t return.

No. 10 Penn State 56, Kent State 0

Drew Allar threw for 309 yards with three touchdown passes to lead the Nittany Lions past the Golden Flashes at University Park, Pa.

Allar completed 17 of 21 passes and helped Penn State (3–0) break open a close game with 21 points in the final 5:49 of the first half. Tight end Tyler Warren, who caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, lined up at quarterback and found Nicholas Singleton open for a 17-yard touchdown to spark the quick barrage.

The Golden Flashes (0–4) lost their starting quarterback on the second play of the game when Devin Kargman was hit hard on a pass rush by Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton. Kargman was taken off the field on a stretcher.

No. 12 Utah 22, No. 14 Oklahoma State 19

Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns and Micah Bernard rushed for 182 yards as the Utes opened Big 12 Conference play with an impressive win over the Cowboys in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Utah (4–0, 1–0) won without starting quarterback Cam Rising, who missed his second straight game with a finger injury. Backup Isaac Wilson completed 17 of 29 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Wilson and Kuithe hooked up for a 45-yard scoring strike at the 6:21 mark of the fourth quarter to give Utah a 22–3 lead that looked insurmountable. But the Cowboys (3–1, 0–1) made a game of it as Alan Bowman connected on a 28-yard TD pass to Brennan Presley, then a 9-yarder to Rashod Owens with 1:47 left to cut the deficit to three.

BYU 38, No. 13 Kansas State 9

The Cougars scored three touchdowns off Wildcats turnovers in a three-minute span to pull off the upset in Provo, Utah.

Jake Retzlaff was 15-of-21 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns for BYU (4–0, 1–0 Big 12), which had just 241 yards of total offense but scored 31 unanswered points over 6:25.

Kansas State (3–1, 0–1) was hurt by six pre-snap offensive penalties. The Wildcats’ offense was limited to three field goals by Chris Tennant.

No. 16 LSU 34, UCLA 17

Garrett Nussmeier passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers pulled away from the Bruins in Baton Rouge, La.

Nussmeier completed 32 of 44 passes and LSU (3–1) shut out the Bruins (1–2) in the second half. UCLA scored more points before the break than it had totaled in its highest-scoring game of the season entering Saturday (16).

Ethan Garbers completed 22 of 36 passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns and one interception to lead the Bruins.

No. 17 Notre Dame 28, Miami (Ohio) 3

Quarterback Riley Leonard accounted for 297 yards of offense and three touchdowns as the host Fighting Irish pulled away from the Redhawks in South Bend, Ind.

Leonard completed 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame (3–1), which won its second game in a row since a stunning loss to Northern Illinois. Leonard also carried the ball 12 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

Brett Gabbert completed 14 of 35 passes for 119 yards and two interceptions for the RedHawks, who remained winless on the season at 0–3. Cade McDonald caught four passes for 52 yards to lead the team.

No. 19 Louisville 31, Georgia Tech 19

Tyler Shough threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and the Cardinals repeatedly came up with big plays to overcome the visiting Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference thriller.

Louisville (3–0, 1–0) also got a touchdown apiece on defense and special teams and stuffed a would-be tying score at the 1-yard line in winning its conference opener, while the Yellow Jackets (3–2) fell to 1–2 in the ACC.

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King piled up 312 yards passing and 58 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Malik Rutherford made seven catches for 113 yards.

No. 20 Iowa State 52, Arkansas State 7

Rocco Becht threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third in the first half as the Cyclones remained unbeaten with a blowout of the Red Wolves in Ames, Iowa.

Becht completed 11 of 18 passes for 204 yards with an interception as the Cyclones improved to 3–0. Carson Hansen added two short scoring runs as Iowa State finished with 490 yards in total offense.

Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor was pulled to start the second half after hitting only 5 of 16 passes for 68 yards with two interceptions. Backup Timmy McClain went 4 of 7 for 50 yards and a touchdown as Arkansas State fell to 2–2 with its second straight loss.

No. 21 Clemson 59, North Carolina State 35

Cade Klubnik threw for three touchdowns and had a long scoring run as the Tigers clobbered the visiting Wolfpack in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams in Clemson, South Carolina.

Clemson (2–1), which blew out Appalachian State two weeks earlier before an off week, racked up 523 yards of offense. The Tigers held a 408–164 advantage in total yards through the first half, which ended with a 45–7 score.

It wasn’t much of the first collegiate start for NC State quarterback CJ Bailey, who orchestrated a second-half comeback last Saturday against Louisiana Tech after starter Grayson McCall departed with an injury. But with the Wolfpack (2–2) in a huge early hole, Bailey was in tough spots throughout this ACC game.

Buffalo 23, No. 23 Northern Illinois 20 (OT)

Upton Bellenfant drilled a 37-yard field goal in overtime as the visiting Bulls pulled off the upset in Mid-American Conference play in DeKalb, Ill.

Buffalo (3–1, 1–0 MAC) improved to 2-16 all-time against ranked opponents. It is the Bulls’ first win over a ranked foe since beating No. 12 Ball State in 2008. Buffalo cornerback Marquis Cooper blocked a 42-yard Kanon Woodill field-goal attempt on the Huskies’ overtime possession.

Linebacker Shaun Dolac had a career-high 19 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and an interception to lead Buffalo’s defense. Northern Illinois fell to 2–1 and 0–1.

No. 25 Texas A&M 26, Bowling Green 20

Marcel Reed threw two touchdown passes and Randy Bond kicked four field goals as the Aggies held on to beat the Green Falcons in College Station, Texas.

Making his second straight start in place of Conner Weigman, who is dealing with a right AC sprain, Reed was even more effective than he was in last week’s win at Florida. Reed completed 16 of 29 passes for 173 yards and effectively moved the offense as Texas A&M (3–1) converted 21 first downs and never trailed.

Connor Bazelak completed 20 of 36 passes for 250 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Bowling Green (1–2). Harold Fannin Jr. finished with eight receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons, who gave Penn State trouble two weeks ago.