Chauncey Bowens runs for 3 TDs as No. 2 Georgia steamrolls past Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Chauncey Bowens ran for three touchdowns and No. 2 Georgia held Arkansas to just 17 yards on the ground in a 45-17 win Saturday.

Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) led 21-3 at halftime and never truly needed to pass the football. Quarterback Gunner Stockton finished the game 10-of-13 passing for 147 yards with a touchdown. He added a team-high 97 yards on the ground, including a 62-yard run on third down that set up Georgia’s third touchdown, Bowens’ second.

Arkansas passed most of the game, rarely with much success. KJ Jackson played two drives before being replaced by AJ Hill. Jackson reentered on the final drive of the first half and led the Razorbacks (1-2, 0-1) into the Georgia red zone for the first time. An intentional grounding penalty moved them back and Max Gilbert kicked a 41-yard field goal just before the break.

Things were worse on the ground for Arkansas. Seven players combined for 20 carries and 17 total yards rushing. Sutton Smith led with 17 yards on six carries. It was the Razorbacks’ worst rushing performance since picking up 16 yards against LSU in 2018.

Nick Frazier scored Georgia’s first touchdown, capping a six-play, 62-yard drive on the team’s first possession. He finished with 75 yards on 14 carries. Bowens ran for 39 yards on 11 carries. Stockton picked up his touchdown on a one-play series, completing a 61-yard pass to Craig Dandridge Jr. early in the fourth quarter.

NO. 1 TEXAS 30, UTSA 6

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning threw two early touchdown passes to Cam Coleman on a night he mostly struggled, and Texas beat UTSA in the Longhorns’ last game before starting their Southeastern Conference schedule.

Texas (3-0) vaulted to No. 1 after its thrilling 24-23 victory over Ohio State last week when Manning led a 21-point rally in the fourth quarter.

But little came very easy Saturday night against the Roadrunners (2-1). Manning was just 16-of-32 passing for 161 yards, took several hard hits, and left the game with about six minutes to play with the game finally under control.

Texas next heads to No. 15 Tennessee to start SEC play.

NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 27, MICHIGAN ST. 10

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — C.J. Carr threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown, Nolan James Jr. rushed for 121 yards and a score, and Notre Dame took control in the second half to beat Michigan State.

It was the 13th straight victory dating to last season for the Fighting Irish — all by double digits. Coach Marcus Freeman broke the Notre Dame record for consecutive double-digit victories, exceeding the 12 by Knute Rockne from 1921-22.

Micah Gilbert had eight catches for 170 yards for Notre Dame (3-0). Carr’s streak of 12 games with a passing touchdown ended, with the Fighting Irish scoring all three TDs on short rushes.

Notre Dame outscored Michigan State 10-0 in the second half, limiting the Spartans (2-1) to 40 yards of offense over the final two quarters.

NO. 4 INDIANA 38, W. KENTUCKY 0

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Josh Hoover threw two touchdown passes, Lee Beebe Jr. added two TD runs and Indiana overcame a sluggish first half to blow out Western Kentucky.

Hoover was 18 of 24 for 273 yards with no turnovers as Indiana (3-0) extended the Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak to 19 games, and the longest active home winning streak to 18. Turbo Richard rushed 15 times for 149 yards and one score, and Charlie Becker added five catches for 127 yards and another touchdown.

The Hoosiers’ defense has posted back-to-back shutouts and has not been scored upon since late in the third quarter of their season opener against North Texas.

The defending national champs sure didn’t look like themselves in the first half, though. The Hilltoppers (0-3) had a nearly nine-minute advantage in possession time and limited Indiana’s offense to just seven points through the first 29 1/2 minutes.

The game swung when Western Kentucky quarterback Brock Glenn was picked off on third-and-5 by Isaiah Jones, who returned it 21 yards to the Hilltoppers 3 with 1:07 left in the first half. Beebe scored two plays later to make it 14-0.

The Hoosiers took control quickly in the second half.

NO. 6 OHIO ST. 59, KENT ST. 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jeremiah Smith became Ohio State’s career receiving yardage leader, Ja’Kobi Jackson scored twice and the Buckeyes rolled to a victory over Kent State.

Ohio State (2-1) took immediate control, scoring on its first four drives as it rebounded after last week’s 24-23 loss at No. 1 Texas where it squandered a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead.

Smith had five receptions for 85 yards. The junior needed 26 yards to surpass Michael Jenkins’ 2,898 yards from 2000-03 and become OSU’s record holder and got it on his second catch of the game, when he hauled in a 23-yard pass from Julian Sayin midway through the first quarter.

Sayin completed 18 of 22 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes had seven pass plays of at least 20 yards, including Chris Henry’s 75-yard TD on Luke Fahey’s pass during the fourth quarter.

NO. 8 MISSISSIPPI 32, NO. 7 LSU 24

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Lane Kiffin’s new team at LSU couldn’t deny Trinidad Chambliss — the quarterback Kiffin helped transform into a star after recruiting him from a Division II program to Mississippi last year.

Chambliss passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a tiebreaking score in the fourth quarter, and Ole Miss delighted a crowd that was already revved up about Kiffin’s return, beating the Tigers.

LSU stormed back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to tie the game before Chambliss engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive without the services of top running back Kewan Lacy, who left the game with an injured left shoulder.

Chambliss faked a handoff and ran 14 yards against the grain, outracing LSU safety Ty Benefield to the pylon, and Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) added a 2-point conversion to take an eight-point lead with 6:14 to go.

LSU answered by driving 69 yards to the Ole Miss 6 before Sam Leavitt missed open tight end Zach Grace along the goal line with a third-down pass, and then had his fourth-down pass deflected off the helmet of defensive end Kam Franklin. Jaylon Braxton intercepted the ball in the end zone to seal it.

KENTUCKY 31, NO. 9 TEXAS A&M 21

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Kenny Minchey threw two touchdown passes and CJ Baxter added two scoring runs as Kentucky used a huge third quarter to stun Texas A&M.

Led by rookie coach Will Stein in his first road game, Kentucky beat a ranked opponent for the first time since downing No. 6 Mississippi 20-17 on Sept. 28, 2024.

Stein had vowed to do better after Kentucky (2-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) led then-No. 12 Alabama 17-13 at halftime last week before being outscored 32-0 in the second half of a 45-17 loss.

The game pitted Texas A&M’s offense against Kentucky defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who spent the last two years in the same position with the Aggies. He seemed to have Texas A&M’s number, keeping the Aggies off-balance all day and limiting Marcel Reed to 26 of 49 passing for 236 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Minchey, a transfer from Notre Dame, found Kenny Darby wide open for a 42-yard touchdown on the first drive of the second half to break a 7-all tie.

Baxter’s two touchdown runs came on the next two possessions to extend Kentucky’s lead to 28-7.

NO. 10 ALABAMA 50, FLORIDA ST. 36

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Keelon Russell threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as Alabama overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Florida State.

The Crimson Tide (3-0) struggled to run the ball early and had few answers for Florida State’s explosive plays. Once Alabama settled in, the Seminoles (1-2) struggled to slow it down.

Russell completed 23 of 30 passes without an interception, and Alabama finished with 615 yards. Lotzeir Brooks caught eight passes for 101 yards.

Lightning delayed kickoff and interrupted the second quarter, and the teams agreed to skip halftime after the second delay.

Alabama scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions across the second and third quarters to turn a 21-6 deficit into a 40-28 lead.

NO. 11 BYU 41, COLORADO ST. 23

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — LJ Martin rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns, including a 56-yard run on the second play of the game, and BYU beat Colorado to move to 3-0 for a fourth straight season.

The Cougars now have 20 seasons where they’ve started 3-0, with six under coach Kalani Sitake.

Martin had 173 of his yards rushing in the first half. The reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year carried the ball once in the second half with BYU up big.

Martin and the BYU offense had to wait an extra 37 minutes to get started after a thunderstorm pushed back the kickoff time. The Cougars finished with 559 total yards.

Bear Bachmeier had 227 yards passing and an interception. Freshman receiver Legend Glasker caught five passes for 131 yards and had a rushing TD.

NO. 12 SOUTHERN CAL 42, RUTGERS 35

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Jayden Maiava threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns and King Miller ran for 102 yards and a TD to help Southern California beat Rutgers in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

The Trojans (4-0) never trailed, building a 35-21 cushion with 5:52 left in the third quarter. Rutgers (0-3) closed to 35-28 in the quarter before the teams traded touchdowns in the fourth.

Trojans star freshman receiver Trent Mosley sat out with a knee injury. Fellow freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt had five catches for 77 yards.

Running back Riley Wormley ran for a TD and caught a touchdown pass that put USC ahead 42-28 with 3:04 to play.

Dylan Lonergan passed for 272 yards and three TDs for Rutgers.

NO. 14 PENN ST. 45, BUFFALO 13

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Rocco Becht threw for 212 yards with two touchdowns, Koby Howard scored twice and Penn State cruised past Buffalo.

Becht secured his Bowl Subdivision-leading 29th win and the Nittany Lions (3-0) capped their nonconference schedule in relatively easy fashion against an outmatched Mid-American Conference opponent that was outgained 305-80 in the first half.

Overall, D’Anton Lynn’s defense forced 10 punts and two turnovers and only allowed Buffalo’s Oliver Hautanen to kick a pair of field goals. The Bulls (1-2) crossed midfield just three times.

Howard, who was one of three Nittany Lions players to eclipse 100 all-purpose yards, ran for a 20-yard touchdown on a reverse and caught a 70-yard pass from Becht in the second quarter.

Ryan Barker opened the scoring for Penn State with a 48-yard field goal before James Peoples capped the team’s next drive with a 16-yard scamper around the right edge of Buffalo’s out-of-order defense to put Penn State up for good.

NO. 15 TENNESSEE 42, KENNESAW ST. 9

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Faizon Brandon threw for 178 yards and one touchdown and ran for another to lead Tennessee to a win over Kennesaw State.

Daune Morris, who picked up the slack for an injured running back position, rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown for the Volunteers (3-0). DeSean Bishop was slowed with an injury in the second quarter and Javin Gordon and Justin Baker were unavailable with injuries. Morris had the game’s most explosive play, a 42-yard touchdown run.

Rickie Collins threw for 189 yards for the Owls (1-2), who are coached by Jerry Mack, a former Tennessee assistant under Josh Heupel.

NO. 23 LOUISVILLE 41, NO. 16 SMU 31

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Keyjuan Brown ran for a career-high 163 yards and a pair of long touchdowns to guide Louisville to a victory over SMU.

The teams preseason media picks to finish second (SMU) and third (Louisville) in the Atlantic Coast Conference put on a back-and-forth affair, trading the lead eight times before the Cardinals sealed it on Isaac Brown’s 27-yard touchdown with 5:32 remaining to finish the scoring.

The Cardinals (2-1, 1-0 ACC) then stripped SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings of the ball just before the goal line on the Mustangs’ ensuing drive, turning what would have been a 19-yard touchdown into a touchback as the ball rolled out of the end zone with 2:43 remaining.

Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz threw for 177 yards on 14-for-23 passing. He threw for two scores and added another on the ground as Louisville amassed 442 yards of offense.

Trailing 17-14 at halftime, Louisville regained the lead in the opening minute of the third quarter on Keyjuan Brown’s 58-yard run. His 53-yarder with 10:02 left put the Cardinals ahead for good, 35-31.

NO. 17 UTAH 33, UTAH ST. 0

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devon Dampier threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns, leading Utah to a victory over Utah State.

Braden Pegan had a season-high 122 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches, and Daniel Bray added 82 yards and a score on the ground, helping the Utes (3-0) pile up 480 yards against their rival. Utah averaged 6.5 yards per play.

Grady Brosterhous threw for 130 yards with an interception for the Aggies (0-3), who suffered a fourth straight loss in their rivalry series with Utah. Utah State has dropped 16 of 17 to the Utes dating back to the 1998 season.

NO. 18 IOWA 55, N. IOWA 0

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa had three running backs in Xavier Williams, Nathan McNeil and Braeden Jackson run for more than 100 yards apiece, and the Hawkeyes rolled to a victory over Northern Iowa even without their top running back, Kamari Moulton.

Williams had 151 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries, Jackson had 125 yards and a rushing touchdown to go with a 24-yard TD catch, and McNeill had 111 yards and two scores. It was the first time Iowa had three go over 100 yards in a game since Owen Gill, Norm Granger and Eddie Phillips did it in a 61-10 win over Minnesota in 1983.

Moulton, their leading rusher, was hurt in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s 16-13 win over Iowa State. But the Hawkeyes (3-0) still piled up 422 yards on the ground and finished with 640 yards of total offense against their Football Championship Subdivision foe.

The Hawkeyes scored on their first five possessions and led the Panthers 42-0 at halftime.

NO. 19 MICHICAN 52, UTEP 17

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Bryce Underwood threw two touchdown passes and Savion Hiter had two rushing scores to help Michigan pull away and beat UTEP.

The Wolverines (3-0) were behind twice in the first half before scoring 38 straight points to turn a potential scare into a rout.

The Miners (1-2) forced two turnovers in the first half and took advantage with two touchdown passes by E.J. Colston: 45 yards to Carver Cheeks and 18 yards to Lamar Sperling.

Underwood’s 21-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan and Trey Butkowski’s 49-yard field goal over the last 1:31 of the first half put Michigan ahead for the first time.

The sophomore quarterback threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Marsh and Jonah Lea’ea returned an interception for a score over the last 1:18 of the third quarter, giving the Wolverines a 45-14 lead.

Underwood was 19 of 25 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and a lost fumble.

NO. 20 MISSOURI 27, TROY 17

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jamal Roberts ran for 122 yards and a touchdown, DaMarion Folkes returned a punt 68 yards for another score, and Missouri shook off a slow start before holding on to beat Troy.

Former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons struggled most of the way for Missouri (3-0), completing 10 of 19 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. But the Tigers did enough on defense to win their 16th straight regular-season non-conference game.

Goose Crowder completed his first five passes of the game and finished with 230 passing yards and two touchdowns for Troy (2-1), which was looking for its third win over a ranked opponent in school history.

Ethan Head missed a 54-yard field goal attempt with 2:46 left in the fourth quarter, which would have pulled the Trojans to within a touchdown of the Tigers. Missouri nearly ran out the clock from there on the victory.

NO. 24 OKLAHOMA 14, NEW MEXICO 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — John Mateer overcame a shaky start with two touchdown passes, and Oklahoma leaned on its defense to hold off New Mexico and avoid consecutive non-conference losses.

The Sooners (2-1), who were coming off a loss to Michigan and open SEC play at No. 2 Georgia next week, were able to limit the high-scoring Lobos to 69 yards rushing and 185 yards of total offense — and just two field goals.

Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone stuffed New Mexico running back Scottre Humphrey on fourth-and-1 at the Oklahoma 17 with 2:58 left, and the Sooners were able to convert on third down moments later to help them run out the clock.

WEST VIRGINIA 38, NO. 25 VIRGINIA 27

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Hawkins accounted for 313 yards of total offense and five touchdowns and West Virginia beat Virginia 38-27 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium.

Hawkins, who started five games at Oklahoma the previous two years before transferring to West Virginia in January, has guided the Mountaineers to a 3-0 start for second-year coach Rich Rodriguez.

Virginia, which lost its second game in Charlotte in the last 10 months, fell to 2-1. The Cavaliers lost 27-20 to Duke in the 2025 ACC title game in December in the stadium.

Hawkins, who had two TD runs and a TD pass in the first half, threw his second TD pass to D.J. Epps late in the third quarter to give West Virginia the lead for good.

_____