What you need to know about college football’s Top 25 games for Week 3
College football’s biggest teams continue their 2022 seasons during Saturday’s Week 3 action. Here’s a rundown of the day.
No. 1 Alabama 63, Louisiana Monroe 7
Briefly: Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth, Will Anderson Jr. scored on an interception return and Alabama rolled to a 63-7 victory. The Crimson Tide scored on offense, defense and special teams in the first six minutes and raced to a 28-0 first-quarter lead.
Next up: Alabama begins conference place against Vanderbilt. Louisiana-Monroe faces off with Louisiana-Lafayette at home.
No. 2 Georgia 48, South Carolina 7
Briefly: Stetson Bennett threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns, both to Brock Bowers as the defending national champion made another statement in a rout of the Gamecocks.
One highlight to know: Bowers, who also scored a rushing touchdown, had this 78-yard pass from Bennett.
Next up: Georgia returns home for a matchup with Kent State; South Carolina hosts Charlotte.
No. 3 Ohio State 77, Toledo 21
Briefly: C.J. Stroud threw five touchdown passes and Ohio State rolled up 762 yards on the way to a runaway defeat of Toledo. The Buckeyes scored on all six of their first-half possessions, with Stroud completing 18 of 20 passes for 297 yards and a pair of touchdown passes each to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming.
Next up: Ohio State hosts Wisconsin. Toledo heads west to face San Diego State.
No. 5 Michigan 59, Connecticut 0
Briefly: Blake Corum rushed five touchdowns and J.J. McCarthy had an efficient game, completing 15 of 18 passes for 214 in the Wolverines win over an outmatched UConn squad.
One highlight to know: A.J. Henning weaves through the porous UConn punt coverage team to take it 61 yards for a touchdown.
Next up: Michigan squares off with Maryland. Connecticut plays at North Carolina State.
No. 6 Oklahoma 49, Nebraska 14
Briefly: Oklahoma scored 49 straight points after Nebraska took their first possession for a score, spoiling interim coach Mickey Joseph’s debut. Oklahoma had 580 yards of total offense.
One highlight to know: Tight end Brayden Willis throws a TD to a wide open Marcus Major for an Oklahoma touchdown.
Next up: Nebraska takes a week off before Indiana comes to town. Oklahoma faces Kansas State in its Big 12 opener at home.
No. 7 Oklahoma State 63, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7
Briefly: Spencer Sanders threw for four touchdowns and backup Gunner Gundy added two more as the Oklahoma State passing game compiled370 yards in a comfortable victory against a Championship Subdivision opponent.
Next up: Oklahoma State opens Big 12 play at Baylor. Arkansas-Pine Bluff faces Alcorn State.
Fresno State at No. 8 Southern California
Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Betting info: Odds, moneyline and more
What to know: Southern California’s offense is averaging 8.6 yards per play, good for second in the Bowl Subdivision, and already rolling behind transfer quarterback Caleb Williams.
No. 9 Michigan State at Washington
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Betting info: Odds, moneyline and more
What to know: The Spartans face the last and likely toughest of their non-league tests before jumping into Big Ten play, while the Huskies seek a breakthrough performance under first-year head man Kalen DeBoer.
No. 10 Kentucky 31, Youngstown State 0
Briefly: Will Levis had 377 yards passing and three total touchdowns for the Wildcats, who showed no letdown after their victory last week against Florida.
One highlight to know: Carrington Valentine does his own tip-drill for the interception in the end zone.
Next up: Kentucky gets a visit from Northern Illinois; Youngstown State hits the road for a trip to North Dakota State on Oct. 1.
No. 11 Arkansas 38, Missouri State 27
Briefly: Rocket Sanders and Bryce Stephens had long scoring plays in a 2:22 span of the fourth quarter to help Arkansas avoid an upset bid by Missouri State and former Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino. With Arkansas trailing by 10, Sanders caught a shovel pass for a 73-yard touchdown scamper with 11:38 left and Stephens returned Missouri State’s ensuing punt 82 yards to give Arkansas its first lead of the game.
One highlight to know: Stephens goes the distance for the go-ahead score for Arkansas.
Next up: Arkansas matches up with Texas AM in Arlington, Texas. Missouri State clashes with South Dakota State at home.
No. 12 North Carolina State 27, Texas Tech 14
Briefly: Aydan White returned one of his two interceptions 84 yards for a touchdown to lead a strong defensive effort that carried North Carolina State past Texas Tech. Facing the Bowl Subdivision’s top passing offense, veteran Wolfpack defense harassed quarterback Donovan Smith and shut down any ground game the Red Raiders tried to muster.
One highlight to watch: White’s pick and score put the Wolfpack up 20-0.
Next up: North Carolina hosts Connecticut. Texas Tech gets a visit from Texas.
No. 13 Miami (Fla.) at No. 22 Texas AM
Kickoff: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Betting info: Odds, moneyline and more
What to know: The Aggies, with a nasty SEC slate looming, are desperately looking to avoid a second successive loss. For the Hurricanes, it’s still a chance to pick up a resume-boosting triumph before embarking on their ACC journey. Keep your eye on AM RB Devon Achane.
No. 24 Oregon 41, No. 14 Brigham Young 20
Briefly: Bo Nix had three rushing touchdowns and passed for two more as the Ducks jumped out to a big early lead and cruised to an easy defeat of BYU. Oregon had more than 200 yards rushing and passing as its balanced offense was too much for the Cougars.
One highlight to know: Nix hits Terrance Ferguson for a touchdown right before halftime.
Next up: Oregon faces Washington State on the road, while BYU returns home for a matchup with Wyoming.
San Diego State at No. 15 Utah
Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Betting info: Odds, moneyline and more
Make your reads: Why didn’t San Diego State do more amid rape allegations against Matt Araiza, others?
No. 16 Tennessee 63, Akron 6
Briefly: Jalin Hyatt caught five passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tennessee to a 63-6 victory against Akron. Hyatt had scoring passes of 57 and 48 yards in the first half as the Volunteers jumped to a 35-0 lead over the Zips. Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for 251 yards and two scores in the first 30 minutes and finished with 298 yards.
Next up: Tennessee hosts Florida in big SEC matchup. Akron heads to Liberty.
No. 17 Mississippi 42, Georgia Tech 0
Briefly: Quinshon Johnson and Zach Evans each had two touchdowns rushing as part of a ground attack that piled up 316 yards for Misissippi on the road.Ole Miss ran for all six of its touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards on a staggering 62 carries.
Next up: Mississippi heads home to face Tulsa. Georgia Tech hits the road for a visit to Central Florida.
No. 18 Wake Forest 37, Liberty 36
Briefly: Sam Hartman threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns and the Wake Forest defense got a clutch stop on a two-point conversion to hold off Liberty. The Demon Deacons led 20-8 at half before the Flames rallied with two scores in the third quarter to take the lead. Wake went ahead by seven in the fourth quarter before Liberty scored on a fourth-down pass and opted to go for the win.
One highlight to know: Kaidon Salter hit Damien Douglas on fourth down for a touchdown to give Liberty the opportunity to win the game.
Next up: Wake Forest hosts Clemson in a ranked showdown. Liberty faces Akron at home.
No. 19 Baylor 42, Texas State 7
Briefly: Richard Reese rushed for 156 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Bears closed out their non-conference slate with dominant defeat of Texas State.
One highlight to know: Quarterback Blake Shapen fools everyone on the read option and scoots for a 35-yard touchdown run.
Next up: Baylor starts Big 12 conference play on the road at Iowa State; Texas State hosts Houston Baptist.
Texas-San Antonio at No. 20 Texas
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
TV: Longhorn Network
Betting info: Odds, moneyline and more
What to know: They aren’t big on moral victories in Austin, but the Longhorns’ ability to hang with the No. 1 team with their backup quarterback having to go most of the way was encouraging at the very least. For the first time in his career, UTSA quarterback Frank Harris has thrown for at least 300 yards and had three or more touchdowns in back-to-back games.
No. 21 Florida 31, South Florida 28
Briefly: Trevor Etienne’s 3-yard touchdown run with 5 minutes remaining helped Florida rally to beat South Florida. South Florida’s Spencer Shrader missed a 48-yard field goal with 23 seconds left that likely would have sent the game into overtime. Shrader had little chance at making the kick after Andrew Beardall dropped the snap while trying to get the ball down.
One highlight to know: South Florida’s game-tying kick missed after a bad hold.
Next up: Florida hits the road for Tennessee. South Florida plays at Louisville.
No. 23 Penn State 41, Auburn 12
Briefly: Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both rushed for two touchdowns as Penn State went on the road and dominated the Tigers in a key non-conference victory. The Nittany Lions defense was outstanding and forced four turnovers and limited the Tigers to just one touchdown.
One highlight to know: Singleton breaks off a 54-yard touchdown run to ice the game for Penn State.
Next up: Penn State faces Central Michigan at home. Auburn hosts Missouri in SEC league play.
No. 25 Pittsburgh 34, Western Michigan 13
Briefly: Pittsburgh running back Israel Abanikanda carried the ball 31 times for 131 yards and a touchdown to carry the Panthers to a revenge victory after losing at home to Western Michigan last year. Pitt was without its top two quarterbacks, but third-string signal caller Nate Yarnell was efficient under center, going 9-for-12 passing for 179 yards and a touchdown.
Next up: Pittsburgh hosts Rhode Island. Western Michigan travels to San Jose State.
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