Live blog: Week 4 college football Saturday with Yahoo Sports
Wisconsin looked the part in a rout of Michigan, Pitt ended UCF’s 27-game regular-season win streak on a fourth-down trick play, and Georgia got going in the second half to fight off Notre Dame.
It was a very eventful Saturday in college football, capped off by an absolutely bonkers game in Pullman, Washington.
Top 25
No. 3 Georgia overcomes No. 7 Notre Dame
The Irish were double-digit underdogs against the Bulldogs, but they weren’t playing like it early.
Notre Dame 0, Georgia 0 after one. But the Irish have been the better team thus far.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) September 22, 2019
Notre Dame got the game’s first break in the second quarter when Georgia’s Tyler Simmons muffed a punt on a fair catch and the Irish recovered at the Bulldogs’ 8-yard line. A pass interference penalty then gave Notre Dame a first-and-goal at the 2.
The Irish thought they threw a TD pass, but Georgia coach Kirby Smart called timeout just before the play. On second down, QB Ian Book carried the ball inside the 1. On third down, a slip screen pass was tipped and incomplete. On fourth down, Book threw a TD pass to Cole Kmet, and the Irish took a 7-0 lead.
Uhh is this considered a pick 6 for Cole Kmet?pic.twitter.com/0JlSbHRgyD
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 22, 2019
Georgia marched right down the field on its next possession on a 13-play, 75-yard drive, capped by D’Andre Swift’s 3-yard TD run, to tie the score at 7-7.
Notre Dame drove right down the field on its next possession, but had to settle for a field goal on the final play of the first half to take a 10-7 lead.
The Bulldogs dominated the second half, however, shutting down the Irish offense while marching downfield behind Swift and quarterback Jake Fromm. Three field goals and a Fromm touchdown pass to Lawrence Cager put Georgia in front 23-10.
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 22, 2019
Notre Dame finally mounted a scoring drive, making it 23-17 with a Chase Claypool TD catch with 3:12 left. But after getting the ball back with two minutes left, the Irish couldn’t go anywhere and dropped their first game of the season.
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UCLA wins wild shootout with No. 19 Washington State
Mike Leach’s Cougars were off to a 3-0 start, while Chip Kelly’s Bruins were 0-3. But a mismatch on paper turned into the craziest game of the college football season.
Alex Gordon threw for 569 yards and nine touchdowns for Washington State, and somehow that wasn’t enough. UCLA trailed by 32 points but scored an incredible 50 points in the second half to pull out a 67-63 victory.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 508 yards and five TDs, including the winning 15-yarder to Demetric Felton with 1:07 left.
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Colorado upsets No. 24 Arizona State
James Stefanou’s 44-yard field goal with 2:03 left gave the Buffaloes a 34-31 victory in Tempe.
Steven Montez threw for three touchdowns as Colorado scored the first two TDs of the game and never trailed. The Sun Devils rallied to tie the game at 31 but suffered their first loss of the season.
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No. 15 UCF can’t avoid upset at Pitt
Pitt does it!
Pitt snapped UCF’s 27-game regular-season winning streak with an amazing 35-34 home victory, scoring on a fourth-and-3 trick play from the 6-yard line when QB Kenny Pickett caught the TD pass with 56 seconds left.
THE PITTSBURGH SPECIAL AND IT HAS FRENCH FRIES ON TOP OF IT pic.twitter.com/CtMqtlmGK4
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 21, 2019
The Panthers were a double-digit underdog, but they grabbed a 21-0 lead.
Then the Knights got going. They cut the deficit to 21-10 at halftime and added three third-quarter touchdowns to take a 31-21 lead.
But the Panthers had plenty of fight left. They cut the deficit to 31-28 on a 6-yard TD pass from Nick Patti to Dontavius Butler-Jenkins.
And the Panthers stopped the Knights on fourth-and-2 from the Pitt 15 to keep it a three-point game. After PItt went three and out, UCF again went for it on fourth-and-2 in its territory and got it to keep the drive alive with about six minutes to go. UCF settled for a field goal on the drive for a 34-28 lead.
But Pitt had the miracle finish.
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 21, 2019
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
No. 8 Auburn wins at No. 17 Texas A&M
The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) had no problem with the Aggies in a 28-20 win in College Station.
The Tigers struck first with a 57-yard TD run by Anthony Schwartz on a reverse and a 6-yard TD pass from Joey Gatewood to John Samuel Shenker for a 14-0 lead.
Texas A&M cut the deficit to 14-3 on a second-quarter field goal, but another FG try to end the first half missed to keep the score 14-3 at halftime.
The Aggies fumbled on the first possession of the second half, giving the Tigers possession in their territory, and the Tigers made them pay with an 9-yard TD pass from Bo Nix to Seth Williams for a 21-3 lead.
Texas A&M only has 40 rushing yards through three quarters, but they finally found the end zone early in the fourth on a 27-yard pass from Kellen Mond to Quartney Davis, cutting its deficit to 21-10.
But Auburn comes right back with what could be the dagger, a six-minute scoring drive capped by JaTarvious Whitlow’s 8-yard scoring run for a 28-10 lead with 8:27 remaining. Texas A&M scored the game’s final 10 points.
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
No. 13 Wisconsin routs No. 11 Michigan
Jonathan Taylor got things started in the first quarter, and his teammates took it from there.
Taylor rushed for 143 of his 203 yards in the first half as the Badgers built a 28-point halftime lead en route to a 35-14 victory.
Taylor capped a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard TD run to give the Badgers the early lead on their first drive, which included them going for it on fourth-and-1 deep in their own territory.
Then he exploded for a 75-yard scoring run as the Badgers built a two-touchdown lead, giving him 143 yards and two scores on his first 12 carries.
This is not the way Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hoped things would go.
FS1 has a Jim Harbaugh cam today. Here's his reaction to Jonathan Taylor's long touchdown run. pic.twitter.com/sK5RGHCTr4
— Sam Cooper (@SamDCooper) September 21, 2019
But Taylor left the game with cramps. That didn’t slow down the Badgers, however. They scored again on QB Jack Coan’s 1-yard run on fourth down for a 21-0 lead. Coan added another rushing score with 57 seconds left in the first half for a 28-0 lead. Besides his scoring runs, Coan was 13-of-15 passing in the first half.
Wisconsin scored a third-quarter TD for a 35-0 lead, but two Badgers got targeting penalties and were ejected. The second one was a hit on backup QB Dylan McCaffrey, who came in for Shea Patterson in the second half. Patterson returned and threw a TD pass to Sean McKeon. The subsequent two-point conversion made it 35-8 Wisconsin. It’s the first point the Badgers have let up all season.
Patterson added another TD pass in the fourth quarter to cut Michigan’s deficit to 35-14. The two-point conversion was no good.
And one MIchigan alum didn’t like what he saw.
Michigan legend @CharlesWoodson does not like what he sees from his Wolverines 😬pic.twitter.com/rD6Wyi1Cix
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 21, 2019
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
No. 9 Florida up to the (Trask) vs. Tennessee
Kyle Trask completed 20 of 28 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Gators to a 35-3 win over the Vols.
Scoring points wasn’t the only thing Tennessee has had trouble with on Saturday.
Hold the phone!
Yeah, that’s not how you use that. #Vols #gators pic.twitter.com/PaKn4PAohB
— Mitchell Askelson (@MitchAskelson) September 21, 2019
Florida led 17-0 halftime lead.
2⃣ Takeaways
0⃣ Points Allowed#RelentlessEffort pic.twitter.com/9LDHnknYJh— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 21, 2019
Tennessee snapped the shutout with a third-quarter field goal, but Florida answered with another Trask TD pass for a 24-3 lead. And it only got worse for the Vols.
No. 2 Alabama has its way with Southern Miss
Tua Tagovailoa passed for 293 yards and five touchdowns in just three quarters and No. 2 Alabama rolled to a 49-7 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday.
Tagovailoa and WR Henry Ruggs II combined for two first-quarter TDs covering 45 and 74 yards, and the Tide were off to the races.
Henry Ruggs is bad fast, man
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 21, 2019
No. 4 LSU routs Vanderbilt
The Commodores struck first, but Joe Burrow has answered the call for the Tigers.
Burrow tossed four of his school-record six touchdown passes to Ja'Marr Chase and threw for 398 yards, fueling a 66-38 romp over Vanderbilt in the Tigers' Southeastern Conference opener.
That’s a SCHOOL RECORD for @Joe_Burrow10! Most touchdown passes in a game with six. pic.twitter.com/HgzvaFcjsh
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 21, 2019
And the offensive line, most notably Adrian Magee, did its part.
Anyone got syrup? https://t.co/LVK7JmpxWY
— Blake Schuster (@Schustee) September 21, 2019
And what about this catch.
MOSSED 😳
(via @SECNetwork)pic.twitter.com/KY6qwqevij— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) September 21, 2019
No. 23 Cal holds off Ole Miss in wild finish
Cal led just 14-13 at halftime, but Chase Garbers has threw two TD passes in the third quarter to increase the Golden Bears’ lead.But the Rebels didn’t give up. They cut the lead to 28-20 in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they would get.
Oh, and what an ending.
Ole Miss catch with body in end zone, but he lands with ball out of the end zone. Ole Miss no timeouts, goes to LOS and tries to sneak for TD, gets stuffed. If you want to beat the joke to death: US-USSR basketball game, 1972?
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) September 21, 2019
How close was it?
Always make sure the official has signaled TD before you start celebrating pic.twitter.com/78SM2HdzkN
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 21, 2019
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
No. 12 Texas outlasts Oklahoma State
The Big 12 has been the best conference so far in non-conference games, and the Cowboys and Longhorns provided the league’s best matchup as Big 12 play begins.
And, for a league known for offense, the defense led a first quarter in which the only scoring was an Oklahoma State field goal.
But Texas got its offense going in the second quarter as QB Sam Ehlinger three TD passes, but a late TD run by Chuba Hubbard cut the Cowboys’ deficit to 21-20 at he half.
Oklahoma State briefly took the lead with a field goal in the third quarter, but Ehlinger responded with his fourth TD pass of the game. Roschon Johnson’s touchdown run has gave the Longhorns a 36-23 lead
A late touchdown by the Cowboys cut it to 36-30 but Ehlinger and Texas managed to run out the clock.
Click here for the box score and more
No. 21 Virginia fights off Old Dominion upset bid
The Monarchs upset Top 25 team Virginia Tech last season. Would they do the same to the Cavaliers? It seemed very possible early when they jumped to a 17-0 lead and shocked the Virginia home crowd.
The Cavaliers finally answered with an 8-yard TD run by Bryce Perkins to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the half.
A third-quarter pick-six by Zane Zandier cut the Monarchs’ lead to 17-14 and Wayne Taulapapa’s TD run in the fourth quarter put the Cavs in front. Joe Reed’s 25-yard touchdown catch extended the lead to 28-17 and snuffed out Old Dominion’s upset hopes.
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No. 22 Washington takes out BYU
The underdog Cougars were coming off back-to-back wins against Tennessee and USC, but Jacob Eason threw three TD passes as the Huskies rolled to a 45-19 victory.
No. 6 Ohio State mauls Miami (Ohio)
It was nice while it lasted.
Miami (Ohio) actually grabbed a 5-0 lead — yes that’s correct — on a safety and field goal. The Buckeyes looked sloppy early, but J.K. Dobbins scored on a 26-yard run to give OSU a 7-5 lead.
Then the Buckeyes got rolling.
Justin Fields passed for four TDs and rushed for two — all in the second quarter — and the rout was on as Ohio State won 76-5.
SMU holds on to win at No. 25 TCU
The Horned Frogs were coming off an impressive win at Purdue, but the Mustangs are now 4-0 for the first time since 1984 after the 41-38 victory.
No. 16 Oregon has no trouble vs. Stanford
Justin Herbert threw three touchdown passes and the Ducks defense kept the Cardinal out of the end zone in an easy road win.
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No. 1 Clemson rolls over Charlotte
Tigers QB Trevor Lawrence threw a pair of touchdowns in the first half as the top-ranked Tigers built a 38-3 halftime lead, then watched his backups finish up a 52-10 rout.
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Other highlights
Appalachian State stuns North Carolina
Darrynton Evans rushed for three touchdowns, and Akeem Davis-Gaither blocked a 56-yard field goal attempt on the final play of Appalachian State's 34-31 victory over North Carolina on Saturday in the in-state programs' first meeting in nearly 80 years.
Appalachian State’s win over @TarHeelFootball its first over a Power conference team since beating Michigan in 2007. First signature win for Eliah Drinkwitz, who inherited a stout roster from Scott Satterfield. Drinkwitz: “It wasn’t an upset. We expected to win.”
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 21, 2019
Miracle win for Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan blocked a punt and returned it for a TD in a 34-29 victory over Central Connecticut State.
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
Urban likes Urban to USC tweet
Did Urban Meyer give folks a clue that he’s thinking about getting back into coaching?
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
Bizarre TD for Mizzou
Missouri scored one of the more bizarre touchdowns you’ll ever see in the first quarter against South Carolina on Saturday.
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
This is NOT how to celebrate a TD
Rutgers center Michael Maietti almost violated an unspoken rule on Saturday.
Maietti got a little too excited when the Scarlet Knights scored a first-quarter touchdown vs. Boston College and smacked QB Artur Sitkowski upside the head.
That's, uh, one way to celebrate with your teammate 👊🤕pic.twitter.com/mqxeYKgSUT
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 21, 2019
Click here for the Yahoo Sports report
Saturday’s stars
Joe Burrow, LSU: The quarterback passed for 398 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a 66-38 rout over Vanderbilt.
Tommy DeVito, Syracuse: The quarterback combined for five TDs (four passing and one rushing) in a 52-33 triumph over Western Michigan.
Chase Garbers, Cal: The quarterback threw for four touchdowns, but a game-saving tackle at the 1 gave the Golden Bears a 28-20 victory over Ole Miss.
Justin Fields, Ohio State: The quarterback threw for four touchdowns and rushed for two more scores — all in the second quarter — to lead the Buckeyes to a 76-5 rout over Miami (Ohio).
Jamie Newman, Wake Forest: The quarterback completed 27 of 35 passes for 351 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Elon.
Brock Purdy, Iowa State: The quarterback set a school record with 510 total yards (435 passing with three TDs, 75 yards and three TDs on the ground) in a 72-20 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.
Mathew Sexton, Eastern Michigan: The wide receiver blocked a punt and returned it 30 yards for a score late in a 34-29 victory over Central Connecticut State.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama: The quarterback passed for 293 yards and five touchdowns in just three quarters as the Tide routed Southern Miss 49-7.
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin: The running back ran for 203 yards and two scores on 23 carries in the Badgers’ 35-14 win over Michigan.
