Saturday wrapup: Penn State wins, Oklahoma survives, Bama rolls, LSU falls

Penn State suffered a gut-punch loss, to Indiana, in last season’s opener and never really seemed to recover. Saturday was different: The 19^th-ranked Nittany Lions survived a nail-biter to win a huge Big Ten showdown at No. 12 Wisconsin

The Nittany Lions’ defense came up big all day, and sealed the win with interceptions deep in Penn State territory on each of Wisconsin’s final two drives. And that defense was on the field all day: Wisconsin held the ball for 42:51. The Badgers had more rushing attempts (58) than Penn State had plays from scrimmage (51). In all, the Badgers had 95 plays — but for just 365 yards (3.8 yards per play).

The Badgers managed only 3.1 yards per rush, and the Nittany Lions also did a good job stymieing Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz, who was 22-of-37 but for just 185 yards. The Nittany Lions didn’t seem to fear any of Wisconsin’s outside receivers, and the Badgers had just one play of more than 23 yards.

Penn State’s offense has some work to do, especially on the ground. The Nittany Lions managed just 50 rushing yards and relied heavily on Sean Clifford’s arm and wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Dotson had five receptions for 102 yards and a TD, and when Clifford wasn’t being harassed by a strong Badgers pass rush, he had open receivers.

The Badgers get Notre Dame and Michigan back-to-back on September 25 and October 2, but after that, only Iowa and Minnesota look like tough games. Penn State, on the other hand, would’ve been in trouble with another opening-game loss. The Nittany Lions welcome in Auburn on September 18, and get Indiana and Iowa back-to-back on October 2 and 9. Penn State then visits both Ohio State and Michigan on back-to-back weekends (October 30 and November 6).

Oklahoma holds on

Oklahoma was supposed to cruise past Tulane. After all, the Sooners were ranked No. 2 in the preseason and got to host the game after the contest was moved from New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida.

Instead, the Sooners had to hold on for a 40-35 victory. Spencer Rattler threw an interception on the second play of the game and Tulane quickly marched to a TD.

Oklahoma eventually took a 37-14 halftime lead and it looked to be over. But Tulane kept punching and OU’s offense struggled in the second half, and after Tulane recovered an onside kick with 2:17 left in the game, the Green Wave was in a position to pull the monster upset. Instead, quarterback Michael Pratt was stopped about a half-yard short on a scramble on fourth-and-13 at Oklahoma’s 44.

The Green Wave offense was in its first game under new coordinator Chip Long (former coordinator Will Hall now is the coach at Southern Miss) and finished with 396 yards,  including 296 through the air. OU had 430, but 312 came in the first half. In addition, OU managed just 116 rushing yards.

Rattler was 30-of-39 for 304 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two picks. Pratt threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

One positive for OU: Gabe Brkic kicked four field goals, including three of at least 50 yards (51, 56 and 55); the three 50-yarders in one game tied an NCAA record. He also missed a 31-yarder late in the fourth quarter that let Tulane hang around.

Alabama bludgeons Miami

Top-ranked Alabama opened defense of its national title with a 44-13 demolition of Miami in Atlanta.

New starting quarterback Bryce Young looked extremely comfortable, throwing for 344 yards and four TDs. Young was 8-of-10 for 157 yards on third down. Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams had four receptions for 126 yards and a TD.

Alabama scored on its first five drives to take a 27-0 lead midway through the second quarter; at that point, UM hadn’t even crossed midfield. There was zero drama in the second half.

UM’s D’Eriq King was 23-of-31 but for just 178 yards (and two picks) as the Hurricanes couldn’t get anything going downfield. King was sacked four times and also fumbled.

Chip Kelly gets 1^st big win at UCLA

UCLA physically overpowered No. 16 LSU, upsetting the Tigers 38-27 behind a bruising rushing attack. It’s the biggest win for Chip Kelly in his four seasons with the Bruins.

The Bruins rushed for 210 yards and two TDs, and limited LSU to 48 rushing yards. UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed just nine passes, but those completions went for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Grant Dulcich had three receptions for 117 yards and a score.

LSU had four sacks and nine tackles for loss, but Thompson-Robinson remained unfazed. He was able to count on tailbacks Zach Harbonnet and Brittain Brown, who combined for 28 carries for 213 yards and two TDs.

UCLA couldn’t handle LSU’s Kayshon Boutte, who had nine recpetions for 148 yards and three touchdowns. But no other receiver hurt the Bruins, and LSU’s inability to run meant quarterback Max Johnson faced a ton of pressure all night.

FCS Montana stuns Washington

Montana forced three turnovers and shut down No. 20 Washington’s rushing attack to stun the Huskies 13-7. Washington prides itself on its physicality, but rushed for just 65 yards on 27 carries. The Huskies, who returned all five starters along their offensive line, also allowed three sacks and were just 4-of-14 on third down.

Huskies quarterback Dylan Morris threw three picks, the last coming at Montana’s 31 with 34 seconds left.

It was the first FCS win over a ranked FBS team since 2016, when North Dakota State beat Iowa, and just the fifth since the Division I-A/I-AA split in 1978.

Washington, which was missing its top four receivers, scored on its opening drive, a nine-play, 78-yard march. The Huskies had another nine-play drive on their second possession, then didn’t have another drive of more than seven plays.

Montana managed just 232 total yards and 10 first downs; the Grizzlies scored what proved to be the winning TD  on a 4-yard run with 10:35 left in the game. The drive started after a Morris interception.

Texas wins in Sarkisian’s debut

Steve Sarkisian got the win in his Texas debut as the 21^st-ranked Longhorns ground down No. 23 Louisiana 38-18.

Hudson Card threw two TD passes in his starting debut and Bijan Robinson rushed for two scores for the Longhorns, who led 14-6 at halftime, then took control with a TD on their first possession of the second half.

Card threw for 224 yards and helped Texas go 10-of-15 on third down; Robinson rushed for 103 yards as Texas finished with 435 total yards. The Longhorns’ defense did a nice job against the Ragin’ Cajuns’ rushing attack, holding Louisiana to 76 yards. Texas also had four sacks.

Iowa pounds Indiana

A matchup of two top-20 teams in Iowa City was a one-sided affair, as the 18^th-ranked Hawkeyes routed No. 17 Indiana 34-6. Iowa scored twice in the first 2:15 of the game and there never really was any doubt after that.

Iowa intercepted Michael Penix Jr. three times and senior cornerback Riley Moss took two of them back for scores. The first pick-six came on the Hoosiers’ third play of the game; it came after Iowa’s Tyler Goodson had scored on a 56-yard run on the fourth play of the game. The second pick-six came with 1:41 left in the first half and gave Iowa a 28-3 lead.

The Hawkeyes were unimpressive offensively, but it didn’t matter because of a stifling Iowa defense. Indiana was held to 233 yards and was 6-of-18 on third down.

Iowa gets Iowa State next week in one of the bigger non-conference games of the season. Indiana has Cincinnati on September 18 and Penn State on October 2, so a season that began with a ton of promise could spin out of control quickly.

Oregon unimpressive

Maybe No. 11 Oregon was looking ahead; maybe the Ducks are overrated. Whatever the case, the Ducks escaped with a 31-24 win over visiting Fresno State.

The Ducks play at Ohio State next week, and they’ll need to be much sharper defensively if they want to pull the upset. Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener, who began his career at Washington, threw for 298 yards and a TD.

Oregon’s winning score came on a 30-yard run by quarterback Anthony Brown on a fourth-and-2 keeper with 2:57 left.

The Ducks led 14-0 barely seven minutes into the game, but Fresno State outplayed the Ducks for the next two-and-a-half quarters. The Bulldogs took a 24-21 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Ducks rallied.

Oregon dominated on the ground, outrushing the Bulldogs 189-77. But the Ducks’ passing attack was underwhelming, with Brown — who began his career at Boston College — throwing for 172 yards on 15 completions.

Former five-star linebacker Justin Flowe led Oregon with 14 tackles. He had one tackle for loss and one forced fumble. Somewhat alarming, given that Ohio State is next week: The Ducks’ secondary had zero pass breakups and zero interceptions.

Also of note

+ Michigan blasted Western Michigan 47-14, thanks to an offense that rolled up 551 yards. The Wolverines rushed for 351 yards, with their top two tailbacks, Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum, combining for 181 yards and two TDs on 27 carries. Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh shook up his offensive staff following the 2020 season, and for one game at least, the move has paid off. The Wolverines play host to Washington next week.

+ With his brother on the sideline as a spectator, Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns to lift host Maryland past West Virginia 30-24. Tagovailoa, who began his career at Alabama before transferring, had two TD passes of at least 60 yards against a unit that led the nation in pass defense last season. The Terps forced four turnovers.

+ Stanford’s rushing attack has been extremely pedestrian ever since Bryce Love rushed for 2,118 yards in 2017. The Cardinal averaged 202.4 rushing yards per game that season. The past three seasons, the average has been 107.9 in 2018, 105.5 in ’19 and 132.8 last season. Stanford had all sorts of problems on the ground Saturday in a 24-7 loss to Kansas State. The Wildcats outrushed the Cardinal 200-39. Stanford quarterbacks combined to go 23-of-30 but for just 194 yards, which is a paltry 6.5 yards per attempt. The Cardinal has USC next week and also plays UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State in the next month. Yikes.

+ Mississippi State used the biggest comeback in school history to edge Louisiana Tech 35-34. The Bulldogs took an early 14-0 lead, then watched as Tech scored 34 consecutive points to take a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter. But Mississippi State woke up and scored three TDs in the final 12 minutes. MSU QB Will Rogers was 39-of-47 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. Mississippi State won despite three turnovers and 12 penalties (for 95 yards). MSU welcomes in NC State next week.

+ Time of possession never is the be-all, end-all, but when you’re a triple-option offense and your offense is clicking, it’s natural for you to possess the ball. That happened for Army, which routed host Georgia State 43-10. Army rushed the ball 67 times for 258 yards and four TDs, and held the ball for 42 minutes. That’s just 3.9 yards per carry, but simple math shows that three consecutive rushes of 3.9 yards gets you a first down. Georgia State had just 48 total plays.

+ Montana wasn’t the only FCS team to beat a FBS team Saturday. East Tennessee State dominated Vanderbilt 23-3 in Clark Lea’s first game as Vandy’s coach. And Holy Cross beat UConn 38-28. It’s the Crusaders’ first win over a FBS team since 2002, and UConn paid Holy Cross $425,000 for the matchup. Crusaders coach Bob Chesney figured to be a hot commodity anyway, and this should help his job prospects.