TOP 25 fOOTBALL Saturday’s games

No. 5 Michigan State 31, No. 7 Oregon 28

EAST LANSING, MICH.

Connor Cook threw for two touchdowns, and Michigan State held on with one final defensive stand to beat in college football’s marquee game of the week. The Spartans (2-0) led for most of the second half, and it was 31-21 before Oregon’s Vernon Adams threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Byron Marshall with 3:25 remaining. After a Michigan State punt, the Ducks (1-1) drove to the Spartans 33 before Adams overthrew Marshall, who had beaten his defender. The Spartans then sacked Adams for a loss of 10, and his fourth-down pass was incomplete. Hubbard High School graduate L.J. Scott ran for two touchdowns for Michigan State, and Aaron Burbridge caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Toledo 16, No. 18 Arkansas 12

LITTLE ROCK, ARK.

Former Alabama reserve quarterback Phillip Ely threw for 237 yards and the Toledo defense rattled Arkansas into a number of mistakes in an upset victory. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen threw his first interception since last Nov. 1 — after 134 attempts. He misfired on two passes from the Toledo 16 in the final 6 seconds. Deep in their own territory, the Rockets (1-0) gave up a safety with 52 seconds left that cut their lead to four points. Arkansas (1-1) received the free kick, then drove from its 32 to the 16 with no timeouts before Allen’s throws sailed away. Ely completed 21 of 38 passes. Allen was 32 of 53 for 412 yards.

No. 2 Alabama 37, Middle Tennessee 10

TUSCALOOSA, ALA.

Jake Coker passed for 214 yards in the first half and Derrick Henry ran for three touchdowns to lead Alabama past Middle Tennessee. Coker started for the second straight game for the Crimson Tide (2-0) and gave no indication he’s going to yield the job to Cooper Bateman, who played the second half against the Blue Raiders (1-1). Coker was 15 of 26 with a touchdown, but also had a pass intercepted after throwing into double coverage. Henry has three TDs in each of Alabama’s first two games and gained 96 yards. Kenyan Drake set up one TD with a 69-yard catch and run and scored on a 14-yard pass from Bateman.

No. 3 TCU 70, Stephen F. Austin 7

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Trevone Boykin threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns in a little more than a half, Aaron Green ran for two scores and TCU beat lower-division Stephen F. Austin. The Horned Frogs (2-0) won their 14th straight home opener under Gary Patterson since losing to Northwestern State of the FCS in his Amon Carter Stadium debut as head coach in 2001. The Lumberjacks (0-2), facing the highest-ranked opponent in school history, dropped to 0-9 against Big 12 teams.

No. 6 Auburn 27, Jacksonville State 20

AUBURN, ALA.

Auburn dodged an upset that would have ranked with the biggest in college football history, riding Melvin Ray’s touchdown catch in the final minute and Peyton Barber’s overtime scoring run to beat Jacksonville State. Barber, making his first start at tailback, ran for 125 yards. The most important came on his 4-yard scoring run to cap No. 6 Auburn’s first possession in OT. Troymaine Pope’s 5-yard touchdown run with 5:38 left gave the Gamecocks a 20-13 lead. Jacksonville State (1-1) lost its bid to become the first FCS team to beat a ranked FBS team since Aug. 31, 2013, when Eastern Washington beat No. 25 Oregon State 49-46.

No. 10 Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 14

NASHVILLE, TENN.

Nick Chubb ran for 189 yards, Isaiah McKenzie returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown, and Georgia beat Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Sony Michel had a 31-yard touchdown run and the Bulldogs (2-0) shook off a sluggish start that included linebacker Lorenzo Carter’s ejection for targeting and a shanked field goal.

No. 11 Florida State 34, South Florida 14

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Dalvin Cook ran for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries to help Florida State beat South Florida. Cook had the second-highest rushing total in school history and the first 200-yard game since Sammie Smith had 212 yards against Tulane in 1988. Greg Allen set the school record with 322 yards against Western Carolina in 1981.

No. 12 Clemson 41, Appalachian State 10

CLEMSON, S.C.

Deshaun Watson threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns in Clemson’s his first game since all-ACC receiver Mike Williams fractured a bone in his neck. Watson threw his first interception and Clemson managed only a field goal in its first four drivers. But Watson found his stride and perhaps a new favorite target in Charone Peake, a fifth-year senior who caught scoring passes of 24 and 59 yards. Watson hit Artavis Scott with a 41-yard TD pass in the third.

No. 15 Georgia Tech 65, Tulane 10

ATLANTA

Justin Thomas passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to help Georgia Tech romp to another dominating victory. Thomas got a chance to shine after playing only the first quarter in a 69-6 victory over Alcorn State in the opener. He threw a 17-yard scoring pass to Qua Searcy late in the first half, and hooked up with Micheal Summers on a 30-yarder in the third quarter.

No. 16 Texas A&M 56, Ball State 23

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

Kyle Allen threw for 126 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and Texas A&M rolled past Ball State. It was the perfect party to celebrate the first game after a $485 million redevelopment of Kyle Field that increased its capacity to 102,733, making it the largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference and No. 4 in the nation. A field goal by the Cardinals (1-1) on their first drive cut the lead four. The Aggies (2-0) then reeled off 42 straight points.

No. 17 Mississippi 73, Fresno State 21

OXFORD, MISS.

Chad Kelly threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns, three to Quincy Adeboyejo, in Mississippi’s victory over Fresno State. Kelly started his second straight game after winning what coach Hugh Freeze called a close quarterback race during preseason camp against Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade. He was sharp from the outset, leading the Rebels (2-0) to a 28-0 lead over the Bulldogs (1-1) after one quarter.

No. 19 Oklahoma 31, No. 23 Tennessee 24, 2OT

KNOXVILLE, TENN.

Baker Mayfield threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard in double overtime and Oklahoma beat Tennessee after overcoming a 17-point deficit. Zack Sanchez clinched Oklahoma’s victory by picking off Joshua Dobbs’ pass on Tennessee’s second overtime possession, continuing the Vols’ recent history of frustration against Top 25 foes. Oklahoma (2-0) forced overtime on Mayfield’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Shepard with 40 seconds left.

No. 21 Missouri 27, Arkansas State 20

JONESBORO, ARK.

Maty Mauk threw three touchdown passes and Missouri extended its road winning streak to 11 games, rallying in the second half to beat Arkansas State. The Tigers (2-0) haven’t lost on the road since a 59-29 loss at Texas A&M on Nov. 24, 2012.

No. 22 Arizona 44, Nevada 20

RENO, NEV.

Nick Wilson ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns and Anu Solomon passed for 264 yards and two scores for Arizona. The Wildcats (2-0) opened a 14-0 lead less than 6 minutes into the game. They went ahead 21-10 when Wilson surpassed 100 yards rushing with his second score 3:56 before the half.

Associated Press