TOP 25
OLD DOMINION 49, NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 35
NORFOLK, Va. -- Blake LaRussa came off the bench to throw for 495 yards and four touchdowns to lead Old Dominion to a 49-35 upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech on Saturday in the Hokies' first game at the cross-state school that restarted its football program in 2009.
LaRussa, who entered the game on ODU's second series, completed 30 of 49 and rushed for a touchdown to lead the 28½-point underdog Monarchs (1-3) to a stunning victory over the Hokies (2-1) from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Jeremy Cox's 40-yard touchdown run with 1:34 remaining sealed the biggest victory in program history. After the game, the ODU faithful stormed the field.
The Hokies (2-1) led 28-21 after a 72-yard touchdown pass from Josh Jackson to Damon Hazelton with 32 seconds left in the third quarter, but ODU scored on its next two possessions, taking a 35-28 lead on a 15-yard touchdown run by Cox with 9:57 to go -- the Monarchs first lead of the game.
Things got worse for Virginia Tech, as Jackson went down with a lower leg injury on the first play of the ensuing drive. Backup quarterback Ryan Willis led the Hokies on a 75-yard march that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Cunningham with 7:15 remaining, tying the game at 35.
But the Hokies simply had no answer for ODU. LaRussa polished off a 75-yard drive with a beautiful 29-yard fade pattern to Jonathan Duhart for a touchdown with 5:11 left that was the game winner.
Led by LaRussa and Cox, ODU finished with 632 yards of offense against a Virginia Tech team that has prided itself on defense for decades under coordinator Bud Foster. Cox rushed for 130 yards.
Steven Peoples paced the Hokies with a career-high 156 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jackson threw two touchdown passes before leaving with the injury.
NO. 3 CLEMSON 49, GEORGIA TECH 21
ATLANTA -- Freshman Trevor Lawrence took a leading role in Clemson's quarterback rotation, coming off the bench to throw four touchdown passes as the No. 3 Tigers produced their most complete performance of the season in a rout of Georgia Tech.
Lawrence, a native of nearby Cartersville, quickly guided the Tigers on a seven-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow that made it 14-0.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 49, TULANE 6
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Dwayne Haskins Jr. threw for 304 yards and five touchdowns in the first half and No. 4 Ohio State routed Tulane to mark Coach Urban Meyer's return to the sideline following a three-game suspension.
Haskins was nearly flawless, completing his first nine passes on the way to a 21-for-24 effort before giving way to backup Tate Martell in the second half as the No. 4 Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) backed off the gas and cruised.
NO. 5 OKLAHOMA 28, ARMY 21, OT
NORMAN, Okla. -- Kyler Murray threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in overtime, and Parnell Motley intercepted Kelvin Hopkins' fourth-down pass to help No. 5 Oklahoma escape with a victory over Army.
Kenneth Murray had a school-record 28 tackles for the Sooners (4-0).
Army had the ball for 44:41 and ran 87 plays to Oklahoma's 40.
NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 56, WAKE FOREST 27
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Ian Book rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two more, and No. 8 Notre Dame beat Wake Forest.
Book replaced Brandon Wimbush in the starting lineup and was 25 of 34 for 325 yards with touchdown passes covering 3 yards to Brock Wright and 7 yards to Chase Claypool, along with three short scoring runs.
NO. 12 WEST VIRGINIA 35, KANSAS STATE 6
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Will Grier threw five touchdown passes for the fifth time in his career and No. 12 West Virginia shook off a sloppy start to drill Kansas State.
Grier finished 25 of 35 for 356 yards and the five scores, three of them to David Sills, and two interceptions as the Mountaineers (3-0) had little trouble against the punchless Wildcats (2-2).
TEXAS 31, NO. 17 TCU 16
AUSTIN, Texas -- Sam Ehlinger passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score, all in the second half, and Texas ended a four-game losing streak to No. 17 TCU with a victory in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Texas (3-1) had been outscored 153-33 the last four years by TCU and trailed 16-10 before the defense forced three turnovers by quarterback Shawn Robinson in the third quarter.
NO. 19 MICHIGAN 56, NEBRASKA 10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Karan Higdon ran for 136 yards and a touchdown in the first half to help No. 19 Michigan build a huge lead and it coasted to a victory over Nebraska.
Michigan rested Higdon, who missed the previous game with an injury, in the second half. Quarterback Shea Patterson played only the first series of the second half, giving Dylan McCaffrey an extended opportunity to play. Patterson was 15 of 22 for 120 yards with a 5-yard TD pass to Zach Gentry midway through the second quarter that put the Wolverines ahead 30-0.
NO. 21 MIAMI 31, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- N'Kosi Perry came off the bench to throw three touchdown passes, and Miami's defense was airtight for most of the day in the 21st-ranked Hurricanes' victory over Florida International.
Travis Homer rushed 13 times for 114 yards and a touchdown, Lawrence Cager caught two scoring passes, and Miami held FIU to 31 yards on its first 10 possessions.
PURDUE 30, NO. 23 BOSTON COLLEGE 13
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Rondale Moore caught two touchdown passes and Purdue picked off four passes, beating No. 23 Boston College.
David Blough passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns for the Boilermakers (1-3), who had opened what was expected to be a promising the season with three consecutive close losses.
NO. 25 BYU 30, MCNEESE STATE 3
PROVO, Utah -- Freshmen Lopini Katoa ran for two touchdowns, Skyler Southam kicked three field goals and No. 25 BYU took advantage of McNeese State's second-quarter mistakes.
Coming off an upset victory at Wisconsin, the Cougars (3-1) easily pushed aside McNeese State (3-1) for their 12th victory over an FCS school in the last 30 years.
Sports on 09/23/2018