COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Julian Sayin had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State got a couple of key stops in the red zone and the third-ranked Buckeyes opened the defense of their national championship with a 14-7 victory over top-ranked Texas. It was the fourth time the No. 1 team in the AP preseason poll has met the previous season’s national champion in the opener. The defending champ has won the last three. Arch Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Longhorns.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers. Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer. Students and fans swarmed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate the upset by the Seminoles, who were 13 1/2-point underdogs according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Florida State was physical from the start, racking up 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Garrett Nussmeier threw a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown pass to Trey’Dez Green in the fourth quarter, and No. 9 LSU rallied to beat fourth-ranked Clemson 17-10 Saturday night for its first season-opening win since 2019 when Joe Burrow led the Tigers to an undefeated season and a national championship. Nussmeier, who eclipsed 4,000 yards passing in his first year as a starter in 2024 after biding his time behind Jaylen Daniels, got better as game wore on throwing for 134 of his 230 yards in the second half while leading two touchdown drives. Caden Durham ran for 74 yards and a touchdown for LSU.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Arch Manning struggled under the weight of heady expectations for three quarters against Ohio State. He nearly led Texas back in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Longhorns lost to the third-ranked Buckeyes 14-7. Manning accounted for 208 yards of total offense. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception along with 10 rushing attempts for 38 yards. After Texas fell behind 14-0, he completed 8 of 15 for 132 yards and a touchdown, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to Parker Livingstone in the fourth quarter.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Gunner Stockton enjoyed a promising start to his first full season as No. 5 Georgia’s starting quarterback. He ran for two touchdowns and added two scoring passes as the Bulldogs rolled past Marshall 45-7 in their season opener on Saturday. Stockton had scoring runs of 13 and 11 yards. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 190 yards and ran for 73 yards. Zachariah Branch, a transfer from Southern California, had three catches for 95 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. Stockton added a 2-yard scoring pass to London Humphreys. JacQai Long started at quarterback for Marshall, which is rebuilding under coach Tony Gibson.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — John Mateer passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns in his first game at Oklahoma. The 18th-ranked Sooners beat Illinois State 35-3. Mateer, a transfer from Washington State, set a school record for most yards passing in an Oklahoma debut. Keontez Lewis, a transfer from Southern Illinois, had nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Oklahoma gained 495 yards in Ben Arbuckle's first game as offensive coordinator. The Sooners allowed just 151 total yards, including 34 yards passing, with head coach Brent Venables as the defensive playcaller.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Marcel Reed threw for a career-high four touchdowns, and KC Conception had a TD reception and returned a punt for another score in his Texas A&M debut as the 19th-ranked Aggies pulled away in the third and rolled to a 42-24 win over UTSA. Robert Henry Jr.’s 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half cut the lead to 21-17. But Reed threw a 1-yard touchdown pass on fourth down on the next drive before adding a 22-yard scoring throw on the following possession to extend the lead to 35-17 late in the third.
ATLANTA (AP) — Joey Aguilar passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 24 Tennessee held off Syracuse for a 45-26 win. Aguilar was 16-for-28 passing in his first game with the Volunteers. He threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Staley in the second quarter and found Star Thomas for a 7-yard TD in the third. He also helped close out the win when he passed to Miles Kitselman for a 2-yard TD in the fourth. Star Thomas had 92 yards on 12 carries for Tennessee, which opened a 38-14 lead in the third. DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis each rushed for a TD. Tennessee rolled to 493 yards of offense, compared to 377 for Syracuse.
