No. 1 Clemson 41, Syracuse 6

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was forced to be a spectator a year ago when a hard hit to the helmet knocked him out in the second quarter of his first college start. This time he left in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

Lawrence threw for a career-high 395 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another, and top-ranked Clemson smothered nemesis Syracuse on Saturday night.

"It felt good. It felt good to be able to finish," said Lawrence, who scored untouched from a yard out after a nifty fake to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Anytime you win a game like that, convincingly, it's just awesome."

Clemson (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won 18 straight games, a school record and the longest streak in the nation. It's the second-longest winning streak by an ACC member in conference history, trailing a 29-game run by Florida State from 2012-14.

Syracuse (1-2, 0-1), the last team to defeat Clemson in the regular season, was unbeaten at home last fall. The Orange were coming off a 43-point loss at Maryland that dropped them out of the rankings.

"We didn't score enough points to really make it a game, and that's always something we've been able to do against them," Orange coach Dino Babers said. "When you're playing somebody that hasn't lost a bunch of games, you've got to have a clean game. I thought the defense played well enough to make it a game."

The offense didn't. Clemson limited Syracuse to 187 yards and sacked Orange quarterback Tommy DeVito eight times. Clemson finished with 15 tackles for losses of 71 yards as it won its eighth straight true road game and avenged a 27-24 loss to Syracuse two years ago.

"This is a big, big win for us," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "The defense tonight I thought was amazing. It all starts up front. We lost a lot of players, but we've just got some guys around here that can play."

Lawrence, who threw on the run when he had to, finished 22 of 39 with two interceptions. Clemson finished with 612 yards offensively.

"We've got a good group," Swinney said. "They're just going to get better. They've accepted the challenge. We've got three wins. That's where we wanted to be. We're a hungry team."

Clemson took a 7-0 lead on its second possession with Lawrence methodically driving the Tigers 79 yards in just seven plays. He completed four passes for 54 yards, mixing in a 9-yard gain on a keeper and finishing it with a 16-yard strike into the end zone to Amari Rodgers with standout Orange safety Andre Cisco out of position.

The Tigers boosted the lead to 14-0 on Lawrence's 1-yard keeper after a 35-yard completion on the run to Tee Higgins in double coverage and a personal foul against the Orange put the Tigers deep in Syracuse territory.

Unlike his predecessor, dual-threat Eric Dungey, Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito likes to set up in the pocket but didn't have time as the Clemson defense repeatedly pressured him in his third college start. The Orange were held without a first down in the opening quarter.

"We just hurt ourselves," said DeVito, who was 15 of 27 for 172 yards with one interception. "We didn't put points on the board. That's unacceptable."

DeVito was sacked six times in the first half and had to throw on the run all night. He did duck low to avoid the pass rush and hit tight end Luke Benson for 24 yards to set up Andre Szmyt's 29-yard field goal early in the second to get the Orange on the board.

The Carrier Dome was sold out for the first time in 21 years, but the homecoming crowd of 50,248, the third-largest since the building opened in 1980, wasn't much of a factor as the Orange fell behind. When DeVito hit Moe Neal out of the backfield for a 50-yard catch-and-run down the right side and connected with Neal again on the next play for 17 more to move the ball inside the Clemson 10-yard line, the Dome came alive. But the Orange couldn't solve that defense, had to settle for Szmyt's 23-yard field goal, and trailed 17-6 at the half.

Syracuse had two terrific chances to get back in the game in the third and failed both times, prompting many fans to head for the exits.

Chris Fredrick intercepted Lawrence and returned the ball 20 yards to the Clemson 9, but DeVito was forced out of the pocket on the next play and his pass on the run was intercepted by Mario Goodrich at the 4. Three plays later, Rodgers caught a swing pass out to the right, averted two tackles, and went 87 yards for a score. The play was reviewed as Rodgers appeared to be barely out of bounds on the replay, but it was allowed to stand.

Trill Williams intercepted Lawrence late in the period and returned it 53 yards to the Clemson 3, but the Orange were unable to punch it in and turned the ball over on downs when DeVito was stopped on fourth down.

Higgins had seven catches for 150 yards, all in the first half, outgaining the Syracuse offense by 16 yards in the first two quarters.

DeVito lost 42 yards rushing, mostly on the sacks, and four other runners for the Orange managed just 69 yards on 27 carries.

Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons had a game-high 11 tackles, including two sacks among his 3.5 tackles for a loss, and the outcome was exactly what he was looking for.

"Of course we want to dominate the ACC," Simmons said. "I felt there was a lack of respect coming from them. It seems like they put everything they had into beating us with all their hype videos and making our game homecoming and they sell out the stadium. You can't have a good program and do that. You've just got to treat every opponent the same way, like it's a nameless opponent, and prepare like everyone. We play every week like it's for a national championship. That's the way it has to be. You can't dwell on the past. You can't look forward to next week. You just have to go week by week."

No. 2 Alabama 47, South Carolina 23

Tua Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 444 yards and tied his personal best with five touchdowns to help Alabama open Southeastern Conference play with a victory over South Carolina.

Coach Nick Saban improved to 12-1 at Alabama in SEC openers and wiped away some bad memories of his last visit to Williams-Brice Stadium nine years ago.

Tagovailoa and his receivers quickly got the Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0) rolling with first-quarter TD passes of 24 yards to Najee Harris and 81 yards to Henry Ruggs III. Whenever the Gamecocks (1-2, 0-1) drew within range, Tagovailoa came right back to restore Alabama's edge.

Harris added a 42-yard catch-and-run score where he broke two tackles and leaped over defensive back R.J. Roderick on the way to the end zone. DeVonta Smith caught Tagovailoa's last TD pass, also for 42 yards.

Saban reminded his players, about all who were in middle or elementary school in 2010, of the Tides' previous game here when the top-ranked Tide were soundly beaten 35-21.

Smith and Ruggs both surpassed 100 yards receiving. Smith had 136 yards on eight catches, including two TDs. Ruggs had six catches for 122 yards.

No. 3 Georgia 55, Arkansas State 0

Jake Fromm threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns before taking the rest of the day off, and Georgia's defense turned in a dominating performance.

With thousands of Georgia fans wearing pink instead of red to honor Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson's wife, Wendy, who died last month from breast cancer, the Bulldogs (3-0) took control as soon as they got their hands on the ball. They scored on six of seven possessions in the first half, building a 34-0 lead.

The Georgia defense was equally stout, posting its first shutout since the 2018 opener. The Red Wolves (1-2) went three-and-out four times in the first half and crossed midfield only once, settling for a 50-yard field goal try that faded wide right.

The Bulldogs went to the locker room with a 382-81 edge in total yards, and many of the fans didn't bother coming back to watch the final two quarters. Georgia finished with 656 yards total while holding the visitors to just 220.

No. 4 LSU 65, Northwestern State 14

Joe Burrow completed 21 of 24 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns, and LSU pulled away from Northwestern State in the second half.

Burrow has played through the third quarter only once in three games because of lopsided scores. He's 75 of 90 (83.3 percent) passing for 1,122 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

Burrow also ran for 30 yards and a touchdown against Northwestern State (0-3), an FCS team that was surprisingly competitive in the first half before the Tigers (3-0) dominated the third quarter.

In leading LSU to the 800th victory in the program's 126-year history, Burrow also became just the school's sixth quarterback to throw for 300 or more yards in consecutive games. Only Rohan Davey did it three times in a row, a mark Burrow can match next weekend.

No. 5 Oklahoma 48, UCLA 14

Jalen Hurts racked up 439 scrimmage yards, became the first Oklahoma quarterback to pass for 200 yards and rush for 100 in the first half and directed the Sooners to scores on their first six drives.

The graduate transfer from Alabama completed 15 of 20 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns and ran 14 times for 150 yards and a score. CeeDee Lamb and Charleston Rambo each had two touchdowns to help the Sooners (3-0) win their 21st straight true road game. That is tied with Alabama (1970-75) the second-longest away streak after World War II.

UCLA drops to 0-3 for the second straight lead and has lost 12 of 15 games under second-year coach Chip Kelly. Dorian Thompson-Robinson passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

No. 6 Ohio State 51, Indiana 10

J.K. Dobbins ran for 193 yards and scored twice, Justin Fields threw three touchdown passes and Ohio State routed Indiana.

The Buckeyes (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) have won each of their first three games by at least 24 points and extended their winning streak in the series to 24, dating to a tie in 1990. Ohio State hasn't lost to Indiana since 1988. And with Peyton Ramsey starting at quarterback in place of the injured Michael Penix Jr., the Hoosiers (2-1, 0-1) never had a chance.

Fields was 14 of 24 for 193 yards.

No. 7 Notre Dame 66, New Mexico 14

Ian Book threw a career-high five touchdown passes and Notre Dame's defense came up with three first-half interceptions in its final tuneup before a showdown at No. 3 Georgia.

Book rebounded from a lackluster opening performance in a 35-17 victory at Louisville to complete 15 of 24 passes for 360 yards. Book finished with another 46 yards rushing yards and a 1-yard TD.

The Fighting Irish (2-0) had their way with the Lobos (1-1), who were without head coach Bob Davie. Saga Tuitele acted as head coach for Davie, the former Irish head coach from 1997-2001 who was hospitalized following New Mexico's opening victory over Sam Houston State.

No. 8 Auburn 55, Kent State 16

JaTarvious Whitlow rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and Bo Nix ran and passed for scores to lead Auburn.

The Tigers (3-0) piled up 467 rushing yards — and three 100-yard rushers — in their final tune up before Southeastern Conference play. They also got some big plays running and passing from Nix, including a 49-yard flea flicker to Eli Stove for a touchdown in the third quarter. Then both offensive stars were able to head to the sideline after the Tigers avoided a pre-SEC letdown against the Golden Flashes (1-2).

Nix had runs of 17 and 18 yards on consecutive plays to set up a touchdown on the opening drive and added a 1-yard score. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 161 yards for an offense that topped its combined points from the first two games. Backup quarterback Joey Gatewood ran for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Shaun Shivers, Auburn's 5-foot-7, 179-pound running back, also gained 102 yards. It was the first time Auburn had three 100-yard rushers in a game since 1983.

No. 9 Florida 29, Kentucky 21

Kyle Trask relieved an injured Feleipe Franks and rallied Florida with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, including a go-ahead, 4-yard scoring run with 4:11 remaining.

Franks, the Gators' third-year starter, was carted off with a right leg injury late in the third quarter with his team trailing 21-10. Stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the Kentucky 38, Franks appeared to bend backward on the play. Medical personnel placed an inflatable cast under his right leg.

Trask entered and led Florida (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) on a 62-yard drive, ending with Lamical Perine's 8-yard TD run to get the Gators to 21-16. Shawn Davis's interception with 6:05 to go gave the Gators another opportunity, and Trask capitalized with his go-ahead touchdown.

The two-point conversion failed, though, and Kentucky (2-1, 0-1) had a final chance to regain the lead. But Chance Poore's 35-yard field-goal attempt with 54 seconds left was wide right, and Josh Hammond's 76-yard TD run three plays later helped Florida avenge last year's loss in Gainesville.

No. 11 Utah 31, Idaho State 0

Tyler Huntley threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns and Zach Moss ran for 106 yards and another score in Utah's victory over Idaho State.

In the first quarter, Moss passed Tony Lindsay for second place on Utah's career rushing yards list. His 1-yard scoring plunge later in the quarter moved him into the No. 2 spot by himself in career rushing touchdowns at 27. On just 10 carries, Moss also recorded his 13th 100-yard rushing performance with 10:05 still left in the second quarter.

Huntley completed 15 of 19 passes before leaving in the third quarter as Utah moved to 3-0 for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Idaho State is 1-1.

No. 12 Texas 48, Rice 13

Sam Ehlinger threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Jake Smith caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns and Texas beat Rice.

Ehlinger threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Roschon Johnson to cap the opening drive before throwing touchdown passes of 53 yards and 12 yards to Smith in the first half. Ehlinger finished 23 of 27 passing in less than three quarters.

Keaontay Ingraham rushed for 74 yards and had touchdown runs of 26 yards and 14 yards. Cameron Dicker nailed a career-long 57-yard field goal a minute before halftime to push Texas' lead to 31-0. D’Shawn Jamison put the icing on the win for Texas with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with a minute left.

Texas (2-1) outgained Rice (0-3) 509-266 after losing at home last week to LSU.

No. 13 Penn State 17, Pittsburgh 10

Journey Brown ran for 109 yards and a touchdown and Penn State held off Pittsburgh in their 100th meeting.

Pitt opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal at the Penn State 1 trailing by a touchdown with less than 4 minutes to go. Alex Kessman's 19-yard attempt clanked off the upright and the Nittany Lions (3-0) later turned away Pitt's last-ditch possession to win their third straight in the series since it was renewed in 2016.

Noah Cain's 13-yard third-quarter sprint to the end zone gave Penn State the lead for good. Sean Clifford completed 14 of 30 passes for 222 yards. Kenny Pickett threw for a career-high 372 yards for Pitt (1-2).

No. 15 Oregon 35, Montana 3

Justin Herbert threw for 316 yards and five touchdowns in Oregon's victory over Montana, the Ducks' final tuneup before opening Pac-12 play at Stanford next week.

Jacob Breeland and Johnny Johnson III each caught a pair of touchdowns for the Ducks (2-1), who won their 25th straight nonconference game at Autzen Stadium.

Herbert has thrown for a touchdown in 31 straight games, the longest current streak in the nation. It was his fifth career five-touchdown game, most by an Oregon quarterback. Marcus Mariota had four.

Fifth-year senior Dalton Sneed threw for 184 yards for FCS-level Montana (2-1), which avoided its first shutout since 1988 with Brandon Purdy's 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

Oregon was coming off a 77-6 rout of Nevada that helped get the team back on track after a disappointing loss to Auburn in the season opener. Herbert also threw five TDs against the Wolf Pack and now has 11 for the season.

No. 16 Texas A&M 62, Lamar 3

Freshman Isaiah Spiller ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns and Kellen Mond threw for 317 yards with a touchdown pass and a run in three quarters to lead Texas A&M.

Spiller shined in the first game since Jashaun Corbin sustained a season-ending hamstring injury last week at Clemson, running for touchdowns of 1 and 34 yards. Mond was 20 of 28 with an interception.

The Aggies (2-1) led 27-0 at halftime but Mond tried to throw in between two defenders on his first drive of the third quarter and was intercepted by Cameron Hayes. But the Cardinals (2-1) couldn't get anything going on offense and had to punt. Mond found Jhamon Ausbon, who had 109 yards receiving, for a 26-yard catch to get the next drive going and Spiller capped it with a 34-yard run to make it 34-0.

No. 17 UCF 45, Stanford 27

Freshman Dillon Gabriel threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns in his second college start, leading UCF past Stanford.

The Knights (3-0) scored on six of seven possessions, building a 31-point halftime lead in what was expected to be a much tougher test for the two-time defending American Athletic Conference champions, who won their first two games by a combined score of 110-14 against Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic.

Gabriel completed 22 of 30 passes, including TD throws of 28 yards to Marlon Williams, 38 yards to Tre Nixon, 38 yards to Gabriel Davis and 1-yard to Jake Hescook. Greg McCrae rushed for109 yards and one touchdown for UCF, which has won 25 consecutive regular-season games.

Stanford (1-2) allowed four TDs in the opening quarter and 413 yards total offense in the first half alone.

No. 19 Iowa 18, Iowa State 17

Nate Stanley threw for 201 yards and ran for a score, and Iowa made a big fourth-down stop, allowing the Hawkeyes to beat Iowa State for the fifth straight time.

Keith Duncan kicked four field goals for the Hawkeyes (3-0), who also improved to 4-0 against Iowa State coach Matt Campbell in a game delayed nearly three hours because of lightning.

Trailing 18-17 in the closing minutes, Iowa State (1-1) drove to the Iowa 34 before a false start, a slip by quarterback Brock Purdy and an incompletion brought up fourth-and-13. The Cyclones went for it and, after offsetting penalties led to a do-over, Purdy overthrew Deshaunte Jones near the end zone.

No. 22 Boise State 45, Portland State 10

John Hightower returned a kickoff for a touchdown and caught another, and Hank Bachmeier threw for 238 yards as Boise State beat Portland State.

Boise State (3-0), which was playing only its third FCS opponent since 2010, used its big-play offense to bury an outmatched Vikings squad. The Broncos had 11 plays from scrimmage go for 20 yards or more, including three touchdowns.

Portland State (1-2), which played Arkansas tough in a 20-13 loss in the Vikings' season opener, racked up 159 yards in the first quarter but only 85 over the final three.

Boise State has yet to allow any points in the second half, joining Wisconsin as the only two schools to still hold that distinction this season. In the Broncos' dominant defensive performance, Curtis Weaver tied a single-game school record with four sacks.

No. 23 Washington 52, Hawaii 20

Jacob Eason threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Bryant on the third play of the game and added two more and Washington rebounded from a loss beat Hawaii.

Eason and the Huskies (2-1) overwhelmed the Rainbow Warriors, taking a 21-0 lead in less than 9 minutes. Eason was 18 of 25 for 262 yards, Richard Newton had three short TD runs, and Washington quickly bounced back from last week's 20-19 home loss to California in its Pac-12 opener.

Hawaii (2-1) was looking to beat three Pac-12 opponents in a season for the first time in school history. The Warriors opened with wins over Arizona and Oregon State at home.

BYU 30, No. 24 Southern California 27 (OT)

Dayan Ghanwoloku intercepted a tipped pass in overtime after Jake Oldroyd kicked a 43-yard field to give BYU the lead, and the Cougars beat Southern California for second straight OT victory over a traditional power program.

Zach Wilson threw for 280 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score for BYU (2-1), which won at Tennessee last week. Ty'Son Williams added 99 yards on 19 carries.

Kedon Slovis threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns for USC (2-1), but was picked off three times, including on the final play of the game.

No. 25 Virginia 31, Florida State 24

Wayne Taulapapa ran for three touchdowns, the second with 2:34 remaining, and Virginia hung on to beat Florida State.

The Cavaliers (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed for much of the night and looked to have blown their chance when Brian Delaney missed a tying extra point with 6:02 to play. A three-and-out by the Seminoles and a six-play, 72-yard Virginia drive capped by Taulapapa's 2-yard run gave them the lead. The Cavaliers went for two and Bryce Perkins was intent on passing, but when the Seminoles applied pressure in the backfield, he scrambled away from it and finally slithered through the defense and converted for the points.

The Seminoles (1-2, 0-1) drove to the Virginia 4 for the final play of the game, helped by four 15-yard penalty calls against the Cavaliers, but with no timeouts remaining and both teams scrambling to line up, a run attempt by Cam Akers that just beat the final gun was stopped when De'Vante Cross slowed him and Bryce Hall finished him off.