No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 11 Florida 29

Bryce Young’s first collegiate road start was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped top-ranked Alabama hold off Florida in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday. 

The defending national champion Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0) stopped a 2-point conversion with 3:10 left and extended its winning streak to 17, making it 32 in a row against teams from the SEC’s Eastern Division.

The Gators (2-1, 0-1) have dropped eight straight in the series and fell to 0-5 against No. 1-ranked teams at Florida Field.

This one was closer than oddsmakers and just about everyone else expected, with 14 1/2-point underdog Florida having a chance to tie the game in the closing minutes despite playing without dynamic backup quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Coach Dan Mullen held Richardson out as a precaution because of a strained right hamstring and said he would only be available in case of an emergency.

That never became the case even though the Gators trailed 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. Young built the lead with TD passes to Jase McClellan, Jahleel Billingsley and Brian Johnson.

The Gators rallied and were in position to tie late. Dameon Pierce capped a 75-yard drive with a 17-yard run that made it 31-29. But fellow running back Malik Davis failed to get the 3 yards needed on the 2-point conversion.

No. 3 Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 16

Spencer Rattler passed for a touchdown and ran for another and Oklahoma held on to beat Nebraska.

Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the “Game of the Century” — No. 1 Nebraska’s 35-31 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in 1971 — the teams rewarded their nostalgic fans with a competitive contest.

In the first meeting between the former conference rivals since 2010, Nebraska got the ball trailing by a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Cornhuskers could not manage a first down.

Eric Gray ran for 84 yards on 15 carries and Kennedy Brooks added 75 yards on 14 attempts for the Sooners (3-0).

Adrian Martinez passed for 289 yards and a touchdown for Nebraska (2-2), which was seeking its first win over a ranked team since 2015.

No. 5 Iowa 30, Kent St. 7

Tyler Goodson ran for a career-high 153 yards and three touchdowns and Iowa beat Kent State.

The Hawkeyes (3-0) have won nine straight games. They have won 14th consecutive nonconference games, the second-longest current streak in the nation.

Goodson had a 46-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give Iowa a 9-0 lead, then added a 35-yard scoring run in the third quarter. He had a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.

The Hawkeyes’ defense got a first-quarter safety when Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum was sacked in the end zone after a bad snap. Crum was 16-of-23 passing for 185 yards and was sacked seven times. Kent State is 1-2.

No. 6 Clemson 14, Georgia Tech 8

Will Shipley ran for two touchdowns and Clemson had a goal-line stand in the final seconds in wild victory over Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a chance to force overtime after recovering an onside kick with 1:19 to play. But they were held out of the end zone on four plays from the Clemson 2 in the closing seconds — the last when linebacker James Skalski tackled Dylan Deveney a yard short.

The chaos continued, though, when Shipley fumbled in the end zone with Clemson (2-1, 1-0) attempting to run out the clock and was tackled after recovering for a safety with seven seconds left.

The Tigers kicked the ball away and Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates' last ditch throw with 3 seconds left was ruled an incomplete forward pass, ending the game.

The game was delayed nearly two hours just before the half because of the threat of lightning around Memorial Stadium.

No. 7 Texas A&M 34, New Mexico 0

Zach Calzada threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start. The victory extends A&M’s winning streak to 11 games and gives the Aggies a 3-0 start for the first time since opening the 2016 season with six consecutive wins.

Calzada was thrust into the job last weekend against Colorado when Haynes King was injured on A&M’s second possession. King had surgery this week to repair a broken right leg, leaving Calzada to run the offense.

Calzada looked more comfortable, and the Aggies moved the ball much better Saturday than last week while scoring just 10 points in a win over the Buffaloes. They eclipsed their total points from that game in the first six minutes of this one and built a 24-point lead by halftime.

Terry Wilson, a transfer from Kentucky who had 559 yards passing in the first two games, threw for just 33 yards Saturday for New Mexico (2-1) while being hurried and harassed all day.

No. 8 Cincinnati 38, Indiana 24

Desmond Ridder threw the go-ahead touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then scored on a 7-yard TD run. Jerome Ford ran for two scores and Tre Tucker scored on a 99-yard kickoff return as the Bearcats (3-0) won their first road game of the season. They’ve won 12 of 13 since the start of 2020.

Indiana (1-2) lost despite taking a 14-0 lead — and playing in front of its largest crowd for a non-conference game since September 1987.

The turning point came when starting linebacker Micah McFadden was ejected for targeting late in the first half. The Bearcats, who struggled to move the ball, scored 10 points in the final 93 seconds of the first half and finally took the lead on Ford’s 3-yard TD run in the third quarter.

The Hoosiers regained the lead on D.J. Matthews Jr.’s 14-yard scoring run then gave it right back on the kickoff return. A missed extra point opened the door for Indiana, and the Hoosiers grabbed a 24-23 advantage on Charles Campbell’s 49-yard field goal late in the third.

Then Ridder got hot. He made it 30-24 with the scoring throw to Pierce before the scoring run and a successful 2-point conversion pass.

No. 9 Ohio St. 41, Tulsa 20

TreVeyon Henderson broke Archie Griffin’s 49-year-old freshman rushing record, romping for 277 yards and three touchdowns to help Ohio State beat Tulsa.

Henderson scored on runs of 5, 48 and 52 yards, which managed to paper over some of the same weaknesses Ohio State showed in a 32-25 loss to Oregon last week that sent the Buckeyes tumbling in the AP Top 25 poll.

As a team, the Buckeyes (2-1) were not sharp. But Tulsa (0-3) couldn’t match them blow for blow, and Henderson, who ran for 69 yards in the first two games combined, broke through with some huge plays at critical times. A late interception that Cameron Martinez returned for a 61-yard touchdown made the score look worse than it was for the persistent Golden Hurricane.

No. 12 Notre Dame 27, Purdue 13

Kyren Williams had two long touchdown plays, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05 remaining, and Notre Dame held off Purdue for its 26th straight victory at home.

The victory was the 105th in Brian Kelly’s 12-year career at Notre Dame, tying him with Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in school history. The Fighting Irish won their eighth straight over Purdue and first since 2014.

Williams, who scored on a fourth-and-3 pass play of 39 yards from Jack Coan early in the second quarter to give the Irish their first lead 7-3, finished with 86 yards on 11 carries and two receptions for 47 yards.

Coan, who was sacked four times and struggled with his accuracy, completed 15 of 31 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He connected on a 62-yarder to Avery Davis in the third quarter that put the Irish up 17-6. Davis led the Irish in receptions with five for 120 yards.

The Boilermakers (2-1) outgained the Irish 348-343 thanks to a 291-223 edge through the air and got their only touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Jack Plummer to Milton Wright in the third quarter.

West Virginia 27, No. 15 Virginia Tech 21

Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes, Leddie Brown rushed for 106 yards and a score and West Virginia survived Virginia Tech’s furious rally from a 20-point deficit.

The Mountaineers (2-1) built a 27-7-point lead midway through the third quarter but saw that mostly evaporate due to Virginia Tech’s Braxton Burmeister.

Burmeister threw for two scores, including a 29-yard toss to Jalen Holston with 3:10 left. Virginia Tech got the ball back with 2:11 remaining on Jermaine Waller’s interception of Doege at the West Virginia 17, but Burmeister threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the 3 and West Virginia ran out the clock.

It was one of three Virginia Tech (2-1) drives that stalled inside the West Virginia 10, with the Hokies coming away with no points.

No. 16 Coastal Carolina 28, Buffalo 25

Grayson McCall threw for three touchdowns, Shermari Jones ran for 149 yards and another score.

McCall, who entered the day leading the nation in passing efficiency and completion rate, was 13 of 19 for 232 yards with his first interception of the season. Jaivon Heiligh caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown for the Chanticleers (3-0), becoming the fourth receiver in school history to surpass 2,000 career yards.

Buffalo (1-2) got within a field goal with 2:41 remaining. Kevin Marks’ 7-yard touchdown run capped a 92-yard drive that started when Logic Hudgens intercepted McCall in the end zone. But the Chanticleers held on.

No. 20 Arkansas 45, Georgia Southern 10

KJ Jefferson threw for a career-high 366 yards and tied a career high with three touchdowns to lead Arkansas past Georgia Southern.

Arkansas all but ended it on a 91-yard pass from Jefferson to preseason All-SEC wide receiver Treylon Burks with 11:18 left in the third quarter. It was Jefferson’s final touchdown pass of the game and gave Arkansas a 38-10 lead.

The Razorbacks (3-0) led 14-0 after touchdown runs from Trelon Smith on the first drive and Dominique Johnson on the second.

Georgia Southern is 1-2.

Michigan St. 38, No. 24 Miami 17

Payton Thorne passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns, two of those scoring throws going to Jalen Nailor.

Kenneth Walker III rushed for 172 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Spartans (3-0), who are off to their best start since 2015. Jayden Reed also had a scoring catch and a touchdown run for Michigan State, which forced Miami quarterback D’Eriq King into four turnovers.

King was 38 of 59 — both of them Miami (1-3) school records — for 388 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Charleston Rambo tied a school record with 12 catches for Miami, good for 156 yards and both of the Hurricanes’ touchdowns.

No. 25 Michigan 63, N. Illinois 10

Blake Corum rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns. The Wolverines (3-0) scored touchdowns on their first nine drives, eight of them on the ground. The 10th drive also included a touchdown run, but it was called back for a holding penalty and Michigan turned the ball over on downs. The Wolverines never punted.

The Huskies (1-2) kicked a field goal on their second possession of the game, but it was already clear they were in major trouble. Michigan scored short rushing touchdowns on its first four possessions, two by Hassan Haskins, to take a 28-3 lead in the second quarter.

The Wolverines changed up a bit on the fifth possession, scoring on an 87-yard pass from Cade McNamara to Cornelius Johnson — the third-longest passing play in school history — to lead 35-3 at the half.