No. 9 Tennessee escapes upset bid from Appalachian State
Jalen Hurd recovered quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ overtime fumble in the end zone and No. 9 Tennessee overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to escape with a 20-13 victory over Appalachian State on Thursday night in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Tennessee faced third-and-goal from the 2 when Dobbs ran to his right and lost control of the ball as he tried to stretch his arms across the goal line. Hurd won the scramble for the loose ball in the end zone to give the Volunteers their only lead of the night.
Micah Abernathy ended the game by breaking up a pass in the end zone on fourth-and-5 from the 20.
Tennessee’s comeback prevented Appalachian State from producing another shocker nine years to the day after the Mountaineers stunned No. 5 Michigan in one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
The Vols tied it on Dobbs’ 67-yard touchdown pass to Josh Malone with 10:30 left in regulation. Appalachian State’s Michael Rubino, who earlier missed an extra point, was wide right on a 42-yard field goal attempt with 5:24 remaining.
Rubino’s miss wasted a 57-yard punt return by Jaquil Capel that gave Appalachian State the ball at the 28.
Tennessee entered the season with its highest ranking since 2006 after winning its final six games last year, but the Volunteers looked nothing like a Top 10 team Thursday. The Volunteers committed two turnovers and lost linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin to a targeting penalty in the first half as Appalachian State built a 13-3 lead.
Cam Sutton fumbled on a punt return and Appalachian State’s Alex Gray recovered at Tennessee’s 36 to set up the first touchdown, a 5-yard keeper from Taylor Lamb barely four minutes into the game. Appalachian State’s other touchdown came in the second quarter on a 33-yard completion from Lamb to Marcus Cox, who also rushed for 115 yards.
(19) Louisville 70, Charlotte 14: Lamar Jackson accounted for a school-record eight touchdowns and 405 offensive yards by halftime to help the Cardinals dismantle the 49ers in Louisville, Kentucky, in the season opener for both teams.
Jackson broke Chris Redman’s 1998 record for combined rushing and passing TDs and he tied Redman’s mark for passing TDs. He seemed poised to add a few more before exiting without taking a snap in the second half.
He completed 17 of 23 passes for 286 yards and rushed 11 times for 119 yards, including a 36-yard TD run on Louisville’s opening drive. Louisville gained 663 yards overall.
Jackson’s performance was an impressive follow-up to his breakout freshman season in which he combined for 2,800 yards and 23 TDs – including 960 rushing to break Louisville season and career marks by a QB. His final game last season was a 453-yard, three-TD combined effort in a Music City Bowl win over Texas A&M that earned MVP honors.
That showing raised expectations for this year, and the 6-foot-3, 204-pound Jackson quickly delivered for a sellout crowd of 53,127.
Minnesota 30, Oregon State 23: Rodney Smith rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns and the Gophers overcame three ejections for targeting to defeat the Beavers in Minneapolis.
Smith scored on runs of 4 and 2 yards, the last coming in the fourth quarter to put the Gophers in front 24-23. Mitch Leidner was erratic in going 13 for 26 for 130 yards. But he rushed for 76 yard and two scores, the last a 1-yard run with 1:27 left to give the Gophers a seven-point cushion.
Utah 24, Southern Utah 0: Troy Williams threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns as the Utes opened the season with a victory over the Thunderbirds in Salt Lake City.
Fans got their first glimpse of the revamped Utah offense, which included a new full-time starter at quarterback for the first time since 2012. The Utes have new starters at every offensive skill position.
Williams showed why there is optimism throughout the program for the Santa Monica College transfer that originally signed with Washington as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. He put zip on the ball on several out routes and kept his eyes downfield while scrambling. Williams also recognized a mismatch on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tim Patrick, who used his 6-foot-5 frame to box out 6-0 cornerback Jarmaine Doubs to take a 17-0 lead just before halftime.
The Utah defense smothered its FCS opponent like it was supposed to and held Southern Utah to just 158 offensive yards.
Utah State 45, Weber State 6: Devante Mays rushed for 208 yards and scored three touchdowns in a span of 15 minutes to power the Aggies to a victory over the Wildcats in Logan, Utah, in the season-opener for both schools Thursday night.
Mays had a pair of 18-yard scoring runs in the first quarter and opened the second with a 66-yard dash for a touchdown that made it 21-0.
Weber State got on the board late in the first half when Treshawn Garrett scored from a yard out, but the two-point conversion attempt was picked off in the end zone.
LaJuan Hunt and Tonny Lindsey each ran for second-half touchdowns and Justen Hervey capped the scoring with an 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Utah State amassed 428 yards on the ground on 44 carries.
Garrett led the Wildcats with 96 yards on 22 carries, but Weber State managed just 108 yards on 41 carries.
Stony Brook 13, North Dakota 9: Gavin Hislop blocked an Austin Dussold punt and Kyle Morgan returned it 7 yards for a touchdown to give the Seawolves a win over the Fighting Hawks in a season opener in Stony Brook, New York.
North Dakota took the lead on John Santiago’s 16-yard run early in the second quarter, but the Seawolves answered on Cal Daniels’ scoring run with 4:50 left in the first half.
The Fighting Hawks regained the lead early in the third quarter when they stopped Stacey Bedell in the end zone for a safety and a 9-7 advantage.
The teams played to an essential draw offensively, with each side having roughly the same time of possession. Stony Brook had a slight edge in total yards, 221-177 and earned 13 first downs to the Hawks’ 12. Each team committed a pair of turnovers.
The victory was the first for Stony Brook in four games against North Dakota.