CFB roundup: Michigan hands USC its 1st Big Ten loss

Kalel Mullings rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead score on fourth down with 37 seconds remaining, and No. 18 Michigan held off No. 11 Southern California, 27-24, on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Trailing for the first time all game after USC quarterback Miller Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane for a 24-touchdown strike that put the Trojans ahead 24-20, Michigan (3-1, 1-0) leaned on Mullings to jumpstart its sputtering offense.

The Wolverines had not scored on offense in the second half; 5 of their 6 drives ended in punts, and in the other drive, they lost a fumble that set up the Trojans’ go-ahead touchdown. But Mullings delivered when Michigan needed it most, breaking tackles to go 63 yards and set up the Wolverines in the red zone.

Mullings got the call on five of the next six plays, hammering into the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line.

His performance paced Michigan to 290 rushing yards on the day. Quarterback Alex Orji, who finished just 7-of-12 passing for 32 yards, contributed 43 yards on the ground.

Donovan Edwards carried 14 times for 74 yards and a touchdown on a 41-yard run in the second quarter that gave Michigan a 14-0 lead.

USC (2-1, 0-1) chipped the lead to four points in the third quarter, getting its first touchdown just after intermission when Moss found Duce Robinson on a nine-yard score. But the Wolverines pushed the lead back to two scores with Will Johnson’s 42-yard pick-six of Moss.

Michigan nearly scored another defensive touchdown when Josiah Stewart jarred the ball loose from Moss on a sack inside the Wolverines’ 10-yard line. Defensive lineman Kenneth Grant recovered the fumble and began breaking for daylight, but Trojans running back Woody Marks stripped the ball from Grant to give possession back to USC.

The sequence culminated in Moss throwing a 16-yard touchdown to Jay Fair.

Moss went 28-of-51 passing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. The USC run game was held by Michigan to 96 yards. Marks finished with 100 yards on just 13 rushes, but 65 came on a single rush.

Michigan sacked Moss four times, two of which were by Stewart.

No. 12 Utah holds off Oklahoma State in its Big 12 opener

Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns and Micah Bernard rushed for 182 yards Saturday as No. 12 Utah opened Big 12 Conference play with an impressive 22-19 win over No. 14 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.

The Utes (4-0, 1-0) won without starting quarterback Cam Rising, who missed his second straight game with a finger injury. Backup Isaac Wilson completed 17 of 29 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Wilson and Kuithe hooked up for a 45-yard scoring strike at the 6:21 mark of the fourth quarter to give Utah a 22-3 lead that looked insurmountable. But the Cowboys (3-1, 0-1) made a game of it as Alan Bowman connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Presley, then a 9-yarder to Rashod Owens with 1:47 left to cut the deficit to three.

However, the Utes were able to kill the remaining time as Bernard moved the chains with a 4-yard run on 3rd-and-3 with 48 seconds on the clock.

They owned a 456-285 advantage in total yardage and possessed the ball for more than 42 minutes.

Bowman hit 16 of 33 passes for 206 yards, tossing a pair of interceptions to go along with the two TD passes. Backup Garrett Rangel, who played a good chunk of the second half, was 3 of 11 for 31 yards.

Tennessee’s D stifles Oklahoma in Sooners’ SEC debut

Nico Iamaleava threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, overcoming a pair of lost fumbles, as No. 6 Tennessee held on for a 25-15 win over No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday in Norman, Okla.

Volunteers coach Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked the Sooners to the 2000 national title as the Heisman Trophy runner-up, was honored before the game.

Then Heupel’s defense dominated the Sooners as Iamaleava did enough to keep Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) undefeated.

The Volunteers held Oklahoma to minus-4 yards combined in the second and third quarters as they steadily stretched their lead.

The Sooners (3-1, 0-1) came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns, but couldn’t cut their deficit below 10 points.

Oklahoma starting quarterback Jackson Arnold was benched after going just 7-of-16 for 54 yards, giving way to freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., who didn’t do much better initially.

But he led the fourth-quarter comeback attempt and finished 11-of-18 for 132 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 22 yards on 12 carries.

Bru McCoy finished with four catches for 92 yards for the Vols, while Dylan Sampson ran for 92 yards and a score.

Tennessee outgained the Sooners 345-222.

Iamaleava coughed up the ball twice in the second quarter, each time giving the Sooners the ball in Tennessee territory. But both times, the Volunteers’ defense quickly answered.

First, Iamaleava was hit by Robert Spears-Jennings at the Tennessee 6, where it was recovered by Ethan Downs.

But Jackson Arnold fumbled in the backfield on the next play and it was recovered by Tennessee’s Joshua Josephs.

In the ensuing drive, the Volunteers were able to pin the Sooners inside their own 5 after punting, and Jayson Jenkins then brought down Jovantae Barnes for a safety.

Later in the quarter, Iamaleava was sacked and lost the ball again; this time Gracen Halton recovered at the Vols’ 33.

But again, the Sooners gave the ball right back, as Arnold’s swing pass was ruled a lateral and Tennessee recovered in Oklahoma territory.

Tennessee then kept the ball on the ground, as Sampson carried the ball on eight consecutive plays, finishing with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Vols up 19-3 at the break.

BYU capitalizes on turnovers, upsets No. 13 Kansas State 38-9

BYU scored three touchdowns off Kansas State turnovers in a three-minute span as the Cougars knocked off the No. 13 Wildcats 38-9 on Saturday night in Provo, Utah.

Jake Retzlaff was 15-of-21 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns for BYU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), which had just 241 yards of total offense but scored 31 unanswered points over 6:25.

Kansas State (3-1, 0-1) was hurt by six pre-snap offensive penalties.

After a 14-point burst to close the first half, BYU scored another touchdown off a K-State turnover early in the second half. Harrison Taggart picked off Avery Johnson at the K-State 42 and returned it 15 yards. Two plays later, Retzlaff found Darius Lassiter for a 3-yard touchdown and a 24-6 lead.

After a three-and-out, BYU got a 90-yard punt-return touchdown by Parker Kingston.

K-State got a 28-yard field goal from Chris Tennant, but Sione Moa’s 21-yard touchdown run put BYU up 38-9 early in the fourth quarter.

The first half was filled with time-consuming drives and missed opportunities until the end of the half.