TOP 25 ROUNDUP: UCLA EARNS 1ST WIN, STUNS NO. 7 PENN STATE
Nico Iamaleava accounted for five touchdowns as host UCLA stunned No. 7 Penn State 42-37 on Saturday to earn its first win of the season.
Iamaleava went 17 of 24 for 166 yards with two touchdowns and ran 16 times for 128 yards and three more scores. Kwazi Gilmer recorded team highs of five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown for the Bruins (1-4, 1-1 Big Ten).
Drew Allar threw a pair of touchdown passes and finished 19 of 26 for 200 yards as Penn State (3-2, 0-2) dropped its second straight game following a home overtime loss to then-No. 6 Oregon last week. The Nittany Lions nearly pulled off a 20-point comeback Saturday, but they came up short at the end.
With Penn State facing a fourth-and-2 from the UCLA 9 in the final minute, Allar kept it on a read option and was tackled by the Bruins’ defense. UCLA went nowhere offensively and took an intentional safety with 17 seconds remaining, but the Nittany Lions never found their rhythm on their final drive.
No. 1 Ohio State 42, Minnesota 3
Julian Sayin threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, and Carnell Tate set a career high with 183 receiving yards along with a touchdown, as the Buckeyes steamrolled the Golden Gophers in Columbus.
The victory gave Ryan Day a 75-10 record (88.2 percent), making him the all-time career winning percentage leader in major college history, surpassing Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne’s 88.1 percent from 1918-30.
Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey was 15 of 26 for 94 yards. The Golden Gophers had 162 total yards, with 66 coming on their first series.
No. 3 Miami 28, No. 18 Florida State 22
Carson Beck threw four touchdown passes and the Hurricanes held off a late charge from the Seminoles for an Atlantic Coast Conference rivalry win in Tallahassee, Fla.
Beck was a smooth operator, completing 20 of 27 passes for 240 yards. He led an offensive outburst that saw the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 in ACC) rattle off 28 straight points, gradually squeezing the life out of the Seminoles (3-2, 0-2).
After Florida State was held without a touchdown in the first three quarters, quarterback Tommy Castellanos threw a pair of fourth-quarter TD passes, finishing 25-of-45 passing for 272 yards, with two interceptions and a game-high 57 rushing yards.
No. 5 Oklahoma 44, Kent State 0
Michael Hawkins Jr. threw for 162 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score as the Sooners beat the Golden Flashes in Norman, Okla.
Isaiah Sategna finished with four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns to lead Oklahoma (5-0). He also had 97 punt return yards. Freshman Tory Blaylock led the Sooners on the ground, running for 78 yards on 15 carries.
Devin Kargman made his first start since 2023, going 8 of 16 for 74 yards and an interception for Kent State (1-4). The Sooners outgained the Golden Flashes 355-135, holding Kent State to 17 rushing yards.
No. 6 Texas A&M 31, Mississippi State 9
Marcel Reed threw a pair of touchdown passes to KC Concepcion and ran for another touchdown as the host Aggies defeated the Bulldogs.
Reed passed for only 180 yards, but Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC) rushed for 299 yards, led by Rueben Owens II’s 142 yards on 21 attempts. The Aggies held Mississippi State to one first-down conversion on 10 third-down plays. A week earlier, in a 16-10 win against Auburn, the Aggies didn’t allow any conversions on 13 third-down and two fourth-down attempts.
Blake Shapen passed for just 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception as Mississippi State (4-2, 0-2) totaled just 219 yards. Shapen threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Brenen Thompson in the fourth quarter to account for the Bulldogs’ lone score.
Florida 29, No. 9 Texas 21
DJ Lagway passed for 298 yards and two touchdowns and Jadan Baugh ran for 107 yards and another score as the Gators held on to upset the visiting Longhorns.
Florida (2-3, 1-1 SEC) ruled the first half and took advantage of breakdowns in the Longhorns’ defense to snap a three-game losing streak and beat Texas for the first time in five all-time meetings. Dallas Wilson hauled in a game-high six passes for 111 yards and both of Lagway’s TDs as the Gators finished with a 457-341 edge in total yards.
The Longhorns (3-2, 0-1 SEC) trailed by 15 points before quarterback Arch Manning captained a 69-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run by Quintrevion Wisner with 3:20 left to bring the Longhorns to within 29-21. Texas got the ball back with 55 seconds to play at its own 3, but could not make magic happen. Manning finished 16-of-29 passing for 263 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter and was sacked six times.
No. 10 Alabama 30, No. 16 Vanderbilt 14
Ty Simpson passed for 340 yards and two touchdowns to help the Crimson Tide notch a 30-14 victory over the Commodores in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Jam Miller rushed for 136 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries, Conor Talty kicked three field goals and Keon Sabb nabbed a key interception for Alabama (4-1, 2-0), which recorded its fourth straight victory. Ryan Williams caught six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.
Diego Pavia completed 21 of 35 passes for 198 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 58 rushing yards for Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1), which built a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter but never scored again. Sedrick Alexander rushed for one touchdown and caught the other for the Commodores.
No. 11 Texas Tech 35, Houston 11
Behren Morton threw for 345 yards and a touchdown and the Red Raiders never trailed en route to a Big 12 Conference win at the Cougars in a matchup of unbeatens.
Morton hit 28 of 40 passes for the Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0), which also got a pair of touchdown runs and 107 yards rushing from J’Koby Williams. Texas Tech also got three field goals from Stone Harrington and two more from Upton Bellenfant.
The Cougars (4-1, 1-1) were forced to play two quarterbacks when starter Conner Weigman was knocked out late in the first half with an undisclosed upper-body injury after completing 5 of 12 passes for 71 yards and one interception. Houston managed only 267 total yards and 12 first downs, converting just 1 of 12 third downs.
No. 12 Georgia 35, Kentucky 14
Gunner Stockton completed 15 of 23 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 48 yards and two scores as the Bulldogs breezed past the Wildcats in Athens, Ga.
Dillon Bell had four catches for 68 yards and added two scores on the ground, while Chauncey Bowens had 70 rushing yards for Georgia (4-1, 2-1), which beat Kentucky (2-3, 0-3) for the 16th straight time.
Cutter Boley completed 25 of 41 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception, for the Wildcats, who dropped their eighth straight conference game since beating Ole Miss on Sept. 28, 2024.
Cincinnati 38, No. 14 Iowa State 30
Brendan Sorsby’s 82-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Goodie with 5:57 to play extended the host Bearcats’ lead to 16 points over the Cyclones, and Cincinnati held on for an eight-point victory in Big 12 play.
The Bearcats (4-1, 2-0) rushed for 260 yards and had 474 total yards. Evan Pryor led the ground attack with 111 yards and a pair of scores, while Sorsby added nine rushes for 64 yards and a touchdown in addition to 13-of-25 passing for 214 yards and two TDs.
Iowa State (5-1, 2-1) got 314 yards and two touchdowns through the air from quarterback Rocco Becht, who completed 30 of 48 passes. Brett Eskildsen caught eight passes for 105 yards and a score.
No. 20 Michigan 24, Wisconsin 10
Justice Haynes rushed for 117 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns as the Wolverines downed the visiting Badgers.
The Alabama transfer has reached 100 yards in each of Michigan’s first five games. Meanwhile, Bryce Underwood completed 19 of 28 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown, and Donaven McCulley made six receptions for 112 yards and a score for the Wolverines (4-1 overall, 2-0 B
Dilin Jones rushed for 63 yards and the lone touchdown for Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2). Hunter Simmons completed 18 of 29 passes for 177 yards, with Vinny Anthony II making nine receptions for 97 yards.
No. 21 Notre Dame 28, Boise State 7
Jeremiyah Love rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown while Jadarian Price added 83 yards and a score as the Fighting Irish smothered the Broncos in South Bend, Ind.
CJ Carr threw for 189 yards and two scores as Notre Dame (3-2) won its third in a row. Leonard Moore grabbed two of the Fighting Irish’s four interceptions.
Maddux Madsen hit 22 of 37 passes for 215 yards for Boise State (3-2). Madsen rushed a 1-yard score to give the Broncos a 7-6 lead late in the second quarter, but Love zipped for a 4-yard touchdown just before halftime and Carr clicked with Malachi Fields for a 6-yard score that made it 21-7 with 5:49 left in the third.
No. 22 Illinois 43, Purdue 27
Luke Altmyer passed for a career-best 390 yards and a touchdown and Kaden Feagin rushed for two scores, lifting the Illini over the host Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind.
Altmyer completed 19 of his 22 passes and David Olano kicked field goals of 35, 42, 45 and 40 yards for Illinois (5-1, 2-1). Hank Beatty surpassed his career high for receiving yards ahead of halftime with 137 on four catches and added another catch for 49 yards. Ca’Lil Valentine led the Illini rushing attack with 22 carries for 95 yards and a TD.
Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne was 30 of 50 for 302 yards and a touchdown while adding a 1-yard rushing TD to open the scoring. Michael Jackson III had 14 catches for 94 yards for the Boilermakers (2-3, 0-2) while Corey Smith contributed 83 yards on three receptions.
No. 24 Virginia 30, Louisville 27
J’Mari Taylor’s 2-yard touchdown run lifted the visiting Cavaliers to an overtime victory over the Cardinals in ACC action. Back in the rankings for the first time since 2019 after last week’s overtime upset of Florida State, Virginia (5-1, 3-0 ACC) is off to its best start since 2017.
After Louisville opened overtime with a 24-yard field goal, Cavaliers QB Chandler Morris was shaken up when he took a big hit trying to score at the 2-yard line. Taylor took the ball on a direct snap on the next play and plowed into the end zone for the game-winner. Morris passed for 149 yards and a touchdown and Taylor finished with 97 yards from scrimmage. Virginia had two defensive touchdowns
The Cardinals (4-1, 1-1) had a seven-game winning streak snapped, dating back to last season. Miller Moss threw for 329 yards with three TDs (two passing, one rushing), but his pick-six gave the Cavaliers the lead midway through the third quarter. Chris Bell set career highs in receptions (12), receiving yards (170) and touchdowns (two).
AP TOP 25 PREVIEW: PENN STATE COULD DROP OUT OF TOP 25 AFTER LOSS TO UCLA. TEXAS TEETERING, TOO
Not a good day for a couple blue bloods, especially Penn State.
The No. 7 Nittany Lions went to the West Coast a week after their crushing home loss to Oregon and got beat again, this time by a woebegone UCLA in what to date is the upset of the year in college football.
Penn State didn’t build up much equity with its light nonconference schedule, and the 42-37 loss to the Bruins could leave it on the outside looking in when The Associated Press Top 25 is released Sunday.
No. 9 Texas’ 29-21 loss to Florida could knock the Longhorns out of the rankings as well.
A week after three top-five teams lost, the three that played Saturday won. Ohio State rolled past Minnesota 42-3 and is on track to be No. 1 for the sixth straight week. No. 3 Miami, up 28-3 entering the fourth quarter, held off No. 18 Florida State 28-22 and No. 5 Oklahoma routed Kent State 44-0.
Look for them to move up
No. 10 Alabama has an opportunity to jump at least two spots because of the losses by Penn State and Texas. The Crimson Tide pulled away from No. 16 Vanderbilt 30-14.
No. 11 Texas Tech beat Houston 35-11 in a battle of unbeatens and should receive its highest ranking since 2013, when it reached No. 10, and possibly since it was No. 8 at the end of the 2008 regular season.
No. 12 Georgia, a 35-14 winner against Kentucky, also is poised to return to the top 10.
No. 20 Michigan took care of business for a 24-10 win against Wisconsin and should move up a little.
Look for them to drop
All depending on what the voters decide, but Penn State could tie 1959 Oklahoma for the second-biggest drop out of the rankings, not counting preseason polls or the 2020 pandemic season. The Nittany Lions would fall 19 spots, just as the Sooners did when they went from No. 2 to out of the Top 20 after losing their opener to Northwestern. The biggest drop all time was by 2007 Michigan, which dropped 21 spots from No. 5 to out of the rankings for losing its opener to Appalachian State.
Texas came into the season as the preseason No. 1 team and then lost its opener at Ohio State. Wins over San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston probably aren’t enough to keep a free fall from happening after the loss to Florida.
No. 14 Iowa State couldn’t dig itself out of a 24-point hole late in the second quarter and lost 38-30 at Cincinnati.
Wild cards
No. 22 Illinois’s 43-27 win at Purdue put its abysmal loss to Indiana farther back in the rear-view mirror and sets the stage for Ohio State’s visit to Champaign next week.
It will be interesting to see how the voters treat Vanderbilt, which still was within six points of Alabama in the middle of the fourth quarter.
No. 21 Notre Dame, which beat Boise State 28-7, probably merits a move up after holding Arkansas and the Broncos to a combined 20 points.
Knocking on the door
South Florida, out of the Top 25 the last three polls, was the first team outside the Top 25 last week and could re-enter. The Bulls rushed for a season-high 407 yards and finished with 631 total in a 54-26 rout of Charlotte.
Cincinnati has won four straight since its loss to Nebraska in the opener and outmuscled Iowa State while picking up yards in big chunks.
Memphis can make a case for a ranking. The Tigers hammered Tulsa 45-7 and are 6-0 for the first time since 2015.
