Despite two early scores from Miami (OH), sophomore signal caller Justin Fields flashed his overall brilliance in a dominating second quarter that paced Ohio State to a 76-5 victory. The No 5. Buckeyes rode the former Georgia backup as he accounted for six consecutive touchdowns with 259 all-purpose yards.
While the rest of the game belonged to the Buckeyes (4-0), they struggled out of the gate, failing to produce any points until midway through the first quarter. Backed by Fields’ first turnover of his collegiate career, Miami (OH) capitalized with a safety, as well as a field goal on the resulting possession, to jump ahead to a 5-0 lead.
Though the Buckeyes offense put up 601 total yards, the defense, led by potential first round pick Chase Young and his two sacks, held the RedHawks to an abysmal 130 yards and 10 first downs.
With their second straight loss the RedHawks fall to 1-3 on the season as well as 0-6 lifetime against their in-state foe. Miami (OH) will look to bounce back at home as they welcome Buffalo (2-2) in their first conference matchup of the season. While No. 5 Ohio State will look to bolster their playoff resume as they travel to Lincoln to face Nebraska (3-1) and the prolific Cornhusker offense.
Pittsburgh’s fast start and last-minute trickery help to snap the Knights 27 game win streak
No. 22 UCF had not lost a regular season game in almost three years, but its impressive 27-game win streak came to an end at the hand of the upset-minded Pittsburgh.
The Panthers (2-2), who squandered an early 21-point lead, found themselves down six with less than five minutes to play. Behind the solid play of their junior quarterback Kenny Pickett, and a balanced running attack, Pitt was able to drive 77 yards before a decisive fourth and two.
Running back A.J. Davis received the ball directly from the center before flipping it to senior wideout Aaron Mathews, who then tossed the ball in the end zone to a wide-open Pickett for a touchdown. After the extra point was added on, Pittsburgh took one- point lead. On the next possession the Knights (3-1) desperately tried to get into field goal range, but time expired before they could cross midfield.
Pitt will look to secure their second straight win during a matinee matchup with Delaware (3-1) in their last out-of-conference game of the year, while UCF will try to bounce back at home against Connecticut (1-2) in an AAC matchup.
UCLA secures its first win in a high scoring classic against Washington State
While there was much fanfare about the return of former Washington St. star quarterback Gardner Minshew, it was his successor, Anthony Gordon, who showed out. The latter, who threw for nearly 600 yards, broke Minshew’s’ single game touchdown record with nine touchdowns in the Cougars’ 67- 63 loss to UCLA.
While Gordon’s heroics were not enough to hold off UCLA (1-3), he could hardly bear the blame for the loss. The Bruins were able to overcome a 32-point deficit behind a breakthrough performance by sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Thompson-Robinson threw for 507 yards and five touchdowns in by far the best statistical game of his collegiate career, as well as connecting with junior running back Demetric Felton for the game winning score.
Neither defense did not do much to help, as they combined to record only three sacks and allowed a total of 1,377 yards.
Thompson Robinson and the Bruins will look to build off their newfound success as they travel to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats (2-1). Now unranked, Washington State (3-1) will head to Salt Lake City to face No. 19 Utah, which itself is looking to rebound after a loss to upstart USC.
David Bamgbowu can be reached at [email protected].
