COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Zach Calzada threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to power No. 7 Texas A&M in a 34-0 rout of New Mexico on Saturday.
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.
Texas A&M is scheduled to play No. 20 Arkansas next Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
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 they did 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. He had an interception, was sacked four times and had three passes broken up by A&M’s stingy defense.
Devon Achane got things going when he grabbed a 26-yard touchdown pass to put the Aggies up early.
The Aggies forced New Mexico to punt before Calzada found Demond Demas wide open for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play of the next drive to make it 14-0. It was the first career catch for Demas, a five-star recruit in his second season with the Aggies.
Texas A&M extended the lead to 21-0 when Isaiah Spiller shed three defenders on a 5-yard scoring run with about six minutes left in the second quarter.
Spiller had 117 yards rushing to bounce back after running for just 20 yards last week.
The Aggies added a field goal late in the second quarter and tacked on another one on their first drive of the second half to make it 27-0.
Calzada was intercepted by Tavian Combs on the next possession, but the Lobos couldn’t take advantage of the turnover and had to punt.
Moose Muhammad collected his first career touchdown when he reeled in a 7-yard pass with one hand late in the third quarter to push the lead to 34-0.
Penn State hands Auburn first loss
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Jaquan Brisker broke up a desperation pass toward the end zone by Auburn's Bo Nix as time expired and No. 10 Penn State held on to beat No. 22 Auburn 28-20 on Saturday night.
Sean Clifford completed 28 of 32 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns as Penn State (3-0) welcomed back its white out crowd to Beaver Stadium for a rare visit from a Southeastern Conference teams.
Jahan Dotson added 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, tight end Brenton Strange caught a touchdown and tight end Tyler Warren and Noah Cain ran for scores to help the Nittany Lions beat an SEC opponent for the first time since.
Penn State had to make two late defensive stand to make the lead hold. First, they kept Auburn (2-1) out of the end zone after a first-and-goal at the 10. An incomplete fade from the 2 on fourth down with 3:08 left gave Penn State the ball back, but the Nittany Lions could not run out the whole clock.
Auburn managed to get to the Penn State 23 with 3 seconds left. Nix fired deep down the middle but Brisker cut in front Demetris Robertson a few steps in front of the goal line and knocked it down.
Tank Bigsby scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and Anders Carlson added two field goals for the Tigers, who lost their 10th straight road game to a top-10 team since 2014.
Penn State had no white out last year because the pandemic meant no fans. The Nittany Lions broke it out early this season for Auburn’s first trip to a Big Ten stadium since 1931 against Wisconsin.
A sea of white with specks of Auburn orange was hyped throughout, pom poms waving and singing along to “Sweet Caroline” to start the fourth quarter.
Despite the raucous atmosphere made up of more than 109,000 fans, the Tigers never looked rattled.
Bisgby ran for 102 hard yards and Nix was 21 for 37 for 185 yards and no turnovers.
Alabama holds off Gators' late surge
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bryce Young’s first collegiate road start was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped top-ranked Alabama hold off No. 11 Florida 31-29 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday.
The defending national champion Crimson Tide 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 SEC) have now 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 ½-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, Jaheel 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.
Florida seemingly got a break when Alabama (3-0, 1-0) was flagged for a false start on fourth-and-goal at the 1. Alabama settled for a field goal and an eight-point lead. That gave the Gators a chance to tie, and play-caller Mullen and quarterback Emory Jones directed a masterful drive.
It ended up not being enough.
The Gators had one final chance to force a punt and get the ball back, but Alabama did enough to milk the clock and leave Florida with little, if any, chance at a comeback. The Gators had one play from deep in their territory and were sacked.
Young completed 22 of 35 passes for 233 yards. Brian Robinson carried 14 times for 75 yards and a score.
Jones was 17-of-27 passing for 181 yards, with an interception. He was booed at times, partly because of the slow start and surely because of the home crowd’s disappointment in not seeing Richardson.
Mississippi State falls in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Calvin Austin scored three second-half touchdowns including a questionable 94-yard punt return in the fourth quarter as Memphis rallied for a 31-29 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday.
The victory and Austin’s punt return culminated a wild final three-plus minutes that included onside kicks, penalties and reviews, such as whether Austin could return the punt on which he scored or if the ball was dead.
In the end, Memphis (3-0) escaped with the victory culminated by a 51-yard field goal from Tiger kicker Joe Doyle with 2:02 left. A two-play drive from Mississippi State (2-1) after the field goal was capped by a 36-yard touchdown from quarterback Will Rogers to Makai Polk. But Rogers run for the two-point conversion failed, preserving the Memphis victory.
Austin scored on a pair of passes from Seth Henigan – of 21 and 25 yards -- before his punt return with 5:36 left. On the play, a Mississippi State player knocked the ball back into the field of play at the goal line.
As the ball was lying on the turf, Austin picked up the ball and headed down the right sideline, the speedster outrunning the surprised Bulldog defenders. That gave Memphis a 28-17 lead.
The Bulldogs would score with just more than three minutes left in the game on a pass from quarterback Rogers to Malik Heath. But the final Mississippi State touchdown pass from Rogers to Polk wasn’t enough as Memphis overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit.
Rogers completed 50 of 67 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns.
The Tigers who entered the game averaging 48.5 points and 633.5 yards of offense in the first two games, never got its big-play components untracked early.
In the first half, Mississippi State played ball control with long scoring drives that kept the Tiger offense off the field for long stretches. Rogers’ command of the offense with short, controlled passes and success on third down gave the Bulldogs a 17-7 halftime lead.
Memphis held the ball for only 6:44 of the first half, translating to 89 yards of offense. In fact, the only Memphis score of the half came from the defense as Sanchez Blake scooped up a fumble by Mississippi State’s Jo’Quavious Marks and took it 49 yards for a touchdown.
Still, a 21-yard pass from Henigan to Austin pulled Memphis within 17-14 in the third quarter.
Daniels returns to lead Georgia over Gamecocks
ATHENS, Ga. — JT Daniels returned to the lineup with three touchdown passes, Georgia's fearsome defense nearly made it three straight games without allowing a TD and the No. 2 Bulldogs romped to a 40-13 victory over South Carolina on Saturday night.
Daniels completed 23 of 31 for 303 yards, including scoring throws of 43 yards to Jermaine Burton, 38 yards to freshman Adonai Mitchell and 4 yards to James Cook.
Georgia (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) finally gave up a touchdown while on defense when Luke Doty, getting the ball on the Bulldogs' side of the field after a fumble, connected with Josh Vann on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 10:55 remaining.
To that point, the only touchdown against Georgia this season had come on an interception return.
With Doty playing for the first time this season, South Carolina (2-1, 0-1) gave up three sacks and a safety, along with two turnovers that led to Georgia touchdowns.
Daniels sat out a 56-7 victory over UAB with an oblique injury, watching as backup Stetson Bennett tied a school record with five touchdown passes.
Daniels wasted no time re-establishing his hold on the No. 1 spot, completing a 21-yard pass to Brock Bowers on his very first snap and guiding the Bulldogs to the end zone on their first two possessions.
Bennett got a shot the third time the Bulldogs had the ball. He promptly threw an interception that was returned to the Georgia 12, setting up a field goal.
Daniels returned to the game and didn't leave until early in the fourth quarter with the outcome no longer in doubt.
After punting the ball away in the closing seconds of the first half and content to settle for a 21-6 lead, Georgia wound up scoring five more points.
Backed up on their own 1, the Gamecocks explicably attempted to throw out of the end zone. Doty was sacked by Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith for a safety.
Then, after receiving the free kick, Daniels completed three passes for 39 yards to set up Jack Podlesny's 36-yard field goal as time expired, sending Georgia to the locker room up 26-6.
Georgia put it away in opening minute of the second half, again sparked by a huge defensive play.
Doty's pass was picked off by Derion Kendrick, who returned it to the South Carolina 20. Zamir White ripped off a 15-yard run, then took it in from the 5 to pad the lead to 33-6.
Cook had two touchdowns, also scoring on a 23-yard run.
Mizzou routs SEMO
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Connor Bazelak squeezed a full day of production into one half Saturday as he led Missouri to a 59-28 victory over Southeast Missouri.
Bazelak completed 21 of 30 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers (2-1). He spread the ball to 10 receivers and connected on a 46-yard touchdown pass to D’onte Smith and a 52-yard TD pass to Chance Luper.
Missouri running back Tyler Badie entered the game as the national leader in yards from scrimmage with 392. He played sparingly Saturday against an overmatched FCS opponent, but he made the most of his limited chances, rushing nine times for 81 yards and two touchdowns and catching two passes for 14 yards and another score.
Missouri built a 38-0 halftime lead. In the second half, Brady Cook and Tyler Macon played quarterback for the Tigers. On his first career pass attempt, Macon connected with JJ Hester down the middle on a 65-yard touchdown.
Quarterback CJ Ogbonna carried 12 times for 96 yards for SEMO (0-3). Shamenski Rucker scored two rushing touchdowns for the Redhawks.
Other Final Scores
No. 20 Arkansas 45, Georgia Southern 10
No. 17 Ole Miss 61, Tulane 21
LSU 49, Central Michigan 21
Stanford 41, Vanderbilt 23
Tennessee 56, Tennessee Tech 0
Kentucky 28, Tennessee-Chattanooga 23