Troy 22, Akron 17
TROY, Ala. (AP) — Deondre Douglas made a leaping over-the-shoulder catch on a pass from Brandon Silvers and got one foot down in the front corner of the end zone as Troy rallied past Akron 22-17 Saturday night.
Akron had scored two unanswered late-game touchdowns to grab a 17-16 lead and then pinned Troy (3-1) at the 3 with 5:37 remaining.
Silvers completed six of eight passes on the game-winning nine-play drive, five for first downs. Douglas caught three, including his first touchdown of the season with 1:06 left. Douglas finished with seven catches for 92 yards. Silvers went 28-for-41 for 314 yards.
Akron (1-3) scored three points early, but no more until Kaleb Barker broke free for a 48-yard TD run late in the third and Warren Ball ran in from the 4 to give the Zips a one-point lead late in the fourth. Ball racked up 112 yards on 28 carries.
ULM 56, Louisiana 50 (2OT)
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Caleb Evans rushed for five touchdowns and threw for one in overtime as ULM managed to hang on for a 56-50 double-overtime victory over Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.
Derrick Gore ran straight up the middle from the 8 to score in the second overtime to give ULM (1-2, 1-0) the win after Louisiana failed to get in the end zone and Calvin Linden missed a 39-yard field goal attempt.
Evans rushed for 129 yards and threw for another 343. Gore finished with 85 yards rushing. Marcus Green hauled in eight passes for 117 yards.
Louisiana (1-3, 0-1) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. Andre Nunez led the Ragin' Cajuns 84 yards in the final two minutes of regulation to tie it at 43-43 when he hit Ja'Marcus Bradley with a 14-yard touchdown pass.
Nunez, the backup quarterback, threw for 287 yards.
Georgia State 28, Charlotte 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Penny Hart had a career-high 11 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown to help lead Georgia State to a 28-0 win over Charlotte on Saturday night.
Glenn Smith's 3-yard touchdown run put the Panthers up 7-0 at the end of a 10-play, 66-yard drive. Later, Conner Manning threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Hart to make it 14-0. It was the sixth time that Hart, a redshirt sophomore, has gone over 100 yards receiving.
Georgia State (1-2) sealed the game early in the fourth when Charlotte's Tommy Doctor blocked Brandon Wright's 25-yard field goal attempt. After the block, a 49er touched the ball making it live, and Shamarious Gilmore pounced on it in the end zone for a 21-0 advantage.
Hasaan Klugh passed for 179 yards and threw two interceptions — both to Bryan Williams — for Charlotte (0-4).
New Mexico State 41, UTEP 14
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Tyler Rogers threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Larry Rose III had 17 carries for 144 yards and two scores and New Mexico State beat UTEP 41-14 on Saturday night.
Rogers completed 26 of 43 passes for 283 yards — including a 2-yard touchdown to Rose — and scored on a 4-yard run and Shamad Lomax had three first-half interceptions for New Mexico State (2-2).
Rose, immediately following Lomax's first pick, went 40 yards to open the scoring with 9:45 left in the first quarter. UTEP (0-4) answered with a 12-play, 81-yard drive capped by Metz's 5-yard touchdown run. After the Miners downed a punt at the 3, Rose had six carries for 65 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown that capped a 15-play drive and provided the first of 31-straight New Mexico State points — including a 19-yard interception return for a score by Lomax.
Two UTEP quarterbacks combined to complete 10 of 34 passes for 92 yards with five interceptions.
Idaho 29, South Alabama 23 (2OT)
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Isaiah Saunders' 2-yard touchdown run finally gave Idaho a much-delayed 29-23 double-overtime victory over South Alabama on Saturday night in a game that saw two weather delays.
The game lasted almost seven hours with the first weather delay lasting over two hours (2:27) in this Sun Belt Conference opener.
Idaho's Matt Linehan threw for 273 yards with Alfonso Onunwor grabbing eight catches for 119 yards and a score. Onunwor pulled in a pass from over his right shoulder in the left corner of the end zone as the Vandals charged back to tie the game 20-20 with only 13 seconds remaining.
The teams traded field goals in the first extra period. South Alabama's (1-3, 0-1) Gavin Patterson missed a 43-yard field goal to start the second overtime, leaving the door open for Saunders.
The Vandals (2-2, 1-0) were 61 yards from the end zone with 90 seconds remaining when Linehan went to work, driving Idaho for the tying score in regulation.
Wake Forest 20, Appalachian State 19
BOONE, N.C. (AP) — Scotty Washington got a hand on Michael Rubino's 39-yard field goal attempt with five seconds remaining, allowing Wake Forest to remain unbeaten with a 20-19 win in a wild game that featured six lead changes.
Four major special teams miscues cost the Mountaineers a chance at victory in front of the largest crowd to see a game at Kidd Brewer Stadium — 35,126. Appalachian State also had an extra point blocked, missed a short field goal at the end of the first half and jumped offside on a fourth-and-4 punt that gave Wake Forest another set of downs and led to a touchdown.
John Wolford shook off a sluggish first half and threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 77 yards as Wake Forest improved to 4-0 on the season entering ACC play.
Taylor Lamb threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns for Appalachian State (2-2) and T.J. Watkins had three catches for 102 yards and an 84-yard touchdown.
Trailing 20-19 and faced with a fourth-and-14 at midfield with 2:20 left, Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield elected to punt the ball with three timeouts remaining, banking on his defense to come up with a stop.
They did, giving Lamb one more shot from his own 46.
The Mountaineers got a first down on a pass interference penalty on a fourth-and-14 pass to reach the Wake Forest 27. The Deacons jumped offside on the first field goal attempt, moving Rubino's attempt up to the 39-yard line. But the 6-foot-5 Washington got his hand on the ball in the middle of the line to preserve the victory.
"It was a low kick and I just jumped as high as I could and got it with my right hand," Washington said.
"It was one of those games you dream of,” said Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson. "If that ball is a little higher it's a totally different celebration on the sideline."
Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield said Rubino probably didn't hit the ball well as well he wanted to on the last kick.
"These kickers, it's hard," Satterfield said. "All the spotlight is on them, but it's not just them. It's the snap. It's the hold. There's so much timing that goes into it."
Wake Forest trailed 9-3 at halftime after being limited to 106 yards and five first downs.
But Wolford, who had just 49 yards passing before intermission, found his groove to start the third quarter, leading touchdowns drives of 97 and 75 yards. He completed seven of his first 10 passes for 100 yards, including TD tosses of 10 yards to freshman receiver Greg Dortch and 3 yards to reliable tight end Cam Serigne to give the Deacons a 17-16 lead.
The schools played 22 times from 1975 until 2001 but never in Boone until this year.
Indiana 52, Georgia Southern 17
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Morgan Ellison found Indiana's starting tailback spotlight in his first college start.
Ellison was the offensive catalyst as the Hoosiers beat Georgia Southern 52-17 Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The 6-1, 225-pound Ellison ran for 186 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns. He's IU's 11th true freshman to rush for more than 100 yards in a game. It's the fourth-best total by a Hoosier freshman. Anthony Thompson has the record with 207.
Ellison entered the game with 71 yards on 19 carries.
"We knew (Georgia Southern's) defensive line was their strength," IU head coach Tom Allen said. "We knew it would be tough. We tried to spread them out and run out of that look. It was very efficient."
Indiana got another big game from punt returner J-Shun Harris. The junior returned a first-quarter punt 70 yards for a touchdown. It was the second straight game he scored on a punt return. That tied IU's single-season record. Rob Turner was the other Hoosier to return punts for a TD in consecutive games. He did it in 1990.
Harris, who won Big Ten special teams player of the week honors for his Virginia performance (he had 44- and 42-yard punt returns), has returned seven punts for 183 yards this season after gaining 74 yards on two returns Saturday.
Indiana (2-1) was playing its first game after an unexpected bye. The Sept. 16 home game against Florida International was cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
Georgia Southern (0-3) has been outscored 115-36 this season, but coach Tyson Summers liked the effort.
"I think we continued to fight," Summers said. "We had an attitude and belief throughout the game that they would continue to play and play well."
Allen got his first home victory as a college head coach. His first overall college win came two weeks ago at Virginia.
The Hoosiers' decisive first quarter, which included a rotation between quarterbacks Richard Lagow and Peyton Ramsey, produced a 21-0 lead. After going up 31-0 early in the second quarter, defensive starters were rotated in and out, allowing younger players to get significant action.
Lagow and Ramsey combined to go 11-for-21 for 185 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. That included Lagow's 71-yard third-quarter touchdown pass to tight end Ian Thomas.
Georgia Southern was led by tailback L.A. Ramsby's 108 rushing yards.
Western Illinois 52, Coastal Carolina 10
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — San McGuire threw for three touchdowns and caught a pass for another to lead Western Illinois to a 52-10 victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday night.
WIU (3-0) scored the game’s first touchdown after Isaiah LeSure, on a double reverse, threw a pass that was tipped into the end zone where McGuire made the catch for the 9-yard score.
The Chanticleers (1-2) took the lead back at 10-7 on Alex James’ 24-yard run but WIU scored two touchdowns just over five minutes apart in the second quarter on McGuire’s 19-yard pass to Brandon Gaston and Max Norris’ 1-yard run to cap an 84-yard drive for a 21-10 halftime lead.
The Leathernecks quickly added to the lead in the second half. Steve McShane scored on a 2-yard run and Adam Conrady on a 10-yard pass from McGuire one play after an interception. A fumble led to a McGuire-to-Clint Ratkovich 5-yard TD at the end of the third quarter. Devon Sanders scored on an 80-yard run for a 52-10 lead.
WIU has opened the season with three straight road victories.
Coastal did not force a turnover for the first time in 16 games but committed four against WIU.
SMU 44, Arkansas State 21
DALLAS (AP) — Ben Hicks accounted for three touchdowns, Ke'Mon Freeman had 92 of SMU's 315 yards rushing and two touchdowns and the Mustangs beat Arkansas State 44-21 on Saturday night.
Hicks had a 7-yard run to cap the scoring and threw touchdown passes of 55 and 49 yards to James Proche, who finished with three receptions for 131 yards for SMU (3-1). Xavier Jones had 19 carries for 146 yards and receiver Courtland Sutton added a 2-yard TD run.
Justice Hansen's second touchdown pass, a 19-yarder to Mack Blake gave Arkansas State (1-2) a 14-10 lead with nine seconds left in the first quarter. Sutton's touchdown early in the second put SMU in the lead for good, Freeman had a 35-yard scoring run with 3:32 left in the half and, after the Red Wolves went three-and-out on their next possession, Proche's 49-yarder made it 30-14 at the break.
Jordan Wyatt's interception return to the Arkansas State 33 set up Freeman's second TD run that gave SMU a 23-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Hansen was 16-of-26 passing for 234 yards, Mack had five catches for 102 yards and Warren Wand ran for 75 yards and a score for Arkansas State (1-2).
UTSA 44, Texas State 14
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Jalen Rhodes rushed for a career-high 174 yards, including two touchdowns, and UTSA cruised to a 44-14 win over Texas State on Saturday night.
Rhodes had 15 carries, scoring with a 67-yard run in the second quarter and a 36-yard carry in fourth. Josiah Tauaefa returned a fumble recovery 22 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter, Tyrell Clay punched in a TD from the 5 in the second and Brett Winnegan had a 71-yard run late in the fourth for the final score of the game.
The Roadrunners (3-0) also got three field goals from Jared Sacket and piled up 569 yards of total offense while holding their in-state rival Texas State to 198.
The Bobcats (1-3) cut the gap to 17-14 midway through the second quarter with a 9-yard touchdown throw from Damian Williams to Jeremiah Haydel. Williams also ran in a touchdown from the 2 in the first quarter.