No. 6 USC 48, Colorado 41
In a tale of two halves, Colorado’s familiar climb up the mountain top narrowly fell short as a decisive onside kick fell harmlessly into the clutches of the USC hands team.
A dominant opening half for USC featured near robotic accuracy from Trojan QB Caleb Williams, who completed 16/19 passes for four touchdowns, and a pair of first quarter scores and a crippling Colorado interception helped Lane Kiffin’s bunch build a 21-0 lead just 16 minutes into the ballgame. Colorado’s star gunslinger Shedeur Sanders slowly sloped toward his Heisman-contending best throughout the second quarter, finding Jimmy Horn Jr. for a 30-yard TD connection before using his legs for a 25-yard score later in the quarter, but the continued excellence of Williams ensured USC maintained a 34-14 lead at the half and a 48-21 lead late in the third quarter.
After rolling over against a similarly imposing lead against Oregon last week, Colorado instead staged a remarkable comeback against the Trojans, sparked by a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took just over a minute late in the third quarter. The Colorado defense, which had produced just two stops on the entire afternoon, would rally to limit the dynamic Trojans to three-consecutive scoreless drives, the latter of which gave Colorado the ball trailing by 14 with six minutes remaining.
However, with no timeouts remaining, Colorado would ultimately use too much time on its 78-yard scoring drive, and USC would managed to kneel out the clock after recovering the offside kick.
Kentucky 33, No. 22 Florida 14
Even the SEC’s leading defense has offered no resistance to the powerful, almost possessed running of Kentucky’s Ray Davis, who has chalked up a remarkable 215 all-purpose yards in just the first half. The UK tailback has dominated in every aspect of the game, showing his power by pushing the pile forward on a gritty three-yard score, his second-level speed with a 75-yard breakaway score and even his passing prowess with a nine-yard receiving grab.
Davis’ three touchdowns, paired with an Alex Raynor chip-shot field goal, gave Kentucky a commanding 23-0 lead before Florida finally managed to get on the board 30 seconds before half. Davis’ fourth touchdown was answered by Gator receiver Ricky Pearsall, who made another highlight leap into the endzone and put a bit of two-score game pressure on the Wildcats.
However, Raynor would knock through another field goal, this one a 50-yard beauty, to restore Kentucky’s three-possession advantage and effectively ice the game.
Texas A&M 34, Arkansas 22
Offense, defense and even special teams helped contribute to Texas A&M’s scoring outburst Saturday in Arlington, besting Arkansas and improving to 2-0 in SEC play.
In just his second half as the Aggie starting QB, Max Johnson continued to look impressively comfortable under center Saturday, leading the Aggies to an impressive 17-6 halftime lead over Arkansas. With the Razorbacks retaking possession and a chance to take a third-quarter lead, it was Chris Russell Jr. and the Aggie defense that turned a tipped-pass interception into six and restore A&M’s 11-point halftime advantage.
And finally, the Aggies special teams unit managed to find the endzone after Ainias Smith scooped up the poorly-judged punt only to surge past the initial wave of Razorback tacklers and cut back toward green grass and six points. Arkansas managed to shave the deficit with a touchdown four minutes before the final whistle, but the dominant Texas A&M offense managed to grind out the remaining time on the ground.
Clemson 31, Syracuse 14
No emotional hangover for Clemson after a backbreaking defeat against No. 4 Florida State last week as the Tigers looked sharp and assured pulling away from undefeated Syracuse In an often-difficult Carrier Dome environment.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik continued his improvement from a troubling week 1 performance Saturday, playing interception-free football while racking up over 250 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, the second of which was a 47-yard bomb down the right sideline to Beaux Collins just two minutes before halftime.
Clemson’s defense, meanwhile, has limited the dynamic Garrett Shrader to just 6 of 15 passing and fewer than 100 yards, helping the Tigers built an impressive 14-point road advantage at half. The Tiger defense only became more imposing in the second half, forcing three fumbles and keeping the Orange at arms length throughout a comfortable second half.
2023-09-30 23:27:07
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