Oregon running back Bucky Irving (0) rushes against Colorado during Saturday;s game, in Eugene, Ore. Oregon won 42-6. (AP photo)
EUGENE, Ore. — Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes and No. 10 Oregon emphatically slammed the brakes on Coach Prime’s “Cinderella story,” routing No. 19 Colorado 42-6 on Saturday.
The Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) were up 35-0 at halftime after coach Dan Lanning sent them into the matchup of unbeatens with a fiery pregame speech that took direct aim at the star-studded, hype machine that has followed coach Deion Sanders’ team for the first three weeks of the season.
It was a big-game atmosphere, but the Buffs (3-1, 0-1) were no match for the Ducks.
Troy Franklin caught eight passes for 126 yards and two scores for Oregon.
Nix completed his first 11 passes and 28 of 33 before he was pulled to start the fourth quarter. He also ran for an 11-yard TD.
Coach Prime’s son Shedeur Sanders went into Saturday averaging 417 passing yards per game, with 10 touchdowns against one interception. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 159 yards and a late touchdown against the Ducks. He was sacked seven times.
No. 4 Florida State 31, Clemson 24 OT
CLEMSON, S.C. — Jordan Travis threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman to start overtime and Florida State rallied in the second half to defeat Clemson and snap a seven-game losing streak against the Tigers.
Travis also threw for another TD and ran for a score for the Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who had not beaten Clemson (2-2, 0-2) since an overtime victory in 2014.
FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach forced a fumble by Cade Klubnik and scooped it up for a 56-yard TD return to tie things at 24-all with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
Clemson had a chance to take a late lead, but Jonathan Weitz, a graduate student who left the team before the season only to return after the Tigers had issues in the kicking game, missed a 29-yarder with under two minutes remaining.
No. 11 Utah 14, No. 22 UCLA 7
SALT LAKE CITY — Karene Reid returned an interception for a touchdown and Landen King had a TD catch for Utah, which used a stifling defensive performance to beat UCLA with quarterback Cam Rising sidelined.
There was speculation all week about whether Rising, who tore an ACL in last season’s Rose Bowl, would be ready to return. He practiced without limits each day and warmed up in pads and full uniform before reappearing just before kickoff in a T-shirt.
And then a suffocating defense carried the day for the Utes (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12).
Nate Johnson was 9 of 17 for 117 yards as Utah rushed the ball 48 times. Jaylen Glover had 25 carries for 86 yards.
Freshman Dante Moore, who was under pressure all game, found Josiah Norwood for a 17-yard touchdown with 3:39 to play to help the Bruins (3-1, 0-1) avoid their first shutout in 12 years.
No. 13 Alabama 24, No. 15 Mississippi 10
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jalen Milroe and Alabama’s offense busted out of the doldrums in the second half and the Crimson Tide’s defense was strong throughout in a victory over Mississippi.
The Crimson Tide (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) scored 18 points in a 14-minute span — one more than the team managed against South Florida last weekend — to pull away from the Rebels (3-1, 0-1) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The result was Alabama’s eighth straight win over Ole Miss, but not the kind of performance that assuaged concerns about the shaky offensive play. The Tide’s eight-year streak in the Top 10 ended this week.
No. 18 Duke 41, UConn 7
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Riley Leonard threw for 248 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as Duke routed UConn in the Blue Devils’ first road game of the season.
Duke (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) held UConn (0-4) to 203 total yards. The Blue Devils allowed just 32 yards in the first half to take a 27-0 lead. The Huskies only score came with 12 seconds left in the game.
Duke defensive end DeWayne Carter put an exclamation point on the win in the third quarter. The 305-pound captain picked up a Jalen Mitchell fumble and rumbled 27 yards for a touchdown.
No. 20 Miami 41, Temple 7
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyler Van Dyke threw for three touchdowns, Henry Parrish Jr. rushed for 139 yards and two scores, and Miami moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2017 in a win over Temple.
Van Dyke completed 17 of 24 passes for 220 yards and guided the Hurricanes to a 24-0 lead in the first half. Parrish took it from there and led a rushing offense that outgained the Owls 242 yards to 1 through three quarters and 323-11 overall.
The Hurricanes came in as 23 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and rolled to their 14th straight win over Temple (2-2), a streak largely built on the programs’ years together in the Big East.
No. 23 Tennessee 45, UTSA 14
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joe Milton III threw for 156 yards and ran for 89 in the first half, leading Tennessee to a victory over UTSA.
Milton played a key role in three early touchdowns for the Volunteers (3-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) — an 81-yard scoring run on the first play of the game and TD passes to Ramel Keyton and Kaleb Webb — as they took a 31-0 lead into halftime.
The Roadrunners (1-3) struggled without quarterback Frank Harris, who missed his second game with turf toe.
The offensive outburst was a welcome release for Tennessee, which had trouble the last two weeks in a win over Austin Peay and a loss to Florida.
