No. 6 USC 48, Colorado 41
In a tale of two parts, Colorado’s famous climb to the mountaintop narrowly failed as a crucial onside kick fell harmlessly into the clutches of the USC Hands team.
USC’s dominant opening half featured near-robotic precision from Trojan QB Caleb Williams, who completed 16/19 passes for four touchdowns, and two first-quarter scores and a crippling Colorado interception helped Lane Kiffin’s squad go 21-0. Lead of just 16 minutes after the start of the game. Colorado’s star gunslinger Shedeur Sanders slowly approached his best in Heisman contention over the course of the second quarter, finding Jimmy Horn Jr. for a 30-yard TD before using his legs for a 25-yard score later in the quarter began, but continued excellence from Williams ensured USC maintained a 34-14 lead at halftime and a 48-21 lead late in the third quarter.
After taking a similarly impressive lead against Oregon last week, Colorado instead staged a remarkable comeback against the Trojans, sparked by a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive that lasted just over a minute late in the third quarter. The Colorado defense, which had managed just two stops all afternoon, tried to limit the dynamic Trojans to three consecutive scoreless drives, with Colorado leading by 14 points with six minutes left.
However, with no timeouts remaining, Colorado would ultimately use too much time on its 78-yard scoring drive, and USC would manage to run out the clock after recovering the offside kick.
Kentucky 33, No. 22 Florida 14
Even the SEC’s leading defense offered no resistance to the powerful, almost obsessive running of Kentucky’s Ray Davis, who racked up a remarkable 215 all-purpose yards in the first half alone. The Englishman dominated the game in every way and showed his strength by pushing the ball forward with an impressive three-yard score, his second-league speed with a 75-yard breakaway score and even his passing talent with a nine-yard score. Receive Yard Score.
Davis’ three touchdowns, coupled with a chip-shot field goal from Alex Raynor, gave Kentucky a commanding 23-0 lead before Florida finally managed to get on the field with 30 seconds left before halftime. Davis’ fourth touchdown was answered by Gator receiver Ricky Pearsall, who made another highlight-reel jump into the end zone, putting some pressure on the Wildcats.
However, Raynor would kick another field goal, this time a 50-yard beauty, to restore Kentucky’s three-possession lead and effectively put the game on ice.
Texas A&M 34, Arkansas 22
Offensive, defensive and even special teams contributed to Texas A&M’s scoring drive Saturday in Arlington, defeating Arkansas and improving to 2-0 in SEC play.
Already in his second half as the Aggie’s starting QB, Max Johnson continued to look impressively comfortable under center on Saturday, leading the Aggies to an impressive 17-6 halftime lead over Arkansas. When the Razorbacks got the ball back and had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter, it was Chris Russell Jr. and the Aggie defense who turned a tipped pass interception into a six-pointer to take the 11-point lead A&M recovered at halftime.
And finally, the Aggies’ special forces team managed to find the end zone after Ainias Smith caught the poorly judged punt but then pushed past the initial wave of Razorback tacklers and headed for green grass and six points. Arkansas managed to narrow the deficit with a touchdown four minutes before the final whistle, but Texas A&M’s dominant offense managed to whittle down the remaining time on the ground.
Clemson 31, Syracuse 14
No emotional hangover for Clemson after a tough loss to No. 4 Florida State last week, as the Tigers pulled away sharply and confidently from unbeaten Syracuse in an often difficult Carrier Dome environment.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik continued his improvement from a difficult Week 1 performance on Saturday, playing interception-free football while racking up over 250 yards passing and two touchdowns, the second of which was a 47-yard bomb down the right sideline to Beaux Collins two minutes before half time.
Clemson’s defense, meanwhile, limited the dynamic Garrett Shrader to just 6 of 15 passes and fewer than 100 yards, helping the Tigers to a commanding 14-point halftime lead. The Tiger defense only became more impressive in the second half, forcing three fumbles and keeping the Orange at bay during an enjoyable second half.