Michigan running back Blake Corum (2) attempts to get away from UNLV’s Marsel McDuffie (38) during Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP photo)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Blake Corum ran for three touchdowns and J.J. McCarthy threw two more scoring passes to Roman Wilson to help No. 2 Michigan rout UNLV 35-7 Saturday.
The Wolverines (2-0) were without suspended coach Jim Harbaugh for the second game of his three-game, school-imposed suspension for breaking NCAA rules.
That didn’t slow them down.
The Rebels (0-1) were overmatched as expected, struggling to compete with a national championship contender on either side of the ball.
Corum had 80 yards rushing on 15 carries and caught two passes for 23 yards. McCarthy completed his first 13 passes and finished 22 of 25 for 278 yards and two touchdown passes to Wilson, who had four receptions for 89 yards and has five touchdown receptions through two games.
Doug Brumfield was 10 of 19 for 100 yards and Jayden Maiava completed 5 of 7 passes for 68 yards for the Rebels.
UNLV — like East Carolina last week — avoided a shutout with a late score. Jordan Younge-Humphrey had a 20-yard rushing touchdown with 2:43 left, capping a nine-play, 81-yard drive.
Harbaugh watch
Harbaugh worked on the chain gang at his son’s youth football game before the Wolverines played and planned to watch his team on TV from home.
Jay Harbaugh, special teams coordinator and safeties coach, filled his father’s role in the first half. Running backs coach and former Michigan star Mike Hart led the team after halftime.
Completion company
McCarthy has completed 87.3% of his passes through two games, matching Justin Fields’ completion percentage through two games at Ohio State in 2020. Corey Robinson (92.2% in 2013 at Troy) and Geno Smith (88% in 2012 at West Virginia) are the only two players with a higher completion percentage through two games with at least 55 attempts since 2000, according to Sportradar.
Injury report
Michigan standout defensive backs Will Johnson and Rod Moore missed a second straight game with injuries.
The takeaway
UNLV: First-year coach Barry Odom was able to show his players what one of college football’s best looks like up close. The Rebels can potentially learn from the painful experience to help them compete in the Mountain West Conference.
Michigan: Corum’s recovery is a good sign for him, and the team. The All-America running back had a knee injury late last season against Illinois, played sparingly against Ohio State, missed the last two games and needed surgery. Corum ran for 73 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in last week’s win over East Carolina.
Up next
UNLV: Hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Michigan: Hosts Bowling Green on Saturday night.
Penn State 63, Delaware 7
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen want to break opposing defenses with their combined physicality. So far, the sophomores are off to a good start.
Singleton ran for three touchdowns while Allen added 103 yards and another rushing score as No. 7 Penn State pulled away from Delaware.
“Let them feel us,” said Singleton, who scored on runs of 2, 5 and 5 yards. “That’s it.”
Penn State (2-0) scored touchdowns on its first four possessions as Singleton and Allen plowed through holes before barreling into the end zone on short bursts to put the game out of reach.
Quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula each scored on second-half runs while Tyler Warren caught a touchdown pass as the Nittany Lions wore down the FCS Blue Hens (1-1).
“Those guys have bought in to the idea that we have two starting tailbacks,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Were going to play them both like starter reps.”
Indiana 41, Indiana State 7
LOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tayven Jackson completed 18 of 21 passes for 236 yards and added a 10-yard touchdown run in his first career start, and Indiana racked up 558 yards of total offense Friday night in a 41-7 rout of visiting Indiana State.
Jaylin Lucas finished with 10 carries for 88 yards and four catches for 39 yards. His pair of 25-yard TD runs opened the scoring in the first quarter. Jackson’s scamper up the middle made it 21-0 at the end of the period, and the Hoosiers (1-1) were never threatened the rest of the way.
Afterward, coach Tom Allen declined to say if Jackson, the former four-star recruit who transferred to his home state after one season as Tennessee’s third-string passer, would remain the Hoosiers’ starter.
With veteran quarterback Dexter Williams sidelined by a torn knee ligament, Jackson has battled fellow freshman Brendan Sorsby for the job since fall camp. Sorsby started last week’s season opener, a 23-3 loss to Ohio State. Allen decided to give Jackson his turn to start, although both played again. Sorsby was 9 of 16 for 108 yards.
“It would have been ideal to name one coming out of fall camp,” Allen said. “I trusted my gut. I felt like we needed live game play to make a fair assessment. Two games where they both played a lot of football. As a staff this week, we got to make a decision.”
The Sycamores (0-2) were held to 93 total yards, scoring their only points on Maddix Blackwell’s 75-yard fumble return in the second quarter that cut the deficit to 21-7. The Hoosiers got a 28-yard field goal from Chris Freeman just before halftime.
Christian Turner and Josh Henderson had short scoring runs in the second half and Nicolas Radicic capped it with a 21-yard field goal.
Michigan State 45, Richmond 14
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Nathan Carter ran for 111 yards and three touchdowns and Noah Kim three scoring passes to lead Michigan State to an 45-14 victory over Richmond on Saturday.
Carter had scoring runs of 2, 44 and 6 yards in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Spartans (2-0).
Kim started the game hitting only three of his first seven pass attempts and then completed 15 straight to finish 18 of 22 for 292 yards. He had scoring passes to Tre Mosley, Tyneil Hopper and Antonio Gates Jr.
The Spiders (0-2) scored twice late in the game, on a 47-yard fumble return by Aaron Banks and Jackson Hardy’s 5-yard pass to Sean Clarke.
Northwestern 38, UTEP 7
EVANSTON, Ill. — Ben Bryant threw for a touchdown and ran for one, and Northwestern used a huge second half to beat UTEP for its first win since a hazing and abuse scandal rocked the athletic department.
The Wildcats (1-1) scored all but seven of their points in the second half in stopping a 12-game losing streak and giving interim coach David Braun his first victory. The win was their first since last year’s opener against Nebraska in Ireland — and their first on this side of the Atlantic since beating Rutgers at Ryan Field in October 2021.
The Wildcats had lost 18 of 19. But they buried UTEP (1-2) in the second half after struggling through the first two quarters.
Bryant threw an 18-yard touchdown to Thomas Gordon on the opening drive of the third. He scored from the 1 just over two minutes later, after Xander Mueller returned an interception 28 yards to the 3.
Joseph Himon II turned a third-down screen from Ryan Hilinski into an 85-yard touchdown to make it 28-7 with just under three minutes left in the third, and just like that, the Wildcats were on their way.
Iowa 20, Iowa State 13
AMES, Iowa — Jaziun Patterson rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown, Iowa’s defense made a final stand in the last two minutes, and the Hawkeyes beat Iowa State to take back the Cy-Hawk Trophy and give Kirk Ferentz his 200th win as a Division I coach.
The Cyclones scored with 2:53 left to make it a seven-point game, and they got the ball back a minute later after forcing a three-and-out. But they turned over the ball on downs when Ethan Hurkett stuffed Cartevious Norton for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1, and Cade McNamara took a knee twice to run out the clock.
Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates showed up for the 70th meeting of the cross-state rivals. The state holds the first nominating caucus next year.
The Hawkeyes, who lost 10-7 to the Cyclones in Iowa City last year, have won seven of the last eight meetings and lead the series 47-23.
Ferentz owns a 188-115 record in 25 seasons with the Hawkeyes. His other 12 wins came at Maine.
Iowa (2-0) put together drives of 70 and 80 yards on its first two possessions, taking a 10-0 lead on Patterson’s 4-yard run.
The lead grew to 17-0 on Sebastian Castro’s 30-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:29 left in the first half. Castro stepped in front of Rocco Becht’s pass intended for Norton and ran it in for the Hawkeyes’ nation-leading 10th pick-six since 2020.
Iowa State cut the margin to 20-13 when Becht threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Higgins with 2:53 left in the game.
Colorado 36, Nebraska 14
BOULDER, Colo. — Shedeur Sanders spent all day avoiding the rush, including from his own fans who were storming the field.
It’s a moment the Colorado quarterback thought he wanted — even stayed on the field to enjoy.
“But I started getting beat up,” he said with a laugh.
Sanders accounted for three scores, the defense forced four turnovers and the 22nd-ranked Buffaloes beat longtime rival Nebraska 36-14 on Saturday in the home debut of Deion Sanders at sold-out Folsom Field.
After Coach Prime’s team was the story of Week 1 with an upset of TCU, the Buffs showed it was no fluke. They even used a slightly different blueprint — one that relied on the defense early until the offense found its rhythm.
“This team,” Deion Sanders said, “hasn’t scratched the surface of what it’s capable of doing.”
Shedeur Sanders threw for 393 yards and two scores, while running for another touchdown. He capped his 6-yard romp in the fourth quarter with the dance steps his dad made famous during his playing days.
“I really think I did better than him, honestly,” the quarterback said of his shuffle.
Not so fast, his father cautioned.
“The Lord passed us when it came to dancing,” his dad said.
The Buffaloes (2-0) needed a moment to wake up given the early kickoff. But once they did, they were unstoppable. After punting on their first four drives, Shedeur Sanders and the offense scored on seven of eight possessions to turn the game into a rout. The Buffaloes outgained the Huskers (0-2) by a 454-341 margin.
“We’ve just got to be able to start faster and be able to lock in quicker,” Sanders said. “They (the defense) had our backs.”
The fans ran onto the field to celebrate with a second remaining. After a momentary delay, the official announced it was over and more rushed out.
“This is my first time somebody rushed the field,” he said. “It looked fun.”
Then, all the contact.
“I’m telling you, stay out of it,” he said. “It was a bittersweet moment.”
The contest featured two coaches trying to turn around programs that have fallen on lean times. Deion Sanders has elevated Colorado to the point where the Buffaloes had 53,241 fans in attendance — their largest crowd in 15 years — and tickets going for roughly $400. His counterpart, Matt Rhule, is still looking for his first win at Nebraska.
“I think we’re better than we’re showing. But what does that mean? It’s just words,” Rhule said. “I told the team, ‘We’re going to get this right.’”
Xavier Weaver hauled in 10 passes for 170 yards and a score, while Jace Feely connected on three field goals.
Shedeur Sanders stayed cool despite being under constant pressure and sacked seven times. He distributed the production, just like he did in a 45-42 win at TCU last weekend.
Tar’Varish Dawson had a big afternoon, with a 30-yard touchdown catch and an 8-yard score on a reverse.
The defense held the Cornhuskers in check until Colorado’s offense got revved up.
Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims fumbled two snaps, lost another on a botched handoff and had a pass picked off. Sims also had a 57-yard run for a score that cut the deficit to 13-7 in the third quarter. But he was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter when he had his left ankle rolled on as he scrambled to make a throw.
“I don’t think there’s any finger pointing going on,” linebacker Nick Henrich said. “We’ve just got to keep growing together. Everyone can do something better.”
Travis Hunter, CU’s versatile cornerback and receiver, rarely left the field. He finished with three catches for 73 yards, while also making four tackles. Hunter played 129 snaps at TCU.
The fans showed up early to get good seats as Folsom Field kicked off its 100th season in electric fashion. The crew for Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” was on hand, too, and welcomed Colorado royalty Kordell Stewart and Michael Westbrook to the set. Hall of Fame receivers Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders’ old Cowboys teammate, and Terrell Owens also were at the game.
