KENTUCKY 44, BALL STATE 14
LIBERTY 34, BOWLING GREEN 24
OHIO 27, LONG ISLAND 10
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 27, BOSTON COLLEGE 24
TEMPLE 24, AKRON 21
ILLINOIS 30, TOLEDO 28
MADISON, WI -- Visiting Buffalo trailed 14-10 at halftime, but No. 19 Wisconsin outscored the Bulls 24-7 over the final 24 minutes to register a 38-17 victory Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers outgained UB 501-316 overall, with most of UW's offense coming on the ground. Wisconsin averaged 8.0 ypc while totaling 312 yards rushing.
Buffalo registered 194 yards through the air and another 122 on the ground. Senior quarterback Cole Snyder completed 26-of-41 attempts with two touchdowns. Cole Harrity and Marlyn Johnson combined for nine receptions, 76 yards and two scores. Mike Washington and Ron Cook Jr. each rushed 12 times, combining for 103 yards.
Marcus Fuqua led the Bulls defense with 11 tackles. Devin Grant and Shaun Dolac each picked off a Badgers pass.
LEXINGTON, Ky -- Kentucky reeled off 27 straight points beginning in the second quarter on the way to a 44-14 win over Ball State Saturday at Kroger Field.
A 5-yard Kadin Smonza to Ty Robinson TD pass with 42 seconds left in the third quarter narrowed the gap to 30-14. However, Kentucky returned the following kickoff 99 yards for another score. A final Wildcats TD came on a 30-yard run with six seconds left in the game.
Smonza completed 15-of-21 passes for 165 yards and a TD. Overall, the Cardinals gained 223 through the air and 72 on the ground. BSU rushers averaged just 1.8 ypc. on 41 trips.
Lane Hatcher's five-yard carry gave BSU its only rushing score. Ty Robinson recorded the only receiving TD. He led Ball State with 90 yards on five catches. Tanner Koziol had eight receptions totaling 66 yards.
Tyler Potts picked off one UK pass and had three tackles for the defense. Lucas Barrow averaged 48.5 yards per punt.
Kentucky's Devin Leary completed 18-of-31 passes, good for 241 yards with one TD and one pick. Ray Davis averaged 8.0 ypc while gaining 112 yards with two touchdowns.
LYNCHBURG, Va -- Hosting Liberty fought off a strong Bowling Green comeback bid to down the Falcons 34-24 Saturday at Williams Stadium.
After trailing 24-0 in the first quarter, Bowling Green fought back to trail Liberty 31-24 through three quarters. The Flames, however, pitched a fourth quarter shutout and added three more points for the final 10-point margin.
Turnovers were a key factor in the contest as LU forced five turnovers while committing just one. All five Falcon turnovers came on inteceptions as Connor Bazelak and Camden Orth combined to complete 11-of-31 attempts, totaling 137 yards with one TD and five picks.
Bowling Green's run game, meanwhile, averaged 6.2 ypc while contributing 191 yards and one touchdown. Ta'ron Keith carried just three times but gained 69 yards and scored once. Terion Stewart had a team-high seven carries, good for 55 yards.
Liberty also flourished on the ground, gaining a total of 246 yards while averaging 5.0 ypc.
Joseph Sipp Jr. (12 tackles) and Jalen Huskey (10 tackles) led the Falcons defense. Alan Anaya contributed a 34-yard field goal.
Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter completed 11-of-20 passes for 143 yards and two scores. He also led the Flames in rushing with 19 carries for a total of 82 yards.
ATHENS, Oh -- Standout QB Kurtis Rourke didn't play, but C.J. Harris and Parker Navarro combined in his place to throw three touchdown passes in a 27-10 Bobcat victory over Long Island University Saturday at Peden Stadium.
Rourke was injured late in the first quarter of Ohio's season opener one week earlier at San Diego State. However, reports earlier this week indicated the senior was on track in his recovery and availability for duty against LIU.
After the Bobcats took a 3-0 first quarter lead, Harris and Navarro both tossed short TD passes in the second quarter to give Ohio a 17-0 edge.
Michael Coney put Long Island on the board as time expired, hitting a 41-yard second quarter field goal. However, Ohio posted 10 unanswered points in the third stanza. Navarro hit freshman tight end Mason Williams on a 32-yard pass at 11:50 and Gianni Spetic booted a 25-yard field goal at 4:13.
Long Island managed one final score with 6:21 remaining, but the Sharks' only touchdown of the day was not nearly enough.
Ohio's defense was particularly effective against LIU's ground game, limiting the Sharks to 34 total yards and a 1.5 ypc average. The Bobcats also surrendered just three first downs on third down, albeit LIU also went 2-of-4 on fourth down.
Quarterback Luca Stanzani completed 21-of-33 pass attempts for a total of 172 yards with one TD and two interceptions. Those were picked off by Bryce Houston and Austin Brawley. The former also led Bobcat defenders with 11 tackles.
Offensively, Sieh Bangura carried 19 times for 107 yards as Ohio registered 199 rushing yards. Navarro and Harris, meanwhile, combined to complete 12-of-15 attempts for 104 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
CHESTER HILL, Ma -- After surrendering a 21-7 fourth quarter lead, Northern Illinois pushed across a 1-yard Rocky Lombardi touchdown run in overtime to knock off Boston College 27-24.
It was the second time in three years NIU has opened its season by winning against an ACC foe. Northern Illinois defeated Georgia Tech in 2021 and went on to win the Mid-American Conference title.
The Huskies used a balanced attack to claim their victory, running for 166 yards and passing for 172. Three of the four touchdowns came on the ground.
After a scoreless first quarter, Northern Illinois finally got on the scoreboard with a seven-yard pass from junior running back Justin Lynch to Antario Brown.
Brown scored again -- this time on a two-yard run - with 10:33 remaining in the third period. However, BC answered this one with an 11-yard pass from Thomas Castellanos to Lewis Bond.
Northern Illinois went up 21-7 on Brock Lampe's 1-yard run at 9:24 of the fourth stanza. Once again, the Eagles responded. Boston College made it 21-14 on a 2-yard Castellanos run at 5:59. When he hit Jaden Williams on a 30-yard scoring strike at 1:44, the game was tied.
Boston College got the first possession of overtime and Liam Connor converted a 39-yard field goal.
Lombardi got the Huskies moving on their possession with a 16-yard completion. Gavin Williams then ran for eight yards before Lombardi hurried the Huskies to the line before squeezing his way in for the winning score.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa -- Akron led 21-7 late in the second quarter, but the Zips failed to score after that and Temple rallied for a 24-21 victory Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.
E.J. Warner's 1-yard pass to Edward Saydee at 14:52 of the fourth period proved to be the winner as neither team was able to score after that.
Temple managed just 61 yards rushing on the day, but Warner threw 49 times, completing 28 for 292 yards with two touchdowns.
Akron's D.J. Irons, meanwhile, completed 17-of-29 attempts totaling 205 yards with two TDs and one inteception. His longest was a 77-yard scoring strike to Lorenzo Lingard. That came less than a minute into the game.
Temple tied things early in the second quarter on Quincy Patterson's 1-yard run. However Akron tallied twice to build a 21-7 lead. Tahj Bullock run the first in from two yards out at 7:49 and Irons found Walker for a 14-yard score at 1:37.
Camden Price knocked through a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the period. Temple's defense then held UA scoreless in the second half, while the Owls offense scored two touchdowns.
CHAMPAIGN, Il -- Caleb Griffin's 29-yard field goal with five seconds remaining lifted Illinois to a 30-28 win over Toledo Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Although Illinois scored first with a 1-yard TD run at 9:47, UT scored the next 19 points. DeQuan Finn's 9-yard pass to Peny Boone gave the Rockets a 19-7 lead with 11:23 left in the third period.
Illinois's offense began to click midway through the stanza, and the Illini tallied three touchdowns over the next 10 minutes. That left the hosts in front 27-19.
Toledo's Luke Pawtak closed the deficit with a 44-yard field goal at 9:38. Finn moved UT in front with a 1-yard TD run at 2:59. However, a pass play for the two-point conversion failed, leaving the Rockets with a 28-27 edge.
Illinois took over and marched 64 yards in 12 plays before kicking the gamer-winner.
Finn completed 20-of-36 passes totaling 230 yards with two TDs and one interceptions. Junior Vandeross III and Jerjuan Newton paced Rocket receivers with a combined 11 catches for 131 yards and a score.
Jacquez Stewart paced UT rushers with 12 carries for 82 yards. Finn added another 75 yards and one TD on 20 carries.
Dallas Gant topped Toledo defenders with nine tackles (8 solo). Maxen Hook had one interception.