College football Week 2 top plays: Iowa outlasts Iowa State; Texas-Alabama, more
Week 2 of the college football season was filled with exciting matchups!
Kicking things off, Deion Sanders and No. 22 Colorado defeated longtime rival Nebraska on “Big Noon Kickoff” in the Buffaloes’ home opener. Find all the action here.
Elsewhere, No. 5 Ohio State took down Youngstown State by double digits, while Iowa took down in-state rival Iowa State to reclaim the Cy-Hawk Trophy.
Later in the day, No. 3 Alabama was upset at home, losing to No. 11 Texas, 34-24, in its first loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2019. No. 13 Oregon was able to pick up a win against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, but needed nearly every minute as it eventually pulled away with a 38-30 victory. And closing out the night, No. 6 USC cruised past Stanford in an early-season Pac-12 matchup.
Here are the top moments from Saturday’s action!
Caleb carries it all the way to the end zone
On an option play, Caleb Williams opted to keep the ball, breaking a tackle in the backfield before running 20-plus yards down the field. Right before he was about to get into the end zone, Williams was met in front of the goal line by a Stanford defender. That was no problem for the reigning Heisman winner though as he plowed through to get the game’s first touchdown.
Branch back at it
Zachariah Branch continued the electrifying start to his college career on Saturday. In the second quarter, he perfectly navigated a punt return to score a 75-yard touchdown for his second return touchdown in three games. The score put USC up 28-0 in the second quarter.
Zachariah Branch shows off ELITE speed in 75-yard punt return TD to help USC grab a 28-0 lead against Stanford
Williams won’t stop
The Heisman QB made another Heisman play in the middle of the second quarter. With USC in the red zone, Williams danced around in the pocket as he couldn’t find a receiver on his initial reads. After several seconds, Williams threw on the run and found an open Dorian Singer to put the Trojans up, 35-0.
On the dot
Williams continued to impress in the second quarter. On the first play following Stanford’s first score of the game, the USC quarterback unloaded, launching a pass down the field that traveled in the air for 65 yards before landing in Brenden Rice‘s arms for a 75-yard touchdown.
No. 11 Texas 34, No. 3 Alabama 24
Texas takeaway
The first mistake of the game belonged to Alabama as Jalen Milroe was picked off on the Crimson Tide’s opening drive by Jahdae Barron, giving the Longhorns the ball on the right side of the 50-yard- line.
A Worthy TD!
Xavier Worthy put his head down and hit the jets, blazing past the Alabama secondary to get himself enough room to come up with Quinn Ewers‘ deep pass for a 44-yard touchdown to give Texas a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter.
A crazy play that’s wiped away
Late in the first half, Milroe tried to make some magic happen to help Alabama get in the end zone. It initially looked like he accomplished that, running away from the pressure and throwing the ball at the last second as he was heading toward the sideline. A Texas defender initially got his hands on the ball, but it took the perfect ricochet off his hands, allowing Jermaine Burton to come up with the grab.
But Milroe’s decision to throw the ball caused an Alabama offensive lineman to run down the field, leading to an illegal man downfield penalty to wipe away the penalty. The Crimson Tide had to settle for a field goal and go into halftime trailing 13-6.
This one finally counts for Alabama to give it the lead
After getting a touchdown wiped away earlier, Milroe and Burton connected again in the closing moments of the third quarter. There were no flags on this one though as Milroe was decisive with his throw, launching his pass 48 yards down the field to find Burton for a touchdown that gave Alabama a 16-13 lead.
Mitchell makes it happen
Texas answered right back following Alabama’s first touchdown of the game. A catch-and-run from Ja’Tavion Sanders brought the Longhorns 50 yards down the field, placing them at the Crimson Tide’s 7-yard line. On the next play, Ewers hit Adonai Mitchell on a slant to give Texas the lead back.
Milroe makes a major mistake
Right after Texas took the lead, Alabama gave the ball right back. Milroe threw a pass right at Texas defensive back Jerrin Thompson, who returned the ball to Alabama’s 5-yard line.
On the next play, Jonathon Brooks powered his way into the end zone to extend Texas’ lead to 27-16.
Milroe makes it happen
Alabama was able to rebound after Texas extended its lead. First, Milroe came up with a major completion on third-and-17. A few plays later, he fumbled the ball on the snap, but regathered it before tossing it to Amari Niblack. The tight end caught the ball over the middle but broke loose and turned upfield for a score. Alabama added two points on the conversion to cut Texas’ lead to 27-24 with more than enough time remaining.
Alabama can’t stop Adonai
Texas continued its scoring run midway through the fourth quarter when Mitchell once again blew past Alabama’s secondary, allowing Ewers to connect with him for a 39-yard score to give the Longhorns a 34-24 lead.
No. 13 Oregon 38, Texas Tech 30
Pricey TD
Myles Price began the scoring in this tilt in Lubbock by coming up with an impressive grab in the end zone, halting his momentum in order to reach low and grab the ball before hitting the ground to give Texas Tech a 7-0 lead.
Tyler Shough links up with Myles Price for an 18-yard touchdown to give Texas Tech the early lead against Oregon
Hey, it’s Franklin!
Shortly after Texas Tech took the lead, Oregon responded with its own touchdown. Wide receiver Troy Franklin ran right by Texas Tech’s secondary to get open and bring in a catch from Bo Nix on a deep route for a 78-yard score to make it 7-7 just over six minutes into the game.
Oregon’s Bo Nix connects with Troy Franklin for a 72-yard touchdown to even out the score against Texas Tech
Take it away, Tez
On third-and-goal, Tez Johnson added another touchdown for the Ducks when he got open along the sideline before running upfield for the score.
But Oregon wasn’t done there as Terrance Ferguson added the two-point conversion, keeping the Ducks’ mascot busy with pushups again.
Tez Johnson’s 13-yard touchdown and Terrance Ferguson’s two-point conversion give Oregon a lead over Texas Tech
A Tharp TD
Tyler Shough added his second touchdown pass of the day when he found Mason Tharp over the middle for a 7-yard score, cutting Oregon’s lead to 15-13 in the second quarter. Texas Tech wasn’t able to convert on the conversion to tie the game.
Tyler Shough hits Mason Tharp on the 7-yard touchdown pass to help Texas Tech close the gap with Oregon
Going Shough-low for the score
Texas Tech’s quarterback kept the ball on what appeared to be an option play, navigating his way behind his offensive line for a 5-yard score to give the Red Raiders their first lead of the game in the third quarter.
Chaos!
Texas Tech carried its momentum from its go-ahead score to quickly get Oregon’s offense off the field in the ensuing possession. It continued to ramp up the pressure on Oregon by getting a hand on the Ducks’ punt, giving the Red Raiders the ball at the Ducks’ 41-yard line.
But Texas Tech’s momentum ended on the next play. Shough threw a pass right at Oregon corner Khyree Jackson for an interception.
Shough-ing off
Shough added his fourth touchdown of the day in the middle of the third quarter when he deceived Oregon’s defense with a fake screen before hitting Jerand Bradley in stride for a 34-yard touchdown to give Texas Tech a 27-18 lead.
Bucky bursts through
The Ducks got a much-needed touchdown in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter when Bucky Irving plowed his way into the end zone for a 3-yard score, cutting the Red Raiders’ lead to 27-25.
Taking the lead
After Texas Tech took a 30-28 lead with just over five minutes left, Oregon took the lead back with 1:10 remaining when it made a 34-yard field goal.
Sealing the win
With Texas Tech driving to get into field goal range for the win in the final minute, Oregon ended its hopes of a comeback win when Jeffrey Bassa picked off Shough and ran the ball all the way back for a touchdown to put the Dubks up, 38-30.
Blocked!
Iowa blocked the first field goal attempt from Iowa State on the Cyclones‘ opening drive, keeping things scoreless.
Hawkeyes hawking the Cyclones
Iowa State couldn’t pick up the first down on a third-and-1 in the first quarter, as a swarm of Iowa defenders came in for the stop.
Powering Patterson
Jaziun Patterson got the game’s first touchdown as he lowered his shoulder to power through Iowa State defenders for a 4-yard score on second-and-goal. The score gave Iowa a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
Trading picks leads to an Iowa score
The defensive prowess of both teams was on full display over a three-play span in the later stage of the second quarter. First, Cade McNamara‘s deep shot on third-and-8 resulted in an interception as Iowa State’s Jeremiah Cooper won the jump ball for his third interception already this season.
However, two plays later, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht gave the ball back when he threw an interception. Iowa’s Sebastian Castro jumped the pass, came up with the ball and ran 30 yards for a score that put the Hawkeyes up, 17-0.
Sebastian Castro intercepts the pass and takes it 30 yards for the pick-six extending Iowa’s lead against Iowa State
Fourth-and-TD
Iowa State managed to eventually find the end zone to stay alive late in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-9 play while trailing 20-6, Becht tossed the ball to Jayden Higgins, who was able to soar and come up with the grab in single coverage for the TD.
Getting the stop
Iowa needed just one yard on third down to ice the game, but a pair of Iowa State defenders were able to trip up Kaleb Johnson at the line of scrimmage to force a punt and give the Cyclone one last chance to tie it up.
One last stop
Iowa’s defense rose to the occasion late in the fourth quarter. Cartevious Norton was met in the backfield once he got the ball on his fourth-and-1 run, leading to a turnover on downs that allowed Iowa to run the clock out and win the Cy-Hawk Trophy.
No. 5 Ohio State 35, Youngstown State 7
First to strike
The Buckeyes were on the board first after QB Kyle McCord found former high schoolmate Marvin Harrison Jr. for six.
Fake it ’til you make it
A fake hand-off gave Youngstown QB Mitch Davidson an easy run into the end zone to get the Penguins their first score of the day, which knotted things up midway through the first quarter and marked YSU’s first TD all-time at Ohio Stadium.
Another one!
Harrison hauled in another deep pass for a touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
After further review
Ohio State got its third touchdown of the game after a TreVeyon Henderson fumble call at the goal line was reversed.
Going for it
The Buckeyes added their fourth score of the day after going for it on fourth-and-1. After a short pass from McCord, Emeka Egbuka shook off a Penguins defender on his way to the end zone, giving Ohio State a 28-7 lead at the break.
Pulling away
Henderson got his second rushing touchdown of the day, late in the third quarter, to tack on six more for Ohio State.
Just like that, the Buckeyes took a 35-7 lead headed into the final frame, which secured the win at home.
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