College football’s first weekend is in full swing, with a full onslaught of games Saturday, one game on Sunday and then the intriguing Labor Day tilt between defending national champion Ohio State and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Here’s what you need to know during this long, wonderful weekend of football.
Top story lines
All times Eastern.
| |
|
SATURDAY NIGHT SHIFT
| Game | Time/TV |
|---|---|
| No. 3 Alabama 35, No. 20 Wisconsin 17 | |
| No. 7 Oregon 61, Eastern Washington 42 | |
| No. 10 Florida State 59, Texas State 16 | |
| No. 11 Notre Dame 38, Texas 3 | |
| McNeese State vs. No. 14 LSU, canceled | |
| Texas A&M 38, No. 15 Arizona State 17 | |
| West Virginia 44, Georgia Southern 0 | |
| Kentucky 40, Louisiana-Lafayette 33 | |
| Florida 61, New Mexico State 13 | |
| Northern Illinois 38, UNLV 30 | |
| Mississippi State at Southern Mississippi | |
| Arkansas State at No. 8 USC |
LSU’s game against McNeese State was canceled following a four-hour delay for lightning. It was one of several weather-related delays this weekend. Among the more serious ones, the game between Kent State and Illinois in Champaign, Ill., was delayed from Friday to Saturday because of bad weather. The Illini won, 52-3.
SUNDAY
| Purdue at Marshall | 3 p.m. (Fox Sports 1) |
If you’re desperate or bed-ridden, I guess.
MONDAY
| No. 1 Ohio State at Virginia Tech | 8 p.m. (ESPN) |
The Buckeyes will be without four suspended players against the Hokies on Monday night, including defensive end Joey Bosa, one of the nation’s best with 13 1/2 sacks last season. We also don’t know the identity of Ohio State’s starting quarterback, as Coach Urban Meyer won’t say whether it’ll be J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones. All of this makes the Buckeyes’ trip to Blacksburg — a cauldron of Metallica-fueled exuberance during night games — all the more intriguing. I mean, a mediocre Virginia Tech team won in Columbus last year.
SATURDAY SWING SHIFT
The first “Wow” of the season to BYU, whose Mitch Mathews boxed out the Nebraska defense and wrestled across the goal line for a 42-yard touchdown reception with no time left and a 33-28 victory. Read all about it (and, more importantly, watch the play) on the Early Lead. The pass was thrown by freshman backup Tanner Mangum, who came into the game after standout starter Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending foot injury….
Temple, playing before a sellout home crowd for just the second time since 2003, beat Penn State for the first time since 1941, a stretch of 38 losses and one tie. As good as that loss is for the Owls, it’s that bad for the Nittany Lions, who were dominated. Christian Hackenberg has been hyped as a potential No. 1 NFL pick, but it’s hard to see how he’ll get to show his stuff — or even make it to the draft — behind that offensive line. He was sacked nearly as many times (10) as he completed a pass (11, in 25 attempts for a measly 103 yards)….
