Ohio State's Streak Continues as Buckeyes Outlast Navy in Opener
Redshirt freshman J. T. Barrett threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns in his college debut, and No. 5 Ohio State beat Navy, 34-17, on Saturday for its 25th consecutive regular-season victory.
Barrett, who moved to the starting role after senior Braxton Miller injured his right shoulder on Aug. 18, went 12 for 15, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith that put the Buckeyes up, 20-14, with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
Ohio State (1-0) won despite allowing Navy (0-1) to gain 370 yards on the ground, including 118 by Ryan Williams-Jenkins.
Barrett became the second freshman since 1950 to start a season opener at quarterback for Ohio State. He ran nine times for 50 yards, did not throw downfield often and relied heavily on a ground game that wore down the Midshipmen in the fourth quarter.
After Navy closed to 20-17 with 13:54 remaining, the Buckeyes launched a 10-play drive with just one pass. Ezekiel Elliott converted a fourth-and-1 from the Navy 45 yard line and Barrett threw a 19-yard completion before Elliott ran in from the 10.
Barrett's 9-yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas made it 34-17 with 2:09 left.
Navy held a 7-6 lead and was driving on the opening series of the second half when Joey Bosa hit Keenan Reynolds as the quarterback was tossing a pitch to Demond Brown. The ball went awry, and Darron Lee took it 61 yards the other way for a touchdown.
The Midshipmen responded immediately. Williams-Jenkins ran 67 yards to the Ohio State 17, and Reynolds scored from the 1 to put Navy up 14-13. That gave Reynolds a touchdown in nine straight games, tying the school record.
Ohio State then turned the ball over on downs, when Elliott was stuck for a 2-yard loss on fourth down from the Navy 45.
But the momentum turned when Smith got behind the Navy defense on the right side, broke a tackle and scored on the longest touchdown against the Midshipmen since an 87-yarder by Tulane in November 2004.
Navy drove to the Ohio State 18 on the final possession of the first half before Nick Sloan missed a 36-yard field goal, keeping the Buckeyes' deficit at 7-6.
Barrett went 8 for 11 for 96 yards and an interception before halftime. His first play at Ohio State was a pass completion for 14 yards. Although he appeared comfortable in the no-huddle offense, the Buckeyes quickly punted.
Ohio State's next possession began with four straight runs, followed by a sack. A shovel pass on a third-and-21 gained 16 yards to set up a 46-yard field goal by freshman Sean Nuernberger.
Navy answered with an 11-play drive, 10 of them runs, capped by a 1-yard touchdown sweep by DeBrandon Sanders.
Midway through the second quarter, Barrett went 4-for-4 for 54 yards to bring the Buckeyes to the Navy 8. But he hurried a first-down pass and was intercepted by Parrish Gaines.
Barrett's inexperience showed again on the next series, when Ohio State had to settle for a field goal. On a third-and-2 from the Navy 4, Barrett rolled right and pitched too late to Elliott, who was smothered for a 7-yard loss.
PENN ST. 26, CENTRAL FLA. 24 Penn State won its season opener with a 36-yard field goal as time expired to defeat the University of Central Florida in front of an estimated crowd of 55,000 in Ireland at Dublin's Croke Park.
Behind a comeback led by the second-half replacement quarterback Justin Holman, the Knights appeared to have scored their own unlikely come-from-behind victory when Holman scored on a 6-yard touchdown run to put U.C.F. up, 24-23, with 1:13 left. But Christian Hackenberg, capping a 32-for-47, 454-yard performance, directed a seven-play drive to set up Sam Ficken's fourth successful field goal.
PITTSBURGH 62, DELAWARE 0 James Conner rushed for 153 yards and four first-half touchdowns as host Pittsburgh ripped Delaware.
Conner scored on runs of 7, 8, 1 and 19 yards as the Panthers' opened the season with a victory for the first time under third-year coach Paul Chryst. Pitt pushed the overmatched Blue Hens around, outgaining Delaware, 501-64, to post the program's first shutout in nine years.
Chad Voytik completed 12 of 15 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns in his first start, including a 12-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Boyd that gave the Panthers a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
Boyd, who set school freshman records for receptions and receiving yards last fall, left in the second quarter with a dislocated finger in his left hand. Delaware, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision, had hoped to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for the first time since 2007, when current Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was under center.
WAGNER 21, GEORGETOWN 3 Brian Gehring completed 13 of 19 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, and Otis Wright added two second half scores on the ground to help Wagner to a 21-3 win over host Georgetown in Saturday's season opener.
Wagner led, 7-3, at halftime and put the game away in the second half on Wright's scoring runs of 3 and 5 yards. The Seahawks defense held Georgetown to 17 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Kyle Nolan threw for 185 yards to lead Georgetown, and Henry Darmstadter accounted for the only Hoyas points, a 35-yard field goal in the waning moments of the first half.
MICH. 52, APPALACHIAN ST. 14 Devin Gardner threw three touchdown passes to Devin Funchess in the first half and host Michigan went on to rout Appalachian State seven years after being on the losing end of perhaps the biggest upset in college football history.
The Wolverines coasted to victory after Gardner threw touchdown passes to Funchess on their first two drives, and connected with him for a third score late in the first half to give them a 21-0 lead.
The Mountaineers matched Michigan's game-opening touchdown the first time they had the ball in 2007 and in a closely contested game, they became the first second-tier program to beat a Top 25 team after blocking a field goal as time expired.
U.C.L.A. 28, VIRGINIA 20 U.C.L.A. scored three defensive touchdowns before Brett Hundley led them on a critical second-half scoring drive, leading the No. 7 Bruins past Virginia. Hundley made the biggest play of the day for U.C.L.A. on a 6-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter when he overpowered safety Quin Blanding.
The Cavaliers trailed, 28-20, and had a first down at the Bruins' 19 late in the game, but three consecutive running plays netted just two yards and irritated the fans, and linebacker Myles Jack disrupted Matt Johns' fourth-and-8 pass to Doni Dowling and it fell to the ground.
N. DAK. STATE 34, IOWA STATE 14 John Crockett ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns and North Dakota State opened the season with its 25th consecutive victory in a win over Iowa State. North Dakota State lost 12 starters and its head coach after winning its third consecutive F.C.S. championship last season, but the team looked efficient under new Coach Chris Klieman, rallying from a 14-0 deficit for its fifth consecutive victory against F.C.S. competition.
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