Skylar Thompson threw for 334 yards and ran for three touchdowns and Kansas State rallied from 21 points down to stun No. 3 Oklahoma 38-35 on Saturday.
Freshman Deuce Vaughn caught four passes for 129 yards and ran for a touchdown in the Wildcats' first road victory over a a top-three team in the AP poll. They rebounded from an opening loss to Arkansas State.
Oklahoma freshman Spencer Rattler passed for 387 yards and four touchdowns, but threw three interceptions.
Kansas State defensive back Jahron McPherson (31) celebrates with teammates Ross Elder (19) and Justin Hughes (32) after an interception to seal the win over Oklahoma in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Norman, Okla. (AP PhotoSue Ogrocki).
Kansas State upset Oklahoma 48-41 in Manhattan last year.
Kansas State said earlier in the week it was struggling to have enough players available at all position groups to play the game because of COVID-19.
Two short rushing touchdowns by Thompson got the Wildcats back in the game. Nick Allen blocked Reeves Mundschau’s punt, and the Wildcats took over at the Oklahoma 38. Vaughn’s 38-yard touchdown run on the Wildcats’ second offensive play and the extra point tied it at 35 with 8:17 to play.
Kansas State defensive back AJ Parker (12) dives to block a punt by Oklahoma punter Reeves Mundschau (46) in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Norman, Okla. (AP PhotoSue Ogrocki).
Kansas State’s Blake Lynch hit a 50-yard field goal with 4:32 remaining. Jahron McPherson intercepted Rattler's pass in the final minute.
Oklahoma is 1-1.
NO. 5 FLORIDA 51, MISSISSIPPI 35
Kyle Pitts caught four of Kyle Trask’s six touchdown passes and Florida spoiled coach Lane Kiffin's Mississippi debut.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask (11) releases a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP PhotoThomas Graning)
Trask completed 30 of 42 passes for 416 yards, throwing touchdown passes of 1, 16, 71 and 17 yards to Pitts. The star tight end had 170 yards receiving in the season and Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Trask directed four consecutive touchdown drives that spanned the second and third quarters to help the Gators build a 41-14 lead for the Gators (1-0 Southeastern Conference).
Kiffin, the former Tennessee and Southern California head coach who came to Ole Miss from FAU, had the Rebels’ offense humming with Matt Corral at quarterback. Corral completed 22 of 31 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns passes, two to Dontario Drummond. But they couldn’t stop the Gators.
NO. 8 AUBURN 29, NO. 23 KENTUCKY 13
Bo Nix threw for 233 yards and three second-half touchdowns, including a pair to Seth Williams, and Auburn scored twice in the fourth quarter to pull away from Kentucky in the season opener.
The Tigers turned a three-quarter scare into a comfortable win by capitalizing on a late turnover and Kentucky’s failed fake punt in the lone Top 25 matchup of the Southeastern Conference’s opening weekend.
Nix delivered some big plays to start an encore to a promising freshman season, especially to Williams. He completed 16 of 27 passes and also ran for 34 yards.
Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson returned from a knee injury that cost him most of last season. He completed 24 of 37 passes for 239 yards and ran for 42 yards.
NO. 13 CENTRAL FLORIDA 51, EAST CAROLINA 28
Dillon Gabriel threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns to help Central Florida beat East Carolina to open its American Athletic Conference schedule.
Jaylon Robinson and Marlon Williams each had huge games as Gabriel’s top targets for the Knights (2-0, 1-0). Robinson had nine catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns, and Williams had a career-best 13 catches for 136 yards.
Holton Ahlers threw for 215 yards and three TDs for the Pirates (0-1, 0-1). They had delayed start to the season after coronavirus-related scheduling changes.
NO. 19 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 20, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 18
Nate Snyder hit a 53-yard field goal on the final play to lift Louisiana-Lafayette past Georgia Southern.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (3-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) looked on the way to their first loss when Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts hit Khaleb Hood with a 28-yard touchdown pass and Dalton Anderson with a 2-point conversion with 54 seconds left to give the Eagles (1-1, 0-1) an 18-17 lead.
ULL quarterback Levi Lewis, who threw for 290 yards, completed three passes for 47 yards in the final drive, including an 18-yarder to running back Trey Ragas to the Eagle 36. From there, Snyder — who was 2 fo -6 on the season including three misses inside 35 yards — split the uprights to give the Cajuns their first 3-0 start since 1988.
NO. 21 PITTSBURGH 23, NO. 24 LOUISVILLE 20
Kenny Pickett threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns and Pittsburgh sacked Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham seven times.
The Panthers moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2014 behind a relentless defense that kept the Cardinals (1-2, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) in check for most of the afternoon. Pitt limited Louisville to 223 total yards — less than half of its season average coming in — and picked off three of Cunningham's passes.
Senior defensive end Patrick Jones II had three sacks for the Panthers (3-0, 2-0).