SEC & Big Ten Week 3 Roundup: Penn State, Florida escape upsets
Florida backup quarterback Kyle Trask relieved an injured Feleipe Franks and led the No. 9 Gators to three fourth-quarter touchdown drives to seal a 29-21 win over Kentucky in both teams’ SEC opener.
Prior to Franks’ third-quarter ankle injury — a blow that will likely cost the junior the rest of the season — Franks had completed 12 of 17 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, however, the Wildcats outscored the Gators 21-3 in the second and third quarters to take a 21-10 lead into the final frame.
The Florida offense responded, however, as the junior Trask completed 9 of 13 passes for 126 yards and Josh Hammond capped off the rally with 76-yard touchdown run, sealing the UF victory with 33 seconds left to play.
Over in the Big Ten, Penn State improved to 3-0 after defeated Pittsburgh 17-10 in the 100th all-time meeting between the Nittany Lions and Panthers.
The two teams entered the half tied at 10, but a third quarter touchdown run by Noah Cain put the Nittany Lions up 17-10. Late in the fourth, the Panthers had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, but the Penn State defense held and Pitt kicker Alex Kessman hit the upright with a 19-yard field goal attempt with 4:54 to play.
Pitt got one more chance to tie the game following the missed field goal, but the Panthers drive ended with an incomplete heave to the end zone as time expired.
Now let’s check out a few more highlights from an exciting Week 3 in the SEC and Big Ten:
Alabama 47, South Carolina 23: Alabama defeated South Carolina 47-23 despite only rushing for 76 yards, its fewest since rushing for 66 in a 14-13 win over Arkansas in 2014. The Tide’s offense relied heavily on a record-setting passing day by Tua Tagovailoa (444 passing yards, 5 touchdowns) in the win.
Tennessee 45, Chattanooga 0: Tennessee got its first win of the season against Chattanooga, as the Vols rolled to a 45-point win in Knoxville.
Iowa 18, Iowa State 17: Nate Stanley led the Hawkeyes with 201 passing yards and the No. 19 Iowa defense made a big fourth-down stop late in the game to seal the Hawkeyes’ fifth straight win over the Cyclones.
Kansas State 31, Mississippi State 24: Kansas State handed Mississippi State its first loss of the season, sealing the win with 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points, including a 100-yard kickoff return by Malik Knowles.
Temple 20, Maryland 17: Kenny Yeboah put Temple ahead with a one-handed touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter, and the Owls used two clutch stops at the goal line to beat Maryland 20-17 on Saturday. Anthony McFarland ran for 132 yards and Josh Jackson threw for 183 yards for the Terps.
Minnesota 35, Georgia Southern 32: Gophers wideout Tyler Johnson caught three touchdown passes from Tanner Morgan, including the go-ahead score late in the fourth to seal the win for Minnesota.