STARS
—Bryce Young, Alabama, became the first quarterback in school history to throw four TD passes in his debut as a starter, lifting the top-ranked Tide to a 44-13 rout of No. 14 Miami.
—Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham, matched a Division I record with 30 tackles in a 52-7 loss to Nebraska.
—Ren Hefley, Presbyterian, tossed an FCS record 10 TD passes in an 84-43 victory over NAIA-member St. Andrews
—Tanner Mordecai, SMU, threw five of his school-record seven TDs in the first half to help the Mustangs beat Abilene Christian 56-9.
—DeAndre Torrey, North Texas, ran for 244 yards and three TDs in a 44-14 romp over FCS-member Northwestern State.
—Cole Johnson, James Madison, matched a program record with five TD passes in a 68-10 rout of Morehead State.
—Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland, threw for 332 yards and three TDs to lead the Terps over turnover-prone West Virginia 30-24.
—Will Levis, Kentucky, threw for career highs of 367 yards and four TDs to help the Wildcats blow out Louisiana Monroe 45-10.
—Riley Moss, Iowa, returned two first-half interceptions for TDs and the No. 18 Hawkeyes defeated No. 17 Indiana 34-6.
—Leon O’Neal Jr., Texas A&M, had two interceptions, returning the second one 85 yards for a TD to help the No. 6 Aggies beat Kent State 41-10.
—Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati, threw for 295 yards and four TDs to help the No. 8 Bearcats beat Miami of Ohio 49-14.
—Bo Nix, Auburn, passed for 275 yards and three TDs in just over a half and the Tigers gave new coach Bryan Harsin a 60-10 cakewalk in his debut against Akron.
—Rasheen Ali, Marshall, scored four TDs in a 49-7 win over Navy.
—Tyler Badie, Missouri, ran for 185 yards and accounted for two TDs as the Tigers beat Central Michigan 34-24.
—Sean Tucker, Syracuse, set a career high with 181 rushing yards and a TD in a 29-9 win over Ohio.
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TOP-5 SHOWDOWN
Georgia coach Kirby Smart knew his defense was super athletic.
He didn’t know they would be this good.
Christopher Smith returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown and the fifth-ranked Bulldogs turned in a defensive effort for the ages, toppling No. 3 Clemson 10-3 in the opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs held the Tigers to 2 yards rushing and sacked D.J. Uiagalelei seven times to position themselves for a serious run at the College Football Playoffs.
Uiagalelei finished 19 of 37 for 178 yards with one interception. He bobbled snaps, was out of sync with his receivers and spent most of the day under heavy duress against a relentless Bulldogs pass rush.
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GRIZZLY UPSET
A couple of weeks before the season started, Montana coach Bobby Hauck met with university president Seth Bodnar. His message was clear: The Grizzlies were going to be really good and even might take down Washington in the opener.
Yes, that Washington. The one from the Pac-12 and expected to challenge for a conference title.
Shockingly, Hauck turned out to be right.
Montana became the first FCS team to upset a ranked FBS team in five years, stunning No. 20 Washington 13-7.
The Grizzlies got the better of their Pac-12 foe, pulling off arguably the biggest victory in school history outside of winning two FCS national titles.
Montana is the first FCS team to beat a ranked FBS team since North Dakota State won at No. 13 Iowa 23-21 early in the 2016 season, and the fifth time it has happened since Appalachian State’s famous upset of No. 5 Michigan in 2007. It was Montana’s second victory over Washington, the last coming in 1920.
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NUMBERS
23_Straight home-opening wins by North Dakota State with a 28-6 win over Albany.
25_Straight wins in home openers by No. 12 Wisconsin before a 16-10 loss to No. 19 Penn State.
30_Tackles by Fordham LB Ryan Greenhagen against Nebraska to tie a Division I record last matched Stetson’s Donald Payne against Campbell in 2014.
34_Years since East Tennessee State beat a Power Five program before upsetting Vanderbilt 23-3.
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ROLLING TIDE
Looking very much like a team capable of making another run at a national title, No. 1 Alabama opened its season with a 44-13 rout of No. 14 Miami behind four touchdown passes from Bryce Young in his first college start.
The sophomore from Southern California completed 27 of 38 for 344 yards, hooking up with Cameron Latu on a pair of scoring plays and burying the Hurricanes with a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams early in the third quarter.
Young became the first Alabama quarterback to throw four TD passes in his starting debut. Mac Jones and Joe Namath had shared the school record with three scoring throws to begin their stints as the Tide’s No. 1 QB.
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