Locals in the NFL: Utes' Jaylon Johnson had Caleb Williams' back — literally — in Bears win

All eyes in the Chicago Bears' 2024 season opener were on starting quarterback Caleb Williams, but perhaps Williams' eyes should have been on Jaylon Johnson.

Joy in Mud Bowl: Football tournament celebrates 50 years of messy fun

College football players aspire to play in bowl games. Professional players dream of playing in the Super Bowl. On Sunday, a bunch of amateurs in New Hampshire just wanted to get muddy. The three-day mudfest wrapped up with the culmination of the Mud Bowl, which celebrated its 50th year of mud-caked football in North Conway, New Hampshire. The event features athletes trudging through knee-deep muck to score. Ryan Martin said he's been playing mud ball for almost 20 years and said it's a good excuse to meet up with old friends he's grown up with.

Colorado's leaky offensive line is exposed again as Nebraska racks up 6 sacks

and nothing has changed when it comes to the blocking up front. That much was apparent in the Buffaloes' 28-10 loss at Nebraska on Saturday night. The Cornhuskers had six sacks and 10 quarterback hurries and allowed just 16 yards rushing. Coach Deion Sanders said it's critical to find a way to protect Shedeur Sanders. He was sacked once on each of the Buffs' first four possessions. Colorado running back Charlie Offerdahl also got stuffed twice for a loss on fourth-and-1s.

CFP Bracket Watch: More Southeastern Conference teams in 12-team field after Week 2

Haters of the Southeastern Conference got a glimpse of a nightmare College Football Playoff scenario two weeks into the season. Using the AP Top 25 to set a projected 12-team bracket, half the field would be SEC teams, including two-thirds of the top nine seeds. The SEC surge comes on the heels of No. 2 Texas' dominant victory over defending national champion Michigan of the Big Ten and No. 7 Tennessee turning a ranked matchup against North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference into a romp.

Even with win, Utah drops to No. 12 in latest AP Top 25 rankings following Week 2 chaos

Wins don't always translate to a jump in the national rankings, and Utah found that out Sunday afternoon.

AP Top 25: SEC grabs six of the first seven spots in rankings as Notre Dame tumbles to No. 18

After the first shake-up of the college football season, the Southeastern Conference grabbed six of the top seven spots in the AP Top 25, a first in the 88-year history of the rankings. Georgia received 54 out of a possible 63 first-place votes to keep a firm hold on No. 1. No. 2 Texas jumped a spot after dominating defending national champion Michigan on the road and received four first-place votes. No. 3 Ohio State slipped a spot. Then came No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Mississippi, No. 6 Missouri and No. 7 Tennessee from the SEC. Notre Dame tumbled to 18th after being upset by Northern Illinois.

The AP Top 25

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sep. 8, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Josh Furlong's AP Top 25: A bizarre Week 2 alters the makeup of the top 10

Does anybody actually want to be ranked anymore?

Griffin and Hankerson each run for a TD, Oregon State beats San Diego State 21-0

Jam Griffin and Anthony Hankerson each ran for a touchdown, Gevani McCoy threw a 21-yard scoring strike to Bryce Caufield and Oregon State beat San Diego State 21-0. McCoy was 16-of-26 passing for 181 yards. Griffin finished with 89 yards rushing and Hankerson added 71 yards. Trent Walker had eight receptions for 92 yards for Oregon State (2-0). The Beavers recorded their first shutout since September of 2021, when they beat Idaho 42-0 and their first road shutout since a 0-0 tie with Oregon in 1983. Griffin scored on a 16-yard run to give the Beavers the lead about 3 minutes into the game and Hankerson capped a 13-play, 98-yard drive with a 14-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 14-0.

Cooley runs for 2 fourth-quarter TDs as Liberty rallies, beats New Mexico St. 30-24

Quinton Cooley had 112 yards rushing and ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, CJ Bazile Jr. returned a fumble 22-yard for a TD and Liberty rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat New Mexico State 30-24. Back-to-back penalties against Liberty set up a 2-yard scoring run by Parker Awad to make it 24-15 with 7:42 left in the game. Cooley answered with a 27-yard TD run 2 1/2 minutes later and, after the Flames defense forced a punt, Cooley ripped off a 44-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 90-yard drive that gave Liberty its first lead of the game at 30-24 with 1:05 to play. Awad finished 9-of-21 passing for 156 yards with two touchdowns for the Aggies. Seth McGowan had 66 yards rushing and Mike Washington ran for 61.

No. 13 USC's revitalized defense dominates again in a 48-0 blowout of Utah State

Quinten Joyner rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 13 Southern California's revitalized defense had the Trojans' first shutout since 2011 in a 48-0 victory over Utah State. Miller Moss passed for 229 yards and a touchdown while playing only the first 2 1/2 quarters in his first home start for the Trojans. Woody Marks ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, while A'Marion Peterson rushed for another score. Bryson Barnes passed for 103 yards for the Aggies, but the transfer QB couldn't win at the Coliseum for the second time in his football career.

Aggies fail to score in blowout loss on the road to No. 13 USC

Any good feelings Utah State football had after its season-opening win over Robert Morris are likely gone.

McIvor passes for 297 yards and 3 TDs, Abilene Christian beats West Georgia 38-24

Maverick McIvor threw two of his three touchdown passes to Nehemiah Martinez I and Abilene Christian beat West Georgia 38-24. McIvor was 24-of-27 passing for 297 yard with no interceptions. Martinez finished with seven receptions for 135 yards and added runs of 20 and 35 yards for Abilene Christian (1-1, 1-0 United Athletic Conference).  Quincy Casey passed for 202 yards, including second-half touchdown passes of 27 and 22 yards to Dylan Gary, and his 2-yard TD run for West Georgia with a second to play capped the scoring.

Skattebo runs for 262 yards, Arizona State hangs on for 30-23 win over Mississippi State

Cam Skattebo rushed for a career-high 262 yards, quarterback Sam Leavitt ran for two touchdowns and Arizona State held on in the final minutes for its first win over a Southeastern Conference opponent by beating Mississippi State 30-23. Mississippi State nearly rallied from a 30-3 deficit midway through the third quarter, cutting the score to 30-23 with 5:27 left in the fourth. Arizona State was able to run out the clock on its ensuing offensive drive. Skattebo sealed the win with a 39-yard run with less than two minutes left.

No. 7 Oregon beats Boise State 37-34 on last-second field goal

Atticus Sappington kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 7 Oregon a 37-34 victory over resilient Boise State on Saturday night. Dillon Gabriel threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks, who extended their nonconference home winning streak to 34 games, best nationally among active teams. Ashton Jeanty ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns for Boise State, which led 20-14 at the half but lost momentum after Oregon scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to take the lead.

QB John Mateer runs wild as Washington State overwhelms Texas Tech in 37-16 rout

Quarterback John Mateer rushed for 197 yards and one touchdown, Wayshawn Parker burst 43 yards for a TD as part of a 14-point blitz in 16 seconds in the second quarter, and Washington State raced past Texas Tech 37-16. Djouvensky Schlenbaker added a pair of short TD runs as the Cougars dominated their highest-profile opponent to visit Pullman during this season of transition for Washington State. Texas Tech was one of two Power Four opponents on the Cougars schedule. Mateer set a school record for yards rushing by a QB. Texas Tech QB Behren Morton threw for 323 yards and one TD on 58 attempts, but was intercepted twice.

Vigers returns INT 30 yards for TD as Louisana-Monroe beats UAB 32-6

Ahmad Hardy ran for 58 yards and a touchdown, Car'lin Vigers returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and Louisiana-Monroe beat UAB 32-6. JD Stewart blocked a punt by UAB's Patrick Foley to give the Warhawks possession and, on the next play, Hardy ran 28 yards for a TD that made it 10-3 about a minute into the second quarter and Louisiana-Monroe (2-0) led the rest of the way. after Vigers downed a punt at the UAB 4, Billy Pullen tackled Lee Witherspoon in the end zone for a safety to give the Warhawks a 15-6 lead with 10:19 to go in the third quarter. Hunter Herring added a 4-yard TD run in the third before the pick-6 by Vigers made it 29-6 with 10:34 to play.