McCarthy, Michigan roll by East Carolina
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes to Roman Wilson, helping No. 2 Michigan rout East Carolina 30-3 on Saturday.
The Wolverines (1-0) were without coach Jim Harbaugh, who began serving a school-imposed, three-game suspension for breaking NCAA rules.
McCarthy showed up at Michigan Stadium wearing a blue shirt backward, writing “FREE” in black on white athletic tape and placing it on his chest above Harbaugh’s name.
The Wolverines appeared to pay homage to Harbaugh in the first quarter with a single-file formation on offense as each player raised an arm over their head.
McCarthy probably made his coach proud, completing 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards and throwing a a touchdown pass to Wilson in each of the first three quarters.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 23, INDIANA 3: Miyan Williams rushed for two touchdowns and new quarterback Kyle McCord picked up his first victory since being named the starter for Ohio State, which won in Bloomington.
The Buckeyes (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) have won 23 consecutive season-openers and extended the FBS’ longest active winning streak in a series to 28.
Indiana (0-1, 0-1) has lost nine of its last 10 dating to last season.
NO. 7 PENN ST. 38, WEST VIRGINIA 15: Drew Allar threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to help Penn State beat visiting West Virginia in their season opener.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught two touchdown passes — including a 72-yard dart launched with a simple flick of Allar’s wrist on his second attempt of the game — while Nick Singleton added a rushing touchdown.
Malik McClain caught another midway through the fourth quarter for the Nittany Lions, who pulled away after leading 14-7 at halftime.
It was the first time the two regional rivals played since meeting every year from 1947 until 1992.
NO. 19 WISCONSIN 38, BUFFALO 17: Chez Mellusi ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, Braelon Allen added 141 yards and two more scores and Wisconsin started the first season of Luke Fickell’s coaching tenure with a home victory over Buffalo.
Mellusi, a Clemson transfer who came to Wisconsin in 2021, had an 89-yard touchdown run in which he navigated through the defense to make it 21-10 in the third quarter. He had 13 carries.
NO. 25 IOWA 34, UTAH ST. 14: Cade McNamara threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns in his Iowa debut as the Hawkeyes defeated the Aggies in Iowa City. The touchdowns came on Iowa’s first two offensive possessions, and the Hawkeyes didn’t get into the end zone again until Kaleb Johnson’s 3-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The touchdowns came on Iowa’s first two offensive possessions, and the Hawkeyes didn’t get into the end zone again until Kaleb Johnson’s 3-yard run in the fourth quarter. Iowa, which had one of the worst offenses in the nation last season, finished with 284 yards.
ILLINOIS 30, TOLEDO 28: Caleb Griffin kicked a 29-yard field goal in the closing seconds, giving Illinois a victory over visiting Toledo in the season opener. Luke Altmyer threw for two touchdowns. Miles Scott returned an interception 48 yards for a score, and the Illini squeezed out the win in a back-and-forth game to start coach Bret Bielema’s third season.
FRESNO ST. 39, PURDUE 35: Mikey Keene threw for four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a road victory over the Boilermakers in the season opener for both teams. Keene, a transfer from Central Florida, threw a 22-yard touchdown to Erik Brooks with 58 seconds left for the game winner.
MARYLAND 38, TOWSON 6: Taulia Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns and ran for one in the first half of Maryland’s home rout of Towson. Maryland leaned on its veteran quarterback, with Tagovailoa throwing for 260 yards in under three quarters, and the offense looked mostly sharp against Towson.
