Notre Dame opens by beating Wisconsin
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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- CJ Carr threw two touchdown passes, Aneyas Williams ran for 90 yards and two more scores and No. 4 Notre Dame pulled away in the second half to beat Wisconsin 41-13 on Sunday night at Lambeau Field
This was the first college football game at the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers since 2016, when Wisconsin upset a fifth-ranked LSU team 16-14. Wisconsin also hung around for a while in this one as a three-touchdown underdog before Notre Dame outscored the Badgers 28-3 in the second half.
Notre Dame's first touchdown came on a 3-yard reception by Green Bay resident James Flanigan, whose father and grandfather (each named Jim Flanigan) both played for the Packers.
Carr went 19 of 29 for 239 yards. His other touchdown completion was a 28-yarder to Nolan James Jr. with 1:51 left.
The Fighting Irish entered this season pledging to leave no doubt about their College Football Playoff worthiness after getting left out of the field last year despite winning their last 10 regular-season games by double-digit margins.
But the Irish's performance early on created plenty of doubt about how effectively they can run the ball without Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, the only two running backs selected in the first round of this year's NFL draft.
Notre Dame led just 13-10 after a first half in which most of the noteworthy plays were on special teams. The Irish rushed for just 29 yards on 16 carries through the first two periods.
The Irish eventually took command.
Williams' 3-yard touchdown run capped a 70-yard drive to open the second half. Colorado transfer DJ McKinney then intercepted Colton Joseph's pass and ran untouched for a 55-yard touchdown to make it 27-10.
Huskies struggle
SEATTLE -- Demond Williams Jr. threw for 268 yards and a touchdown, and No. 17 Washington survived offensive struggles for a 24-10 victory over Washington State in a season-opening Apple Cup on Sunday.
Williams also scored on a 5-yard keeper in the 118th meeting of the two teams, who were once both part of the Pac-12. Washington won last year's meeting 59-24 in Pullman.
Transfer Caden Pinnick made his debut as quarterback for the Cougars, throwing for 142 yards and scoring on an 11-yard keeper in the fourth quarter.
"(I) thought Washington State had a really good plan, played really hard, did a nice job," Washington third-year coach Jedd Fisch said. "Very challenging Week 1 to really make sure that we kind of knew what we wanted to get done. We felt like we didn't play the at the level we would like to play at, but we also are very happy with the victory."
Cook leads WVU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Cam Cook rushed for 142 yards and two short touchdowns, Michael Hawkins Jr. threw for one score and passed for another TD, and West Virginia held on for a 31-24 win over Coastal Carolina in the teams' season opener Saturday.
On a day in which West Virginia retired the No. 5 jersey of record-setting quarterback Pat White, the Mountaineers dominated the game early but looked disheveled on both sides of the ball for much of the second half.
Coastal Carolina's Nico Cavanillas Alti kicked a 32-yard field goal with 27 seconds left to cap the Chanticleers' rally from a 24-0 deficit. But the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds and West Virginia survived.
"If anybody wants to cry about a win, they can cry about a win," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "I'm glad we can teach off a win and get better for next week."