COLUMBUS, Ohio — C.J. Stroud threw two touchdown passes and Ohio State’s revamped defense gave its vaunted offense time to find its groove as the second-ranked Buckeyes beat No. 5 Notre Dame 21-10 on Saturday night.

The top-five opening matchup was a homecoming for first-year Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, the former Buckeyes linebacker who has made a meteoric rise to lead the Fighting Irish at 36 years old.

Freeman is now 0-2 as a head coach after losing a bowl game just weeks after being named Brian Kelly’s successor.

In the first regular-season meeting of the storied programs since 1996, the Irish hung with the high-scoring Buckeyes for most of three quarters, frustrating Heisman Trophy finalist Stroud and putting together a couple of first-half scoring drives.

But Ohio State’s defense, too generous against the run last season, put the clamps on the Irish and new starting quarterback Tyler Buchner in the second half.

Ohio State Coach Ryan Day turned over his defensive staff in the offseason, bringing in Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State to be coordinator.

How quickly the Buckeyes would pick up a scheme that is considered more complicated and multiple than the one they have been running was an open question.

Looked good in game one. The Irish managed just 253 yards and punted on their last six possessions. Tommy Eichenberg had two of Ohio State’s three sacks.

(3) GEORGIA 49, (11) OREGON 3: Stetson Bennett threw for 368 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, a revamped defense didn’t miss a beat, and the Bulldogs looked very much like a team intent of defending their national championship with a rout of the Ducks in Atlanta.

Bennett completed 25-of-31 passes with two touchdowns and ran for another score before calling it a day in the third quarter of the season opener, the Bulldogs leading 42-3 and having thoroughly ruined the debut of Oregon Coach Dan Lanning.

After spending the last three years as Georgia’s co-defensive coordinator, Lanning got a look at his former team from the opposing sideline in a game played before a predominantly red-clad crowd at the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

One awful performance into his head coaching career, Lanning saw just how far the Ducks have to go.

Bennett, the former walk-on who led a storybook run to Georgia’s first national title since 1980, returned for a sixth college season with a firm grip on the starting job after battling for playing time most of his career.

Bennett picked up where he left off in last year’s College Football Playoff, when he was offensive MVP of both the semifinals and the title game victory over Alabama.

(1) ALABAMA 55, UTAH STATE 0: Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young passed for five first-half touchdowns and even ran for 100 yards and a score in No. 1 Alabama’s opening victory over the Aggies in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The Crimson Tide began their quest for national title redemption with a not unexpected start-to-finish domination of the six-touchdown underdog Aggies (1-1). Less anticipated: Young’s runs.

Known primarily as a passer with a penchant for scrambling and buying time, Young flashed his running ability more than he ever did last season, including a 63-yarder down the left sideline. He also spread the ball around to Alabama’s new set of playmakers, with two touchdown passes to both Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden and some handoffs to Jahmyr Gibbs.

Young ran five times for 100 yards after netting zero yards thanks to sacks last season with a previous long run of 16 yards. He also completed 18 of 28 passes for 195 yards before exiting one drive into the second half following his TD run.

FLORIDA 29, (7) UTAH 26: Anthony Richardson ran for three scores in his second career start, including a 2-yard scamper with 1:25 remaining, and the Gators upset the seventh-ranked Utes in Gainsville, Florida, to get the Billy Napier era off to a rousing start.

Richardson was the best player on the field most of the night. He really showed up down the stretch, although linebacker Amari Burney was the guy who sealed the victory for the Gators.

Burney intercepted Cam Rising’s second-down pass into the end zone with 17 seconds remaining. That set off a wild celebration that surely will last long into the night.

(8) MICHIGAN 51, COLORADO STATE 7: Cade McNamara had a lackluster performance that was made moot by a dominant defense as the Wolverines rolled to a win at home.

The Big Ten championship winning quarterback started the opener and is scheduled to sit at the beginning of the Hawaii game next week when J.J. McCarthy gets a shot to take the first snap.

McNamara started 1 of 5 and finished 9 of 18 for 136 yards, a total boosted by a short pass he threw that Roman Wilson turned into a 61-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. McCarthy made the most of his limited opportunity to play, running for a 20-yard score and going 4 of 4 for 30 yards through the air.

With McNamara under center, the Wolverines stalled at the Rams 13, 8 and 16 and settled for field goals in the first half that ended with them ahead 23-0.

Michigan’s defense, which had seven sacks and an interception, contributed to the flurry of scores with a 45-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery early in the third.

The Rams avoided getting shutout midway through the fourth quarter when Clay Millen lofted a 34-yard pass that Tory Horton caught in the end zone to make it 44-7.

(10) BAYLOR 69, ALBANY 10: Blake Shapen completed 17 of 20 passes for 214 yards with two long touchdowns and had a nifty dive into the end zone for another score on the final play of the first half as the Bears opened their season with a win over FCS team Albany in Waco, Texas.

Gavin Holmes, the sixth-year Bears wideout who missed all of last season because of a foot injury, returned a punt 72 yards for a score. Monaray Baldwin had two touchdowns, on a 47-yard catch for Baylor’s first score before adding a 50-yard reverse run after halftime.

The reigning Big 12 champion Bears have a six-game winning streak, matching fourth-ranked Clemson for the longest active among FBS teams. The Tigers open their season Monday night against Georgia Tech.

(6) TEXAS A&M 31, SAM HOUSTON 0: Haynes King threw for a career-high 364 yards and three long touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a win over the Bearkats in a game in College Station, Texas that included an almost three-hour weather delay.

King, who was named the starter last week after beating out two others in camp for the job, threw touchdown passes of 66, 63 and 43 yards in the opener for both teams. King also threw two interceptions in an inconsistent performance in his return after breaking his leg in the second game last season.

Ainias Smith had six receptions for a career-high 164 yards with two touchdowns and Devon Achane ran for a score to help Texas A&M to the victory.

(13) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 21, EAST CAROLINA 20: The Wolfpack topped East Carolina in Greenville, North Carolina after the Pirates missed an extra point with 2:58 left and a 41-yard field goal with 5 seconds to go.

The Pirates (0-1) were in position to hand the Wolfpack a surprising loss when they got the ball back late down 21-20, not to mention offer Owen Daffer a shot at redemption after he pulled the tying PAT wide left after Rahjai Harris’ short touchdown run.

Holton Ahlers’ keeper set Daffer up with a makeable field goal in the final seconds, but he missed this one wide right to stun a once-rowdy crowd and leave many fans putting their hands on their heads in disbelief.

The Wolfpack (1-0) celebrated the miss, with Shyheim Battle emphatically waving that the kick was no good while coach Dave Doeren pumped his right fist.

(14) USC 66, RICE 14: Caleb Williams passed for 249 yards, rushed for 68 more and hit Jordan Addison for two touchdowns, and Coach Lincoln Riley’s tenure at No. 14 Southern California got off to a roaring start in Los Angeles.

Calen Bullock, Shane Lee and Ralen Goforth returned three of USC’s four interceptions for touchdowns. The Trojans scored more points in Riley’s debut than they did in any game under Clay Helton, who was fired last season before a powerhouse program sank to its worst record in 30 years.

With Williams going 19 for 22 while leading six consecutive scoring drives to open the game, USC had its highest-scoring performance since 2008, when the program still reigned near the top of college football under Pete Carroll.

(16) MIAMI 70, BETHUNE COOKMAN 13: Henry Parrish rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns, Tyler Van Dyke passed for two more scores and the Hurricanes downed the Wildcats in Miami Gardens, Florida, in Mario Cristobal’s debut as coach of the Hurricanes.

Miami finished with seven rushing touchdowns. Thaddeus Franklin rushed for two scores, while Devon Perry and Terrell Walden II also ran for touchdowns for the Hurricanes (1-0).

Gilbert Frierson had an interception return for a score, while Xavier Restrepo and Michael Redding III caught the TD passes from Van Dyke — who completed 13 of 16 passes for 193 yards. Jake Garcia completed all eight of his passes for the Hurricanes.

(18) WISCONSIN 38, ILLINOIS STATE 0: MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Braelon Allen had a 96-yard touchdown scamper for the longest run from scrimmage in Wisconsin history and John Torchio had the school’s longest interception return as the 18th-ranked Badgers opened their season with a rout of Illinois State in Madison, Wisconsin.

Torchio opened the scoring with a 100-yard interception return late in the first quarter.

Wisconsin’s longest run from scrimmage before Allen’s was James White’s 93-yard burst in a 51-3 triumph over Indiana in 2013. Torchio broke the record previously held by Joe Ferguson, who scored on a 99-yard interception return in a 59-10 victory over Utah State in 2017.

(19) ARKANSAS 31, (23) CINCINNATI 24: KJ Jefferson threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another 62 yards and another score to lead the Razorbacks past the Bearcats in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Jefferson ran for the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, threw a jump-pass touchdown to Trey Knox in the second and found Jadon Haselwood for another score in the third.

Cincinnati was held scoreless in the first half despite four of its seven drives reaching Arkansas territory. Bearcats kicker Ryan Coe missed two field goals, from 25 and 48 yards, and Ben Bryant threw an interception at the Arkansas 20 that ultimately turned into the Razorbacks’ first trip to the end zone.

(20) KENTUCKY 37, MIAMI (OHIO) 13: Barion Brown returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Keidron Smith’s fumble return less than a minute later set up another score and the Wildcats pulled away to beat the Redhawks in Lexington, Kentucky in the opener for both teams.

Mark Stoops’ 60th victory tied him with Paul “Bear” Bryant as the Wildcats’ winningest coach in 10 seasons with the program. But Kentucky needed those game-changing plays to make it happen after leading only 13-10 at halftime behind several missed opportunities deep in Miami territory.

The Wildcats quickly snatched momentum after the break as Brown dashed left, found a seam and turned the corner down the sideline for the big score just 13 seconds in. That TD included replay drama as the freshman appeared to let go of the football as he crossed the goal line. It was confirmed, putting Kentucky up by 10.

(21) MISSISSIPPI 28, TROY 10: Southern California transfer Jaxson Dart directed three consecutive touchdown drives in the first half to help the Rebels beat the Trojans in Oxford, Mississippi in the opener for both teams.

Ole Miss built a 21-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes on drives of 82, 68 and 83 yards and was never seriously threatened. Dart was 18 of 27 for 154 yards, with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Malik Heath to cap the opening series of the second half.

Transfer Zach Evans rushed for 130 yards on 20 carries as Ole Miss finished with 433 yards of total offense. The Rebels scored on 2-yard runs in the first half by Ulysses Bentley IV, Jonathan Mingo and Quinshon Judkins.

(24) HOUSTON 37, UTSA 35: Houston quarterback Clayton Tune leaped over a defender to score on a 13-yard run and the 24th-ranked Cougars escaped with victory over the Roadrunners in three overtimes in San Antonio.

Per NCAA rules for a third overtime, Tune’s winning run was a 2-point conversion. The Roadrunners were unable to match the score as their final pass floated out of bounds.

Houston rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half at the Alamadome to snap UTSA’s 10-game home winning streak.

After Tune scored on a 1-yard run and threw for the 2-point conversion in the second overtime, Roadrunners quarterback Frank Harris matched the output by running in the conversion after tossing a touchdown pass to De’Corian Clark.

(25) BYU 50, SOUTH FLORIDA 21: BYU had to wait out a 2 1/2-hour weather delay to get its season started, then took just 11 seconds to score its first touchdown.

The No. 25 Cougars scored 38 straight points in the first half and cruised to a victory over South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

Wide receiver Puka Nucua scored on a 75-yard inside run on the first play from scrimmage of the game and added a second rushing touchdown. Christopher Brooks rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown as BYU dominated the line of scrimmage and ran the ball for 314 yards.

RUTGERS 22, BOSTON COLLEGE 21: Al-Shadee Salaam scored on a 22-yard run with 2:43 to play, lifting the Scarlet Knights to a comeback victory over the host Eagles in the schools’ season openers.

Rutgers had lost the last 11 meetings against Boston College.

Phil Jurkovec threw two of his three touchdown passes to Zay Flowers as BC opened a 21-12 lead midway through the third quarter before the Scarlet Knights rallied.

Aron Cruickshank had a 26-yard TD run and Kyle Monangai a 1-yarder for Rutgers.

DELAWARE 14, NAVY 7: Nolan Henderson threw a pair of touchdown passes and FCS-member Delaware beat Navy in Annapolis, Maryland to give Ryan Carty a win in his debut as the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ coach.

Carty, a Delaware graduate and a member of the Blue Hens’ 2003 national championship team, came over from Sam Houston State where he was offensive coordinator.

It was Delaware’s first win over an FBS team and Navy’s first loss to an FCS team since the Blue Hens beat the Midshipmen in 2007.

VIRGINIA 34, RICHMOND 17: Brennan Armstrong threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and the Cavaliers opened the Tony Elliott coaching era with a victory against the Spiders in the season-opener for both in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Armstrong hit Lavel Davis Jr. on a 56-yard touchdown for the Cavaiers’ first score and Perris Jones for 11 yards to make it 34-17 early in the fourth quarter. On a career-long 64-yard scoring run in the first half, Armstrong also passed Bryce Perkins (7,910) to become Virginia’s career total offense leader.

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