ohio state

Julian Sayin had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State’s defense got a couple key stops in the red zone and the third-ranked Buckeyes opened their season with a 14-7 victory over top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

It was the fourth time the AP’s No. 1 team in the preseason poll has met the previous season’s national champion in the opener. The defending champ has won the last three.

Arch Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown with an interception for the Longhorns.

Texas was one of five on fourth down, including being stopped twice in the red zone. The Longhorns were driving for a tying touchdown late in the game but Jack Endries was stopped by Caleb Downs on yard short of a first down to end hopes of a comeback.

Sayin was 13 of 20 passing for 126 yards. His best pass of the day came with 13:08 remaining in the game, when Tate beat Texas cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau for the long score. Tate juggled the ball before pulling it down in the end zone to put the Buckeyes up by two touchdowns.

CJ Donaldson opened the scoring midway through the second quarter on a one-yard run up the middle to cap a 13-play, 87-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock. The Buckeyes benefitted from a pair of penalties, including a face-mask call on Colin Simmons that wiped out an incomplete pass on third and four.

Texas finally got points with 3:28 remaining in the fourth quarter when Manning connected with Parker Livingstone on a 32-yard touchdown.

The Longhorns defense forced a three-and-out, giving Texas a chance to tie.

at No. 12 Illinois 52, Western Illinois 3: Hank Beatty returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and broke Red Grange’s nearly 102-year-old Illinois record for yards on punt returns in the Illini’s rout Friday night to open the season.

Beatty had four returns for 133 yards to break Grange’s mark of 125 set against Nebraska on Oct. 6, 1923. The third-quarter TD return was the Illini’s first since D’Angelo Bailey did it against Ohio State in 2013.

at No. 20 Indiana 27, Old Dominion 14: Fernando Mendoza scored on a five-yard run in his debut as Indiana’s quarterback and Jonathan Brady returned a punt 91 yards for a score. Mendoza, the starter at California last season, finished 18-of-31 passing for 193 yards and ran six times for 34 yards. His TD run late in the first half gave the Hoosiers a 17-7 lead.

Indiana’s 309-yard rushing attack was led by Maryland transfer Roman Hemby, who had 23 carries for 110 yards. Kaelon Black added 92 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Indiana won its ninth straight home game to improve to 9-0 at Memorial Stadium under second-year coach Curt Cignetti.

Old Dominion started fast, with quarterback Colton Joseph faking out the Hoosiers’ defense on the first offensive play of the game and sprinting 75 yards for a TD, and the Monarchs controlled most of the first quarter. Brady’s punt return tied the game with nine seconds left in the quarter.

Joseph added a 78-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter that got ODU within 27-14. He finished with a career-high 179 yards rushing on 10 carries and completed 11 of 22 through the air for 96 yards with three interceptions.

at No. 24 Tennessee 45, Syracuse 26: Joey Aguilar completed 16 of 29 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Staley in the second quarter and found Star Thomas for a seven-yard score in the third. He also helped close out the win when he passed to Miles Kitselman for a two-yard TD in the fourth.

Star Thomas had 92 yards on 12 carries for Tennessee, which opened a 38-14 lead in the third. DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis each rushed for a TD. Tennessee (1-0) rolled to 493 yards of offense, compared to 377 for Syracuse (0-1).

Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli was 23-of-40 passing for 247 yards and a touchdown in his first start with the Orange. He also had a pass intercepted and was sacked five times.

Notes

The Barry Odom coaching era at Purdue got off to a fast start in a 31-0 rout of Ball State when the Boilermakers scored in the first 40 seconds on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Browne to Arhmad Branch. … BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff passed for a touchdown and added a 69-yard scoring run in his Tulane debut, and the Green Wave rolled to a 23-3 victory over Northwestern. … Matthew Schecklman threw four touchdown passes and Northern Iowa defeated Butler 38-14 in a season opener to give Todd Stepsis a win in his debut as the Panthers’ head coach. … Evan Simon set a career high with six touchdown passes and Temple snapped an FBS-worst 20-game road losing streak in a 42-10 season-opening win over UMass.

Luke Fahey looked right, then passed left. He looked left, then passed right. Defensive backs told to read a quarterback’s eyes might have trouble with Fahey, Mission Viejo High’s senior quarterback and Ohio State commit whose instincts, strong arm and decision-making are separating him from others in the class of 2026.

Then there’s something called character. For the last two years, he agreed to share playing time with Draiden Trudeau. Others might have bailed. Not Fahey.

“I feel God has a plan for everybody,” he said. “That was my journey. Of course, everyone wants to be a full-time starter, but that was a good thing for me. There was a lot of adversity during those two years. I learned so much from Drai, and he pushed me to be an even better quarterback and better leader.”

Anyone watching Fahey on Saturday at Edison’s Battle of the Beach seven-on-seven passing tournament were getting a glimpse of a 6-foot-1 quarterback in an obvious comfort zone calling his own plays and showing chemistry with a new group of receivers (returner Vance Spafford was missing because of illness). It’s no wonder that Ohio State and coach Ryan Day identified him as a recruiting priority.

“It was a big decision,” Fahey said. “For me, it was a no-brainer. It was a dream of mine to be at a place like that since I was a little kid. I told myself when I got the opportunity I’d take full advantage of it and maximize my opportunity. The coaches are amazing, the people there are even better. One thing that stood out they showed me a picture of their practice. I think 18 of 22 were in the NFL or got drafted. It speaks volumes to their program and my goal is to be a draft pick one day and make it to the NFL.”

Despite missing Spafford and star defensive back Jeron Jones, the Diablos went 7-0 and defeated Mission Hills in the final. The toughest game was a 26-25 win over Cathedral in the semifinals on a winning touchdown catch by Davonte Curtis. It’s been quite a summer for Mission Viejo, which also won its own passing tournament by beating Mater Dei in the final.

As the summer passing season nears conclusion and official football practice begins at the end of this month, Saturday’s Battle at the Beach is always a good opportunity to see teams and players making progress.

First-year Santa Margarita head coach Carson Palmer.

(Craig Weston)

Santa Margarita, under new coach Carson Palmer and new quarterback Trace Johnson, a transfer from Florida, will have lots of weapons this fall. The Eagles defeated Long Beach Millikan in the championship game of the Silver Division.

Brothers Trent and Grant Mosley will be key receivers for Santa Margarita.

(Craig Weston)

USC commit Trent Mosley, who didn’t play because of an injury, said of the new coaching staff, “It’s real good. I’m excited for the season.” His brother Grant, is an impressive sophomore receiver. The best opening game of the 11-man season will be Mission Viejo playing Santa Margarita on Aug. 22.

St. John Bosco junior safety Isala Wily-Ava is part of a secondary filled with talent.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

St. John Bosco clearly is one of most talented teams in regard to skill-position players, sending in wave after wave of top defensive backs and receivers. The Braves were young at those positions last season, so all it’s going to take is strong line play to combine with the skill-position talent to make another run at Trinity League rival Mater Dei. After going 4-0 in the morning session, the Braves lost to Mission Hills in the quarterfinals.

Dylan Brown (left) celebrates an interception with quarterback Koa Smith-Mayall of JSerra.

(Craig Weston)

JSerra, which lost starting quarterback Ryan Hopkins to Mater Dei, has a capable replacement in junior Koa Smith-Mayall, who missed all of last season recovering from a knee injury. He’s only 5 feet 10 but has a powerful arm and considers himself a dual threat quarterback.

“I guess everyone outside of JSerra thought we’d be in trouble, but I knew I’d be ready,” he said.

Cathedral made it to the semifinals behind quarterback Jaden Jefferson, who will be aided by an improved offensive line this fall.

One of the most impressive quarterbacks was Troy Huhn of Mission Hills, a Penn State commit who got his team in the final with a win over Corona del Mar, which was a surprise team behind quarterback Brady Annett and receiver Dorsett Stecker.

Finally, let’s not end the summer without knowing the answer to the question: Why did Fahey stay for four years at Mission Viejo?

“It speaks to what my dad and mom have preached to me since I was a little kid,” he said. “That you can’t up and leave. Loyalty is one of the biggest things in my family. I’m going to stay true to those who stay true to me.”

Says Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson of Fahey’s fortitude: “Amazing.”

In other tournaments on Saturday, Tustin defeated Bishop Amat in the final of the Clash in the Canyons tournament in Azusa. Mira Costa won the Culver City tournament. San Juan Hills won the Ocean View tournament over Downey. Quarterback Timmy Herr didn’t throw an interception in two games and relied on receivers Luke Frith, Ryan Matheson and Dean Kolasinski.