Minnesota Golden Gophers 43, San Jose State Spartans 24
San Jose State quarterback David Fales was productive despite the loss, throwing for 439 yards and two touchdowns.
But turnovers were issues for the Spartans. As they tried to tie the game in the third quarter, Fales threw an interception to Minnesota linebacker Aaron Hill.
The Spartans will face the Utah State Aggies on Friday.
USC Trojans 17, Utah State Aggies 14
USC scored the first touchdown of the game on a Tre Madden 1-yard rush in the first quarter. Utah State tried to answer back with a score of its own, but kicker Nick Diaz missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt, and the Trojans kept the lead after the first quarter.
Two possessions later, the Aggies tied the game when Chuckie Keeton completed an 8-yard pass to Brandon Swindall. However, Trojan quarterback Cody Kessler completed a 30-yard pass to Xavier Grimble to re-take the lead.
After the half, Keeton completed a 10-yard pass to Travis Reynolds for a touchdown, tying the game 14-14.
The fourth quarter saw a defensive battle. USC kicker Andre Heidan connected on a 25-yard field goal to give USC the lead. Afterward, the Trojans and Aggies exchanged possessions, but time ran out on the Aggies, and the Trojans improved their record to 3-1.
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide 31, Colorado State Rams 6
The Rams had their toughest test of the season — and they put up a valiant fight.
Colorado State’s defense contained the Crimson Tide to 66 yards rushing (its fewest since 2010), and Alabama failed on every third-down attempt until the fourth quarter (0-6).
The Rams were shut out until the third quarter, when Jared Roberts connected on two field goals. Quarterback Garrett Grayson threw for 228 yards with wide receiver Joe Hansley catching six passes for 82 yards.
Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron threw for 258 yards and one touchdown in the victory. Backup quarterback Blake Sims threw only one pass — a 14-yard touchdown to Chris Black toward the end of the game.
Oregon State Beavers 34, San Diego State Aztecs 30
The Aztecs were one quarter away from winning their first game of the season.
Quarterback Quinn Kaehler made his first career start for the Aztecs and threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns. But two interceptions thrown late in the fourth quarter were costly.
The first interception, caught by Oregon State cornerback Steven Nelson, resulted in a 16-yard touchdown that gave the Beavers a 34-30 lead late in the fourth quarter.
After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Aztecs tried to win the game on their last possession. Near midfield, Kaehler threw his second interception of the game which sealed the victory for the Beavers.
On Saturday, San Diego State will face another winless team, the New Mexico State Aggies.
Nevada Wolf Pack 31, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 9
Wolf Pack freshman quarterback Tyler Stewart replaced the injured Cody Fajardo and made his first career start. He threw for 14 of 20 for 202 yards as Nevada won its first conference victory.
Hawaii’s fortunes soured as quarterback Taylor Graham suffered an injury in the first quarter and had to leave the game. Three different passers would replace him, with only one (Sean Schroeder) scoring a touchdown.
On Saturday, Nevada will host Air Force and Hawaii will host the Fresno State Bulldogs.
UNLV Rebels 38, Western Illinois Leathernecks 7
The Rebels had control of the game, leading 31-0 before the Leathernecks scored their first touchdown of the game.
UNLV quarterback Caleb Herring was 14 of 20 with 140 yards and a touchdown. Running backs Tim Cornett and Adonis Smith had two touchdowns each in the victory.
The Rebels will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to face the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday.
Wyoming Cowboys 56, Air Force Falcons 23
It was Gatorade-bath worthy for Cowboys head coach Dave Christensen.
Wyoming had one thing on its mind heading into this match — revenge. Especially after a controversial finish last year, which led to a confrontation between Christensen and Air Force coach Troy Calhoun.
Cowboys quarterback Brett Smith threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, and he led the team in rushing with 138 yards.
His 511 total yards are a school record, breaking the previous record of 482 set in 1996.
Falcon quarterback Jaleel Awini threw 11 for 18 for 89 yards, but had no touchdowns. He did score on a 33-yard run, which was one of Air Force’s four rushing trips to the end zone.
On Saturday, Wyoming will visit the Texas State Bobcats for an interconference matchup.