Micah Ford rushed for 99 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, including the go-ahead scoring run with 1:41 remaining, as Stanford registered a 37-27 victory over visiting Hawaii on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

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Tevarua Tafiti tacked on a 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 1:12 left for the Cardinal, who blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead before eventually leaving the field victorious in head coach Tavita Pritchard’s debut.

Michigan transfer Davis Warren passed for a career-high 310 yards in his Stanford debut. He completed 22 of 34 passes in his first game in nearly 20 months after tearing his right ACL in the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl.

Warren tossed a touchdown pass to Atticus Joseph and Charlie Eckhardt blocked a punt for a safety for the Cardinal.

Micah Alejado completed 30 of 50 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns for Hawaii. DeVon Rice scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving), Tama Uiliata had one scoring reception, and Sitani Mikaele added one on the ground for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawaii had just 122 yards through three quarters and trailed 23-7 in the fourth quarter before coming to life.

The Rainbow Warriors trimmed their deficit in half when Mikaele scored from the 5 to cap a 16-play, 80-yard drive and Uiliata scored the two-point conversion with a double reverse with 12:43 left in the game.

Just over three minutes later, Hawaii moved within two when Alejado tossed an 11-yard scoring pass to Uiliata. The two-point attempt was stymied when Uiliata caught a pass and was stopped short by Darrius Davis.

The next time the Rainbow Warriors had the ball, they moved 90 yards on nine plays. Rice scored on a 29-yard play, catching a short pass in the center of the field at the 25 and veering right and then down the sideline to give Hawaii a 27-23 lead with 4:06 left.

Warren then crisply moved Stanford 62 yards on seven plays with Ford getting in from the 2 to put the Cardinal back ahead. Just 29 seconds later, Tafiti picked up the ball and scored on the game’s lone takeaway after teammate Zach Rowell forced Alejado to fumble.

Earlier, Ford scored from the 2 with 8:37 left in the opening quarter for the first points of the contest.

The Rainbow Warriors tied the score in the second quarter when Rice tallied on a 3-yard jet sweep with 10:18 left in the first half.

Stanford regained the lead three-plus minutes later when Warren connected with Joseph on a 6-yard scoring pass.

Early in the third quarter, Gehrig Heil was standing in his own end zone to punt. Eckhardt broke in free and blocked the ball with his right hand and it bounced out the back of the end zone for the safety and a 16-7 advantage.

Ford’s 2-yard run made it a 16-point lead with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

Jayden Maiava,
No. 14 USC
cruise to victory over San Jose State

Jayden Maiava threw for 286 yards and accounted for three touchdowns as No. 14 USC stormed to a 28-0 halftime lead and beat visiting San Jose State 42-26 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday.

Maiava completed 25 of 29 passes for 286 yards, including two scoring passes. He also ran for a 1-yard touchdown for USC (1-0), which led 35-3 late in the third quarter.

Ten different receivers recorded a catch for the Trojans. Trent Mosley had seven catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, while fellow freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt had four receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown.

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King Miller rushed 15 times for 63 yards and a score as USC outgained the Spartans 505-336.

Luke Weaver completed 21 of 32 passes for 234 yards and accounted for three touchdowns for San Jose State (0-1), which was held to 102 total yards in the first half.

USC set the tone on its first possession with a 13-play, 77-yard drive that culminated with Maiava’s quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.

The Trojans took control with 21 points in the second quarter, starting with Riley Wormley’s 5-yard touchdown run in the opening minute.

Maiava capped a 12-play, 91-yard drive with a 9-yard scoring pass to Dixon-Wyatt with 5:35 left in the half, and Miller’s 4-yard touchdown run put the Trojans ahead 28-0 with 1:14 left.

After San Jose State got on the board on Trajan Sinatra’s 22-yard field goal late in the third quarter, USC answered with a 74-yard drive that ended with Maiava’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Mosley.

The Spartans opened the fourth quarter with a score on Jerry McClure’s 28-yard touchdown reception. Weaver then tossed a two-point conversion pass to Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole.

The Trojans rested Maiava in the fourth quarter and inserted Jonas Williams, who led a 75-yard drive that resulted in Shahn Alston’s 1-yard touchdown run with 9:42 left in the contest.

Weaver threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Jordan Anderson with 5:11 remaining to cut the deficit to 42-18. Weaver capped the scoring by rushing for a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:45 left and completing a two-point conversion pass to Cooper Hoch.

North Carolina slides past TCU
in low-scoring
affair in Ireland

Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 232 yards, Jaylen McGill scored North Carolina’s only touchdown and the Tar Heels edged TCU 15-10 for a season-opening win Saturday in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.

Most of the game’s scoring occurred in the first quarter before a growing rainfall led to deteriorated conditions the rest of the night. North Carolina held TCU to 312 yards of offense and 1 of 5 fourth-down conversions as it began Bill Belichick’s second season in charge with a win.

The Tar Heels (1-0) got a measure of revenge after TCU beat them 48-14 in Belichick’s college coaching debut last year.

The Horned Frogs (0-1) also hurt themselves with 11 penalties for 100 yards. With the Tar Heels facing a fourth-and-1 in the final minute, they used a hard count and caused a TCU defender to jump offsides, prompting a new set of downs and icing the defensive affair.

Both starting quarterbacks made their debuts with their respective programs. Edwards completed 16 of 28 passes, while TCU’s Jaden Craig went 20 for 32 for 175 yards. Jeremy Payne rumbled for 142 yards on 25 carries for the Horned Frogs.

Nursing a five-point lead after Aeron Burrell’s 28-yard field goal early in the second half, the Tar Heels chewed up nearly six minutes on a 70-yard drive, boosted by consecutive 15-yard TCU penalties on a facemask and a late hit.

But Edwards overthrew Jordan Shipp on a would-be touchdown on third down, and Burrell pushed a 42-yard attempt wide with 11:58 to play.

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