Week 1 of the college football season began with a bang on Thursday night, courtesy of 16 games that provided a great appetizer for what’s in store over the rest of the weekend. The evening’s headlining contest between No. 17 Pittsburgh and West Virginia lived up to its billing, as the Panthers escaped with a 38-31 win in a thrilling finish.
The Mountaineers surged ahead 31-24 with 10:37 left in the first edition of the Backyard Brawl since 2011, but the Panthers came to life at the end thanks to a go-ahead 56-yard interception return for a touchdown from cornerback M.J. Devonshire with 2:58 remaining. It was the the first of two pick sixes during Thursday’s action, with the second coming from Purdue’s Chris Jefferson against Penn State. The Nittany Lions were able to narrowly survive that miscue for a dramatic 35-31 win.
Those outcomes were just two among a handful that stood out from Thursday’s action. In other notable games, No. 12 Oklahoma State withstood a late charge from Central Michigan for a 58-44 victory. The Cowboys got six total touchdowns from quarterback Spencer Sanders, but their defense looked suspect in the second half. Elsewhere, No. 22 Wake Forest handled business against VMI with a 44-10 win, Tennessee dominated Ball State 59-10 and Missouri overcame a slow start to beat Louisiana Tech 52-24.
College football scores, schedule: Week 1
No. 17 Pitt 38, West Virginia 31 — “Pitt Six” wins it for Panthers
No. 12 Oklahoma State 58, Central Michigan 44 — Recap
Tennessee 59, Ball State 10 — Recap
No. 22 Wake Forest 44, VMI 10 — Recap
UAB 59, Alabama A&M 0 — Recap
Missouri 52, Louisiana Tech 24 — Recap
Penn State 35, Purdue 31 — Recap, takeaways
Minnesota 38, New Mexico State 0 Recap
Cal-Poly at Fresno State — FS1 — GameTracker
Check out the entire Week 1 scoreboard