Kern: Weekend college football wrap

MICHIGAN was a big favorite for a reason. And Penn State was pretty banged up on defense, especially at linebacker. Still, things did get out of hand for the Nittany Lions Saturday in Ann Arbor. And quickly.

The final was 49-10. It was 28-zip at the half. And yes, Jim Harbaugh was scoring late. He's allowed.

Quarterback Trace McSorley called it an embarrassment. He would not be wrong. Is this any way to open the Big Ten portion of the schedule?

The fourth-ranked Wolverines (4-0, 1-0) rushed for 326 yards and six touchdowns, the last two in the final six minutes and change.

The Nits (2-2, 0-1), who lost their other road game by three two weeks ago at Pitt, had 50 yards and three first downs in the first half. McSorley was sacked six times. Saquon Barkley rushed for 59 yards on 15 carries and caught five passes for 77.

It was the Lions' third straight loss to Michigan, which doesn't play a road game until Oct. 8. And that's at Rutgers.

Next week the Lions host Minnesota (3-0, 0-0), whose best win was over Oregon State at home on Sept. 1. It will be the Golden Gophers' first visit to Happy Valley since 2009. They won there in 1999 and 2003 and also took the last meeting, three years ago at Minnesota, to break a four-game losing streak in the series.

At the Linc, the Owls did what they had to do, which was beat an overmatched opponent. Handily.

The 49ers (1-3) led 7-3 after a quarter. Temple (2-2) owned the next 15 minutes, 28-0.

The visitors did rush for 231 yards, averging 5.5 per attempt. Temple allowed zero sacks, after giving up nine before this. Austin Jones kicked two field goals, giving him 16 straight makes. The Owls didn't have a turnover for the first time this year.

Jahad Thomas, after missing the first two games with a hand injury, ran for two TDs for the second straight week.

This Saturday the Owls host SMU (2-2) in an American Athletic Conference opener. They won last year's matchup in Dallas, 60-40.

In Easton, the Wildcats, ranked 21st in FCS, also took care of a team they were supposed to handle. It was their third win following an opening loss at Pitt.

Tanoh Kpassagnon returned a fumble 25 yards for a TD on the first play and the visitors scored the first 17 points. The Leopards (1-3) got into the end zone on back-to-back possessions to get within three early in the third quarter, but Villanova was back up by 17 with 17 minutes to go.

The final points came on a 45-yard interception return by linebacker Jeff Sleeb (his first career TD). It was the Wildcats' fourth defensive TD. A blocked punt set up their third TD. And they got two red-zone picks from Rob Rolle, who would have had his second program-record 100-yard return in as many weeks if not for a penalty on the runback. Gerard Smith had a 37-yard field goal, their first in six games and just their second attempt in that span.

This was the first meeting since 1920. The Wildcats had lost the first four, all up there and all by shutout.

Now it's back to the Colonial Athletic Association, where they're 1-0. They go to Elon (2-2, 1-0), which was picked to finish 10th but just knocked off No. 8 William & Mary on the road, 27-10.

Last season, the Quakers started 1-3 and still ended up with a piece of the Ivy League title.

The defending tri-champs are 0-2 heading into their Ivy opener Friday night at Dartmouth (2-0). A year ago, they lost to the Big Green in West Philly, 40-21.

Fordham, which won here last year by three on a late field goal, was up 24-7 in the second quarter. Penn, which had three first-half turnovers, got to within seven and had the ball at the Fordham 27 midway through the fourth before turning it over on downs. The Rams (2-1), who were playing their first FCS opponent, then went 73 yards in six plays to get their final TD with 5:31 remaining.

Chase Edmonds, who rushed for 152 yards and had 49 receiving, scored four times. Fordham is 25-2 at home since 2012.

Penn's Justin Watson had three catches for 33 yards, easily his lowest output in a while.

MICHAEL JACK'S TOP 10

1. Alabama (4-0). Beat Kent State, 48-0. Saturday: vs. Kentucky. Has won last 15 vs. SEC East. This looks like last easy game until Nov. 12.

2. Ohio State (3-0). Idle. Saturday: vs. Rutgers. Will try not to be looking ahead to Indiana. Oops, that's hoops.

3. Clemson (4-0). Beat Georgia Tech, 26-7. Saturday: vs. Louisville. Could be for ACC championship and spot in playoffs.

4. Michigan (4-0). Beat Penn State, 49-10. Saturday: vs. Wisconsin. Home team in this series is 6-1 since 2002. Hasn't played Badgers since 2010.

5. Louisville (4-0). Beat Marshall, 59-28. Saturday: at Clemson. Lost by three last year to Tigers at home. Lost by six in 2014 in Death Valley.

6. Houston (4-0). Beat Texas State, 64-3. Thursday: vs. Connecticut. Lost at UConn last year by three, its only loss.

7. Stanford (3-0). Beat UCLA (again), 22-13. Friday: at Washington. Could be for Pac-12 title and possible playoff spot.

8. Wisconsin (4-0). Beat Michigan State, 30-6. Saturday: at Michigan. Trying to win three straight over Wolves for first time since 1959-62.

9. Washington (4-0). Beat Arizona, 35-28. Friday: vs. Stanford. Has lost three straight to Cardinal. Last year it was 31-14 at Palo Alto. Two before that were close.

10. Texas A&M (4-0). Beat Arkansas, 45-24. Saturday: at South Carolina. Try not to be looking ahead to Tennessee. Beat Gamecocks last two years.

Next five: Tennessee (4-0), Florida State (3-1), Baylor (4-0), Nebraska (4-0) and Miami (3-0).

MICHAEL JACK'S FRAUD FIVE

Notre Dame: It's OK to lose to Duke at home, but only if it's Coach K's Blue Devils. Good news is Irish get Syracuse next. Or at least hopefully that's good news. Harvey, I feel your pain.

Michigan State: It's certainly OK to lose to Wisconsin, even at home, even the week after you were winning 36-7 at Notre Dame. But 30-6 does seem excessive. Or maybe being up 29 at South Bend ain't all it used to be.

Georgia: It's OK to lose at Mississippi. But probably falling behind 45-0 isn't.

Florida: No sin losing to Tennessee for the first time in a dozen years. But after you score first 21, you might not want to let Vols get the next 38.

Oregon: Shouldn't be losing to Colorado, especially at home. After going 11 seasons without losing twice in September, Ducks have now done it in back-to-back years.