Indiana head coach Tom Allen expects more from his defense.

The Hoosiers (1-2) had one takeaway in a 21-14 loss to Louisville last week, which is short of the ask from Allen. He wants three per game to help Indiana protect its young quarterback from being overburdened in tight games.

“Still not enough takeaways. Got a goal of three every game,” Allen said. “Needed another one; and three, it would be ideal to get what we need to get to be able to set up our offense in a better way.”

Quarterback Tayven Jackson does benefit from dynamic running back Jaylin Lucas, the team’s leading rusher (141 yards, two TDs) and second on the team in receiving (15-138-1). Still, Allen noted teams are loading the box with eight defenders and forcing Jackson to make decisions and plays off-script. The only route to wins from this point forward is better blocking up front, he said.

“To me, it’s about executing and executing at a high level of confidence, and being able to play at the speed I want us to play at from the opening quarter on,” Allen said. “That’s going to be the emphasis, and like I said, we’ll know more next weekend where we feel after the first few games.”

Akron (1-2) hasn’t found much to like offensively this season, ranking 129th in total offense (262.7 per game) and 130th in rushing offense (42.3).

Akron is coached by former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, with whom Indiana has familiarity, and vice versa. The Zips were in the game last week at Kentucky despite 77 total yards in the first half.

Akron trailed only 14-3 in the third quarter before the Wildcats rattled off 21 consecutive points to close it out.

“I thought it was a much better performance from the inside to the 20s,” Moorhead said of his quarterbacks.

Zips quarterbacks DJ Irons and Jeff Undercuffler Jr. have combined for 661 yards passing, three touchdowns and four interceptions.

“(Indiana) is tough, physical, blue collar. They’ve got a scheme that makes you really have to prepare. It’s going to be another really big challenge,” Moorhead said.

Indiana is 3-0 all-time in the series and meets Akron for the first time since a 35-20 victory in 2010 behind four touchdown passes from Ben Chappell.

–Field Level Media

Arizona’s improved defense will be tested in the quarterback-rich Pac-12, but the Wildcats will ease into conference play with a game at Stanford on Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif.

Arizona (2-1) began the season by holding FCS Northern Arizona to three points and limited UTEP to a late touchdown in last week’s 31-10 victory. In between, the Wildcats lost 31-24 in overtime at Mississippi State in a game in which five turnovers repeatedly put the defense in bad spots.

Arizona, which rebuilt its defensive front with transfers, including Georgia defensive tackle Bill Norton, is allowing 4.83 yards per play. Last season, it allowed 6.59 yards per play, emblematic of about a decade’s worth of substandard defense.

“We’re now going to just assume we’re going to play with great effort,” Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said. “And then when you can become gap sound and fundamentally sound, that’s when you can really take that defense to the next level.”

Arizona’s supposed strength, its offense, has been solid, especially when quarterback Jayden de Laura plays as he did against UTEP, committing no turnovers. He was responsible for six giveaways in the first two games. De Laura, able to scramble and extend plays, has passed for 912 yards and rushed for 124.

“This league is full of really talented dual-threat quarterbacks,” first-year Stanford coach Troy Taylor said. “This week, we see it again. It’s very challenging.”

Stanford (1-2, 0-1 Pac-12) appears to be the worst team in the league, falling 30-23 last week to FCS Sacramento State. The Cardinal began conference play by enduring a 56-10 beatdown against USC on Sept. 9.

Arizona, favored by 11.5 points as of Wednesday, is a road favorite in the Pac-12 for the first time since 2018.

Bigger challenges await Arizona’s defense in the air. Stanford has a modest passing attack — 198.3 yards per game — that has struggled to protect quarterbacks Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson. Stanford’s running game has been more productive behind Casey Filkins (184 rushing yards, 7.7 per carry) and E.J. Smith (135, 7.5).

But Taylor inherited an inexperienced team that looks like it will take its lumps in a loaded final Pac-12 season.

“Obviously, we’ve got a ton of improvements to make,” Taylor said. “We have a long year to do it.”

–Field Level Media

LSU starting safety and team captain Greg Brooks underwent surgery to have a large tumor removed from his brain.

Brooks’ family said Wednesday that results of a biopsy are pending following surgery Friday.

“We are grateful for the work and care of the medical staff helping Greg through these challenges and for the concern and love poured out by so many in the Louisiana, Arkansas and national sports communities,” the family statement said. “This means the world to us at this difficult time. Greg continues to fight, and we await further clarity on the extent of that battle. His incredible strength and character gives us confidence but we also know that he needs our support now more than ever.”

Brooks was ruled out for last Saturday’s game against Mississippi State for what Tigers coach Brian Kelly said was a “medical emergency,” and he declined to share details out of respect for the player’s privacy at his Monday press conference.

A fifth-year senior, Brooks is from Louisiana and transferred to LSU from Arkansas in 2022. He started 13 of 14 games last season and finished fifth on the team with 66 tackles.

Brooks was a starting safety at Arkansas from 2019-21 and played high school football in Harvey, La., near New Orleans.

Brooks’ father, Greg Brooks Sr., played one season at Michigan and three seasons at Southern Miss. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

–Field Level Media

Texas Tech and West Virginia launch the Big 12 Conference season Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va., with each side looking to build modest momentum after wins last week.

The Red Raiders (1-2) got into the win column with a dominant-as-expected 41-3 trouncing of FCS foe Tarleton State, while the Mountaineers prevailed in their nonconference rivalry showdown, 17-6 against Pitt.

Getting started on the right foot in league play is the goal with some interesting subplots involved.

For Texas Tech, last week was cathartic after the season began with losses at Wyoming and to 13th-ranked Oregon. Facing the Mountaineers represents a chance to redirect a season that began with the Red Raiders generating preseason buzz as a dark horse contender in the Big 12.

Texas Tech’s offense is living up to the billing, but turnovers have been a concern. Tyler Shough has thrown for 742 yards and seven touchdowns, but his four interceptions are the most in the Big 12.

Shough’s inconsistency has invited chatter about trying backup Behren Morton. Morton played the entire second half against Tarleton State and guided the offense on three consecutive scoring drives before he was picked off in the fourth quarter.

Last season when three QBs started for Texas Tech because of an injury to Shough, Morton started against WVU and dissected the Mountaineers for 325 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-10 romp.

Second-year Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire preemptively tackled any notion of a quarterback controversy in his postgame comments.

“Tyler Shough is our starter, and he’ll be starting against West Virginia,” McGuire said. “That’s not an issue or a question. You can ask me about it again. I’m going to say the same thing. I just want everybody to know that.”

West Virginia’s quarterback situation isn’t as cut-and-dried.

Starter Garrett Greene suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter last week and didn’t return. Mountaineers coach Neal Brown said Monday that he was not able to practice, and his status is unknown. Redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol replaced Greene vs. Pitt and was 6-of-9 passing for 60 yards.

“We’ve got to prepare for both guys,” McGuire said. “We’re lucky that they’re similar. (Marchiol) did a really good job of coming in that Pitt game. That game, in that area, is as big a game as there is. You could tell he could handle the pressure.”

Brown said his team is confident in their younger signal-caller. His playing time against Pitt was the most extensive of his career. He played most of the second half in a 24-19 win against Oklahoma State last season.

“Our expectation is that if he plays, we’ll be really good on offense,” Brown said.

Which will be necessary if Texas Tech gets cranked up like it did last season against WVU.

On the way to a fourth win in a row in the series, the Red Raiders torched the Mountaineers for 594 yards and a huge second half. The 38-point win was the biggest by either team since WVU joined the Big 12.

Besides Morton, Tahj Brooks rushed for 107 yards and Zavier White caught eight passes for 139 yards. Those two are back and have helped Texas Tech average 434.3 total yards a game.

“Last year against them was as bad a performance as I’ve ever been part of,” said Brown, a former assistant coach at Texas Tech. “They really controlled the line of scrimmage on us.”

Regardless of who starts at quarterback for WVU, having a healthy C.J. Donaldson available is a key. Donaldson rushed for 102 yards against Pitt before he exited with an injury. If he is healthy and the Mountaineers have to rely on Marchiol, Texas Tech’s defense is likely to get a steady diet of the big sophomore out of the backfield.

–Field Level Media

Trevor Etienne and No. 25 Florida have a head of steam as they await Charlotte on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.

Etienne set career highs in carries (23) and rushing yards (172) in the Gators’ 29-16 victory over then-No. 11 Tennessee last Saturday. His rushing total eclipsed his previous best of 129 yards, set during Florida’s 45-38 loss to Florida State on Nov. 25, 2022.

Etienne highlighted his performance against the Volunteers with a 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

“I had the end zone in my eyesight, and I was going to do anything to get there,” he said, per the Gainesville Sun.

Etienne was recognized with the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week Award.

A potent ground attack and an economical passing game — Graham Mertz completed 19 of 24 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown — allowed Florida to record a decided edge in time of possession (37:28-22:32).

After jumping back into the AP poll for the first time since Sept. 24 of last season, the Gators (2-1) vie for their first three-game winning streak since rolling off six straight victories in 2020.

“It validates your plan, what you’re selling to a degree,” Florida coach Billy Napier said of the team’s recent success. “That’s what you want as a leader. … That’s a lot more fun.”

Napier is keeping a keen eye on Charlotte (1-2), which posted a 24-3 win over South Carolina State in its season opener on Sept. 2 and led Maryland at halftime the following week before falling 38-20 to the Terrapins.

The 49ers dropped a 41-25 decision to Georgia State last week.

“I’d rather go back to where everybody in the world knows what we’re going to run on offense and defense but we can execute it,” Charlotte coach Biff Poggi said. “I am not going to sleep much. I am going to put on the film … and find out what we do best and do it.”

Trexler Ivey completed 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Colorado transfer Jack Hestera reeled in seven catches for 109 yards and a score versus the Panthers. He leads the 49ers in catches (14) and receiving yards (194) this season.

Charlotte inadvertently caught a break on Monday after the Southeastern Conference suspended three Florida players for one half on Saturday over their roles in a scuffle at the end of the game against the Volunteers.

The SEC released a statement saying Gators offensive linemen Damieon George Jr. and Micah Mazzccua and tight end Dante Zanders were being punished for “flagrant unsportsmanlike actions.”

George and Mazzccua were Florida’s starting right tackle and right guard, respectively, to begin the season. Zanders is a backup tight end.

“We had multiple players that screwed up,” Napier said. “They compromised the entire team ’cause you may not be available in the future, whatever the case may be. No different than some guy calls you a name at the local bar on Friday night. Are you going to compromise your wife and kids, make a poor decision?

“These things are teachable moments. Ultimately hopefully we do enough on our part to teach ’em.”

–Field Level Media

No. 17 North Carolina leaves the Tar Heel State for the first time this season when it travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday to face the Panthers in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

UNC (3-0) scored a dominant 31-13 home win over Minnesota last week, a showcase of sorts for ACC Preseason Player of the Year Drake Maye. Maye completed 29 of 40 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns, and he also rushed 13 times for 34 yards.

In just 17 games as the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback — and two other appearances as a backup in 2021 — Maye now has 43 career passing touchdowns, pushing him past Mitch Trubisky for sixth place in program history. The Minnesota game marked the second time Maye has thrown for at least 400 yards in a single game in his career. UNC is 7-1 all-time when Maye tops 300 yards through the air.

However, Maye has also thrown four interceptions through three games this season after throwing just seven all of last year. He knows he can be better.

“We got a lot going for us offensively,” Maye said. “We still haven’t played our best. We are hitting our stride on some drives.”

Pitt (1-2) has two hands on the wheel and is looking to make a U-turn after losing a pair of games to regional non-conference rivals Cincinnati and West Virginia.

Against WVU in the Backyard Brawl, Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec connected on just 8 of 20 passes for 81 yards and three interceptions.

Jurkovec came to Pitt this past offseason after three seasons at Boston College. The fit seemed natural because Jurkovec was reuniting with former BC offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who had been the play-caller for the Eagles when Jurkovec had his best season, throwing for 17 touchdowns and rushing for three more in 2020.

Jurkovec is completing just 46.7 percent of his passes, a career worst. Against WVU, Pitt ran the ball 12 straight times to start the game. This has all led some to question the coaching staff’s confidence in the quarterback.

“I’m not a quarterback whisperer. I’m not a quarterback guru,” Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said. “But I do believe, from anywhere that I’ve ever been, that it takes time to jell with your guys.”

And if a change is made at quarterback, that’s a decision Narduzzi will delegate to Cignetti.

“I’m leaning on Frank and the offensive staff to make the right decision at every position,” Narduzzi said. “Those guys know better. I don’t sit in there. I spend 85 percent of my time in the defensive side of the room.”

The Heels are 11-5 all-time against Pitt and won last year’s contest 42-24 in Chapel Hill.

“They always play you tough,” UNC coach Mack Brown said of Pitt. “They’re one of the toughest teams in this league.”

The Tar Heels are just one of four teams in FBS with two non-conference wins against Power 5 opponents; the others are Utah, Colorado and Fresno State.

–Field Level Media

A offensive performance has top-ranked Georgia geared up to generate points when it hosts UAB on Saturday night in Athens, Ga.

The Bulldogs overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit to post a 24-14 victory over visiting South Carolina behind rushing touchdowns from running backs Daijun Edwards and Cash Jones and wideout Dillon Bell.

But issues in the red zone, with and without the ball, have head coach Kirby Smart fired up to fix the shortcomings before the Bulldogs hit the road next week for the first time this season.

Edwards finished with team highs in carries (20) and yards (118) and scored on a 7-yard run. Jones had two carries for 20 yards and added one reception for 11 yards. Bell had seven carries for 23 yards and added a 16-yard reception.

Quarterback Carson Beck connected with nine different receivers and completed 27 of 35 passes for 269 yards in his first Southeastern Conference start. Despite having just 98 yards through the air at halftime — with his longest completion just 11 yards — Beck found his rhythm in the second half and led the Bulldogs (3-0) to their first conference win.

“He did a good job,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “He throws the ball downfield well. I thought he got rid of the ball when he had to, made plays with his feet and took off running. I thought Carson did a tremendous job of being the commander of this offense.”

Georgia entered the red zone six times versus South Carolina but only scored three touchdowns.

“Things weren’t working out,” Beck said. “We weren’t executing on all levels. We got down to the red zone two or three times, we just weren’t able to punch it in, which we’ve got to do better at.”

Kicker Peyton Woodring missed two field goals — one was blocked — after making his first attempt of the game, a 31-yarder, on the Bulldogs’ opening drive.

Woodring is 3 of 6 on field goal attempts and has missed two inside the 30-yard line. Attempts from 28 and 43 yards go in the books as misses.

“We’ve seen much better in practice,” Smart said. “We’ve got to do something there.”

UAB (1-2) opened the season with a 35-6 win over North Carolina A&T in the debut of head coach Trent Dilfer. The Blazers, however dropped a 49-35 decision to Georgia Southern and 41-21 setback to Louisiana in subsequent weeks.

Quarterback Jacob Zeno (956 yards and six touchdowns passing, 94 yards rushing and two scores) and wideout Samario Rudolph (14 receptions for 127 yards and a TD) have been the top playmakers on offense.

But UAB has had trouble running the ball and stopping opposing offenses. The Blazers have averaged 125 yards on the ground and are permitting 32 points per game.

If UAB has any chance at pulling an upset in primetime, it will have to get better production in both areas.

“As Blazers, we got to get better at football,” Dilfer said. “We got to get better at coaching. We got to get better at running this building. The challenge only gets greater playing a, not good, but great Georgia team at their place.”

UAB is playing a No. 1-ranked team for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs lead the series 3-0.

–Field Level Media

Tumbling 12 spots in the rankings on the heels of a loss at Florida, No. 23 Tennessee efforts to avoid self-inflicted wounds when it faces UTSA on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Volunteers (2-1) were outscored 20-0 in the second quarter and lost their Southeastern Conference opener to the Gators, 29-16, despite holding a 387-349 edge in total yards.

Ten penalties, several communication errors and the game’s only turnover — the first interception of the season by Joe Milton III — offset Tennessee’s yardage advantage.

“You look at, offensively in particular, self-inflicted wounds — that can be penalties, that can be unforced errors, it can be communication — our percentage is way too high,” Volunteers coach Josh Heupel said Monday. “It was on Saturday, and it really was the week before, too. That’s why you move the ball at times, but you don’t have very many points. We got to clean that up. You can’t beat yourself.”

Tennessee was flagged for five false starts and was forced to use two timeouts in the third quarter to avoid delay-of-game penalties. The Volunteers finished 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversions, all in the second half.

“At the end of the day, we got to find a solution to it,” Heupel said. “I told the players this today, too, it’s not the big things — and those are big things, don’t get me wrong — but it’s the subtle details in everything that we’re doing. Everybody can’t take their turn of being off. We got to become a unit that plays 11 together all of the time.”

Tennessee hopes to clean things up in its first-ever meeting with UTSA before diving back into the conference slate at home against South Carolina on Sept. 30.

The Roadrunners (1-2) never had the lead in Friday’s 37-29 loss to Army in San Antonio.

UTSA starting quarterback Frank Harris missed the game with a turf toe injury, snapping a streak of 36 straight starts for a player with nearly 10,000 career passing yards.

“We’ll see how he looks,” Roadrunners coach Jeff Traylor said Monday of Harris’ availability for the Tennessee trip. “If he’s not 100 percent, he will not play.”

Backup Eddie Lee Marburger passed for 239 yards and three long touchdowns (44, 46 and 72 yards) against Army, but the Black Knights rushed for 254 yards and had a nearly 3-to-1 edge in time of possession (44:25 to 15:35).

This is the final non-conference game for UTSA, which has an open date next weekend before making its American Athletic Conference debut at Temple on Oct. 7.

Traylor said the idea of saving Harris for the conference season is not a consideration.

“That sounds great, but there’s no way you’re going to keep a kid like Frank Harris off the football field if he’s 100 percent,” Traylor said, per the San Antonio Express-News. “You never want to sit a kid that’s 100 percent just to save him for something. You have to get better.”

The Roadrunners opened the week as nearly three-touchdown underdogs at Rocky Top. For what it’s worth, UTSA lost two of its first three games last season, too, before finishing 11-3.

–Field Level Media

BYU may have officially joined the Big 12 Conference effective July 1, but now it’s time to see how effective the Cougars will be on the field, starting with their date Saturday against Kansas in Lawrence, Kan.

Both teams are 3-0, and you’ll understand if neither coach cares that oddsmakers have made Kansas roughly a nine-point favorite in the conference opener for each team.

As a four-touchdown favorite last week, the Jayhawks went to Reno and nearly lost to Nevada outright. They broke a 24-24 tie on Devin Neal’s third rushing touchdown of the game with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter to win 31-24.

Kansas put up 441 total yards to Nevada’s 258 but barely led in time of possession and fumbled – the game’s only turnover.

Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold was not apologizing for the win, however.

“Some aren’t going to be as pretty as others, but wins have been pretty darn tough to come by at the University of Kansas for quite a while, and we need to make sure that we embrace them and then take it and go coach and coach harder and play harder and get it corrected and go,” Leipold said.

Kansas went 12 straight seasons without winning more than three games until it finished last season at 6-7. The Jayhawks appeared in the Liberty Bowl to cap Leipold’s second campaign at the helm.

Neal ran for 89 yards, and Daniel Hishaw Jr. added 48 yards rushing and a touchdown against Nevada. Both averaged over five yards per carry. Quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 21 of 27 pass attempts for 298 yards.

Meanwhile, BYU, a nine-point underdog, ventured into SEC country last week to face Arkansas. The Cougars trailed by 14 points barely 3 1/2 minutes into the game, then tied the game at 14 before falling behind by 10 with just under 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

But Will Ferrin’s 43-yard field goal and two touchdown passes from Kedon Slovis gave BYU a 38-31 win.

Not that Cougars coach Kalani Sitake enjoys falling behind as his team did.

“The fight in our young men to come back from two scores down early in the game,” Sitake said, “and then do it again in the second half. I’d like to get started a lot better for us this week, but I know it’s nice to see a team that can fight back when they need to.”

Slovis went 13 of 25 passing for 167 yards, and LJ Martin ground out 77 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

–Field Level Media