No. 1 Georgia intercepted three passes and walk-on Mekhi Mews sparked the offense with a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown, leading the slow-starting Bulldogs to a 45-3 victory over Ball State on Saturday.

The two-time reigning national champions were held scoreless in the opening quarter, but Georgia (2-0) finally got rolling with a 31-point outburst in the second period against the overmatched Cardinals (0-2).

The 5-foot-8 Mews, quickly becoming one of Georgia’s most exciting weapons, took a punt at his own 31, shook off a couple of would-be tacklers, weaved past another defender and found a wall of blockers down the sideline.

“It’s almost surreal,” said the 5-foot-8 Mews, who came to Georgia without a scholarship two years ago and is emerging as one of the Bulldogs’ most exciting weapons. “I just work my butt off every day and let the results come.”

Mews also had a 47-yard kickoff return to start the game, but Georgia botched that opportunity when Peyton Woodring missed a chip-shot field goal from 28 yards.

There was a bit of grumbling in the stands when Georgia’s offense, led by new starting quarterback Carson Beck, began sluggishly for the second week in a row.

James Madison stuns Virginia: Jordan McCloud hit Kaelon Black with a 10-yard tuchdown pass with 55 seconds to play, capping a fourth-quarter rally and James Madison beat Virginia 36-35, spoiling the Cavaliers’ first home game since three players were fatally shot last November.

The Dukes (2-0), playing Virginia for the first time in 40 years despite being just 58 miles away, trailed 35-24 before thunderstorms and lightning forced a suspension of play for an hour, 12 minutes. When play resumed, the Dukes put together a pair of 80-yard drives.

The Cavaliers (0-2), who celebrated the lives of Lavel Davis Jr, Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry just before kickoff, fell behind 14-0 quickly, but stayed true to their pledge to play to honor the legacy of those teammates and rallied behind freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea and running back Mike Hollins, who survived the shooting last November 13th.

Wolverines win again without Harbaugh: Blake Corum ran for three touchdowns and J.J. McCarthy threw two more scoring passes to Roman Wilson to help No. 2 Michigan rout UNLV 35-7. The Wolverines (2-0) were without suspended coach Jim Harbaugh for the second game of his three-game, school-imposed suspension for breaking NCAA rules.

Buckeyes roll past YSU: Kyle McCord threw for three touchdowns in the first half, two of them to All-American Marvin Harrison Jr., and No. 5 Ohio State blew past Youngstown State 35-7. McCord, starting for the Buckeyes in his third year in the program, was 14 for 20 for 258 yards and also threw a scoring pass to Emeka Egbuka.

Penn State pounces: Nick Singleton ran for three touchdowns and Penn State’s defense was nearly perfect as the No. 7 Nittany Lions roared past Delaware 63-7 in State College, Pa. Kaytron Allen ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, while quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula each scored on second-half runs for the Nittany Lions (2-0), who dominated their FCS counterparts.

Irish roll after weather delay: Audric Estime ran for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play after an extended weather delay and Sam Hartman threw for four scores to help No. 10 Notre Dame beat North Carolina State 45-24. Estime ran for 134 yards and two scores, including a 7-yard run through traffic with 10:42 left that put the Fighting Irish (3-0) in firm control.

Howard big for K-State: Will Howard threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others as No. 15 Kansas State defeated Troy 42-13 in Manhattan, Kan. Howard threw touchdown passes of 9 yards to Jadon Jackson and 39 yards to Philip Brooks to help the Wildcats (2-0) to a 21-10 lead at half, and his 2-yard run late in the third quarter made it an 18-point game. Howard finished 21 of 32 for 250 yards and had eight carries for 33 yards.

Tulane QB sits out: Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt was not in uniform for the No. 24 Green Wave’s 37-20 loss at home to 20th-ranked Mississippi. Backup Kai Horton’s first start of the season came after Tulane coach Willie Fritz said Tuesday that Pratt was “fine” after limping off the field late in a 37-17 victory over South Alabama last weekend. Pratt did not take part in warmups before the Ole Miss game and appeared shortly before the coin toss wearing shorts with a protective sleeve on his left knee. Pratt was named American Athletic Conference offensive player of the week after completing 14 of 15 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns against South Alabama.