SAN JOSE, Calif. >> DJ Uiagalelei looked once again looked like the heralded recruit who showed so much promise early in his career at Clemson in his debut for Oregon State.

Uiagalelei got off to a fast start for his new team, throwing three touchdown passes and running for two more to lead No. 18 Oregon State to a 42-17 victory over San Jose State on Sunday.

The former five-star recruit lost his starting job at Clemson late last season and transferred to Oregon State where he had a spectacular debut.

“I had fun today,” he said. “It was exciting. It was just fun to be out there and be able to play football again.”

Uiagalelei completed all three passes on his opening drive and capped it with a 1-yard TD run. He added a 14-yard TD pass to Jack Velling on his third drive and ran it in again from the 1 on the next possession to give Oregon State a 21-3 lead over the Spartans (0-2).

He then added two deep strikes in the second half, a 31-yarder to Jeremiah Noga in the third quarter when he had about 5 seconds to throw the ball without any pressure.

“I could have made a sandwich back there,” he said. “The o-line played an unbelievable game today, the running backs ran really well. I thought it was a good team win today.”

He added a 28-yarder to Anthony Gould in the fourth quarter to match his career high with five combined touchdowns.

Uiagalelei finished 20 for 25 for 239 yards to help the Beavers start the season on the right note as they try to build on last year’s 10-win campaign under coach Jonathan Smith.

“I thought he saw it well, played with composure,” Smith said. “He distributed the ball, got us in the right run plays, got a couple protection checks that were critical on some throws. Without watching the tape, I thought he was really efficient.”

Damien Martinez added 145 yards rushing for the Beavers.

The Spartans followed last week’s 56-28 loss at No. 6 Southern California that offered some promise offensively with a rough performance in their home debut.

San Jose State didn’t reach the end zone until scoring two TDs in the fourth quarter after the game was already out of reach.

“They have a fantastic football team,” Spartans coach Brent Brennan said. “They’re sound in all three phases, extremely sound. They play a unique brand of football. They’re incredibly physical. In the days when everyone is spreading you out and throwing it 60 times a game, they’re kind of the opposite of that.”

The Spartans fell to 1-31 against ranked opponents since the start of the 2001 season with the only win in that span coming in 2013 against Fresno State.

Rutgers 24, Northwestern 7

Interim coach David Braun has been the point man for Northwestern football since a hazing scandal led to a coaching change, investigations and multiple lawsuits.

He was the guy most people approached for answers about what went wrong at the Chicago-based Big Ten university. The past two months have not been easy, but Sunday was a rare exception as Braun got to coach in the team’s first game since the scandal.

Despite losing to Rutgers 24-7, Braun said, “I’ll be honest with you, this is the lightest I have been since I took over.”

“At this point, we’re just playing football,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to look around with these guys. They have been working so hard to get to this point. There’s plenty of things I have to work on, but in terms of the heaviness of it, it was a relief to get a game.”

Braun replaced longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was first suspended and then fired after allegations of hazing surfaced in the summer and spread to other programs at the university.

Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt threw a touchdown and ran for another as the Scarlet Knights dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for almost 38 minutes, while limiting the Wildcats to 22 yards rushing and 201 yards in total offense — the least they have allowed in a Big Ten game.

The loss was Northwestern’s 12th straight dating back to last season.

“There was certainly frustration, it’s coming from a competitive standpoint, this team came out here to win a football game and they are frustrated that they didn’t, they fell short. We fell well short,” Braun said.

Wildcats linebacker Bryce Gallagher, who led the team with 19 tackles, said no one was hanging their heads after the game.

“It was very relieving to get out there and just do what we do best, which is play football,” Gallagher said. “So it’s a great experience to get out there and be able to play.”

Northwestern, which finished last season 1-11, had one positive moment — scoring with about 20 seconds to play on a 1-yard pass by backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan to Caleb Komolafe. Cincinnati transfer Ben Bryant started and finished 20-of-35 passing for 169 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked five times.

The Scarlet Knights (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) scored on their first two drives, with Wimsatt (17 of 29 for 163) hitting Ian Strong on an 11-yard pass to cap the first and running six yards for the second. The first TD was initially called incomplete but a review showed Strong had a foot down in the end zone. Jai Patel added a 32-yard field goal on the third drive after Braun gambled on a fake punt. Kyle Monangai scored on a 15-yard run in the third quarter.