Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nate Stanley threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, Mekhi Sargent ran for 91 yards and a score, and No. 20 Iowa beat Miami (Ohio) 38-14 in their season opener on Saturday night. The Hawkeyes got off to a slow start, but that was erased by the consistent ground game and some big plays from Stanley, who finished 21 of 30 in Iowa’s sixth straight season-opening win.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Sheldon Croney Jr. scored from a yard out in triple overtime and 21st-ranked Iowa State rallied to stave off Northern Iowa 29-26. La’Michael Pettway had a pair of touchdown catches for the Cyclones (1-0), who barely survived the season’s first major upset after entering the season ranked for the first time in 41 years.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska scored two defensive touchdowns and one on special teams, bailing out a sluggish offense and leading the No. 24 Cornhuskers to a 35-21 victory over South Alabama. The five-touchdown favorite Huskers led only 14-7 at half and totaled just 66 yards in the second half. But their defense had five takeaways. The Huskers had three non-offensive touchdowns for the first time since 2005.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter and Harrison Bader hit run-scoring singles during St. Louis’ two-run ninth inning, and the Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 for a sweep of their day-night doubleheader. St. Louis improved to 8-1 in its last nine games and moved 2½ games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning after Kansas City loaded the bases on three bunts, and the Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-5. Bubba Starling hit his first homer at Kauffman Stadium after growing up about 30 miles away, and Hunter Dozier connected for the 24th time this season for Kansas City. Anthony Santander went deep twice for the Orioles, who fell apart defensively in the eighth when Kansas City tried to play small ball.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas was suspended for the season opener for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, and the club made a pair of trades on what became a busy cut day. The Chiefs sent backup running back Carlos Hyde to the Houston Texans for Martinas Rankin, who is expected to provide depth along the offensive line. They also sent defensive back Mark Fields to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft.