Top-ranked Oklahoma didn’t have the big stage that LSU and Oregon had. That doesn’t mean the Sooners were any less motivated.
The Sooners knocked off Tulsa, 47-14, in Norman. Quarterback Landry Jones passed for 375 yards. Receiver Ryan Broyles, one of the best in the country, caught 14 passes for 158 yards, one short of his school record for receptions.
This is the first year Oklahoma has opened the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll since 2003.
Alabama coach Nick Saban kept his choice for starting quarterback top secret, or so it seemed, before Saturday’s game against Kent State.
Not until the end of the 48-7 win did it become more clear. Both A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims played close to an equal number of snaps until Sims threw back-to-back interceptions at the top of the second half.
The second pick led to Kent State’s only score – and to Sims being replaced by McCarron until the fourth quarter. McCarron finished with 14 of 23 pass completions for 226 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Sims was 5-of-12 with 59 passing yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns. He was also sacked twice. McCarron was not sacked.
Kent State managed just 89 yards of offense.
Is it too early to circle an SEC team in the national championship game? Maybe so. But the LSU Tigers, despite all the turmoil that threatened to tear down title hopes before they ever took to the field, are thinking of nothing else.
Why should they after running over No. 5 Oregon, 40-27, in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Without quarterback Jordan Jefferson, without receiver Russell Shepard and without any momentum, LSU gutted out a tough win in the most anticipated opening game of the weekend.
Quarterback Jarrett Lee and running back Spencer Ware kept the LSU offense going, and the defense was strong against Ducks’ QB Darron Thomas and running back LaMichael James, who struggled with cramps in his legs.
Oregon freshman receiver DeAnthony Thomas fumbled twice, cracking the door wide open for an opportunistic LSU Tigers. Thomas scored in the waning seconds of the game to make the score a bit closer, but it was all LSU in the second half.
Is it too early to circle an SEC team in the national championship game? Maybe so. But the LSU Tigers, despite all the turmoil that threatened to tear down title hopes before they ever took to the field, are thinking of nothing else.
Why should they after running over No. 5 Oregon, 40-27, in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Without quarterback Jordan Jefferson, without receiver Russell Shepard and without any momentum, LSU gutted out a tough win in the most anticipated opening game of the weekend.
Quarterback Jarrett Lee and running back Spencer Ware kept the LSU offense going, and the defense was strong against Ducks’ QB Darron Thomas and running back LaMichael James, who struggled with cramps in his legs.
Oregon freshman receiver DeAnthony Thomas fumbled twice, cracking the door wide open for an opportunistic LSU Tigers. Thomas scored in the waning seconds of the game to make the score a bit closer, but it was all LSU in the second half.
All Boise State has to do now is win every game in which it’s favored to win – which is to say the rest of the games on its schedule.
The No. 5 Broncos passed their stiffest test of the season, beating No. 19 Georgia 35-21 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Quarterback Kellen Moore was flawless, with just five incomplete passes on the night. Moore threw for three touchdowns and 261 yards.
Georgia, which finished 6-7 last season, is again looking for a victory after ending the year with a bowl game loss to UCF.
His 12-yard strike to Kyle Efaw gave Boise State a 14-7 halftime lead. Boise State started with the ball in the second half and Moore proceeded to complete seven straight passes to set up Doug Martin’s 7-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7.
Georgia could not get close after that.
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray had two long touchdown passes in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to derail the Broncos.
By most standards, a 34-0 victory would be impressive. But with expectations soaring in Tallahassee, Fla., that barely moved the needle for Seminoles’ fans.
Sixth-ranked Florida State easily checked off Louisiana-Monroe. But the score wasn’t as lopsided as FSU’s recent openers: 59-6 over Samford last season, 69-0 over Western Carolina in 2008.
Quarterback EJ Manuel, who has replaced Christian Ponder, passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Backup quarterback Clint Trickett was also able to get some playing time, and made quick work of it.
His first pass was for a touchdown, a 28-yard completion to Rashad Greene with 6:57 left.
Louisiana-Monroe, meanwhile, left with 191 yards of offense and 12 first downs.
While college football fans are sending a thank you note to Andrew Luck – who doesn’t want to see the most talented player in the game for another year? – San Jose State has seen enough of the Stanford standout.
Luck was his typical self in the seventh-ranked Cardinal’s opener, passing for 171 yards in the 57-3 take down of San Jose State. Running back Stepfan Taylor ran for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Chris Owusu was Luck’s go-to guy, catching seven passes for 76 yards, although Luck went to seven different pass-catchers.
Coach David Shaw’s debut as the head-man in place of Jim Harbaugh was a resounding success. The game set the stage for the type of season expected of Stanford in the Pac-12 North.
We knew No. 9 Oklahoma State would have no problem putting points on the board. Against Louisiana-Lafayette, it was an even easier than expected.
The Cowboys didn’t stop until they’d posted a 61-34 victory.
Joseph Randle rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Justin Blackmon, a Heisman candidate, had 144 receiving yards. Quarterback Brandon Weeden completed 24 of 39 passes for a whopping 388 yards.
Even with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen moving on to West Virginia, the Oklahoma State offense kept rolling. Still, the Ragin’ Cajuns scored two defensive touchdowns.
In its Big Ten debut, No. 10 Nebraska defeated Chattanooga 40-7.
It was a thoroughly dominating performance by the Huskers – except for that one mishap when Nebraska gave up an 86-yard touchdown pass for Nebraska’s only score of the game.
Quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns, including scampers of 43 and 47 yards.
The Russell Wilson debut in Madison was nothing less than spectacular. The NC State transfer was all the Badgers hoped he would be, leading Wisconsin to a 51-17 victory over UNLV.
Wilson passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns. A 46-yard touchdown run, a display of his speed, vision and feel for the game, was just one of several highlights.
Running backs Montee Ball and James White were more than perfect complements to the Badgers’ offense. Ball finished with 63 yards rushing and two touchdowns. White had 64 rushing yards on 11 carries, and one touchdown.
Looking at the final score of No. 12 South Carolina’s 56-37 victory against East Carolina, it’s hard to remember that East Carolina had a legitimate shot at pulling off the upset when the game rolled into halftime.
But the Pirates fumbled three times in the first five minutes of the third quarter, and South Carolina turned all three turnovers into touchdowns, which erased ECU’s 10-point halftime lead.
The Gamecocks went on to pummel the Pirates with a dominating second-half performance—on offense, defense and special teams.
South Carolina’s slow start offensively can be traced back to coach Steve Spurrier’s decision to start sophomore quarterback Connor Shaw instead of senior Stephen Garcia, who had started 27 games the past two seasons. Shaw played the first quarter and failed to produce any points; when Garcia finally entered the game, East Carolina was ahead 17-0.
But the Gamecocks scored touchdowns on Garcia’s first two drives, and South Carolina spent the rest of the game looking very much like the team picked to finish first in the SEC’s Eastern Division. Marcus Lattimore, Sporting News’ preseason choice to win the Doak Walker award, finished the game with 112 yards and three touchdowns.
Some have called him the next Cam Newton. Whether Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas is that good remains to be seen. But clearly, the 13th-ranked Hokies will be a force this year in the ACC and beyond.
Virginia Tech routed FCS power Appalachian State, 66-13. It was a good start – at last – for Virginia Tech, which had lost its season-opening game the last four years.
Running back David Wilson rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on runs of 20, 19 and 3 yards and Thomas threw two touchdown strikes.
Virginia Tech at one point led 52-0.
Baylor pulled off the first upset of the 2011 season when it pulled out a 50-48 thriller over No. 14 TCU in front of a rabid Bears’ home crowd.
Baylor kicker Aaron Jones cleanly cleared a 37-yard field goal with 1:04 left and the defense held off TCU one last time. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin’s 15-yard catch from receiver Kendall Wright converted a critical third-and-10 to set up Jones’ field goal.
TCU first-year starting quarterback Casey Pachall’s comeback attempt was thwarted when Mike Hicks intercepted his pass in the waning moments of the game.
Griffin, a Heisman candidate, threw a career-high five touchdown passes.
TCU, meanwhile, has likely lost any hopes of a national championship. The Horned Frogs had won 25-consecutive regular-season games, and ended last season with a victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Baylor 0-4 against Top 25 teams last season and the team finished 7-6. The Bears’ last win over a ranked opponent was against No. 16 Texas A&M in 2004.
The Tyler Wilson era at Arkansas has begun and wonderfully, so.
Wilson threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns in the Razorbacks’ 51-7 win over Missouri State. And, they got an unexpected bonus, two in fact, from Joe Adams, who returned two punts for touchdowns.
Wilson drove the Hogs to scores on each of his four possessions. Two were 33- and 29-yard passes to Jarius Wright.
The defense was impressive, too, as Missouri State picked up just 18 yards of offense in the first half.
For all of the angst over the loss of running back Knile Davis, Arkansas did not negatively impacted by his absence.
You could blame it on the weather, but that wouldn’t wash.
Before the sky opened and lightning flashed across the sky, before fans were evacuated, No. 16 Notre Dame was already in deep trouble. And it stayed that way, as South Florida finished what it started in a 23-20 victory.
Two weather delays, the first lasting more than two hours, meant a long day for both teams. With a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, the game didn’t end until 9:40 p.m.
Coach Skip Holtz has led the Bulls to wins over Miami, Clemson and now, Notre Dame. That he did it against his alma mater, at a place where his father Lou Holtz was legendary, made the victory even more complete.
It was the first time a Notre Dame game had been stopped due to a weather delay. But it’s the not the first time at all that the Irish have managed to disappoint when so much was on the line. This was supposed to be their breakout year, and it may well still become that. After all, it’s not like they lost to an awful team. But it doesn’t feel all that promising.
South Florida stole momentum early, when Kayvon Webster returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Dayne Crist got off to a poor start and was replaced in the second half by Tommy Rees. Irish receiver Michael Floyd, whose offseason turmoil threatened his senior year, had a career-day. But nothing could erase five Irish turnovers, including a Crist pick threw in the end zone.
Notre Dame scored with 21 seconds, but couldn’t make good on an onside kick that the Bulls recovered to close the game.
Michigan State might be the quietest Top 25 team around. No matter. The Spartans seem to like it that way. Even their 28-6 victory over Youngstown State on Friday was met with a quiet hum.
Receiver B.J. Cunningham caught nine passes for 130 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 222 yards. Edwin Baker rushed for 91 yards.
It wasn’t a dominating performance by the Spartans, though. Michigan State had seven first-half penalties, there was a short field goal missed in the fourth quarter, too.
In the first half, Youngstown State even held a 14-8 advantage in first downs.
Ohio State closed the book – for now at least -- on one of the most trying offseasons in its history on Saturday when it handed Akron a 42-0 beating.
The scandals that dogged the Buckeyes this summer were briefly forgotten. Instead, attention could turn to coach Luke Fickell making its debut in replacement of Jim Tressel. And to quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller, both of whom played. And to all of the others who stood in the gap for the seven suspended players forced to sit out this game.
Bauserman rushed for one touchdown and passed for three more, taking particular fondness in connecting with tight end Jake Stoneburner. Stoneburner is the first OSU tight end to catch three TD passes in one game.
Bauserman, 25 years old and a fifth-year senior, took advantage of his first start since high school, completing 12 of 16 passes for 163 yards and, most importantly, no interceptions. Miller came into the game in the second quarter. His drive stalled and the next possession, Bauserman led a 64-yard scoring drive that was capped with a 28-yard TD strike.
Miller came back onto the field in the second half and led a six-play, 59-yard scoring drive. He connected with Devin Smith for the score.
All Boise State has to do now is win every game in which it’s favored to win – which is to say the rest of the games on its schedule.
The No. 5 Broncos passed their stiffest test of the season, beating No. 19 Georgia 35-21 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Quarterback Kellen Moore was flawless, with just five incomplete passes on the night. Moore threw for three touchdowns and 261 yards.
Georgia, which finished 6-7 last season, is again looking for a victory after ending the year with a bowl game loss to UCF.
His 12-yard strike to Kyle Efaw gave Boise State a 14-7 halftime lead. Boise State started with the ball in the second half and Moore proceeded to complete seven straight passes to set up Doug Martin’s 7-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7.
Georgia could not get close after that.
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray had two long touchdown passes in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to derail the Broncos.
If there is a sleeper in the SEC West, it’s No. 20 Mississippi State. While the nation swoons over Alabama and LSU, the Bulldogs have stayed under the radar.
They opened their season with thunder, though, defeating Memphis 59-14. Running back Vick Ballard rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Chris Relf completed 13 of 21 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 51 yards.
Five Mississippi State players were suspended before the game, including staring defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. It didn’t have any effect on the Bulldogs’ production, and certainly not any on the outcomes.
MSU opened the scoring with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Relf to Chad Bumphis, and never looked back. Memphis’ offense didn’t cross midfield until midway through the second quarter. And on defense, Memphis’ struggles were even greater. Mississippi State averaged more than nine yards per play and the Bulldogs scored the most points in the program’s history since 1936.
Sophomore quarterback James Franklin had big shoes to fill in replacing Blaine Gabbert. So far, so good for Franklin, who led Mizzou to a 17-6 win over Miami (Ohio).
Franklin did not wow anyone, but he didn’t lose, which, after all, is what matters most.
Franklin rushed for a touchdown and passed for another. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 129 yards and rushed for 72 yards.
Quarterback John Brantley, maligned for his poor play all of last season, has gotten a new life under offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss. Brantley helped the No. 22 Gators to a 41-3 over FAU. Florida posted 468 yards of total offense to Florida Atlantic’s 135.
Running back Jeff Demps, who contemplated turning pro in track and field, showed why he came back. He ran 12 times for 105 yards, while Chris Rainey carried the ball 11 times for 79 yards. Rainey also caught a touchdown pass and blocked a punt.
Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd was ruled ineligible, the UF athletic department announced before the game. He wasn’t needed, though, in this game.
Auburn, last season’s national champions, narrowly escaped a huge upset Saturday when it rallied for a 42-38 victory over unranked Utah State.
The Tigers trailed 38-35 when first-year starting quarterback Barrett Trotter began a game-winning touchdown drive following Auburn’s Emory Blake’s recovery of an onside kick. Trotter completed three passes and Onterio McCalebb had runs of 10 and 14 yards. Then, running back Mike Dyer took it in from the 2-yard line with 34 seconds left to put Auburn ahead.
All afternoon, momentum stayed in the Aggies’ favor. It was the No. 23 Tigers on their heels, looking every bit like a team that returned only seven starters.
Auburn saw Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton leave after one season. He was the top pick in the NFL draft, and defensive tackle Nick Fairley was also a first-round draft pick.
Despite the departures, few expected Auburn to struggle so mightily against Utah State. This is the third year the Aggies have nearly taken down a BCS-conference team, having lost by narrow margins to Texas A&M and Oklahoma the last two seasons.
Still, Utah State was predicted to finish no better than fifth in the WAC after going 4-8 last season, including just two conference victories.
No matter how well No. 25 USC plays, it’s going nowhere. The Trojans are not eligible for the inaugural Pac-12 championship game. They can’t play in a bowl game, either.
That means Lane Kiffin’s troops have to put it all on the line now. It took everything USC could muster to defeat Minnesota, 19-17 Saturday.
Torin Harris’ interception with 53 seconds left stopped Minnesota’s last-gasp effort to upset USC.
The least-impressed person by the win might have been Kiffin: “Obviously we’re not very good right now,” Kiffin said afterward. He said his defense played well enough to win, but the offense, led by quarterback Matt Barkley, has to get better quickly. The Trojans threw the ball 49 times and could not run the ball effectively.
Still, Minnesota first-year coach Jerry Kill showed that the Gophers could soon, perhaps very soon, be a dangerous team. Kill inherited a cupboard full of talent and figures to improve on the team’s 3-9 2010 record.
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