Alabama 39, Middle Tennessee 34

By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Tyler Watts passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns and Anthony Madison returned a late interception for a score as Alabama held on to beat Middle Tennessee 39-34 Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

The heavily favored Crimson Tide couldn't shake the Blue Raiders despite jumping out to a 22-0 first-quarter lead.

Middle Tennessee cut it to 29-27 on ReShard Lee's 2-yard TD run with 9:04 left to cap the big comeback.

The Tide then marched 75 yards down the field, but settled for Michael Ziifle's 28-yard field goal with 3:18 to play.

Lee returned the ensuing kick to the Middle Tennessee 38-yard line. Andrico Hines, a junior college transfer making his first start, underthrew David Youell in the flat on the next play. Madison stepped in front of him and raced untouched into the end zone.

Again, Lee put the Blue Raiders in position for a quick score, returning the ensuing kick 58 yards into Alabama territory. On the next play, he took a lateral from Hines and hit Wardell Alsup on a 37-yard pass, setting up Dwone Hicks' 5-yard touchdown run with 2:21 left.

Alabama's Ahmaad Galloway scooped the onside kick from the air at midfield. The Crimson Tide ran out the clock after Santonio Beard's third-down run moved the chains. Galloway rushed 15 times for 77 yards and a 32-yard score.

Watts went 16-of-22, including a 35-yard touchdown to Sam Collins and a 15-yarder to David Cavan. He rushed 10 times for 54 yards and had a 17-yard scamper for a first down on the Tide's final scoring drive.

Middle Tennessee cut it to 29-20 on the second play of the fourth, when Don Calloway barreled up the middle for a 4-yard TD. The Tide stuffed Hines on the two-point try.

Hines was 16-of-24 for 165 yards and gained another 47 on the ground.

Hicks, coming off two straight 1,000-yard seasons, didn't touch the ball until the Blue Raiders' third series and finished with 42 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Lee picked up the slack with 56 yards on 11 rushes.

Tennessee 47, Wyoming 7

TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Casey Clausen threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, and Cedric Houston and Jabari Davis each ran for two TDs as Tennessee routed Wyoming 47-7 Saturday.

Tennessee won its eighth consecutive opener and 16th straight non-conference game thanks to a defense that lost three defensive linemen to the NFL last April. The Vols didn't miss a beat against a Wyoming offense that returned 10 starters from a unit that ranked 15th in the nation last season.

Wyoming quarterback Casey Bramlet was under pressure constantly, getting sacked twice. The Cowboys turned the ball over five times, and their running game was nonexistent, losing seven yards on the team's first nine carries.

Wyoming finished with 187 total yards, compared with 467 for Tennessee.

Tennessee was without injured receiver Kelley Washington, the team's leading receiver last season, but Clausen played well anyway, going 22-for-33. He left with the Vols ahead 41-0.

Washington watched from the sideline in shorts while recovering from a partially torn knee ligament that may keep him out until Tennessee plays Florida on Sept. 21.

Tennessee started the game by going to the air. Clausen threw on four of the Vols' first five plays, and he completed passes to nine different players, including a 19-yard TD pass to Jomo Fagan with 7:43 left in the first quarter.

Wyoming couldn't get anything going. Nate Young intercepted Clausen's pass in the second quarter but fumbled, and Jason Respert recovered for Tennessee.

The only problem for Tennessee came in the first quarter, when junior linebacker Kevin Burnett hurt his left knee and had to be helped off the field. He did not return.

Tennessee scored only 10 points in each of the first two quarters, but the Vols ran more plays (24) in the first quarter than Wyoming had yards on offense (22).

The Volunteers added 21 points within the first nine minutes of the third quarter. Davis had a 4-yard TD run. Rashad Moore sacked Bramlet and forced him to fumble, and Demetrin Veal recovered at the Wyoming 11.

Davis scored four plays later on fourth-and-1 by going up and over the middle for a 2-yard touchdown. The Cowboys went three-and-out, and Tennessee needed only four more plays to score again as Houston ran 46 yards for a TD to make it 41-0 with 6:25 left in the third.

Houston finished with 10 carries for 106 yards, and Alex Walls added field goals of 34, 19, 44 and 40 yards for Tennessee.

Wyoming finally got on the board when Bramlett hit Jovon Bouknight with a 35-yard TD pass in the fourth.

The game originally was scheduled to be played in Laramie, Wyo., but the Cowboys sold it for $2.35 million. The game was played three hours west of the Vols' campus in Knoxville, but fans painted the Nashville stadium orange, making their team feel right at home.

Georgia Tech 45, Vanderbilt 3

By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA (AP) -- A.J. Suggs threw three touchdown passes and Tony Hollings ran for 153 yards, helping new coach Chan Gailey and Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt 45-3 on Saturday night in the opener for both teams.

Hollings, a converted safety, became the first running back in school history to run for more than 100 yards in his first game. Suggs, a transfer from Tennessee, completed 10 of 13 passes for 132 yards in slightly more than a half.

The Yellow Jackets lost the shutout when Greg Johnson hit a 37-yard field goal with 3:26 left in the game. It would've been their first shutout since Nov. 9, 2000, a 35-0 victory over Virginia, and the first time they held a season-opening opponent scoreless since they beat Florida 9-0 on Sept. 14, 1963.

Gailey spent the past eight seasons in the NFL, including two seasons as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, before replacing George O'Leary. It was Gailey's first college game since 1993, when he led Division I-AA Samford to a 5-6 record.

He wore a white shirt - his assistants were clothed in yellow ones - and spent most of the game isolated on the sidelines, standing by himself on one end or the other. He finally took off his headphones midway through the fourth quarter and stood near midfield with his hands on his hips, soaking in his first victory as a head coach since Jan. 2, 2000, when the Cowboys beat the New York Giants 26-13.

After the game, Gailey was doused with water from a cooler, then jogged to midfield to shake hands with Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson, who also was making his debut with a new team. Johnson led Furman to the I-AA title game a year ago.

In the first quarter, Gailey decided to punt on fourth-and-1 from the Vanderbilt 37, drawing boos from the sellout crowd. But the move paid off when Dennis Davis downed Dan Dyke's punt at the 1.

That helped set up Georgia Tech's first touchdown, a 2-yard pass from Suggs to Will Glover on the first play of the second quarter. Suggs lofted the ball to the back corner of the end zone, and Glover outjumped Dominique Morris for a 7-0 lead.

The Yellow Jackets scored on their next five possessions, taking a 38-0 lead. Hollings ran for two of the touchdowns, including a 56-yarder early in the third quarter, and Suggs threw TD passes to Glover and Kerry Watkins.

Luke Manget added a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Damarius Bilbo, who Gailey said would split time with Suggs, didn't get many opportunities until the game was out of hand. He played with the second-team offense all night and ran 5 yards for his first career touchdown in the third quarter.

Vanderbilt failed to generate much offense in the first three quarters and finished with 225 yards, 78 of which came in the fourth quarter. Neither starting quarterback Jay Cutler nor backup Benji Walker were effective, combining to go 13-for-28 for 116 yards and two interceptions.

Florida 51, UAB 3

EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The first play was a 58-yard completion down the sideline - a sweet pass and catch that not even you-know-who could have drawn up any better.

The rest of the game was a record-setting rout, and the Ron Zook era at sixth-ranked Florida got off to a shining start with a 51-3 victory over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.

One game in, Zook has found out what Steve Spurrier knew when he left for the Washington Redskins: It's hard to look bad as a coach when you've got Rex Grossman, Taylor Jacobs and Earnest Graham making plays on offense.

Jacobs, who considered leaving when Spurrier did, got one heck of a reward. With 246 yards, he broke the school single-game receiving record of 237, set by Carlos Alvarez in 1969. The mark had stood as one of the very few not rewritten during Spurrier's 12 seasons as coach.

Grossman hooked up with Jacobs on the opening play, and for two touchdowns in the second quarter. The junior quarterback, who also made the tough decision to stay when Spurrier abruptly resigned in January, had 306 yards by halftime and finished with 337.

Graham ran for 182 yards and scored two touchdowns, and this marked the first time the Gators have ever had a 150-yard rusher and a 200-yard receiver in the same game.

In 1990, Spurrier won his first game as Florida's coach 50-7 over Oklahoma State, and Zook's debut was equally successful. After the game, Zook got the inevitable shower from a water-filled Gatorade bucket. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley also was a happy man. He's the guy who took heat when he hired Zook, who had never been a head coach.

Now comes the tough part. The Gators play co-No. 1 Miami next week, get a breather against the University of Ohio, then travel to fourth-ranked Tennessee on Sept. 28 for their Southeastern Conference opener.

But Saturday was a day to celebrate.

Wearing a white shirt and - ahem - no visor, Zook led the Gators out of the tunnel. As he sprinted out, he turned to his left and pointed toward his cancer-stricken father, who flew from south Florida on the school plane to watch his son's debut.

Watching the new coach on the sideline wasn't as entertaining as watching Spurrier rant and rave, but Zook did have his moments. At one point, after one of his players took a late hit out of bounds that wasn't called, Zook sprinted toward the official, got right in his face and looked like he was poised to attack. He calmed down quickly, however, and within seconds the new coach was patting the ref on the back.

And really, there wasn't much to get upset about on this day. Other than a different coach, everything about this Florida offense, and this Florida team, looked pretty much the same - maybe even better.

Graham broke a 50-yard run late in the first quarter, and a 63-yarder in the third. He averaged a 14 yards a carry, and became the first runner to break 100 against UAB in 26 games.

Besides the game-opening play, Grossman's nicest throw came when he hit Jacobs in stride for a 45-yard score and a 27-0 lead in the second quarter. After the play, Grossman calmly walked off the field and looked toward the scoreboard, admiring the replay on the big screen.

The defense, revamped under new coordinator John Thompson, gave up a couple big runs, but the Blazers were no real threat. Nick Hayes made a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter to keep the Blazers, who lost 12 starters from last year's 6-5 team, from enduring the shutout.

Oregon 36, Mississippi State 13

By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- With former quarterback Joey Harrington looking on, Jason Fife opened a new era for No. 15 Oregon by throwing three touchdown passes as the Ducks beat Mississippi State 36-13 Saturday.

Onterrio Smith ran for 122 yards on 28 carries for Oregon, and Fife completed 14 of 26 passes for 167 yards in his first game as a starter.

The Bulldogs were playing without their starting quarterback, Kevin Fant, who was suspended for one game by the NCAA. In his place, redshirt freshman Kyle York made his collegiate debut.

York completed 19 of 38 passes for 195 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions as the Bulldogs' offense got off to a slow start and never caught up.

George Wrighster caught two touchdown passes and Jared Siegel kicked three field goals for the Ducks, who opened their season before 56,386 fans at newly expanded Autzen Stadium.

Harrington got a wild ovation when he appeared on the sidelines about an hour before the game. Last season he led the Ducks to an 11-1 record, the Pacific-10 Conference title and a No. 2 final ranking.

A Heisman finalist, Harrington was picked third overall in the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

Fife's first pass was incomplete, but he ran 28 yards on the Ducks' opening series, including a 5-yard scoring dash that put Oregon up 7-0.

He threw more on the next possession, hitting Jason Willis with a 21-yard pass to put Oregon on Mississippi State's 4-yard line. Fife finished it off with a toss to Wrighster for the touchdown.

Fife hit Wrighster again with a 27-yard scoring pass to open the second quarter before Siegel kicked a 39-yard field goal.

Kicking with a steady breeze, Siegel also hit a 47-yarder, tying his career best, to make it 27-0.

The Bulldogs finally got on the board with 20 seconds left before halftime on Dontae Walker's 1-yard run as York started to shake off some of his rookie jitters.

Fant was suspended Thursday. According to athletic director Larry Templeton, a Bulldogs booster used a credit card to secure tires and rims for Fant's vehicle, but Fant later bought them with a check from his mother.

``Mississippi State and the Southeastern Conference believe the incident did not warrant a suspension,'' Bulldogs coach Jackie Sherrill said in a statement. ``The incident is put behind us and we will move on.''

Fant's absence was a blow to the Bulldogs, who finished last season with a disappointing 3-8 record.

Siegel kicked a 39-yard field goal to open the second half, and Fife added a 34-yard TD pass to Samie Walker as the Ducks put the game out of reach. Fife was replaced in the fourth quarter by backup Kellen Clemens.

York finished on a positive note with a 9-yard scoring pass to Brandon Wright with 2:52 left. The 2-point attempt failed.

It was the first time Oregon played host to an opponent from the SEC, and just the second time the Bulldogs faced a Pac-10 opponent. Mississippi State visited Washington in 1977.

Ole Miss 31, Louisiana-Monroe 3

By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Robert Williams ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and Mississippi didn't need a big game from Eli Manning to begin the season with a 31-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.

Playing in front of a record-breaking crowd at newly expanded Vaught-Hemingway stadium, the Rebels won their seventh straight opener. Ole Miss has outscored its last three opening-day opponents 129-37.

Manning started the game 0-for-5 with an interception and took awhile to find his mark. The junior finished 17-for-31 for 192 yards, but he often missed his receivers. At one point in the third quarter, he threw seven straight incompletions.

Manning did extend his school-record streak of games with a touchdown pass to 13 by connecting with Bill Flowers on a 26-yarder in the second quarter that put the Rebels up 7-3.

With their star struggling, Ole Miss relied on its running game and defense to put away the Indians, who were 31-point underdogs.

Williams was making his first career start after backing up Deuce McAllister and Joe Gunn for three years. The senior had a career game, carrying 18 times and scoring on runs of 1 and 4 yards in the second quarter as the Rebels built a 21-3 halftime lead.

Manning finally found his form in the fourth quarter, completing 7 of 8 for 68 yards on the final drive he played. Ronald McClendon capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown that increased the lead to 31-3 with 10:42 left.

The Indians, meanwhile, continued to take their lumps from the Southeastern Conference. They are 2-16 against the SEC since moving to Division I-A in 1994, including 14 straight losses. The last three have been particularly brutal, with the Indians getting outscored 156-12 by Tennessee, Florida and Ole Miss.

Bryant Jacobs ran 23 times for 103 yards, accounting for much of the Indians' offense against the Rebels' new 4-2-5 defense.

Ole Miss added to two other streaks, winning their 23rd consecutive regular-season non-conference game and 15th straight home opener.

The crowd of 58,151 was about 2,000 below capacity, but still good enough to surpass the previous best of 52,476, set against LSU in 2000.

South Carolina 34, New Mexico State 24

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina coach Lou Holtz tied Bo Schembechler for ninth on the career list with his 234th win as the 22nd-ranked Gamecocks beat New Mexico State 34-24 Saturday night.

South Carolina's largest season-opening crowd of 83,717 didn't see the thumping it expected. But the Gamecocks got 113 yards rushing and a pretty, 44-yard touchdown pass from new quarterback Corey Jenkins to win their third straight opener.

Holtz caught his good friend Schembechler, the former coach at Michigan. With four more victories, Holtz will tie Ohio State great Woody Hayes in eighth place.

This win, though, was in doubt until the final quarter.

The Gamecocks could get little going early behind Jenkins, a 26-year-old senior starting for the first time.

And when Walter Taylor ran in from a yard out with 1:35 left in the third period - set up by Eric Higgins' 75-yard carry - the Aggies trailed just 20-17.

That's when Jenkins and the Gamecocks took control.

Jenkins had a 16-yard run and an 18-yard pass to Michael Ages on the next drive. An 8-yard run by Jenkins took the ball to New Mexico State's 2, and freshman Daccus Turman followed with a touchdown that put the Gamecocks up 26-17 less than two minutes into the final quarter.

A fumbled punt on the Aggies' next series set up another score for South Carolina. Andrew Pinnock got his 21st career rushing touchdown to put the game away.

New Mexico State quarterback Buck Pierce scored on a 13-yard draw play with 3:29 left. The Aggies, though, could get no closer.

Pierce was 17-of-25 passing for 207 yards.

Jenkins' highlight was his touchdown throw to James Adkisson in third quarter. Jenkins stepped back, pump-faked hard, then hit Adkisson right on the hands as he entered the end zone.

Jenkins, who grew up less than a mile from Williams-Brice Stadium, raised his arms to the cheering crowd.

It was one of the few things Gamecocks fans got excited about.

Two years ago they stormed the field, tore down the goal posts and ripped up the shrubs here when South Carolina ended a 21-game losing streak by beating New Mexico State 31-0.

This time, they mostly grumbled until the end.

Jenkins, a former first-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, didn't complete a pass until midway through the second quarter. The Gamecocks' defense, third in the Southeastern Conference a year ago, allowed 212 yards rushing and gave up a 34-yard TD pass by Pierce on fourth down.

South Carolina twice had long drives stall inside the Aggies' 15 and settled for field goals to lead 13-10 at halftime.

Georgia 31, Clemson 28

PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Backup quarterback D.J. Shockley ran for one touchdown and passed for another as No. 8 Georgia escaped a major upset, rallying for a 31-28 victory over Clemson on Saturday night.

Billy Bennett kicked a 43-yard field goal with 5:19 remaining to snap a 28-all tie in the renewal of a longtime rivalry.

Georgia took advantage of atrocious play by Clemson's special teams.

Fred Gibson returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. Aaron Hunt missed two field goals, including a 46-yard attempt with 1:43 remaining that would have tied the game for the Tigers. A shanked punt and a long punt return set up two more Georgia TDs.

The two schools, only about an hour's drive apart, played for the first time since 1995. Both made a plethora of mistakes, not surprising for a season opener, but there was plenty of drama in the final quarter.

Shockley, a redshirt freshman playing his first college game, threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Edwards with 12:35 remaining to erase a 28-21 deficit.

Then, Damien Gary returned a punt 40 yards to set up Bennett's winning kick.

Clemson got in position to send the game to overtime, driving to Georgia's 26 before stalling. Hunt came up a few feet short on the field-goal attempt.

David Greene, the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year in 2001, played most of the game at quarterback for the Bulldogs. But Shockley came up big in his brief time on the field.

During his only series of the first half, Shockley ran 9 yards for a touchdown. He sidestepped Clemson safety Eric Meekins with a brilliant move and dove into the end zone.

Shockley returned in the fourth quarter, guiding the Bulldogs to the tying touchdown. On third-and-3, he stepped up in the pocket and found Edwards over the middle.

Clemson likely would have won if not for a bunch of mistakes, many by the special teams.

Gibson was barely touched when he returned the kickoff for a touchdown - and the play shouldn't even have happened. Clemson was forced to re-kick after being called for illegal procedure on its first attempt.

Former Georgia punter Wynn Kopp, now kicking for the Tigers, set up Shockley's TD run by dropping a snap, then shanking a rushed punt only 17 yards.

Clemson wasted plenty of other chances. Deep in Georgia territory, Willie Simmons failed to spot an open receiver in the end zone and wound up being intercepted by Decory Bryant.

Simmons' receivers let him down on two other throws. A deep pass hit Airese Curry on the fly at the Georgia 15, but the ball slid off his fingertips. On another long attempt, Derrick Hamilton got free in the end zone, but fumbled away another perfectly thrown pass by Simmons.

The Tigers also fumbled four times in the first half, losing valuable yards even though they managed to recover all of the loose balls.

Simmons did throw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Youngblood with just eight seconds left in the first half, pulling Clemson to 21-14.

Georgia couldn't hang on to the ball in the third quarter.

The first miscue began on a rather innocent play: a sweep from the Clemson 29. Musa Smith bobbled the pitch, there was a scramble for the ball and Bryant McNeal finally picked it up. He rumbled 55 yards for a tying touchdown without being touched.

On the ensuing kickoff, Gibson was trying to make a cut when the ball simply slipped out of his hands. The Bulldogs dodged that mistake when Hunt banged a 37-yard attempt off the right upright, but Clemson marched right back down the field.

Yusef Kelly's 2-yard run put the Tigers ahead for the first time.