LSU 41, Appalachian State 13
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- With a running game like LSU's, maybe it doesn't matter who plays quarterback.
Charles Scott rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 16 carries, including touchdowns of 8 and 29 yards, and No. 7 LSU rolled to 41-13 victory over Appalachian State on Saturday.
LSU coach Les Miles finally answered the question of who his starting quarterback would be when Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch took the field on the Tigers' opening three series, which produced 17 points. Miles also gave redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee a chance to run the show. Both threw their first touchdown passes as Tigers, but the real damage was done while they handed off.
LSU finished with 266 yards rushing. Hatch was 7-of-14 passing for 77 yards, including a 17-yard TD to Demetrius Byrd. He also ran for 43 yards. Lee was 6-of-10 for 116 yards with scoring passes of 31 and 39 yards to Brandon LaFell. Lee also threw an interception that set up a Mountaineers' field goal.
As Hurricane Gustav approached the Gulf Coast, kickoff was moved up from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. so the game would end well before authorities planned to initiate one-way traffic along major evacuation routes away from Louisiana's coast. With LSU leading big and the midday sun baking the stands, Tiger Stadium looked deserted by the end of the third quarter.
This matchup between the national champions of college football's top two tiers only served to highlight the gaps in size, speed and talent between the Bowl Subdivision and the Championship Subdivision, much unlike the Mountaineers' captivating 34-32 triumph at Michigan a year ago.
LSU quickly squashed any notion Appalachian State had of using Death Valley to stage an encore to their upset at the Big House a year ago. The Tigers raced to a 31-0 lead in the opening half and maintained a comfortable lead as reserves filtered in the rest of the way.
LSU's offensive line outweighed Appalachian State's front four by an average of nearly 60 pounds. They opened up a huge hole on the Tigers' first play from scrimmage, through which Scott ran for a 56-yard gain to the Mountaineers' 8, setting up his first TD.
Appalachian State's vaunted spread offense, which averaged nearly 43 points per game last season, looked spread thin against an LSU defense that augmented its ferocious front four with relentless blitzing.
Mountaineers star quarterback Armanti Edwards played into the fourth quarter, finishing 13-of-31 for 155 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked only twice, but repeatedly clobbered on designed runs or as he released hurried throws.
On Appalachian State's second drive, Edwards was forced to duck for cover when swarmed over in the backfield by lineman Marlon Favorite and blitzing linebacker Darry Beckwith. Edwards' helmet was jarred loose twice in the first half. He was lucky his head didn't go with it on a designed run that was stopped in its tracks by safeties Harry Coleman and Danny McCray. Edwards' helmet landed nearly five yards downfield after the hit.
The Mountaineers didn't score until 6:06 remained in the third quarter, when Edwards found Robert Welton deep down the middle for a 44-yard score.
Florida 56, Hawaii 10
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Hawaii started this season the same way it ended the last one - getting blown out by a Southeastern Conference power.
Fifth-ranked Florida scored on offense, defense and special teams and routed the Warriors 56-10 in the season opener for both teams Saturday.
Even without injured speedster Percy Harvin (heel) and linebacker Brandon Spikes (toe), the Gators dominated every aspect of this one and handed Greg McMackin a lopsided loss in his debut as Hawaii's head coach.
It looked very much like the Warriors' last game, a 41-10 drubbing against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The biggest difference was Florida didn't face Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan.
Instead, the Gators faced backup Greg Alexander. And it showed.
Starting in place of Brent Rausch, Alexander threw two early interceptions that Florida turned into touchdowns and fumbled twice.
The Gators were much more efficient on offense.
Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was 9-of-14 passing for 137 yards and a touchdown. He ran nine times for 37 yards, most of them scrambles behind spotty protection. When the Gators got close to the goal line in the third quarter, coach Urban Meyer pulled Tebow in favor of backup Cam Newton - a possible indication of how the Gators plan to minimize potential pounding on their star.
Florida also plans to rely more on its running backs, who showed why Meyer has been raving so much about them the last three weeks.
Jeff Demps ran for 76 yards, including a 62-yarder for a touchdown. Chris Rainey added 58 yards on the ground, including a 33-yard score.
Demps, a freshman, sliced through the line, cut left, broke a leg tackle and then found himself alone in the open field. Steve Stepter had one final chance at him. But facing the guy who owns the fastest 100-meter time of any high school athlete, Stepter really had no chance.
Demps raced by him and trotted into the end zone to make it 35-0 early in the third quarter.
Tebow's lone TD came on the next possession, a 48-yard hookup with Louis Murphy. Newton's 1-yard plunge made it 49-0 late in the third, then Ahmad Black intercepted Rausch's deep pass on the ensuing possession and returned it 80 yards for another score.
The Gators relaxed the rest of the way, playing plenty of backups in the fourth. By then, they looked every bit ready for next week's game against rival Miami.
The defense, the biggest question coming into the season, harassed each of Hawaii's quarterbacks and forced several turnovers.
Major Wright picked off a pass from Alexander in the second quarter and ran untouched 32 yards for a score. Alexander was sacked three times before giving way to Rausch, who missed several recent practices because of a sore right throwing arm.
Rausch didn't last very long, turning things over to Inoke Funaki. Funaki led Hawaii to both of its scores - Dan Kelly kicked a 31-yard field goal with 9:38 to play and Funaki found Greg Salas for a 13-yard score with 1:37 left - but he also threw an interception that was the sixth turnover of the game for the Warriors.
Florida's special teams players did their parts, too.
Brandon James returned a punt 73 yards for a score and a 21-0 lead in the second. He scooped up the ball after several bounces, cut right, outran two tacklers, sliced through two more defenders, then outran everyone else down the sideline.
James also had a 1-yard TD run for Florida's first score.
The only negatives for the Gators were five offside penalties in the first half and a roughing-the-kicker penalty, still not enough to keep Hawaii from getting blown out again.
Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 21
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- The collar fit, and for at least one game, so did the crown.
Knowshon Moreno ran for three touchdowns and Georgia, ranked No. 1 to start a season for the first time, beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday to give new mascot Uga VII a win in his debut.
Moreno needed only eight carries for 59 yards to tie his career best with three touchdowns. He added two catches for 53 yards.
Georgia led 38-0 before Georgia Southern scored on a 1-yard run by quarterback Lee Chapple late in the third quarter. The Eagles added two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Uga VII, a white English bulldog and son of Uga VI, who died this summer, drew a standing ovation and University of Georgia president Michael Adams and athletic director Damon Evans slipped a red collar over the dog's head in a pregame ceremony.
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and was 13-for-21 passing for a career-high 275 yards.
From the opening minutes, Stafford found open receivers as Georgia Southern focused on Moreno and the Georgia running game.
Freshman receiver A.J. Green made a 36-yard catch to set up Moreno's first touchdown, a 2-yard run. Green added a 3-yard touchdown catch from Joe Cox for Georgia's final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Stafford threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Kris Durham in the second quarter and had a 5-yard scoring pass to Demiko Goodman in the third quarter.
Green wasn't the only Georgia freshman to play a prominent role.
Freshman tailback Caleb King led Georgia with 12 carries for 95 yards. First-year tailback Richard Samuel added six carries for 34 yards.
Freshman Blair Walsh kicked a 52-yard field goal.
Samair Baker scored on a 3-yard run for the Eagles (0-1) in the final quarter. Leander Barney added a 34-yard touchdown catch from Antonio Henton with 1:45 left.
Chapple started for Georgia Southern and was 9-for-18 passing for 86 yards.
Henton, an Ohio State transfer, was 10-for-18 passing for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Darell Norman led the Eagles with 12 carries for 60 yards.
Georgia suffered a potentially serious injury, losing starting defensive tackle Jeff Owens to a right knee injury in the opening quarter. He did not return. Details of the injury were not immediately available.
Owens, a senior, started all 13 games last season and had 27 tackles. The loss of Owens cut into Georgia's depth on its defensive front. Backup Kade Weston was held out of the game with a sprained knee.
Louisiana Tech 22, Mississippi State 14
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- These things just don't happen in little ol' Ruston, La.
A real, live member of the Southeastern Conference will appear in the town of 20,000 when Mississippi State opens the season Saturday at Louisiana Tech in a game on ESPN2. Not only are they dusting off the welcome mats, they're sharpening the knives.
Turns out these kind of opportunities only come along once every 100 years.
``There's a lot of excitement having an SEC football team coming to Ruston,'' Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley said. ``National TV game, these are the kind of games we certainly want to be in as a program.''
The last time a current member of the SEC played in Ruston was 1908 when rude guest LSU thumped the Bulldogs 22-0.
Dooley would love to open his second season with a splashy upset after leading Louisiana Tech to a 5-7 record last year. But the team doesn't often have success against SEC opponents. The Western Athletic Conference member is 1-9 against SEC schools in the last 10 seasons with a 27.9 points per game average margin of defeat.
``We have not played well in these kind of games historically,'' Dooley said. ``And so when you're building a program, it's important you learn how to play well in these games where there's lots of television coverage and it's a quality opponent.''
Mississippi State knows that story line well and won't likely be susceptible to ambush.
The team's coming off a breakthrough 8-5 season that included a gritty win in the Liberty Bowl after six straight years of three wins or less. But there have been questions, uttered in stage whispers, about the likelihood of a repeat after the Bulldogs relied on big plays, sudden reversals and luck to win a handful of games, then lost a few key players with legal troubles.
Players have heard the doubts and are intent on making sure they prove the reversal was no fluke. Their goal is a BCS bowl berth, not a step back into mediocrity.
``We have obviously very high expectations right now,'' sophomore quarterback Wes Carroll said. ``This season can be as great as we want it to be or if we don't focus and play as hard as we possibly can, it can also be a real upsetting season. I think all the guys are right now in line. Everybody's focused and healthy, and ready to roll right now.''
Carroll's surprising freshman performance helped the Bulldogs to coach Sylvester Croom's first winning season. Carroll returns more prepared to lead an offense that looks an awful lot like last season's. Mississippi State brings an old-fashioned power-running scheme to Ruston, led by Anthony Dixon and Christian Ducre.
Louisiana Tech's remodeled defense will be tested right away.
``I enjoy playing in these kind of games,'' said Dooley, whose father, Vince, won a national championship at Georgia with the Power I. ``But I do know this: You better buckle that chin strap a little tighter. They're going to come out and try to break your will physically and if you're not up for the challenge, you'll get embarrassed just like you do when you play the spread teams.''
While Louisiana Tech knows what to expect, it is the mystery of what it's offense will look like under Taylor Bennett that has Croom wary. The quarterback transferred in from Georgia Tech and appears to be a talented duel threat.
``How he is going to fit into their scheme is an unknown and we are going to find out when we get there,'' Croom said.
Ole Miss 41, Memphis 24
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Jevan Snead hit Shay Hodge with touchdown passes of 64 and 15 yards and Mississippi beat Memphis 41-24 Saturday night in Houston Nutt 's debut as Rebels coach.
With all eyes on Snead, making his first start, and Nutt, it was Dexter McCluster who provided the spark with 125 total yards and a touchdown run out of Ole Miss' new Wild Rebel formation.
Despite Snead's long touchdown to Hodge in the first quarter, the Rebels struggled early. McCluster, working out of the shotgun in the same ``Wildcat'' role played by Darren McFadden under Nutt the last two seasons at Arkansas, got Ole Miss rolling with a 32-yard run around the right end for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.
It was the first time Ole Miss scored 40 points against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since a 43-40 win over South Carolina on Nov. 1, 2003.
The Wild Rebel had a lot to do with the point total. Ole Miss rolled up 148 yards on 10 plays out of the formation and capped off the scoring with a 10-yard run from freshman tailback Brandon Bolden. He debuted with 61 of his 76 yards rushing coming in the new formation and hit Snead with a 37-yard pass out of the shotgun.
McCluster finished with 64 yards rushing - 50 out of the Wild Rebel - and four catches for 61 yards receiving.
Nutt was hired last November to restore fan enthusiasm and field a team that was more prepared on game day after 10 wins in three seasons under Ed Orgeron. With 56,127 fans in the stands and players making few mistakes, about the only setback for Nutt was the overeager fan who surprised him with a chestbump as the team made its way through The Grove a few hours before kickoff.
Snead's debut was solid, though not particularly sharp as he completed 10 of 22 passes for 185 yards. He made few mistakes, but overthrew several receivers in his first action since 2006 when he played in a handful of games for Texas before sitting out last season under NCAA transfer rules.
And Nutt appears to have made a difference for the Southeastern Conference's last-place defense. The Rebels intercepted two passes, setting up two field goals by Joshua Shene, and held Memphis in check except for a late 43-yard touchdown pass from Will Hudgens to Maurice Jones and a 1-yard scoring dive by Hudgens once the game was out of hand.
Hudgens and starter Arkelon Hall struggled. Hall finished with 159 yards passing before leaving due to injury and Hudgens passed for 102 yards. Each threw an interception.
Arkansas 28, Western Illinois 24
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Casey Dick scored on a 4-yard run with 1:49 remaining, and Arkansas avoided disaster in Bobby Petrino's first game as coach, rallying to beat Western Illinois 28-24 Saturday night.
The Razorbacks trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter, but Dick found Greg Childs over the middle for a 26-yard touchdown, then led an 83-yard drive for the winning score. Arkansas faced fourth-and-10 at the Western Illinois 33, but rather than attempt a field goal with strong-legged Alex Tejada, Petrino decided to go for it.
Dick completed a pass to Carlton Salters, who just barely picked up the first down. The Razorbacks moved all the way to the 4, where Dick took a shotgun snap and ran left into the end zone.
Matt Barr threw incomplete on fourth down to end the Leathernecks' final drive.
Arkansas was playing its first game under Petrino, who was hired last December to replace Houston Nutt. The new era was off to a bad start before the game even began when the school announced running back Michael Smith's one-game suspension for improper use of scholarship textbooks.
With Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the NFL, the Razorbacks were left to rely on freshmen to run the ball. Arkansas needed a big game from Dick, the senior quarterback, to come away with the win.
Dick went 25-of-41 for 318 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, numbers that would have been even better if his receivers hadn't dropped about a half-dozen passes. Dick ran for two TDs in the second half.
Western Illinois is one of the better teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, but that's still college football's second tier. When the Leathernecks went ahead 17-7 in the third quarter, the Arkansas crowd appeared stunned. Fans weren't even all that quick to boo - as they did so often during Nutt's final season with the team.
The folks in Atlanta must have been giddy with excitement when the Razorbacks went down by 10 in the fourth quarter. Petrino was the Falcons' coach last year before abruptly leaving late in the season to take the Arkansas job.
Javid Milton scored from a yard out on fourth down to make it 24-14, but the Leathernecks couldn't hold off the Razorbacks much longer.
Herb Donaldson rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown for Western Illinois. He also caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Barr early in the second half to make it 17-7.
Dick answered with a 23-yard touchdown run.
For a while, the game was reminiscent of Arkansas' season-opening loss to the Citadel in 1992. That game got coach Jack Crowe fired, and although Petrino can expect a much longer leash, the honeymoon could be brief if the Razorbacks' youngsters continue to struggle.
Arkansas looked out of sorts from the very beginning. Freshman Elton Ford returned the opening kickoff to the 15 before fumbling, giving Western Illinois great field position. The Leathernecks botched a field goal attempt on that possession, but they took the lead later in the first quarter on Taylor Rowan's 42-yard kick.
Dick put Arkansas ahead in the second quarter with a 10-yard scoring pass to freshman Joe Adams, but Donaldson scored on a 3-yard run with 1:21 remaining, giving Western Illinois a 10-7 halftime lead.
Auburn 34, Louisiana-Monroe 0
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Ben Tate ran for 115 yards on 13 carries and No. 10 Auburn scored touchdowns on defense and special teams in a 34-0 opening win over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday night.
The Tigers scarcely needed to pass in debuting Tony Franklin's new spread offense, resorting to a still punishing ground game and defense while alternating quarterbacks on every series for much of the game.
Michael Goggans scored on a 9-yard fumble return and Robert Dunn added a 66-yard punt return for a TD in the first quarter - the latter breaking the nation's longest drought. It was more than enough to ensure that the Warhawks wouldn't duplicate last season's upset at Alabama, which had been only their third win in 33 tries against Southeastern Conference opponents.
Kodi Burns opened the game at quarterback in a decision coach Tommy Tuberville kept under wraps all week, but he headed to the locker room midway through the third quarter with a cut on his leg and didn't return. His status wasn't immediately known.
Burns and Chris Todd combined for a paltry 28 yards passing in the first three quarters.
Burns completed 4 of 9 passes for 15 yards but ran for 69 yards and three long first downs. Todd was 9-for-18 for 70 yards with an interception and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Chris Slaughter in the fourth. The Tigers' longest pass play heading into that final quarter was 7 yards.
The running game remained the offensive forte with 321 yards. Tate had a 49-yard run while freshman Eric Smith gained 66 yards and Brad Lester finished with 52, including a 3-yard touchdown.
The shutout remained intact after the Warhawks missed their second field goal with 50 seconds left.
The Tigers' big plays early came from defense and special teams.
Auburn scored when Antonio Coleman jarred the ball loose from quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster on the Warhawks' first offensive play. Coleman's fellow defensive end Goggans scooped it up for an easy touchdown.
Then, Dunn scampered up the middle to break the Tigers' 144-game, 12-year streak without scoring on a punt return. Every other Football Championship Subdivision team had returned one the distance since Auburn's last in 1996.
Dunn, a projected starter who was demoted to fourth-team receiver for unspecified reasons, juked one defender, changed directions and won a foot race the rest of the way.
Auburn had not scored on special teams, offense and defense in a game since the 2003 meeting with Louisiana-Monroe.
Playing without starting receivers Darrell McNeal (suspension) and LaGregory Snapp (academics), the Warhawks managed just 220 total yards and were just 2-of-18 on third downs. Lancaster passed for 136 yards and ran for 33.
Alabama 34, Clemson 10
ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- Nick Saban's plan to bring No. 24 Alabama back to prominence looks way ahead of schedule. As for No. 9 Clemson, another big game ended with the Tigers on the losing end.
The Crimson Tide had little trouble rolling past Clemson 34-10 at the Georgia Dome on Saturday night, the biggest victory in coach Saban's two seasons at Alabama.
Alabama's defense held Clemson to zero rushing yards and John Parker Wilson threw for two touchdowns as Alabama beat a top-10 opponent for the first time since topping No. 5 Florida in 2005. That was part of the last hurrah for former coach Mike Shula, who followed that 10-2 season with a 6-7 campaign that ended his time with the Tide.
Alabama lured Saban from the NFL last season to lead the 12-time national champs back to glory. Based on the opener, Saban and the Tide are on their way.
Wilson finished 22-of-30 for 180 yards and, with his career total completions now at 500, surpassed Brodie Croyle's old record of 488.
The Crimson Tide defense held the Tigers' heralded ``Thunder and Lightning'' backfield of James Davis and C.J. Spiller to 20 yards combined.
The Tigers managed only 188 yards, way off their 403-yard average from last season.
Saban's latest recruiting class included such high-profile prospects as receiver Julio Jones, an Internet sensation who fans have buzzed about for months. Still, Alabama didn't figure to hang with the Tigers, an experienced bunch who entered the season with higher hopes than just their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 17 years.
Right from the start, though, Alabama showed it matched up fine with the ACC's favorite.
The Tide ran the ball easily on Clemson's defense, which was ninth in the country a season ago. At one point, Alabama had outgained the Tigers 114-1. By the time, tight end Nick Walker had slipped behind three defenders for a 4-yard TD catch, Alabama was ahead 20-3 midway through the second quarter.
Just for good measure, Jones collected his first college TD pass, a 4-yarder from Wilson that put Alabama up 31-10.
Leigh Tiffin added four field goals, including a 54-yard kick that was Alabama's third longest of all time.
Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper, voted the favorite to win ACC player of the year, was continually pressured and off target throughout.
The Tigers, down 23-3 at the half, got a burst of life when Spiller broke for a 96-yard kickoff return TD to start the second half, then forced the Tide into their first punt of the night a series later.
Clemson, though, could get little going and, for the second time in eight months, left the Georgia Dome with more questions and answers.
The Tigers just can't help but stumble whenever they close in on success.
They lost to a lightly regarded Maryland in 2006 at home, 13-12, when victory would've sent Clemson to the ACC title game.
Then last year, the Tigers were beaten 20-17 by Boston College in a showdown for a spot in the league's championship game.
Clemson concluded the season with a 23-20 overtime loss to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, missing out on its first 10-victory season since 1991.
This was the year, many thought, that Clemson and embattled coach Tommy Bowden would shake off their reputations for not winning the biggest games. Alabama was where it was supposed to start.
Instead, Bowden again must refocus a team filled with veterans and leaders running out of time.
Clemson's loss also concluded a demoralizing day for the ACC. Earlier, defending league champion Virginia Tech fell to East Carolina, while Virginia was defeated at home by No. 3 Southern Cal 52-7.
For Alabama, it's a win sure to fuel talk of Southeastern Conference success. The Tide don't start down that road for three more games, the opener against SEC Western Division rival Arkansas following home games against Tulane and Western Kentucky.
The Crimson Tide have won 12 straight against Clemson, although the team's hadn't met since 1975 when the late Bear Bryant laid a 56-0 humiliation on the Tigers.
Maybe Alabama and Saban will soon have more in common with the Bear's championship teams.