GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Jeff Demps had a long scoring run, John Brantley added a fluky touchdown pass late and No. 4 Florida overcame an error-filled game to beat Miami (Ohio) 34-12 Saturday.
The Gators (1-0) used four interceptions, several red-zone stops and two late touchdowns to avoid a meltdown. The bigger story was Florida's anemic offense – the one quarterback John Brantley had hoped to "keep rolling'' after waiting three years behind Tim Tebow.
There were fumbles, bad snaps, poor throws, several penalties and possibly more frustration in The Swamp than ever before.
Brantley completed 17 of 25 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He had a 10-yarder to Omarius Hines that was the offense's longest play of the day until Demps' got loose for a 72-yard run in the fourth. Brantley also had a 25-yard TD pass to Chris Rainey with 1:21 remaining. That fourth-down pass bounced off a teammate.
Zac Dysert completed 25 of 44 passes for 191 yards for Miami (0-1), which got a career-high four field goals from Trevor Cook. No. 5 Texas 34, Rice 17
HOUSTON (AP) – Tre' Newton ran for three touchdowns, while quarterback Garrett Gilbert was up and down in his first college start for Texas.
Gilbert, who threw four interceptions filling in for Colt McCoy in the loss to Alabama in the BCS title game, didn't turn the ball over in this one.
Texas (1-0) was stopped on fourth down at the 1-yard line on its first drive and settled for a 51-yard field goal on the second after another stalled drive. The Longhorns finally got going on their first full drive of the second quarter taking a 10-3 lead on a 1-yard TD run by Newton.
Then the defense came alive with a sack on Taylor McHargue that caused a fumble. Keenan Robinson returned it 10 yards for a score to push the lead to 17-3 and Texas was on its way.
Sam McGuffie had 14 carries for 47 yards for Rice (0-1) in his
Owls debut after sitting out for a year as a transfer from
Michigan.
No. 9 Iowa 37, Eastern Illinois 7
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the first half for Iowa.
Senior Ricky Stanzi threw for 229 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes (1-0), who won their 10th straight season opener under coach Kirk Ferentz.
Iowa has its highest preseason ranking in 22 years, and the Hawkeyes made quick work of the FCS Panthers (0-1).
Robinson scored on TD runs of 2 and 4 yards, and Paki O'Meara blocked a punt and returned it 42 yards to put the Hawkeyes ahead 21-0 late in the first quarter.
Iowa got a brief scare when Stanzi landed awkwardly in the
second quarter, but he quickly returned and played until the game
was well in hand.
No. 11 Oregon 72, New Mexico 0
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Kenjon Barner replaced suspended running back LaMichael James for Oregon and ran for a career-high 147 yards and four touchdowns before catching another score.
Quarterback Darron Thomas, making his debut at starter for Oregon (1-0), completed 13 of 23 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The Ducks had a record 720 yards in total offense.
Oregon went to the Rose Bowl last season as the Pac-10 champions before several players ran afoul of the law, including quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who was dismissed from the team.
Barner was subbing for James, who was suspended for a game after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge stemming from a conflict with an ex-girlfriend.
New Mexico (0-1), which was 1-11 last season, managed only 107
yards on offense and eight first downs – compared to 35 for the
Ducks.
No. 16 Georgia Tech 41, South Carolina State 10
ATLANTA (AP) – Quarterback Joshua Nesbitt ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns and Roddy Jones added two scoring runs for Georgia Tech.
With last year's top receiver Demaryius Thomas and top rusher Jonathan Dwyer gone to the NFL, Nesbitt kept the offense moving despite his inability to establish a passing game. Nesbitt was only 1-for-6 passing for 8 yards with an interception in the Yellow Jackets' run-based option offense.
Sophomore Asheton Jordan had 17 carries for 125 yards for South Carolina State (0-1), setting up the Bulldogs' only touchdown with a 55-yard run in the third quarter.
Tevin Washington, who replaced Nesbitt late in the third quarter, added an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as Georgia Tech (1-0) had 372 yards rushing with six touchdowns. No. 19 Penn St. 44, Youngstown St. 14
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Freshman Rob Bolden threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns and Chaz Powell had a 100-yard kickoff return for a score for Penn State.
Coach Joe Paterno got his 395th career victory by starting a true freshman at quarterback in a season opener for the first time in his 45 years as coach.
Brett Brackett caught two touchdowns for the Nittany Lions (1-0).
Youngstown State (0-1) took a 7-6 lead in the first half on Dominique Barnes' 80-yard TD reception, but the Nittany Lions' defense stiffened from there while Bolden took control on offense.
The Penguins lost in Eric Wolford's debut as coach. No. 20 Florida St. 59, Samford 6
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Christian Ponder threw four first-half touchdown passes and Greg Reid returned a punt 74 yards for another score as No. 20 Florida State celebrated Jimbo Fisher's coaching debut with a rout.
The Seminoles (1-0) exploded for 35 points during an 11-minute span of the second quarter to build a 42-0 lead in the season opener for both schools.
Ponder, who played only the first half, completed 12 of 14 passes for 167 yards. He hit running back Lonnie Pryor for two scores on short passes.
Samford (0-1) could muster only a pair of field goals by Cameron Yaw.
Fisher succeeded coaching icon Bobby Bowden at Florida State after spending three years as Bowden's offensive coordinator. No. 23 Georgia 55, Louisiana-Lafayette 7
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Aaron Murray passed for three touchdowns and ran for another in his first college game to lead Georgia.
Despite the absence of top receiver A.J. Green, Murray completed 16 of 24 passes for 194 yards. Kris Durham caught two TD passes.
Murray ran four times for 41 yards. On a 16-yard scramble down the right sideline late in the first half, he reached out to hold the ball inside the front pylon for a 31-7 halftime lead.
The 55 points was Georgia's highest since Nov. 6, 2004, when the Bulldogs won 62-17 at Kentucky.
Georgia (1-0) visits South Carolina next week.
Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) scored on Chris Masson's 60-yard pass
to Ladarius Green late in the second quarter.
No. 25 West Virginia 31, Coastal Carolina 0
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Geno Smith threw two touchdown passes and Noel Devine rushed for 111 yards and a score for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers (1-0) crawled to a 10-0 halftime lead but the offense, led by Smith and Devine, dominated the second half and the defense didn't allow Coastal Carolina (0-1) inside the 20-yard line all game.
West Virginia earned its first shutout since a 38-0 win at Cincinnati in 2005 and its first home shutout since beating Rutgers 48-0 in 1997.
Smith completed 20 of 27 passes for 216 yards with an interception in his first start.
Devine had trouble finding running room until a 39-yard gain set up his short touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
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