No. 1 Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 21: At Athens, Ga, Knowshon Moreno ran for three TDs and the Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 to start a season for the first time, beat the Eagles.
No. 2 Ohio St. 43, Youngstown St. 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Buckeyes quarterback Todd Boeckman completed 14 of 19 passes for 187 yards and had TD passes of 31 and 25 yards in the win over the Penguins. Tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells went down with a foot injury in the third quarter. It’s severity is unknown.
No. 4 Oklahoma 57, Chattanooga 2: At Norman, Okla., Sam Bradford threw for 183 yards and two TDs, Chris Brown ran for three scores and only an hourlong rainstorm could slow down the Sooners in their win over the Mocs. The Sooners converted their first seven possessions into TDs and led 50-0 before a thunderstorm caused a lightning delay that extended halftime by 1 hour and 12 minutes.
No. 5 Florida 56, Hawaii 10: At Gainesville, Fla., the Gators dominated every aspect of this one and handed Greg McMackin a lopsided loss in his debut as Hawaii’s head coach. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was 9-for-14 passing for 137 yards and a TD. He also ran nine times for 37 yards.
No. 7 LSU 41, Appalachian St. 13: At Baton Rouge, La, Charles Scott rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 16 carries, including TDs of 8 and 29 yards in the Tigers’ win over the Mountaineers. With Hurricane Gustav threatening 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.
No. 8 West Virginia 48, Villanova 21: At Morgantown, W.Va, Pat White threw a career-high five TD passes as the Mountaineers routed the Wildcats, giving Rich Rodriguez’s replacement, Bill Stewart, a successful regular-season debut. White set careers highs by going 25-for-33, finishing with 208 passing yards and breaking Marc Bulger’s school career record for total offense.
No. 10 Auburn 34, La.-Monroe 0: At Auburn, Ala., Ben Tate ran for 115 yards on 13 carries and the Tigers scored TDs on defense and special teams in their win over the Indians.
No. 11 Texas 52, Florida Atlantic 10: At Austin, Texas, on a night when the Longhornss retired the No. 10 jersey of Vince Young, Colt McCoy passed for three TDs, ran for another and Texas coasted to a win over the Owls got testy at times.
No. 12 Texas Tech 49, Eastern Washington 24: At Lubbock, Texas, Graham Harrell threw for 536 yards and two TDs and also ran for a score to lead the Red Raiders’ rout of the overmatched Eagles.
No. 13 Wisconsin 38, Akron 17: At Madison, Wis, P.J. Hill ran for 210 yards and two TDs, but the Badgers needed a pair of third-quarter scores to shake free from the pesky Zips. It was the second career game of more than 200 yards rushing for Hill, who gained more than 1,200 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Badgers despite nagging injuries.
No. 14 Kansas 40, Florida International 10: At Lawrence, Kan., Todd Reesing threw three TD passes to Dezmon Briscoe and the Jayhawks, coming off the greatest season in their history, opened with a victory over the Golden Panthers before a record-breaking home crowd of 52,112.
East Carolina 27, No. 17 Virginia Tech 22: At Charlotte, N.C., T.J. Lee blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a TD with 1:52 to play as the Pirates stunned the Hokies. East Carolina came up with the big plays on defense and special teams, scoring the game’s final 15 points
No. 16 BYU 41, Northern Iowa 17: At Provo, Utah, Max Hall threw for 486 yards and two TDs and the Cougars overcame four turnovers in the second half against the Panthers.
No. 19 South Florida 56, Tennessee-Martin 7: At Tampa, Fla., Matt Grothe threw for two first-half TDs and the Bulls scored on their first four possessions while routing the Skyhawks.
No. 22 Penn State 66, Coastal Carolina 10: At State College, Pa., with the Nittany Lions’ rout over the Chanticleers, Joe Paterno tied Florida State’s Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list for major college coaches. Both Hall of Fame coaches now have 373 career wins apiece.
No. 24 Alabama 34, No. 9 Clemson 10: At Atlanta, Ga., the Crimson Tide’s defense held the Tigers to zero rushing yards and John Parker Wilson threw for two TDs as Alabama beat a top-10 opponent for the first time since topping No. 5 Florida in 2005.
Bowling Green 27, No. 25 Pitt 17: At Pittsburgh — Tyler Sheehan ran 11 yards for a TD on a quarterback draw early in the fourth quarter as the Falcons rallied to upset the Panthers.
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