Mon Feb 13 2012
Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas — Andy Dalton ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score to make up for his two interceptions and No. 6 TCU opened the season with a 30-21 victory over No. 24 Oregon State on Saturday night.
Eight months after Dalton threw three interceptions in a Fiesta Bowl loss that soured the Horned Frogs’ breakthrough season, he scored on a 4-yard keeper at the end of the third quarter to put TCU ahead for good. Both his turnovers led to OSU touchdowns.
Dalton became TCU’s winningest quarterback, his 30th victory snapping a tie with “Slingin’ Sammy” Baugh, who had held the mark alone since the mid-1930s until being matched last year after the Frogs’ first undefeated regular season since 1938.
Brothers Jacquizz and James Rodgers both scored touchdowns for Oregon State in their first college game in their home state.
No. 1 Alabama 48,
San Jose St. 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Trent Richardson ran for two touchdowns and Greg McElroy passed for 218 yards to help No. 1 Alabama beat San Jose State 48-3 on Saturday night.
The defending national champion Crimson Tide (1-0) shrugged off the absence of injured Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and suspended defensive end Marcell Dareus in the opening mismatch.
The subs played much of the game, anyway, after the Tide raced to a 31-3 halftime lead over the Spartans. Richardson ran for 66 yards and had three catches for 46 yards before sitting out the second half. He scored on runs of 4 and 39 yards.
Julio Jones made a diving, one-handed grab for a 29-yard touchdown from backup quarterback A.J. McCarron early in the second quarter. He finished with six catches for 93 yards.
No. 5 Texas 34, Rice 17
HOUSTON — 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. 8 Nebraska 49,
W. Kentucky 10
LINCOLN, Neb. — Taylor Martinez ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 136 yards in a sensational debut that led No. 8 Nebraska to a 49-10 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
The only redshirt or true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for Nebraska, Martinez became the first Husker signal-caller since 2003 to run for more than 100 yards in a game.
Martinez led Nebraska to touchdowns on his first two series and on four of his eight. Cody Green led scoring drives on his two series. Zac Lee, the 2009 starter, didn’t enter until the middle of the fourth quarter.
No. 11 Oregon 72,
New Mexico 0
EUGENE, Ore. — 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, losing to Big Ten champion Ohio State 26-17, 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.
No. 16 Georgia Tech 41, South Carolina State 10
ATLANTA — 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. 17 Arkansas 44, Tennessee Tech 3
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ryan Mallett went 21-of-24 for 301 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 17 Arkansas to a 44-3 victory over Tennessee Tech on Saturday night.
The Razorbacks, sporting their highest preseason ranking since 1990, recovered quickly from a sloppy start as Mallett threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Joe Adams in the second quarter. It was the longest completion of his Arkansas career, and the Hogs led 23-3 at halftime.
Mallett threw for 30 touchdowns a season ago and became an immediate Heisman Trophy candidate when he decided to pass up the NFL for another season with the Razorbacks. He began the game 16-of-18, with the only blemishes a deflected pass that was intercepted and a dropped ball by a receiver that should have been a touchdown.
No. 20 Florida St. 59, Samford 6
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — 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. 21 LSU 30,
No. 18 North Carolina 24
ATLANTA — Against all odds, undermanned North Carolina nearly rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit before losing to LSU on Saturday night.
Patrick Peterson had 257 yards on kickoff and punt returns, leading No. 21 LSU to a 30-10 halftime lead over the Tar Heels, who were missing 13 key players because of NCAA investigations over player relationships with agents and possible academic violations.
But North Carolina (0-1) made a game of it, scoring two second-half touchdowns, then getting two shots at the win after recovering an onside kick and a fumble. T.J. Yates drove the Heels to the LSU 2, but two passes into the end zone slipped through the hands of Zack Pianalto.
No. 23 Georgia 55, Louisiana-Lafayette 7
ATHENS, Ga. — 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.
No. 25 West Virginia 31, Coastal Carolina 0
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — 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.
Smith completed 20-of-27 passes for 216 yards with an interception in his first start.
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