Associated Press
Associated Press
Braxton Miller helped make Urban Meyer’s first game as Ohio State coach a record-breaking romp for the Buckeyes.
Meanwhile, the new era at Penn State got off to a disappointing start thanks to another team from the state of Ohio.
In Columbus, Miller rushed for 161 yards, a record for an Ohio State quarterback, and threw for two scores and 207 yards as the 18th-ranked Buckeyes beat Miami (Ohio) 56-10.
Meyer, who won two national titles at Florida, is unbeaten in 11 openers. He had worked as a TV analyst a year ago after stepping down from the Gators job due to health and family considerations.
He was hired last November to revive the beleaguered Buckeyes.
Bill O’Brien was hired by Penn State to lead the Nittany Lions in a new direction and replace the late Joe Paterno.
Penn State had an 11-point lead at the half, but Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton accounted for three second-half touchdowns to hand O’Brien a 24-14 loss at State College, Pa.
Matt McGloin threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns guiding Penn State’s new-look offense.
No. 3 LSU 41, North Texas 14
BATON ROUGE, La. — Kenny Hilliard rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns, and LSU opened its season with an easy victory.
While the heavily favored Tigers were never threatened, their performance did not always thrill a Death Valley crowd that eagerly anticipated the debut of Zach Mettenberger as starting quarterback.
No. 6 GEORGIA 45, BUFFALO 23
ATHENS, Ga. — Freshman Todd Gurley ran for three touchdowns, Aaron Murray threw three scoring passes and Georgia overcame a sloppy first half.
Gurley didn’t start but may have emerged as the Bulldogs’ future at tailback with his eight carries for 100 yards, including scoring runs of 10 and 55 yards. He added a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
No. 7 FLORIDA STATE 69,
MURRAY STATE 3
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Lonnie Pryor, James Wilder Jr., and Debrale Smiley combined for seven rushing touchdowns to lead Florida State.
Pryor ran for three TDs, and Smiley and Wilder added two apiece. Wilder finished with 106 yards rushing.
No. 10 ARKANSAS 49,
JACKSONVILLE STATE 24
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tyler Wilson set the school record for yards passing in a season opener, finishing 19 of 27 passing for 367 yards and three touchdowns for Arkansas.
Two of Wilson’s touchdowns went to tight end Chris Gragg, who finished with seven catches for 110 yards as the No. 10 Razorbacks (1-0) won their first game under coach John L. Smith.
No. 11 WEST VIRGINIA 69,
MARSHALL 34
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Geno Smith threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers past Marshall.
In the final scheduled game between the state’s only Bowl Subdivision teams, it marked West Virginia’s highest-scoring season opener in school history.
Smith kept the momentum going from his six-TD performance from the Orange Bowl.
No. 12 WISCONSIN 26,
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 21
MADISON, Wis. — Montee Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, and Wisconsin needed a big defensive play to survive a fourth-quarter scare.
Wisconsin’s defense didn’t allow Northern Iowa past the 50-yard line until the 4:27 mark in the third quarter — but then the Badgers nearly melted down.
No. 14 CLEMSON 26, AUBURN 19
ATLANTA — Andre Ellington rushed for 231 yards, DeAndre Hopkins set a school record with 13 receptions and Clemson opened the season with a victory.
Playing before a 50-50 crowd at the Georgia Dome — basically halfway between the two campuses — Clemson shook off any hangover from last season’s embarrassing 70-33 loss to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl and showed plenty of offense against Auburn even without star receiver Sammy Watkins, who was suspended for the first two games after an offseason drug arrest.
No. 15 TEXAS 37, WYOMING 17
AUSTIN, Texas — Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown both rushed for more than 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns to lead Texas.
Texas quarterback David Ash, who won the starting job over Case McCoy in training camp, was an efficient 20-of-27 passing for 156 yards and a touchdown to Jaxon Shipley.
No. 17 NEBRASKA 49,
SOUTHERN MISS 20
LINCOLN, Neb. — Taylor Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and matched his best with five touchdown passes to lead Nebraska.
The Huskers won their nation-leading 27th straight opener.
No. 19 OKLAHOMA STATE 84, SAVANNAH STATE 0
STILLWATER, Okla. — Freshman Wes Lunt completed all 11 of his passes in a brief first outing as the new starting quarterback for Oklahoma State.
The defending Big 12 champions drove for touchdowns on their first five possessions to take a 35-0 lead late in the first quarter, and then used the rest of the game as a scrimmage to get playing time for their reserves.
No. 22 KANSAS STATE 51,
MISSOURI STATE 9
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Collin Klein threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns, John Hubert ran 95 yards for a fourth-quarter score and Kansas State pulled away late to beat Missouri State.
No. 23 FLORIDA 27, BOWLING GREEN 14
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Gillislee had a career-high 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns, helping Florida beat Bowling Green.