Texas Christain came up with its biggest upset in 45 years, stifling Heisman hopeful Adrian Peterson and beating No. 7 Oklahoma 17-10 Saturday.
Tye Gunn threw for 226 yards and a touchdown as the Horned Frogs (1-0) handed the stunned Sooners (0-1) their first home loss since 2001 and the only loss in September under Bob Stoops.
The decisive score came on a 2-yard run by Robert Merrill with 11:56 left after the Horned Frogs took advantage of a fumble by Oklahoma backup quarterback Rhett Bomar. Bomar, who lost a quarterback competition to Paul Thompson but did well enough in Stoops' eyes to earn playing time, fumbled while retreating and trying to spin away from Jamison Newby. David Hawthorne picked up the ball at the TCU 17, and Merrill took an option pitch from Gunn and scored untouched four plays later.
PHOTO: AFP
The Sooners had one final chance with 2:05 left, but Thompson -- who replaced 2003 Heisman winner Jason White this season -- fumbled on a fourth down play with 1:03 left and the Horned Frogs recovered and ran out the clock.
The Horned Frogs last beat a team so highly ranked on Nov. 18, 1961, when they defeated No. 1 Texas 6-0. TCU also beat No. 7 Baylor 14-6 in 1960 and No. 2 Texas 14-9 in 1959.
Notre Dame 42, No. 23 Pitt 21
At Pittsburgh, Brady Quinn ran Charlie Weis' offense like a college version of Tom Brady, leading touchdown drives on five of Notre Dame's first six possessions in a rout that was over by halftime.
The anticipated matchup of two former NFL coaches turned college head coaches -- Weis, the former New England offensive wizard, vs. Dave Wannstedt, a one-time defensive coordinator and the former coach of the Bears and Dolphins -- was as big as mismatch as the final score.
Except for one interception, Quinn couldn't have run the Irish offense much better while going 18-of-27 for 233 yards and two touchdowns, one to running back Darius Walker for 51 yards on Notre Dame's first score and another to Jeff Samardzija for 19 yards. Notre Dame outgained Pitt 502-323, helped by a 275-103 edge in rushing largely accumulated after building a big lead.
No. 1 USC 63, Hawaii 17
At Honolulu, Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, and top-ranked Southern California started its quest for a third straight national championship with an easy victory over Hawaii.
Dwayne Jarrett caught three touchdown passes for USC, including a 28-yarder that helped Leinart break Carson Palmer's USC record of 72 touchdown passes. Leinart now has 74.
Leinart, who sat out the fourth quarter, looked poised and sharp, going 18-for-24 with scoring passes of 22, 28 and 67 yards. The big lefty, who shocked the football world by passing up a chance to be the first pick in the NFL draft to return for his senior season, is now 26-1 as a starter.
No. 2 Texas 60,
Louisiana-Lafayette 3
At Austin, Texas, Vince Young threw for three touchdowns, ran for another and No. 2 Texas scored at least 60 points for the third straight season opener.
Jamaal Charles set a Texas freshman debut record with 135 yards rushing and scored a touchdown for the Longhorns. Young was an efficient 13-of-15 for 173 yards in the first half as Texas built a 39-3 lead. He connected with Nate Jones on a 10-yard TD pass and hit tight end David Thomas for two more from 20 and 7 yards.
The big loss capped an extremely difficult week for the Ragin' Cajuns (0-1). About 20 Louisiana-Lafayette players are from the New Orleans area and most of them housed dozens of family members who had fled the city and Hurricane Katrina.
No. 4 Michigan 33, N Illinois 17
At Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mike Hart ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and had a 34-yard TD reception to lead No. 4 Michigan past Northern Illinois.
The Wolverines (1-0) led just 14-10 early in the second quarter before scoring 19 straight points in the opener for both schools.
The Huskies (0-1) ran for 211 yards and threw for 200, but lost four fumbles, threw an interception and had a field goal blocked. They led the nation by losing only one fumble last season.
Michigan's Chad Henne was 20-of-31 for 227 yards and two TD passes. Jason Avant had nine receptions for 127 yards and a score. Hart had 27 carries and ran for more than 100 yards for the sixth time in his last eight games. He even caught four passes for 49 yards.
Garrett Wolfe had 148 yards rushing and a TD for the Huskies. Phil Horvath was 17-of-25 for 200 yards with an interception and a fumble.
No. 6 Ohio St. 34, Miami (Ohio) 14
At Columbus, Ohio, Ted Ginn Jr. caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and Donte Whitner returned an interception 26 yards for a score as No. 6 Ohio State beat Miami of Ohio.
Justin Zwick completed 17-of-23 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown with one interception, tailback Antonio Pittman gained 100 yards on 14 carries and Ginn had five catches for 75 yards and his score.
The Buckeyes' defense -- led by linebackers A.J. Hawk, Anthony Schlegel and Bobby Carpenter -- never let the RedHawks inside the Ohio State 34 until Miami scored two late TDs against substitutes.
Ohio State (1-0) harassed Miami quarterback Josh Betts all day, sacking him five times. The RedHawks (0-1) netted just 48 yards on 30 rushes.
No. 10 Florida 32, Wyoming 14
At Gainesville, Florida, Chris Leak completed 26 of 34 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns, broke Steve Spurrier's school record for consecutive completions and led No. 10 Florida to a victory over Wyoming in Urban Meyer's debut with the Gators.
The offense sputtered at times, but made several big plays and scored touchdowns on three passes from Leak to Chad Jackson. The receiver finished with 10 catches for 138 yards and added a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
Wyoming (0-1) relied on freshman running back Wynel Seldon because of knee injuries to Ivan Harrison and Joe Harris. Seldon ran 18 times for 56 yards.
No. 11 Iowa 56, Ball State 0
At Iowa City, Iowa, Drew Tate threw two first-half touchdowns and No. 11 Iowa scored on each of its possessions in the first half in rolling over a Ball State team depleted by the suspension of 13 players.
The Hawkeyes (1-0) held the Cardinals to 22 yards of total offense before most of Iowa's starters turned the game over to second and third stringers midway through the second quarter.
No. 13 Georgia 48,
No. 18 Boise State 13
At Athens, Georgia, D.J. Shockley threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score in the season opener, leading the 13th-ranked Bulldogs to a stunningly easy victory over No. 18 Boise State.
Jared Zabransky and the high-scoring Broncos were totally overwhelmed by Georgia, which didn't seem to have any trouble replacing David Pollack, Thomas Davis and Odell Thurman, three defensive stars who moved on to the NFL.
Shockley, meanwhile, took over as the No. 1 quarterback after backing up David Greene -- the winningest quarterback in Division I-A history -- the last three years. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 289 yards and rushed five times for a team-leading 85 yards, even though a 23-yarder was brought back because of an illegal block.
Zabransky threw four interceptions and fumbled twice before he was benched just before halftime.
Shockley had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Harris, a 20-yarder to Danny Ware and a 56-yarder to Martrez Milner before hooking up with Sean Bailey on two straight scores covering 31 and 5 yards.
Georgia Tech 23, No. 16 Auburn 14
At Auburn, Alabama, Georgia Tech intercepted Brandon Cox four times in the second half, and P.J. Daniels ran for 111 yards and a touchdown to help the Yellow Jackets end Auburn's 15-game winning streak.
The Tigers clearly weren't the same offensive team that went 13-0 in 2004 and finished No. 2 nationally but sent backfield stars Jason Campbell, Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown into the first round of the NFL draft.
The loss ended the nation's third longest winning streak, hours after both USC (23) and Utah (17) kept their streaks going.
The Yellow Jackets one-upped the nation's top scoring defense of last year, allowing Cox to pass for 342 yards in his first Auburn start but forcing him into costly mistakes with a blitzing defense that held Auburn to 50 yards rushing.
Travis Bell locked up the win with a 28-yard field goal with 1:32 remaining, his second of the final 11 minutes.
Reggie Ball passed for 174 yards and a touchdown for Georgia Tech.
Clemson 25, No. 17 Texas A&M 24
At Clemson, South Carolina, Jad Dean kicked his school-record sixth field goal with 2 seconds left to lift Clemson past Texas A&M.
The Aggies (0-1) looked like they would grab an opening night win after versatile star Reggie McNeal led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that ended with his 31-yard pass to Chad Schroeder for a 24-22 lead.
But the Tigers (1-0), playing the final quarter without starting quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, drove to Texas A&M's 25 on eight straight carries by freshman James Davis.
After a time out by the Aggies, Dean struck the 42 yard field goal straight through the uprights.
Dean was 6-of-6 on the night with field goals of 21, 21, 25, 18 and 44 yards before his game winner.
No. 19 California 41,
Sacramento St. 3
At Berkeley, California, Marshawn Lynch rushed for 147 yards and a score, and 19th-ranked California beat Sacramento State despite a tumultuous afternoon for three quarterbacks.
Heralded freshman DeSean Jackson caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Nate Longshore on Cal's opening drive. Jackson also returned a fourth-quarter punt 49 yards for a score as the Golden Bears finally turned the mismatch into a blowout.
But the Bears' traditionally powerful offense struggled against the Division I-AA Hornets even before Longshore went down with a serious ankle injury late in the first half. Longshore, a redshirt freshman who beat out junior college transfer Joe Ayoob for the starting job, was 8-for-11 for 131 yards with an interception. But Cal led just 7-3 when he sprained his ankle and went to the locker room on a cart.
Ayoob took over, but looked terrible while throwing 10 straight incompletions -- most sailing over the heads of his receivers. Third-stringer Steve Levy, a junior from Cornwall, New York, who wasn't expected to play much this season, then threw an interception on his first play from scrimmage. But Levy threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Noah Smith moments later, then led another scoring drive culminating in Chris Manderino's 3-yard TD run.
Sacramento State was held to 2.7 yards per play and fumbled three times in the second half.
No. 22 Boston College 20, BYU 3
At Provo, Utah, Quinton Porter passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns in his first game in nearly two years and No. 22 Boston College spoiled the debut of new BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Porter, who redshirted last year after starting 10 games in 2003 before missing the end of the season with a hand injury, completed 27 of 35 passes. Both his touchdowns came on passes to Chris Miller to lead the Eagles past the Cougars in the season opener for both teams.
John Beck completed 41 of 60 passes for 330 yards -- all but 8 of the Cougars' 338-yard total.
No. 25 Virginia 31, W. Michigan 19
At Charlottesville, Virginia, Marques Hagans threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score and mistake-prone Virginia did most of its scoring in the first 17 minutes in beating Western Michigan.
The No. 25 Cavaliers (1-0), unable to stop the Broncos' short passing game most of the night, led only 24-19 with 11 minutes left.
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