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Saturday Football Roundup
Sept. 1, 2012
Rio Johnson threw for 242 yards and Michael Dobson added 78 yards rushing for East Carolina in a 35-13 win over Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon. EAST CAROLINA 35, APPALACHIAN STATE 13 Rio Johnson threw for 242 yards and Michael Dobson added 78 yards rushing for the Pirates, who have won 32 of their last 37 games when scoring 30 or more points. Appalachian State cut the deficit to 14-13 with 2:35 left in the third quarter. However, East Carolina's Lance Ray returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and Johnson threw for a TD and ran for another in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. The Pirates defense, led by Jeremy Grove, held the Mountaineers to just 4 of 15 on third down conversions. Grove finished with nine tackles and forced two fumbles. Jamal Jackson led Appalachian State with 300 yards passing but his lone interception ended the Mountaineers' rally attempt.
RUTGERS 24, TULANE 12 Jamison scored the first points of the game on his long run up the middle with 9:42 left in the second quarter, weaving his way through the Tulane defense. Tulane managed one sustained drive, settling for a 32-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to pull within 10-6 after moving 69 yards in 17 plays. The next time Tulane had the ball, Jones stepped in front of a pass at the Green Wave 14 and scored easily. Rutgers tacked on a 43-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter to make the score 24-6. Tulane lost its 11th consecutive game dating to last year, its longest losing streak since dropping 16 in a row from 1961-63. It was the head-coaching debuts for Rutgers' Kyle Flood, who replaced current Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano in January, and Tulane's Curtis Johnson.
Flood was Schiano's assistant head coach the past four seasons before Schiano left for the NFL after 11 years at Rutgers. Jamison rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries, adding 41 yards on two receptions. Nova struggled for most of the night before his touchdown pass, finishing 11 of 20 for 158 yards. The Rutgers defense, which returned eight starters after ranking 14th nationally in yards allowed, held Tulane to 262 yards and kept the Green Wave out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. Tulane had minus-5 yards rushing in the first half and finished with 8 yards on the ground. Tulane's Ryan Griffin completed a career-high 34 passes in 48 attempts, but he also was sacked three times and pressured constantly. He threw his only touchdown pass to running back Robert Kelley when the Green Wave trailed 24-6 and the game was out of reach. Tulane's Ryan Grant led all receivers with six catches for 110 yards. Rutgers' offense struggled to move consistently, but the Scarlet Knights relied on big plays. That included a 55-yard kickoff return by Jeremy Deering in the final minute of the first half, setting up a 28-yard field goal as time ran out to make the score 10-3. UT-MARTIN 20, MEMPHIS 17 It looked like the game -- which was delayed several hours by bad weather -- was headed to overtime when Memphis' Keiwone Malone fumbled a punt. The Skyhawks recovered the miscue at the Tigers' 27-yard line with 17 seconds to play. Then Sandlin connected on the game-winner to ruin Justin Fuente's coaching debut with the Tigers. Memphis had tied the game at 17 with 52 seconds to play when Jacob Karam connected with Marcus Rucker on a 20-yard TD pass. Karam was 12 for 28 and threw for 157 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers. Memphis' Jerell Rhodes added 106 rushing yards on 24 carries. UT-Martin quarterback Derek Carr passed for 211 yards and finished 19-for-38 with a touchdown. TEXAS STATE 30, HOUSTON 13 Curry caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown. Shawn Rutherford was 18 of 24 for 189 yards and a touchdown to lead Texas State, which is in its first year of FBS play and will play in the WAC this season. Houston's David Piland was 17 of 44 for 211 yards and a touchdown in his first start since going 2-6 as a starter in 2010 when he started in place of an injured Case Keenum. Charles Sims rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries for Houston, which was playing its first regular season game under Tony Levine after Kevin Sumlin left for Texas A&M. Levine coached the Cougars to a win in the TicketCity Bowl over Penn State last year. RUTGERS 24, TULANE 12 Jamison scored the first points of the game on his long run up the middle with 9:42 left in the second quarter, weaving his way through the Tulane defense. Tulane managed one sustained drive, settling for a 32-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to pull within 10-6 after moving 69 yards in 17 plays. The next time Tulane had the ball, Jones stepped in front of a pass at the Green Wave 14 and scored easily. Rutgers tacked on a 43-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter to make the score 24-6. Tulane lost its 11th consecutive game dating to last year, its longest losing streak since dropping 16 in a row from 1961-63. It was the head-coaching debuts for Rutgers' Kyle Flood, who replaced current Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano in January, and Tulane's Curtis Johnson. Flood was Schiano's assistant head coach the past four seasons before Schiano left for the NFL after 11 years at Rutgers. Jamison rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries, adding 41 yards on two receptions. Nova struggled for most of the night before his touchdown pass, finishing 11 of 20 for 158 yards. The Rutgers defense, which returned eight starters after ranking 14th nationally in yards allowed, held Tulane to 262 yards and kept the Green Wave out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. Tulane had minus-5 yards rushing in the first half and finished with 8 yards on the ground. Tulane's Ryan Griffin completed a career-high 34 passes in 48 attempts, but he also was sacked three times and pressured constantly. He threw his only touchdown pass to running back Robert Kelley when the Green Wave trailed 24-6 and the game was out of reach. Tulane's Ryan Grant led all receivers with six catches for 110 yards. Rutgers' offense struggled to move consistently, but the Scarlet Knights relied on big plays. That included a 55-yard kickoff return by Jeremy Deering in the final minute of the first half, setting up a 28-yard field goal as time ran out to make the score 10-3. IOWA STATE 38, TULSA 23 Shontrelle Johnson added a career-high 120 yards rushing for the Cyclones, who scored 24 straight points and held off a late rally by the Golden Hurricane. Jantz threw and ran for second-quarter touchdowns to help Iowa State move ahead 24-16 at halftime. Cody Green's 3-yard touchdown pass to Keyarris Garrett brought Tulsa within 31-23 in the fourth quarter. But the Golden Hurricane's final drive fizzled when Deon Broomfield intercepted Green with 2:04 left. Johnson's 5-yard TD run on the next play sealed the win for Iowa State. Green had 198 yards passing and two touchdowns in his first career start for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane scored 16 points in just over six minutes in the first quarter and looked ready to roll past the Cyclones. By the time Tulsa threatened again, it was in major comeback mode. The Cyclones took control with a 12-play, 82-yard scoring drive powered by the running game. James White went up the middle through a big hole for a 6-yard touchdown, putting Iowa State ahead by 15 with 5:08 left in the third. Tulsa's stagnant attack got a major boost from Trey Watts, who stunned the Cyclones with a 77-yard run to set up Green's TD pass to Garrett. The Golden Hurricane even had a chance at the game-tying score before Green's pass was picked off by Broomfield. Broomfield brought it back 51 yards, and Johnson put the perfect capper on his return from a neck injury in 2011 with a touchdown run. Jantz beat out sophomore Jared Barnett in fall camp to claim the starting spot for the opener for the second year in a row. Jantz quickly showed why the coaches were so willing to give him his old job back. He also had one moment to remind them of why he lost it in the first place. Jantz floated a near-perfect ball to Josh Lenz for a 43-yard touchdown with 7:51 left in the first quarter, putting the Cyclones up 7-0. But Tulsa answered with a safety, a 1-yard TD run on fourth down from Ja'Terian Douglas and a two-point conversion to go up 10-7. Jantz then missed high to an open receiver, and Demarco Nelson's interception set up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Green to Thomas Roberson that gave Tulsa a 16-7 lead. But Jantz answered with a 5-yard touchdown run and a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ernst Brun. Iowa State's defense stiffened as well, and Edwin Arceo's 30-yard field goal allowed the Cyclones to go into the break with a 24-16 lead. Jantz finished 32 of 45 passing -- far above his meager 53.3 completion percentage of 2011 -- and just one pick. The last time Green was in Ames, he led Nebraska to a dramatic overtime win over the Cyclones, 31-30, in 2010. But the Huskers coaching staff seemed more comfortable playing Rex Burkhead out of the Wildcat formation than Green behind center. Green completed just 23 of his 49 passes and was picked off twice, and Tulsa's offense was simply too inconsistent to pull off yet another road win to open the year. The Golden Hurricane fell to 3-3 in its last six openers, all on the road. TROY 39, UAB 29 Troy's win spoiled Garrick McGee's head coaching debut for UAB. UAB's Jonathan Perry threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns but had two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter. Both led to Troy touchdowns. With Troy up 25-23, De'Von Terry intercepted a Perry pass and the Trojans capped it off with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Corey Robinson to B.J. Chitty. On UAB's first play of the next drive, Perry was hit by Troy's Tyler Roberts and fumbled. Tony Davis recovered inside the 10-yard line. After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against UAB, Southward scored from 5 yards out. Robinson hit 12 of 21 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Chip Reeves had six catches for a career-high 125 yards and a 55-yard touchdown reception.
(16) NEBRASKA 49, SOUTHERN MISS 20 Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and matched his high with five touchdown passes to lead No. 17 Nebraska to a 49-20 victory over Southern Mississippi on Saturday. "We've been practicing all along like that, against our defense, so we knew as an offense that our offense is really good," Martinez said. "We've got to be able to keep that momentum going. I don't think no one could stop us if we keep going like that. We have so many dynamic athletes out there." Martinez, in his third year as the starter, might be the most dynamic of them all if he keeps passing like he did against the Golden Eagles. The junior always has been a running threat. The knock against him has been his inconsistency as a passer. The past two years fans and media harangued Martinez for an unconventional motion that often had him throwing off his back foot and wildly off the mark. "I think for a while I was probably his only friend," offensive coordinator Tim Beck told reporters. Why? "Just how he gets criticized all the time. Today he'll be up for the Heisman. Tomorrow you guys will want to...," Beck said, not finishing his thought. The last time Southern Miss came to Lincoln (2004), the Eagles left with a 21-17 victory. Any threat of an upset was gone by halftime. The Huskers won their nation-leading 27th straight opener. Nebraska has scored 40 or more points in seven openers in a row, and all but one of the wins during their streak have been by double digits. First-year Southern Miss coach Ellis Johnson said Martinez wasn't the biggest factor in the game. "The biggest thing was they man-handled us on the line," Johnson said. "I thought that was obvious the whole game. The thing they did well was their tempo. They run a power offense with a tempo, which is unusual, and we didn't have the ability to keep up with them a couple of times." Southern Miss backup quarterback Anthony Alford carried 15 times for 84 yards in his first college game. The Golden Eagles scored their first touchdown on Tracy Lampley's 100-yard kickoff return. They tied it 14-14 on first-time starter Chris Campbell's 24-yard pass to Dominique Sullivan. Nebraska's go-ahead TD came on Martinez's 9-yard pass to Jake Long early in the second quarter. The only damper for Nebraska was an injury to Rex Burkhead. Nebraska played the last three quarters without the 1,300-yard rusher last season. He went out with a sprained ligament in his left knee after opening the scoring with a career-long 57-yard run. Coach Bo Pelini said Burkhead was "day-to-day, week-to-week."
(11) WEST VIRGINIA 69, MARSHALL 34 Geno Smith threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 69-34 win over Marshall on Saturday in the Mountaineers' highest-scoring opener. West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen will have plenty of things to tweak after the opener. Just not his quarterback's play. Smith kept the momentum going from his six-TD performance from the Orange Bowl, when West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33. The senior completed 32 of 36 passes without an interception and set a school record for career completions and touchdown passes before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. "Really pleased with how Geno played," Holgorsen said. "He's done a great job of taking care of the ball, a great job of leading the team." In the final scheduled game between the state's only Bowl Subdivision teams, West Virginia's points surpassed a 66-22 win over Richmond to start the 1958 opener. The 103 total points easily were the most since the series with Marshall resumed in 2006. The Mountaineers totaled 655 yards, more than any game last year, and got the production they sought from their running game. "It's about as balanced as you can possible be," Holgorsen said. "We spread the ball around to a lot of people." Shawne Alston ran for 123 yards and two scores. The Mountaineers compiled 331 yards on the ground against a Marshall defense that limited WVU to 42 a year ago. "They weren't one-dimensional at all," said Marshall coach Doc Holliday. "They were able to run it. They were able to throw it. Unfortunately we didn't get them in the punt formation enough." Smith had TD tosses of 32 and 5 yards to Stedman Bailey, 6 yards to Tavon Austin and 9 yards to J.D. Woods. Bailey caught nine passes for 104 yards and Austin had 10 catches. His touchdown grab was set up by a 70-yard run around left end. Smith now has 651 career completions and 60 TD passes. Marc Bulger held the old school marks of 630 completions and 59 TDs set from 1996-99. Entering the second year of Holgorsen's system, "we understand our offense a lot better and we're more comfortable," Smith said. "We trust in one another and we know if we do that we can score and put up points." But few people could have anticipated the back-to-back games the Mountaineers have had. With an offense that returned virtually intact from the Orange Bowl, West Virginia ran 101 offensive plays Saturday, had six scoring drives of less than two minutes and held a nearly six-minute advantage in possession time. Things went so well for the Mountaineers that Smith scored on a 28-yard run on a busted play late in the third quarter. And West Virginia's defense got in on the fun. On the next series, Terence Garvin stripped Marshall's Rakeem Cato. Isaiah Bruce picked up the loose ball and went 43 yards for a score and a 55-17 lead. Doug Rigg's 46-yard interception return early in the fourth set up backup Paul Millard's 3-yard TD toss to K.J. Myers for West Virginia's final points. But West Virginia's retooled defense showed it has plenty of work after allowing 545 yards to Marshall, including a 98-yard drive early that included three third-down conversions. Marshall converted 6 of 11 of those before halftime. Joe DeForest, West Virginia's first-year defensive coordinator, will have two weeks to tweak his new 3-4 scheme. The Mountaineers' next game is Sept. 15 against FCS James Madison at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins. "As far as how many yards we gave up, we're not going to be too concerned with [it] at this point," Holgorsen said. "The football got kind of sloppy there in the second half." The addition of Boston College transfers LeGrande and Okechukwu Okoroha at starting safety couldn't help Marshall's secondary. The 236-pound Alston, who came on strong at the end of last season and won the starting job in preseason camp, dragged Marshall tacklers all day. He had 51 yards on West Virginia's first two series, capping the second one with a 3-yard TD run. He bounced off five defenders to score on a 21-yard run early in the third quarter. "I think I'm the baddest dude on the field," Alston said. "It's just an attitude that you have to have. Any game that I go into, I just feel that they can't stop me. I know what I can do on the field and I don't think that anybody can stop me." The smaller Andrew Buie was a solid change of pace, getting 18 and 24 yards on consecutive second-quarter runs, the latter a draw play that went for a touchdown. Travon Van scored two short rushing touchdowns for Marshall. Rakeem Cato completed 38 of 54 passes for 413 yards but the Thundering Herd couldn't keep up with West Virginia's onslaught. (4) OKLAHOMA 24, UTEP 7 Big 12 blog ESPN.com's David Ubben writes about all things involving the Big 12 in the conference blog. More: • Blog network: College Football Nation Oklahoma labored in its opener, unable to generate much of a running game or get anything downfield. Up just 10-7 in the fourth quarter, the Sooners stuffed UTEP on a fake punt to set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Brannon Green and Williams sealed it late with his long run. The 30-point underdog Miners weren't intimidated by the mighty Sooners, the highest-ranked team they had faced at home. Nathan Jeffrey ran for 177 yards and returned a blocked punt 24 yards for a touchdown for UTEP, which also had a blocked field goal to remain tied with Oklahoma at the half. More from SoonerNation Everything Oklahoma, from recruiting to news to game coverage, is available at ESPN.com's SoonerNation. More: • ESPN.com Recruiting coverage • ESPN.com's Big 12 blog But the Miners had two kickers miss three field goals and gave the Sooners a short field with the fake punt in their own end in the fourth quarter, setting up the TD pass from Jones to Green that made it 17-7. Jones threw for 222 yards on 21 of 26 passing. The Sooners open this season, as they always seem to, with big expectations. Last season, Oklahoma opened as the preseason No. 1, but never lived up to the billing, run over by Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to see its national championship hopes end. A big problem for the Sooners was their defense, which allowed Baylor's Robert Griffin III to throw for 479 yards and Texas Tech's Seth Doege to go for 441. Hoping to shore up what had once been a strength at OU, coach Bob Stoops brought back his little brother, Mike, to run the defense again. He helped lead the Sooners to the 2000 national title and, despite overseeing a defense that lost four starters to the NFL, has helped created a buzz that the Sooners would be strong on both sides of the ball this year. Jones added to Oklahoma's preseason hype after spurning the NFL for a shot at a national title. The most prolific passer in school history, he's a steady hand and a Heisman Trophy hopeful again expected to put up big numbers. No one looked particularly good on either side of the ball. Unimpressed by the supposedly-superior Sooners, UTEP broke off some good-sized plays on its first drive, prompting Mike Stoops to charge onto the field to scream at his players during a timeout. Dakota Warren missed a 45-yard field goal at the end of that drive, but Oklahoma's first offensive possession resulted in a touchdown for the Miners when Richard Spencer blocked Tress Way's punt and Jeffrey ran it in 24 yards to give UTEP a surprising 7-0 lead after Oklahoma had scored 89 straight points in the series. Oklahoma gathered itself briefly late in the first quarter, when Jones rolled left and threw to the right sideline, where Kenny Stills streaked in for a 68-yard touchdown. That was it for Oklahoma in the first half. UTEP continued to harass the Sooners, holding them to seven first downs and 75 yards outside of the big play to Stills. The Miners also blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Michael Hunnicutt -- it may have hit a Sooners lineman in the backside -- and would have had the lead at halftime had Warren not pushed a 31-yard field goal wide right. Still, 7-7 at halftime against the fourth-ranked team in the country? The Miners would take that any day. Jeffrey kept them in it in the third quarter by bursting through some big holes, including a 71-yard yard run that put the Miners in scoring position. That chance came up empty when Steven Valadez, kicking in place of Warren, hooked a 37-yard field goal to the right in the third quarter. UTEP continued to stymie Oklahoma's offense, but came up short on fake punt in the fourth quarter and the Sooners took advantage with Jones hitting Green on an 18-yard touchdown pass that gave Oklahoma a 17-7 lead and, finally, a little breathing room. Williams gave them a sigh of relief with his run, going through a hole to the right and streaking to the left pylon to finish off the difficult win. |
Who is your pick to win the 2013 C-USA Baseball Championship, May 22-26, at Rice's Reckling Park in Houston?
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