Saturday Action: 9/2/12

From the highs of Nevada and Texas State to the lows of Memphis, Florida International, and Tulsa; lets look at how the weekend went for the MAC, WAC, MWC, Sun Belt, Conference USA, and Independents. 

Friday, August 31

• No. 13 Michigan State 17, No. 24 Boise State 13: The loss of so many offensive weapons resulted in Boise State struggling to score points, losing on a late touchdown drive by Michigan State 17-13 Friday night.
• Florida Atlantic 7, Wagner 3: In an ugly game that saw Florida Atlantic turn the ball over 4 times, the Owls hit a 39-yard touchdown pass in the 4th quarter to beat Wagner of the FCS.
• No. 21 Stanford 20, San Jose State 17: Despite coming back from 14-points behind at halftime and outgaining Stanford 288 to 280, the San Jose State Spartans fell to #21 Stanford 20-17 on the road Friday night.

Saturday, September 1

• Notre Dame 50, Navy 10: In a game being played overseas in Dublin, Ireland, the Naval Academy could not match up with the speed of Notre Dame and were blown out 50-10 in the season opener for both teams Saturday morning.
• No. 6 Georgia 45, Buffalo 23: The Buffalo Bulls surprised many by being down by only 8-points at halftime to the #6 team in the country, Georgia. The Bulldogs scored 3 second half touchdowns to pull away in the final quarter cruising to a season opening win.
• No. 11 West Virginia 69, Marshall 34: The Thundering Herd defense was no match for the offense of the #11 West Virginia Mountaineers in a 69-34 thrashing. The Mountaineers finished with over 300 yards in the air and on the ground and 655 total.
• No. 18 Ohio State 56, Miami (OH) 10: After holding the #18 Ohio State Buckeyes to a 0-0 tie after the end of the first quarter, things fell apart for Miami OH in losing 56-10 in the season opener for both teams. The RedHawks gave up 538 total yards in the defeat.
• No. 17 Nebraska 49, Southern Miss 20: #17 Nebraska used a career-high 354 yards passing and 5 touchdowns from Taylor Martinez in route to a 49-20 win over Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles allowed 632 yards of total offense to the Cornhuskers in the game.
• No. 23 Florida 27, Bowling Green 14: Driving in #23 Florida's territory as the 4th quarter started, the Bowling Green Falcons saw their upset hopes go up in smoke with an interception. Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel hit a 50-yard touchdown pass to make the lead 10-points and essentially put the game away for the Gators.
• Iowa 18, Northern Illinois 17: Despite controlling the game for the majority of the meeting, Northern Illinois game up a late touchdown run to the Iowa Hawkeyes to lose 18-17 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Huskies struggled on offense with the loss of Chandler Harnish only putting up 201 yards for the entire game. 
• No. 3 LSU 41, North Texas 14: North Texas could not get their offense on track only getting 9 first downs an 219 total yards in a 41-14 defeat to #3 LSU Saturday night. The Mean Green allowed 316 yards on the ground to LSU in the defeat.
• No. 1 USC 49, Hawaii 10: Outmanned at every position, Hawaii hoped to be competitive in their season opener at #1 USC. The Warriors fell behind 35-0 at the half and eventually lost 49-10 behind 4 turnovers and 372 yards allowed in the air.
• No. 15 Texas 37, Wyoming 17: Unable to stop a potent rushing attack from #15 Texas, the Wyoming Cowboys lost 37-17 in Austin, Texas Saturday. The Cowboys gave up 280 yards on the ground including two separate 100-yards rushers in the game.
• No. 4 Oklahoma 24, UTEP 7: Despite a valiant defensive effort that had the UTEP Miners within 10-7 in the 4th quarter, #4 Oklahoma pulled away with 2 4th quarter touchdowns in winning 24-7. The Sooners had 455 yards of total offense but the Miner defense kept the Sooners at bay until the end. UTEP ended the game with 48 yards passing on the night.
• No. 5 Oregon 57, Arkansas State 34: With a 29-0 first quarter score, the #5 Oregon Ducks routed the Arkansas State Red Wolves in Gus Malzahn's first game coaching. The Red Wolves played admirably in the second half outscoring Oregon 24-7 to make the final score more respectable at 57-34 in the end.
• Duke 46, Florida International 26: Behind 290 yards passing from Duke quarterback Sean Renfree the Blue Devils routed Sun Belt preseason favorite Florida International 46-26 in Durham, North Carolina Saturday night. The turning point of the game was when Duke scored 17 points in the final 3:26 of the first half to take a 37-14 lead at the half.
• Iowa State 38, Tulsa 23: Things started well for the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes with a 16-point first quarter and a 16-7 lead. Tulsa was outscored 31-7 in the final three periods in a disappoint loss to Big 12 foe Iowa State. The Golden Hurricanes turned the ball over three times on the night and gave up 441 yards of total offense to the Cyclones.
• Ohio 24, Penn State 14: The Ohio Bobcats went into the locker room at halftime shaking their head down 14-3 despite a great defensive effort after a quick Penn State start. The Bobcats came out with renewed enthusiasm and took the game to the Nittany Lions in winning 24-14 in State College, Pennsylvania in the season opener for both teams. Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton threw for 324 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win.
• Illinois 24, Western Michigan 7: Behind a rushing attack that ended with -6 yards and an offense that turned the ball over 4 times, the Western Michigan Broncos lost 24-7 to Big Ten foe Illinois Saturday afternoon. The positive side for the Broncos was the great defense played allowing only 248 yards during the game.
• Nevada 31, California 24: Behind a 450 yard offensive performance, the Nevada Wolfpack outlasted the California Golden Bears 31-24 in Berkeley, California Saturday night. The Wolfpack had 220 yards on the ground and 230 in the air with 27 first downs with only one turnover on the night.
• Colorado State 22, Colorado 17: In a defensive affair among in-state rivals, the Colorado State Rams defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 22-17 in Denver, Colorado Saturday. Rams quarterback Garrett Grayson went 14-21 passing for 173 yards and two touchdowns during the game. The Rams held Colorado to 245 yards of total offense.
• Arizona 24, Toledo 17 (OT): Despite giving up a staggering 624 yards of total offense Saturday night, Toledo still had a shot in overtime to beat Pac 12 foe Arizona. The Wildcats finally finished off the Toledo Rockets 24-17 in overtime on a 10-yard touchdown pass. The Rockets continued their defensive woes from last season but benefitted from 3 Wildcat turnovers in the game.
• Troy 39, UAB 29: In an offensive game that saw the teams combine for over 900 yards of offense and 68 points, the Troy Trojans held off the UAB Blazers 39-29 in Birmingham, Alabama Saturday. The Trojans relied on a rushing attack that gained 262 yards after being one of the poorest rushing teams in the nation last fall.
• Western Kentucky 49, Austin Peay 10: The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers used a career day from quarterback Kawaun Jakes to roll to a 35-0 lead in route to a 49-10 win over FC' Austin Peay. Jakes ended his day four yards shot of 300 with 4 touchdowns passes in the season opener. Austin Peay was only able to gain 154 yards of total offense in the game.
• Louisiana-Lafayette 40, Lamar 0: Behind 4 forced turnovers and 4 field goals from All-Sun Belt kicker Brett Baer, Louisiana rolled to an easy opening day win over FCS' Lamar 40-0. The Ragin' Cajuns held Lamar to 38 yards rushing and only 194 total yards for the game.
• UTSA 33, South Alabama 31: In the FBS opener for both teams, UTSA and South Alabama went down to the wire for the second consecutive year with UTSA exacting revenge 33-31 behind a 51-yard field goal with :16 left in the game. UTSA benefitted from 4 USA turnovers and totaled 398 yards of offense in the opening win for the Roadrunners.
• East Carolina 35, Appalachian State 13: On the 5-year anniversary of Appalachian State's historical win over Michigan, the Mountaineers came up short in the second half in a 35-13 loss to East Carolina in the season opener for both teams. The East Carolina Pirates ended the day with 390 yards of total offense compared to 415 from App. State but won the turnover battle to finish with a 21-point win.
• Tennessee-Martin 20, Memphis 17: In maybe the worst performance of the weekend for any FBS team, the Memphis Tigers lost 20-17 to the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks in Memphis, Tennessee Saturday. The Tigers had over 200 yards on the ground and 359 yards of total offense but allowed the Skyhawks to finish 8 yards short of 400 and the in-state win.
• Texas State 30, Houston 13: In one of the more surprising games of the weekend, the Texas State Bobcats came out flying to a 27-10 lead at halftime over the Houston Cougars. The Bobcats held on for the 30-13 win over Houston forcing 2 Cougar turnovers on the night. Houston struggled without Keenum in 2010 and looked just as lost in their first year after Keenum.
• Rutgers 24, Tulane 12: The Tulane Green Wave entered the 4th quarter down only 10-7 to Big East foe Rutgers but gave up two late touchdowns in losing 24-12 Saturday night in the Superdome of New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane ended the night with 8 yards rushing on the night and 262 total yards with 120 penalty yards overall.
• New Mexico 66, Southern University 21: In an offensive explosion that has not been seen in Albuquerque in many years, the Lobos put up 66 points in a 66-21 win over Southern University in the first game under Bob Davie's coaching stint at UNM. The Lobos had 417 yards of total offense and benefitted from 4 Southern turnovers and ran for 347 yards on the ground in the win.
• Air Force 49, Idaho State 21: Taking a 28-point lead into the half, the Air Force Falcons cruised to a 49-21 win over the FCS' Idaho State in the season opener for both teams in Colorado. The Falcons ended the night with 484 yards rushing including 218 yards from senior running back Cody Getz. In a bit of a surprise, the Falcons also ended the season with 142 yards in the air.
• Fresno State 37, Weber State 10: Behind a solid passing attack that saw Derek Carr throw for 298 yards, the Bulldogs rolled to a 37-10 win over the FCS' Weber State in the season opener in Fresno, California Saturday night. The Bulldogs ended with 515 total yards on offense and 0 turnovers on the night.
• Washington 21, San Diego State 12: Behind a 14-point first quarter from Washington, the Huskies held on for a 21-12 season opening win over the San Diego State Aztecs in Seattle, Washington Saturday night. Neither team was strong offensively but with a 14-6 lead in the third quarter, Washington safety Will Shamburger took a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown to effectively put the game away. The Aztecs ended the night with 3 turnovers.