Associated Press
HOUSTON -- Mack Brown insisted this offseason that with Colt McCoy gone, No. 5 Texas would re-establish a running game that had gone stale as the Longhorns leaned on their star quarterback in recent years.
At least for the first game of the post-Colt era, the Longhorns' coach showed he was serious.
Tre' Newton ran for three touchdowns and Texas ran twice as much as it passed in Garrett Gilbert's first games as starting quarterback, a 34-17 victory against Rice on Saturday.
Gilbert, who threw four interceptions filling in for McCoy in the loss to Alabama in the BCS title game, didn't turn the ball over in this one. Still, his day didn't go as smoothly as Longhorns fans had hoped.
He finished 14 of 23 for 172 yards. Texas ran 46 times for 197 yards.
Texas was stopped on fourth-and-goal down at the 1 on its first drive and settled for a 51-yard field goal on the second. Gilbert bounced a few passes, but showed pinpoint accuracy on others, including a 47-yard throw to Malcolm Williams in the third quarter.
Brown got a bit snappy when asked if he'd rather run than pass though.
"I am at a point where I would rather win," he said. "I don't care. I really don't. I liked Colt McCoy completing 80 percent of his passes. Some people didn't. It really bothered them. [They] got emotional, got counseling. I liked it. I liked Garrett completing a bunch of passes tonight."
Texas finally got going on its first full drive of the second quarter taking a 10-3 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Newton. He ran up the middle and just out of reach of the outstretched arms of two Rice defenders for that score.
That drive was fueled by a 22-yard catch and run by Marquise Goodwin, a play where the Longhorns finally seemed to find a rhythm. The Longhorns gained just 53 yards in the first quarter, but piled up 69 on their first touchdown drive.
"I think there is a lot of things we need to work on, but it is something we can build upon," Gilbert said.
The defense got involved after Newton's first score, with Sam Acho sacking Rice freshman Taylor McHargue and causing a fumble. Keenan Robinson scooped it up and returned it for a 10-yard touchdown and Texas had turned a 3-3 tie into a 17-3 lead in less than two minutes.
"There will be an upset today when we start looking at scores from other games across the country, and that scares you to death," Brown said. "You're excited to win the opener, and I told the players they ought to be real proud to be 1-0, but there are a lot of things that we can work on."
Newton, who finished with 61 yards, also had a 2-yard score in the second quarter and a second 1-yard TD in the third.
"There is probably a lot [to work on], but the coaches will let us know tomorrow," Newton said. "We'll get to see the mistakes that we made today. We'll learn from them, and we'll move on."
Newton lost the starting job to Cody Johnson, but still got plenty of carries. The 250-pound Johnson had trouble early. The Longhorns had a first down at the Rice 4 in the first quarter. Johnson gained a yard on first down and two on second before being stuffed on third and losing four yards on fourth down.
Johnson had 15 carries for 59 yards and Fozzy Whittaker added 51 yards rushing.
"I thought the running game was good, but I didn't like the short yardage and the two times we didn't make it," Brown said. "But we were physical, and we used three backs that all made yards."
Rice's first touchdown came on a fluke play. McHargue's pass bounced off the hands of Vance McDonald and right into the arms of Randy Kitchens. Kitchens had a step on Christian Scott, but Scott grabbed his leg and hung on as Kitchens dragged him to the goal line for the 47-yard score which made it 24-10 just before halftime.
"You get lucky every now and then," McHargue said. "Really that's it."
Rice coach David Bailiff was pleased with McHargue's debut.
"He did some great things and he did some freshman quarterback things," Bailiff said. "He's got four more years to continue to grow and we really think he's going to be something special."
Rice's Sam McGuffie had 14 carries for 47 yards in his Rice debut after sitting out for a year after transferring from Michigan. McHargue was 6 of 11 for 90 yards and an interception.
"Overall this is a game that we can look at and build on and improve," Bailiff said.
Texas opened away from home for the first time since 1995 at Hawaii. But this could hardly be called an away game with the overwhelming majority of the crowd of 70,445 at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, clad in burnt orange and rooting for the Longhorns.
McCoy's younger brother Case McCoy took over at quarterback with about six minutes remaining. He attempted one pass.
*
No. 7 Oklahoma 31, Utah State 24: NORMAN, Okla. -- DeMarco Murray ran for 218 yards and two touchdowns and converted a key fourth down, helping No. 7 Oklahoma survive an unexpected scare from Utah State for a 31-24 victory on Saturday night.
Jamell Fleming secured the 800th win in the program's history by intercepting Diondre Borel's pass in the final 5 minutes, dragging his feet to stay inbounds near the sideline. The Sooners are only the seventh Division I school to reach that mark, joining a handful of powerhouses including Michigan, Texas and Notre Dame.
It certainly didn't come easy.
The Aggies had the ball with a chance to tie it when Fleming made amends for a tough day for Oklahoma's inexperienced secondary. The Sooners allowed Borel to throw for 341 yards and two touchdowns while squeaking by with their 31st straight victory at home.
Still, Oklahoma can't feel too comfortable with Christian Ponder and No. 20 Florida State coming to town next weekend. Ponder had four touchdown passes in a 59-6 rout of Samford, and he didn't even play in the second half.
The Sooners were still working hard after intermission.
Murray, no longer sharing carries as he did in his first three seasons, rushed a career-high 35 times and was still out chewing up the clock after Fleming's pick with 4:12 to play.
He had to dive and extend the ball past the first-down stick to convert a key fourth down in Oklahoma's own territory midway through the third quarter with Utah State within 21-17. And the Aggies could've been tied had receiver Eric Moats' touchdown pass on a fake field goal not been called back because of a penalty.
After an incompletion by Landry Jones, Murray zoomed up the left sideline for a 63-yard score to extend the Sooners' lead. Patrick O'Hara made it 31-17 with a line-drive 32-yard field goal, but the Aggies weren't done yet.
Borel needed just four plays to lead Utah State on a 70-yard scoring drive, with Xavier Martin getting behind Demontre Hurst for a 31-yard TD catch.
Hurst and Fleming were replacing the experienced duo of Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson, and Jonathan Nelson also struggled after moving from cornerback to safety.
The Sooners couldn't have had a much worse start than last season, when 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford was injured in the first half of a 14-13 loss to BYU that dealt an immediate blow to any chances of playing in the BCS championship game for the second straight season.
This opener against another Utah-based team provided a different kind of scare, but with a different ending.
Jones, thrust into a relief role when Bradford was hurt in last year's opener, was regularly off-target and finished with 217 yards on 17-for-36 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Ryan Broyles caught nine passes for 142 yards and two first-half touchdowns as Oklahoma opened an early 21-0 lead.
Utah State, which lost 54-3 in Norman three years earlier, was paid $500,000 to come to Owen Field. The Aggies nearly got the biggest win in the history of the program to go along with that big payday. They have only one victory against a Top-25 team and they have never beaten a top-10 team.
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Kansas State 31, UCLA 22: MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Daniel Thomas rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns and Kansas State rallied for a 31-22 victory over UCLA Saturday before a crowd of 51,059, the biggest for a home opener in Wildcats' history.
There were three touchdowns in the final 123 seconds and Kansas State had two, including Thomas' 35-yard gallop after the Wildcats fell on UCLA's onside kick.
Thomas, the Big 12's leading rusher last year, set up scores with several big runs, including one for 44 yards and another for 29. His 28 carries and 235 yards were both career highs.
After Carson Coffman's 5-yard TD pass to Brodrick Smith put Kansas State ahead 24-16 with 2:03 left, Kevin Prince led the Bruins on a lightning-quick drive, hitting Cory Harkey for 35 yards and then connecting with Ricky Marvray on a 29-yard TD toss. With 1:19 to play, the Bruins elected to go for 2. But Prince's pass into the end zone fell incomplete and Kansas State's Travis Tannahill recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Seemingly just trying to run out the clock, the Wildcats handed the ball to Thomas and the quick, rugged senior burst through a hole over the right side and dashed 35 yards for the TD that clinched Kansas State's 21st consecutive victory in a home opener.
William Powell had 72 yards on just six carries for Kansas State, which erupted in the second half after managing only nine total yards in the entire second quarter. Coffman was 11 for 16 for just 66 yards and was sacked five times by a Bruin defense that had an answer for everything except Thomas. The preseason pick for offensive player of the year in the Big 12 also had two receptions, including one for 21 yards that set up the first touchdown.
The Bruins held on fourth-and-goal from the 1, but an illegal participation penalty on UCLA gave Kansas State another shot and Thomas scored.
A 60-yard punt and a great open field tackle pinned Kansas State deep in the second quarter and Coffman fumbled the snap. Akeem Ayers recovered for the Bruins, and on the next play, Prince faked left and bootlegged right, dashing untouched into the end zone.
UCLA's Kai Forbath, who struggled all week with a sore groin, kicked three field goals and ran his streak to 40 in a row from inside 50 yards. His 44-yarder put UCLA on top 10-7 near the end of the first half and he added one from 35 and one from 42. The last one came with 6:28 to go and pulled UCLA to 17-16.
Thomas' tackle-breaking 44-yard run in the third quarter was followed by William Powell's 28-yard touchdown run, giving Kansas State a 14-10 lead.
Kansas State's Josh Cherry had a 35-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter following Thomas' 29-yard burst. Thomas was the first Wildcat to rush for more than 200 yards in six years.
Prince was 9 for 26 for 120 yards.
*
Colorado 24, Colorado State 3: DENVER -- Scotty McKnight became Colorado's career receptions leader with a 27-yard touchdown grab that sparked the Buffaloes to a 24-3 season-opening win over archrival Colorado State in the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown on Saturday.
McKnight's 168th career catch broke the mark set by Michael Westbrook from 1991-94. The senior finished with six catches for 78 yards.
The Buffaloes got off to a good start in what will be a crucial year for coach Dan Hawkins, who has yet to post a winning season since arriving in Boulder from Boise State in 2006.
With three interceptions, freshman quarterback Pete Thomas had a rough debut for the Rams, who lost their last nine games of last season to finish 3-9, same as the Buffaloes.
Thomas finished 24 of 32 for 196 yards.
Tyler Hansen was 17 of 25 for 192 yards, two TDs and an interception. He scored on a 1-yard keeper in the third quarter to make it 24-0.
McKnight has caught a pass in a school-record and NCAA-active-best 38 straight games, counting the 2007 Independence Bowl.
After he hauled in his record-breaking catch on a route in which he got wide open, the Buffaloes made it 17-0 on Aric Goodman's 28-yard field goal that was set up by Travis Sanderfeld's interception at midfield.
Goodman also displayed newfound leg strength with three kickoffs out of the end zone.
The first half came to a close when Colorado's Will Pericak blocked Ben DeLine's 37-yard field goal attempt.
DeLine finally put the Rams on the board with a 43-yarder with 9:36 left.
Travon Patterson, a senior transfer from Southern Cal, opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown catch from Hansen. Patterson's first TD catch since his senior year in high school in 2005 was set up when Jon Major stuffed CSU's T.J. Borcky for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 44.
*
Oklahoma State 65, Washington State 17: STILLWATER, Okla. -- Kendall Hunter rushed for 257 yards and four touchdowns out of Oklahoma State's new-look offense and the Cowboys beat Washington State 65-17 on Saturday night.
Oklahoma State (1-0) hired offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen away from Houston during the off-season and Hunter thrived in Holgorsen's system, scoring on runs of 3, 9, 2 and 39 yards.
Brandon Weeden threw three touchdown passes for the Cowboys, all to Justin Blackmon and Blackmon also scored on a 7-yard blocked punt return. The Cowboys have won 15 straight home openers, the longest streak in school history.
Oklahoma State's point total was its highest since a 66-24 win over Baylor on Nov. 11, 2006.
Jeff Tuel completed 14 of 29 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown for Washington State (0-1).
*
Baylor 34, Sam Houston State 3: WACO -- Robert Griffin looked as good as ever on his surgically repaired right knee, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another to lead Baylor past Sam Houston State 34-3 Saturday night.
Griffin was a freshman sensation in 2008, but his 2009 season ended with a torn knee ligament in the third game.
Bigger, stronger and wearing a knee brace, Griffin didn't need long to pick up where he'd left off.
He threw a career-best 68-yard touchdown pass on his second series, then ran for a 30-yard touchdown on the next drive. It was 21-0 at halftime, then Jay Finley ran 44 yards up the middle for a touchdown on Baylor's first play of the second half.
Griffin went 19-of-36 for 242 yards, playing all but Baylor's final drive. He was sacked once and didn't have any turnovers. He also ran six times for a team-best 59 yards.
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No. 8 Nebraska 49, Western Kentucky 10: LINCOLN, Neb. -- Looks like Nebraska found itself a quarterback, and he may be leading the Huskers for quite a while.
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 the game until the middle of the fourth quarter.
Western Kentucky's Bobby Rainey rushed 30 times for a career-high 155 yards and a TD against a defense that was ninth nationally against the run last season.
Martinez ran 46 yards for a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage and scored from 19 and 15 yards in the third quarter.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini kept the identity of his starting quarterback under wraps until about a half-hour before the game. That's when the Huskers' starters introduced themselves in a video on the big-screen scoreboard. The crowd roared when Martinez's face appeared.
Since last spring Pelini and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson have raved about the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder's athleticism. Husker fans found out why on his first touchdown.
Martinez kept the ball on a zone read, squirted through the line, juked a linebacker and darted left, shifting into a higher gear while outrunning cornerback Kareem Peterson to the end zone for his 46-yard TD.
Martinez hit Rex Burkhead in stride across the middle for a 28-yard gain to start the next series, which Burkhead finished with a 20-yard TD run.
The Huskers went three-and-out on Martinez's last two series of the half, but he started the third quarter with a 43-yard run that featured a spin move after he broke through the line. That drive ended when he faked an inside handoff and scored from 19 yards.
Martinez showed some strength on his 15-yard TD, shaking his foot loose from Peterson's grasp just before going into the end zone.
Martinez completed his first five passes and finished 9 of 15.
Green, the backup to Lee last year, entered in the middle of the second quarter. He completed a couple short passes and ran for a first down before Roy Helu Jr. scored on a 3-yard run. He re-entered early in the fourth quarter and threw a 33-yard TD pass to Niles Paul. Green was 5 of 6 for 66 yards.
The Hilltoppers, who crossed midfield once in the first half -- and then only because of a Nebraska penalty -- dented the Huskers' defense in the second half, when they generated 201 of their 299 yards.
Casey Tinius kicked a 25-yard field goal and Rainey had a 5-yard touchdown run for WKU.
Rainey almost had another touchdown, but DeJones Gomes stripped the ball just as he was about to cross the goal line to finish a 47-yard run. Eric Hagg recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
*
North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3: LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Ryan Jastram kicked two field goals and North Dakota State's defense smothered Kansas in a season-opening 6-3 victory Saturday night.
The first-ever victory for the FCS Bison over a current member of the Big 12 spoiled the coaching debut of Kansas' Turner Gill. Jastram snapped a 3-3 tie with a 32-yard field goal at the 8:04 mark of the third quarter.
Kansas struggled throughout on offense and switched to backup quarterback Jordan Webb in the second half. The hopes for Kansas faded on its next-to-last possession when Tim Biere fumbled at the Kansas 36 following a reception and a big hit by Daniel Eaves.
The Bison launched a huge celebration when the final seconds ticked away. Kansas used its final timeout of the half with 8:13 remaining.
North Dakota State played a scrappy first half to stay with the Jayhawks, and its confidence seemed to soar as the game progressed.
Kansas had a 187-88 advantage in total yards through two quarters, but it was a 3-3 game at the break. The Jayhawks converted just 2-of-8 opportunities on third down in the first half but got a big play from wide receiver Daymond Patterson to set up a field goal by Jacob Branstetter that gave Kansas a 3-0 lead with 1:58 left in the first quarter.
Taking the ball on a reverse, Patterson broke free on a 51-yard run that put the ball on the Bison 14. The Jayhawks stalled, but Branstetter hit his sixth field goal in his last seven attempts dating back to last season.
The Bison had a chance to take the lead after Mike Sigers' blocked punt put North Dakota State at the Kansas 10 in the second quarter. However, Isiah Barfield intercepted a pass from Jose Mohler in the end zone on third down. Barfield tried to run the ball out, but was tackled at the Kansas 1.
The poor field position ultimately cost Kansas, as the Jayhawks subsequently punted from the end zone. An 18-yard punt return by Ryan Smith and a late hit penalty put Jastram in position for a 44-yard field goal and the 3-3 tie with 3:20 left in the half.
North Dakota State then got the second Jastram field goal for the only scoring of the second half.
Kansas had three turnovers to negate a 293-168 edge in total offense.
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