ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Freshman Chad Henne threw two touchdowns in a surprising start for Michigan, helping the eighth-ranked Wolverines to a 43-10 victory over Miami of Ohio on Saturday that ended the nation’s longest winning streak.
Matt Gutierrez was supposed to start, but he was relegated to holding on kicks because of a sore arm, creating an opportunity for Henne. Rick Leach is the only other quarterback to start as a freshman for the Wolverines. Leach led Michigan to a victory on Sept. 13, 1975, at Wisconsin.
Henne was 14-of-24 for 142 yards with one interception. Braylon Edwards caught six passes for 91 yards and two TDs, and David Underwood gained 61 yards with two touchdowns on 22 carries.
The RedHawks (1-1) had won 14 straight games, 13 times last year with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
His replacement, Josh Betts, was 18-of-36 for 201 yards with four interceptions and a fumble.
No. 15 Clemson 37, Wake Forest 30, 2OT
CLEMSON, S.C. – Charlie Whitehurst threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Browning in the second overtime that lifted Clemson to an Atlantic Coast Conference victory.
The Tigers led 19-3 early in the second quarter, but the Deacons rallied for 24 straight points and led 27-19 after Chris Barclay’s 50-yard touchdown run with 12:20 to go in the game.
Yusef Kelly’s short TD run and Kelvin Grant’s tying two-point conversion catch with 1:52 left in the regulation tied it at 27 for Clemson.
The teams traded field goals in the first extra session. Then Whitehurst found Browning on a screen pass to give Clemson the lead.
Wake Forest could not respond as Cory Randolph’s final two passes went incomplete.
No. 2 Oklahoma 40, Bowling Green 24
NORMAN, Okla. – Kejuan Jones rushed for a career-high 148 yards and a touchdown and Mark Clayton caught two of Jason White’s three touchdown passes for the Sooners.
White, the returning Heisman Trophy winner, completed 21 of 31 passes for 238 yards, but also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
Adrian Peterson, the Sooners’ top-rated high-school recruit, flashed brilliance with a 35-yard touchdown run and finished with 100 yards on 16 carries.
Charles Sharon had two touchdown catches and Keon Newson’s 28-yard interception return for a touchdown helped Bowling Green stay in the game.
No. 3 Georgia 48, Ga. Southern 28
ATHENS, Ga. – Danny Ware rushed for 135 yards and three touchdown in his college debut for the Bulldogs.
Ware was the first freshman running back to start his first game at Georgia since 1943. He opened the scoring for Georgia with a 10-yard touchdown run. He added a 3-yard scoring run early in the third quarter, helping the Bulldogs pull away from a close game at halftime.
Tyson Browning had a 72-yard punt return and Reggie Brown caught a 43-yard pass from David Greene for Georgia.
No. 7 Texas 65, North Texas 0
AUSTIN, Texas – Cedric Benson ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Longhorns’ punishing rushing attack.
Benson, who ranks third in career yards at Texas behind Heisman Trophy winners Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell, had 141 yards as Texas cruised to a 44-0 halftime lead.
Benson averaged 12.1 yards on 15 carries and Texas rolled up 513 yards on the ground against the three-time defending Sun Belt Conference champions. The Longhorns’ 673 total yards was the third best in school history. It was Texas’ largest margin of victory since an 81-16 win over TCU in 1974.
No. 9 Ohio State 27, Cincinnati 6
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lydell Ross rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown, and Ohio State’s swarming defense stymied Cincinnati.
Justin Zwick threw two interceptions and had four fumbles in his first start for the Buckeyes. He completed 14 of 26 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. Backup Troy Smith played far less but produced two scores in three drives, including a TD pass.
Bearcats coach Mark Dantonio lost his debut to his former employer. He was defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes for three years.
West Virginia 56, East Carolina 23
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Kay-Jay Harris rushed for a school-record 337 yards and four touchdowns for the Mountaineers.
Harris broke the school record of 291 yards set by Kerry Marbury in 1971 against Temple. It also was a Big East record, eclipsing the mark of 299 set by Miami’s Edgerrin James in 1998 against UCLA.
Jason Colson added two scores as West Virginia’s platoon rushing attack continued the Mountaineers’ recent dominance of East Carolina in the opener for both teams.
No. 13 California 56, Air Force 14
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – J.J. Arrington ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns, and Aaron Rodgers threw for 208 yards and a touchdown to help California pull away from Air Force in the second half.
Air Force knocked off Cal the last time the Bears were ranked in 2002 and another upset appeared to be brewing when the Falcons were within seven points at halftime.
But after struggling with Air Force’s triple option early, Cal figured out its assignments.
Air Force had 214 yards its first three drives, but just 12 in its next four. The Falcons finished with 271 total yards – 56 in the second half – and weren’t much better on defense, giving up the most points on opening day in school history.
No. 16 Virginia 44, Temple 14
PHILADELPHIA – Wali Lundy ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns, and Alvin Pearman returned a punt 70 yards for a score to lead the Cavaliers to an easy opening win.
The Owls had more fumbles (four) than third-down conversions (two) and lost to a Top 25 team for the 18th straight time.
Marques Hagans finished 17-for-22 for 211 yards and rushed and threw for a touchdown for Virginia, which began the season with its highest ranking since 1998.
No. 17 Auburn 31, Louisiana-Monroe 0
AUBURN, Ala. – Jason Campbell passed for two touchdowns and Carnell Williams ran for 103 yards as the Tigers unveiled a new West Coast offense.
Auburn’s new system sputtered at times but still fared better than in last year’s opening shutout defeat to Southern California that set the stage for a disappointing season.
No. 18 Missouri 52, Arkansas St. 20
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Brad Smith threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 63 yards and another score for Missouri.
Smith, a junior who ran for 1,406 yards and passed for 1,977 last season, averaged 10.5 yards on six carries and scored on a 34-yard second-quarter run. He completed 14 of 22 passes, with the three touchdowns and one interception.
No. 19 Iowa 39, Kent State 7
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Drew Tate threw two touchdowns in his first start and No. 19 Iowa turned in a dominating defensive performance.
The Hawkeyes held the Golden Flashes to 110 total yards and minus-13 yards rushing.
The only score for Kent State came late in the first half when linebacker Jack Williams picked off a pass in the end zone and ran 100 yards for a touchdown, the longest interception return in school history.
No. 21 Wisconsin 34, Central Florida 6
MADISON, Wis. – John Stocco threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score in his first start for the Badgers.
Anthony Davis rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown for the Badgers but left late in the first half after taking a hard hit at the end of a 21-yard run.
Stocco threw touchdown passes of 16 and 52 yards in the Badgers’ biggest win in a season opener since whipping Murray State 49-10 in 1999.
UCF coach George O’Leary missed his first game with the Golden Knights to attend his mother’s funeral in New York.
No. 22 Maryland 23, Northern Illinois 20
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Nick Novak became the leading scorer in Atlantic Coast Conference history, kicking three field goals and two conversions to rescued the erratic Maryland offense.
Novak kicked field goals of 43, 34, and 44 yards. His 11-point night gave him a career total of 335, breaking the record of 326 set by Scott Bentley of Florida State.
The victory enabled Maryland to improve to 20-1 at home under fourth-year coach Ralph Friedgen.
Comments are no longer available on this story