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The 62-year-old former Notre Dame coach watched the visiting Gamecocks fumble six times in the first half of their opener, wasting numerous scoring chances as No. 24 North Carolina State held on for a 10-0 victory in Raliegh, N.C., amid torrential rain and high wind from Tropical Storm Dennis.

The Wolfpack (2-0), which recorded its first shutout since 1991, was clinging to a 3-0 lead when its special teams came through again. Koren Robinson returned a blocked punt by Brian Williams 3 yards for a game-clinching score with 14:06 left as the Gamecocks extended their school-record losing streak to 11. More...

No. 2 Penn State 70, Akron 24

Second-ranked Penn State's rout of visiting Akron turned into milestone Saturday for the Nittany Lions.

Rashard Casey scored his first college touchdowns, one rushing and one passing. John Gilmore, Eddie Drummond and Bryant Johnson each caught their first TDs at Penn State, Mick Blosser ran for his first score and Askari Adams returned an interception for his first TD.

The Lions (2-0) put up 70 points for the first time since beating Maryland 70-7 in 1993. They face Pittsburgh next week before a Sept. 18 trip to Miami.

No. 3 Tennessee 42, Wyoming 17

Jamal Lewis scored three times and Tee Martin threw two touchdown passes to Cedrick Wilson to lead No. 3 Tennessee past Wyoming.

The Volunteers (1-0) began defense of their national title at home with four touchdowns in a 7½-minute span of the second quarter, and made it stand up against the Cowboys (0-1) with a school-record 13 sacks, four turnovers and one touchdown on defense.

Lewis scored on runs of 25 and 32 yards in the first half, and added a 1-yard TD with 22 seconds left in the game. He finished his first game since knee surgery ended his 1998 season after four games with 159 yards in 25 carries.

Martin (14-for-21, 264 yards) hit Wilson with scoring passes of 55 and 16 yards in the first half and a 64-yard play to set up Lewis' last touchdown. Wilson had seven catches for 183 yards.

No. 4 Florida 55, W. Michigan 26

Torched on defense and embarrassed in a few other areas, No. 4 Florida had as many things to worry over as to be happy about Saturday night.

Doug Johnson threw for four touchdowns and Earnest Graham ran for 158 yards in Florida's 55-26 season-opening victory over Western Michigan, but opposing quarterback Tim Lester had as big an impact on the game as anyone.

Lester finished with 405 yards passing - 314 in the first half -- against a Florida defense that didn't have a starter remaining from the lineup that opened last season.

No. 5 Nebraska 42, Iowa 7

Bobby Newcombe atoned for three first-half turnovers by running for two touchdowns and passing for one as No. 5 Nebraska opened the season with a big victory at Iowa.

Leading just 7-0 after a mistake-laden first half, Nebraska gradually asserted control behind Newcombe and No. 2 quarterback Eric Crouch to spoil the debut of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.

Crouch, who lost a highly publicized battle with Newcombe for the starting job, ran for three touchdowns.

No. 6 Texas A&M 37, Louisiana Tech 17

Randy McCown threw two touchdown passes and No. 6 Texas A&M survived Louisiana Tech's dangerous Tim Rattay in Shreveport, La.

Rattay led the nation in total offense the past two seasons, but it was A&M that went to the passing game for a 30-10 halftime lead. Although Rattay finished with 331 yards, it took him 65 pass attempts, with two interceptions.

McCown, meantime, was 17-of-28 for a career-high 252 yards.

No. 7 Michigan 26, No. 16 Notre Dame 22

The Wolverines held on to win a wild one. See game story and SportsLine staff writer Michael J. Happy's column on the Michigan quarterback situation.

No. 8 Miami 57, Florida A&M 3

It took all of 10 minutes for Miami to forget about its Kickoff Classic triumph.

The Hurricanes, who beat No. 13 Ohio State 23-12 in the Kickoff Classic, trailed Div. I-AA Florida A&M 3-0 midway through the first quarter until getting their offense untracked. Miami (2-0) then scored on five straight possessions and got its first team off the field at the Orange Bowl.

James Jackson ran for two touchdowns and Kenny Kelly passed for two in a 31-point burst over 11:04 of the first half, propelling the Hurricanes.

Jackson scored on runs of 43 and 7 yards, finishing with 103 yards on 19 carries before leaving with 9½ minutes left before halftime. Kelly was 9-of-15 for 119 yards, including TD tosses of 9 yards to Santana Moss and 3 yards to tight end Bubba Franks.

No. 9 Wisconsin 49, Murray St. 10

Ron Dayne rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns despite sitting out the second half as No. 9 Wisconsin pounded Division I-AA Murray State.

The Badgers' senior tailback got 20 carries as Wisconsin's starters scored on their first six possessions against the undermanned Racers. Wisconsin led 42-7 at halftime, and coach Barry Alvarez elected to hold Dayne out of the second half.

Dayne's 135 yards gave him 4,698 for his career, moving him ahead of five runners -- including Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas and Marshall Faulk -- into 14th place on the NCAA's career rushing list.

No. 10 Georgia Tech 49, Navy 14

Phillip Rogers ran for 80 yards and a career-high three touchdowns as No. 10 Georgia Tech beat Navy, enabling coach George O'Leary to enjoy his view from the press box.

The Yellow Jackets (1-0) reeled off 28 straight points after Navy (0-1) forged an early 7-7 tie. Rogers ran for 72 yards and two scores to help Georgia Tech take a 28-7 halftime lead.

O'Leary was forced to watch the game from the press box after being penalized by the NCAA in April for making an improper loan to former running back C.J. Williams. It wasn't the vantage point he preferred, but the Yellow Jackets fared well against a porous Navy defense without him on the sideline.

No. 11 Virginia Tech 47, James Madison 0

Redshirt freshman Michael Vick made a spectacular debut as No. 11 Virginia Tech's quarterback before leaving with a bruised leg and the Hokies made their 1,000th game a home-field laugher over James Madison.

Vick, one of the nation's top newcomers, rushed for three first-half touchdowns, including a dazzling 7-yard scramble that made it 23-0 midway through the second quarter. Vick dove toward the end zone, got hit and upended, his body flipping completely before he landed on his feet a yard into the end zone.

Vick lay on the field for several minutes being attended by trainers before he limped to the sidelines. X-rays showed no break, but Vick sustained a lower left leg contusion and was to be re-evaluated after the game, the school said.

No. 12 Georgia 38, Utah St 7

Robert Edwards' football career may be over, but his younger brother has a great future.

Freshman Terrence Edwards made an electrifying debut for No. 12 Georgia, catching 10 passes for 196 yards and two long touchdowns as the Bulldogs rolled at home over Utah State 38-7 in their season opener Saturday night.

Sophomore Quincy Carter, who is being touted for the Heisman Trophy, got his campaign off to a good start by throwing for 320 yards and two touchdowns and running for 58 yards and another score.

Colorado State 41, No. 14 Colorado 14

The only serious upset of the day was a humiliating first game for Colorado coach Gary Barnett, and led to an ugly near-riot at Mile High Stadium. See the game story and SportsLine senior writer Dennis Dodd's column on Barnett.

No. 15 Arizona 35, Texas Christian 31

Keith Smith atoned for two fumbles by throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Northcutt with 2:10 remaining and give No. 15 Arizona a 35-31 victory over Texas Christian on Sunday night.

Three touchdown passes from backup Ortege Jenkins in a 3:46 span in the third quarter allowed the Wildcats (1-1) to turn a 25-7 deficit into a 28-25 lead. It was their first lead of the season after being blown out 41-7 by Penn State last week.

No. 17 UCLA 38, Boise State 7

Freshman Cory Paus ignited a stagnant offense and the Bruins showed a much-improved defense, clearly outmanning Boise State.

Paus relieved starting quarterback Drew Bennett on UCLA's fourth possession, and completed 12-of-18 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Bennett, who backed up four-year starter Cade McNown during the last two seasons, was shaky at the outset of his first start, but performed much better in the second half, and wound up 8-of-16 for 120 yards and one TD with one interception.

The Bruins won decisively even though 11 players, most of them starters, were suspended for illegally obtaining handicapped parking permits.

No. 18 Arkansas 26, SMU 0

Anthony Lucas caught touchdown passes of 28, 63 and 70 yards and freshman Cedric Cobbs added an electrifying 53-yard touchdown run as the Razorbacks embarrassed the Ponies, who were decked out in new all-red jerseys.

The Razorbacks scored their three longest touchdowns on one-play drives, thrilling a heavily pro-Arkansas crowd of 51,019. It was the largest crowd to see the Mustangs at the Cotton Bowl since 1978.

The Mustangs gained only 175 yards -- 19 fewer than Lucas amassed on his six receptions -- while being shut out for the first time since 1995, a string of 41 games.

No. 20 Alabama 28, Vanderbilt 17

Shaun Alexander scored two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as No. 20 Alabama rallied for a victory over Vanderbilt in a season opener in Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt, which usually gives the Tide (1-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) fits, looked ready to upset Alabama for the first time since 1984, leading 17-14 in the fourth quarter.

Alabama, which has won 28 of the last 29 games in the series, finally got moving when Arvin Richard returned a punt 26 yards to the Vandy 21.

No. 21 Southern Cal 62, Hawaii 7

The Trojans wanted to make sure they don't get overlooked in this week's national rankings.

After dropping two places last week without even playing a game, Carson Palmer and Malaefou MacKenzie accounted for five touchdowns as visiting Southern California overpowered hapless Hawaii, extending the nation's longest losing streak to 19.

It also ruined the Hawaii coaching debut of June Jones, who rejected an offer from the San Diego Chargers to take over the downtrodden programat his alma mater.

No. 22 Purdue 47, Central Florida 13

Drew Brees threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns as Purdue went on the road to win its seventh game in a row, matching its longest winning streak in 20 years.

Brees took up where he left off in a record-breaking sophomore year with TD passes of 27 yards to Chris Daniels, 18 to Tim Stratton, 2 to Randall Lane and 22 to Vinny Sutherland.

Safety Adrian Beasley set up touchdowns with two of Purdue's four interceptions off Vic Penn, a junior-college transfer making his debut as Daunte Culpepper's successor for Central Florida.

The Boilermakers play host to Notre Dame next week.

No. 23 Virginia 20, North Carolina 17

Todd Braverman, who found out three days ago he had won the Virginia kicking job, made a 50-yard field goal with 27.4 seconds left as the 23rd-ranked Cavaliers edged host North Carolina in a season opener.

Thomas Jones, who rushed for 180 yards last season against the Tar Heels, gained 149 this time on 35 carries to help overcome three interceptions by rookie quarterback Dan Ellis.

The score was tied 17-17 when Virginia got the ball back at its 42 with 3:29 left. Rain began pelting the field as Hurricane Dennis began moving inland, but the Cavaliers had the wind at their backs.