College Football Top 25 Review

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 4, 2012

College Football Top 25 Review

No. 1 USC 49, Hawaii 10

Matt Barkley kicked off his Heisman Trophy campaign with 372 yards passing and four touchdowns as the Trojans cruised in their season opener. Hayes Pullard returned an interception 27 yards for a first-quarter score for USC, which outgained Hawaii 481-264.

No. 2 Alabama 41, No. 8 Michigan 14

Dee Milliner (No. 28) and that Alabama defense showed they can still dominate.Even after sending three starting defenders from last year's national championship team to the NFL as first-round draft picks, the second-ranked Crimson Tide threw around eighth-ranked Michigan while pounding Denard Robinson. Milliner deflected four first-half passes and had an interception that set up another score.

No. 3 LSU 41, North Texas 14

Kenny Hilliard rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 3 LSU opened its season with a big nonconference victory. While the heavily favored Tigers -- who rushed for 316 yards -- were never threatened, their performance did not always thrill a Death Valley crowd.

No. 4 Oklahoma 24, UTEP 7

Landry Jones faced pressure on nearly every snap, had trouble finding his receivers. The running game bogged down most of the night. The specials teams allowed two blocked kicks, one that led to a touchdown. It wasn't pretty, nearly a disaster actually, but the Sooners found a win to grind out a win. Damien Williams (28) was limited to 16 yards on five carries.

No. 5 Oregon 57, Arkansas St. 34

When redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota ran out on to the field at Autzen Stadium, he was nervous about his first start for the Ducks. By the first snap, the butterflies were gone. Mariota debuted for Oregon by passing for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Mariota coolly guided Oregon's speedy spread offense, completing 18-of-22 passes.

No. 6 Georgia 45, Buffalo 23

Despite carrying a slim 24-16 lead into intermission, Georgia held off Buffalo for a 45-23 win. Quarterback Aaron Murray passed for 258 yards and three touchdowns, and wideout Tavarres King (pictured) made six catches for 117 yards and a score. The road doesn't get easier for Georgia, though. Mark Richt's squad plays Missouri next Saturday in the Tigers' SEC debut.

No. 7 Florida State 69, Murray State 3

Lonnie Pryor, James Wilder Jr., and Debrale Smiley combined for seven rushing touchdowns as Florida State overpowered Murray State. Wilder (shown) rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns for FSU, which has outscored its last three FCS foes 190-19.

No. 9 South Carolina 17, Vanderbilt 13

Marcus Lattimore's knee appears to be just fine. South Carolina's junior running back returned from last season's ACL injury to the tune of 110 yards and two touchdowns, and the Gamecocks edged Vanderbilt in their season-opener Thursday night. Connor Shaw turned in a gutsy performance, and his counterpart, Jordan Rodgers, was impressive for the Commodores. Rodgers threw for 214 yards, 147 of which went to wideout Jordan Matthews.

No. 10 Arkansas 49, Jacksonville State 24

Fueled by a 28-point second quarter, Arkansas easily dispatched of Jacksonville State in Week 1. Tyler Wilson completed 19-of-27 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Knile Davis led all rushers with 70 yards a score. Two Razorbacks wideouts surpassed the 100-yard plateau: Chris Gragg, who racked up 110 yards and two touchdowns, and Brandon Mitchell (pictured), who finished with 122 receiving yards.

No. 11 West Virginia 69, Marshall 34

West Virginia started strong and never let up in a convincing Week 1 victory. Heisman candidate Geno Smith (pictured) passed for 323 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Shawne Alston carried the ball 16 times for 123 yards and two scores. Dana Holgorsen's offense picked up right where it left off from last season's Orange Bowl outburst: It racked up 655 offensive yards in a 69-34 rout.

No. 12 Wisconsin 26, Northern Iowa 21

Montee Ball (pictured) was typically productive, but Wisconsin required a late defensive stop to preserve a Week 1 win over Northern Iowa. Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, but the Badgers almost watched a 26-7 lead slip away by surrendering 14 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin defensive lineman Ethan Hemer ended the Panthers' upset bid by batting away a Sawyer Kollmorgen pass on fourth down with 3:18 remaining.

No. 13 Michigan State 17, No. 24 Boise State 13

Le'Veon Bell (pictured) carried Michigan State to victory, amassing 265 all-purpose yards -- 210 rushing, 55 receiving -- in the Spartans' opening-week win. The Spartans outgained the Broncos 461 yards to 206, but allowed Boise State to stay in the game after three interceptions from quarterback Andrew Maxwell. Broncos quarterback Joe Southwick completed 15-of-31 passes for 169 yards in his first start as Kellen Moore's successor.

No. 14 Clemson 23, Auburn 16

Sammy who? Andre Ellington and DeAndre Hopkins made sure Clemson didn't miss its star receiver. With Sammy Watkins back home serving a two-game suspension for a drug arrest, the No. 14 Tigers still showed plenty of offense. Ellington rushed for 231 yards, while Hopkins set a school record with 13 receptions, including the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter for a win over Auburn.

No. 15 Texas 37, Wyoming 17

After winning the starting job in training camp, Texas quarterback David Ash said he'd be happy to hand off and get out of the way if it meant the Longhorns would win. Good plan. Malcolm Brown (No. 28) and Joe Bergeron both rushed for more than 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns to power Texas.

No. 17 Nebraska 49, Southern Miss 20

It may have been just one game, but Taylor Martinez (pictured) showed glimpses of his game-breaking explosiveness in Nebraksa's win over Southern Miss. Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and five touchdowns, and the Cornhuskers rolled by 29 points. The bad news for Nebraska? Running back Rex Burkhead missed the final three quarters after injuring his left knee.

No. 18 Ohio State 56, Miami (Ohio) 10

Urban Meyer's tenure at Ohio State got off to a terrific start, as the Buckeyes walloped Miami (Ohio) in Columbus. Sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller accounted for 370 all-purpose yards -- 207 passing, 163 rushing -- and three touchdowns, and Corey Brown (pictured) paced the wideouts with 87 receiving yards and a score. After falling behind 3-0, Ohio State rattled off 35 consecutive points in the victory.

No. 19 OSU 84, Savannah St. 0

Freshman Wes Lunt completed all 11 of his passes in a brief first outing as the new starting quarterback as Oklahoma State beat outmatched Savannah State. The lopsided result was hardly a surprise. Savannah State (0-1), one of the worst teams from a lower division, had won only four games in against Football Championship Subdivision competition in 10 years and was playing team from the FBS for the first time.

No. 21 Stanford 20, San Jose State 17

In the first game of the post-Andrew Luck era, Stanford survived -- but just barely. The Cardinal took a 17-3 lead into the half, but surrendered 14 straight points to San Jose State in the third quarter. Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes (pictured) completed 16-of-25 attempts for 125 yards and a touchdown, and running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for 116 yards and a score. Coach David Shaw and Co. escaped when Ed Reynolds made an interception with 1:21 remaining.

No. 22 K-State 51, Missouri St. 9

Collin Klein threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes, John Hubert ran 95 yards for a fourth-quarter score and Braden Wilson (right) also added a fourth-quarter TD for the Wildcats, who piled up 42 unanswered points. The late binge made for a score that was widely expected, even though Kansas State struggled to get there.

No. 23 Florida 27, Bowling Green 14

It was closer than expected, but Florida escaped with a victory over Bowling Green in Week 1. The Gators trailed 7-0 entering the second quarter, but outscored the Falcons 27-7 over the final 40 minutes to move to 1-0 on the season. Running back Mike Gillislee (pictured) took the lead, accumulating 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

No. 25 Louisville 32, Kentucky 14

Sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater led the Cardinals on a 99-yard scoring drive to open the game, then followed that up with drives of 85 and 93 yards as Louisville rolled to a 32-14 win over Kentucky to capture the Govenor's Cup. Bridgewater finished with 232 yards passing while Jeremy Wright rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns.

College Football Top 25 Review