Sep 4, 2005 10 min read

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Penn State’s new-look offense looked good early. Real good. Then it struggled after the first quarter. Boos came down from the crowd at times. A few fans even called for a quarterback change.

Luckily, for Joe Paterno, his defense came up with enough big plays and Tony Hunt rushed for a touchdown and a career-high 140 yards, including a key fourth quarter-run, as Penn State defeated South Florida, 23-13 on Saturday.

“It’s going to take them a while to do certain things,” said Paterno, who won the first game of his 40th season as head coach. “Obviously, we weren’t consistent in the passing game, but that will come.”

Hunt scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge early in the second quarter to give the Nittany Lions (1-0) a 17-0 lead. He added a 70-yard run midway through the fourth quarter that set up a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Michael Robinson to help seal the win.

“I think big plays are a big thing because we kind of lacked that last year. I thought we put together some good drives,” Hunt said.

“We weren’t very consistent, but that’s going to come,” he added. “First game in, you don’t expect to be perfect.”

Johnny Peyton had two touchdown catches from Pat Julmiste for the Bulls (0-1), including a 4-yard score late in the fourth quarter. The Bulls were able to move the ball well at times against Penn State’s defense, which returned nine starters from a unit that allowed just 15 points a game last season.

Penn State dominated early on. With his team up 3-0, Alan Zemaitis returned a fumble 16 yards for a score after South Florida starting quarterback Courtney Denson was hit in the backfield by Tim Shaw.

Zemaitis scooped up the loose ball and ran untouched into the end zone, holding the ball over his head as he crossed the goal line to give Penn State a 10-0 lead. Teammates mobbed Zemaitis in the left corner of the end zone as fans clad in blue and white cheered on the warm, sunny afternoon.

Later, Chris Harrell intercepted a pass from Julmiste, who relieved Denson deep in South Florida territory after Julmiste was pressured by Tamba Hali. Hunt scored his touchdown three plays later.

“They got two big turnovers, kept us in check; we didn’t get a lot of long plays on them,” South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. “We had little spurts but we couldn’t gain any consistency against their defense.

Hoping to open up an offense that sputtered last season, Paterno toyed in practice with different formations, including multiple-receiver sets, to stretch defenses.

The new looks paid off early and excited the Beaver Stadium crowd.

Freshman Justin King, one of Paterno’s star recruits in the offseason, had a 61-yard run off a reverse after Penn State lined up in a two-back, two-wideout formation. King eluded several tacklers, then found a hole and darted down the left sideline before pulled down from behind.

Notre Dame 42, No. 23 Pitt 21

PITTSBURGH – Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis exactly for this. The innovative and imaginative offense. The confused looks on the faces of the opposing defense. And, yes, all those points on the scoreboard.

Brady Quinn ran Weis’ Patriots-perfect offense like a college version of Tom Brady, leading touchdown drives on five of underdog Notre Dame’s first six possessions in a rout of No. 23 Pitt that was over by halftime.

The anticipated matchup of two former NFL coaches turned college head coaches – Weis, the former New England offensive wizard, vs. Dave Wannstedt, a one-time defensive coordinator and the former coach of the Bears and Dolphins – was as big as mismatch as the final score.

Pitt’s defense, effectively the same as that which allowed nearly 420 yards per game even while going 8-4 last season, had no answer for Quinn’s Weis-designed five-receiver sets, screen passes to running backs, and throws to big tight ends isolated against small cornerbacks.

Except for one interception, Quinn couldn’t have run the Irish offense much better while going 18-of-27 for 233 yards and two touchdowns, one to running back Darius Walker for 51 yards on Notre Dame’s first score and another to Jeff Samardzija for 19 yards. Notre Dame outgained Pitt 502-323, helped by a 275-103 edge in rushing largely accumulated after building a big lead.

Walker, coming off a strong freshman season in which he rushed for 821 yards, carried 20 times for 100 yards and a 2-yard touchdown that started Notre Dame’s decisive 28-point second quarter that made it 35-13 at halftime.

Hired by alma mater Notre Dame before New England’s third Super Bowl victory in four seasons, Weis promised to bring a pro-style offense filled with creative gadgetry that isn’t always seen in college football. At least for one night, he certainly delivered.

The Panthers (0-1) certainly didn’t expect all this, not with 18 starters back from the first team to win at Notre Dame in 19 seasons and most of its famous alumni – Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Mike Ditka – gathered to celebrate Wannstedt’s return as head coach.

With a Top 25 ranking, a schedule filled with winnable games and polished playmaker Tyler Palko at quarterback, Pitt expected a big start to an excellent season. Instead, it was a huge letdown, with a sold-out Heinz Field half-empty before the end of the third quarter. Some of those 66,451 fans leaving early could be heard wondering if Pitt was so wise to jettison former head coach Walt Harris, an accomplished offensive coach, after five consecutive bowl seasons.

Wannstedt is the first Pitt coach to lose his debut since Mike Gottfried’s Panthers lost to Maryland 13-10 in 1986, and the most recent comparable loss by a debuting coach was Carl DePasqua’s 42-8 loss to UCLA in 1969.

For Notre Dame, the Weis era opened much like the Ara era. In 1964, new coach Ara Parseghian’s Irish went to Wisconsin to meet a quality opponent that had beaten them the year before in South Bend, and won 31-7. Pitt won at Notre Dame last year, starting the Irish on a season-ending three-game losing streak that led to former coach Tyrone Willingham’s firing.

For Weis, the game was strikingly familiar to his last visit to Heinz Field nine months ago, when after losing to the Steelers convincingly during the season, his Patriots offense manhandled Pittsburgh’s defense in a 41-27 win that wasn’t that close.

This one wasn’t either, even though Pitt opened early leads of 7-0 and 10-7 in probably the Panthers’ most awaited and ballyhooed season opener since new coach Foge Fazio’s 1982 team, led by Marino, edged North Carolina 7-6 in their opener.

Palko (17-of-30, 181 yards, one TD, one interception) didn’t play nearly as well as he did in becoming the first player to throw five touchdown passes against Notre Dame, partly because Notre Dame had the ball so often and scored most of the time it did.

TCU 17, No. 7 Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. – TCU came up with its biggest upset in 45 years, stifling Heisman hopeful Adrian Peterson and beating No. 7 Oklahoma.

Tye Gunn threw for 226 yards and a touchdown as the Horned Frogs (1-0) handed the stunned Sooners (0-1) their first home loss since 2001 and the only loss in September under Bob Stoops.

The decisive score came on a 2-yard run by Robert Merrill with 11:56 left after the Horned Frogs took advantage of a fumble by Oklahoma backup quarterback Rhett Bomar. Bomar, who lost a quarterback competition to Paul Thompson but did well enough in Stoops’ eyes to earn playing time, fumbled while retreating and trying to spin away from Jamison Newby. David Hawthorne picked up the ball at the TCU 17, and Merrill took an option pitch from Gunn and scored untouched four plays later.

No. 1 Southern California 63, Hawaii 17

HONOLULU (AP) – Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, and top-ranked Southern California started its quest for a third straight national championship with an easy victory over Hawaii.

Dwayne Jarrett caught three touchdown passes for USC, including a 28-yarder that helped Leinart break Carson Palmer’s USC record of 72 touchdown passes. Leinart now has 74.

Leinart, who sat out the fourth quarter, looked poised and sharp, going 18-for-24 with scoring passes of 22, 28 and 67 yards. The big lefty, who shocked the football world by passing up a chance to be the first pick in the NFL draft to return for his senior season, is now 26-1 as a starter.

No. 2 Texas 60, Louisiana-Lafayette 3

AUSTIN, Texas – Vince Young threw for three touchdowns, ran for another and No. 2 Texas scored at least 60 points for the third straight season opener.

Jamaal Charles set a Texas freshman debut record with 135 yards rushing and scored a touchdown for the Longhorns. Young was an efficient 13-of-15 for 173 yards in the first half as Texas built a 39-3 lead. He connected with Nate Jones on a 10-yard TD pass and hit tight end David Thomas for two more from 20 and 7 yards.

No. 3 Tennessee 17, UAB 10

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 3 Tennessee survived a late scare against UAB when a fourth-down from Darnell Hackney sailed over Lance Rhodes’ head, allowing the Volunteers to open the season with a seven-point win.

The Blazers (0-1) were at the Tennessee 12 with less than four minutes left. On fourth-down, Darrell Hackney’s pass sailed over Lance Rhodes’ head in the end zone and the Vols took over and ran out the clock.

No. 4 Michigan 33, N. Illinois 17

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Mike Hart ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and had a 34-yard TD reception to lead No. 4 Michigan past Northern Illinois.

The Wolverines (1-0) led just 14-10 early in the second quarter before scoring 19 straight points in the opener for both schools.

No. 6 Ohio St. 34, Miami (Ohio) 14

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ted Ginn Jr. caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and Donte Whitner returned an interception 26 yards for a score as No. 6 Ohio State beat Miami of Ohio.

Justin Zwick completed 17-of-23 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown with one interception, tailback Antonio Pittman gained 100 yards on 14 carries and Ginn had five catches for 75 yards and his score.

No. 10 Florida 32, Wyoming 14

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Chris Leak completed 26 of 34 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns, broke Steve Spurrier’s school record for consecutive completions and led No. 10 Florida to a victory over Wyoming in Urban Meyer’s debut with the Gators.

The offense sputtered at times, but made several big plays and scored touchdowns on three passes from Leak to Chad Jackson. The receiver finished with 10 catches for 138 yards and added a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

No. 11 Iowa 56, Ball State 0

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Drew Tate threw two first-half touchdowns and No. 11 Iowa scored on each of its possessions in the first half in rolling over a Ball State team depleted by the suspension of 13 players.

No. 13 Georgia 48, No. 18 Boise State 13

ATHENS, Ga. – D.J. Shockley threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score in the season opener, leading the 13th-ranked Bulldogs to a stunningly easy victory over No. 18 Boise State.

No. 19 California 41, Sacramento St. 3

BERKELEY, Calif. – Marshawn Lynch rushed for 147 yards and a score, and 19th-ranked California beat Sacramento State despite a tumultuous afternoon for three quarterbacks.

No. 22 Boston College 20, BYU 3

PROVO, Utah – Quinton Porter passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns in his first game in nearly two years and No. 22 Boston College spoiled the debut of new BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.

No. 25 Virginia 31, Western Michigan 19

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Marques Hagans threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score and mistake-prone Virginia did most of its scoring in the first 171/2 minutes.