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From Auburn nearly dropping the opener at home against Utah State to huge upsets in Texas and LSU proving their championship worthy with a win over Oregon, this is a glimpse of what week 1 of College Football looked like.
The 11th ranked Wisconsin Badgers opened their season with a 51-17 home win over UNLV, starring Russell Wilson on his debut for the Badgers after arriving from NC State. Wilson threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns while running for another one. The Badgers expect to get another chance at a BCS bowl this year after losing to TCU last year.
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Vick Ballard continued right from where he left off in the Gator Bowl last season, scoring three touchdowns. The Bulldogs’ tailback ran for 166 yards and 3 TD’s as 19th ranked Mississippi State ran all over Memphis at the Liberty Bowl, making it 12 straight for the Bulldogs over the Tigers.
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A huge night for both quarterbacks, for both offenses, but the Baylor Bears were left with the smiles on their faces, upsetting perennial BCS busters TCU with a huge 50-48 win in Waco. It was Baylor’s first win over a ranked team (14) since 1994! Robert Griffin III passed for 359 yards and 5 touchdowns.
 
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The Spartans, ranked 17th in the nation, had a slow start against Youngstown State but eventually did enough from the second quarter onward, winning 28-6. Receiver B.J. Cunningham caught nine passes for a touchdown and 130 yards. He became the school’s all time leading receiver with 148 career receptions.
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Another year, and Notre Dame are about to disappoint everyone again. Ranked 16th in the nation, the Irish were held by a tough South Florida defense, losing 23-20 at home. Skip Holtz became the third former Irish head coach to beat the school. This was the fourth time in 15 years Notre Dame lost its season opener – they finished with a losing record each time.
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Landry Jones passed for 375 yards and a TD, Dominique Whaley ran for 134 yards and scored one TD – The number one ranked Oklahoma Sooners, more in the news these past few days due to realignment rumors, extended their home winning streak to 37 with a 47-14 thrashing of Tulsa.
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The 2009 National Champions and ranked no.2 this year, Alabama ran all over Kent State with a 48-7 win. Trent Richardson drove home three touchdowns as the Tide got nearly 200 yards on the ground.
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The SEC comes out on top again. LSU and Oregon, both with national title aspirations (the Ducks lost in the title game to Auburn last year), met in Cowboys Stadium for a 3 vs 4 matchup. LSU, despite having a somewhat mediocre quarterback, dominated in the third quarter and overall holding LaMichael James to only 54 yards en route to a 40-27 win, making it 34 consecutive wins in non conference games, the longest streak in the nation.
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The Boise State quarterback passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns as the Broncos dealt with Georgia in Atlanta. Another clash between two ranked teams (Boise 5th, Georgia 19th) proved that the Bulldogs have a long way to go before becoming a contender for crowns and major bowls. The Broncos won 35-21.
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Not perfect, but good enough. Stanford (7) beat San Jose State 57-3 with Heisman favorite Andrew Luck throwing for two Touchdowns and running for another one.
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Nebraska won their first game as members of the Big Ten, beating Chattanooga 40-7. Like last year for the 10th ranked Cornhuskers, it was all about Taylor Martinez who ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 116 yards.
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The Gamecocks were in deep trouble, so Stephen Garcia came off the bench to lead South Carolina on a a huge comeback, scoring 56 points after being down 17-0. Marcus Lattimore ran for 112 yards and scored three touchdowns, but it was Garcia’s entrance that lead the way to a 56-37 win over East Carolina.
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Life is hard post-Cam Newton. The national champions, Auburn, ranked 23rd in the pre season polls, needed two very late touchdowns, including one by Michael Dyer with 30 seconds left on the clock, to beat the visiting Utah State 42-38. Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns.