Sub sparks ‘Noles

Wyatt Sexton threw for 162 yards and a touchdown after replacing an injured Chris Rix, and No. 8 Florida State forced five turnovers in a 41-22 victory over Clemson on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.

Rix sprained his right ankle late in the first quarter and was able to return, but spent the rest of the game on the sideline watching Sexton direct the offense.

Sexton, a redshirt sophomore, completed 17 of 26 passes with a 47-yard scoring pass to Chauncey Stovall – the Seminoles’ first TD pass of the season.

Justin Miller matched a school record with two kickoff return touchdowns for Clemson (1-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has lost three straight.

The Seminoles (2-1, 1-1) gave Florida State coach Bobby Bowden a 5-1 record in matchups against his son, Tigers coach Tommy Bowden.

Next for Florida State: North Carolina

(5) Texas 35, Rice 13

Cedric Benson rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown and Vince Young passed for three scores to his tight ends as the Longhorns (3-0) beat the Owls (2-1) in Austin, Texas.

Texas came in with the nation’s No. 1 rushing attack and pounded the Owls on the ground from the start, grinding out 339 yards.

Next for Texas: Baylor

(6) West Virginia 45, James Madison 10

Rasheed Marshall threw two touchdown passes to Chris Henry to lead the Mountaineers (4-0) to a victory over the Division I-AA Dukes (2-1) in Morgantown, W.Va.

West Virginia’s defense scored one touchdown and set up another as the Mountaineers remained unbeaten heading into a showdown next week at former Big East rival Virginia Tech.

Next for West Virginia: at Virginia Tech

(9) Auburn 33, The Citadel 3

Jason Campbell passed for 194 yards in the first half and the Tigers (4-0) beat the Division I-AA Bulldogs (0-2) in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn outgained The Citadel 593-169 in total yards, allowing just 71 yards passing and eight first downs.

Next for Auburn: at Tennessee

(11) Tennessee 42, Louisiana Tech 17

Erik Ainge threw three touchdown passes and Cedric Houston ran for 160 yards and two more scores, leading the Volunteers (3-0) to a win over the Bulldogs (2-2) in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Bulldogs (2-2) lost starting quarterback Donald Allen at the end of his first series with an arm injury. Matt Kubik, who started the season opener, replaced him and was intercepted twice.

Next for Tennessee: Auburn

(12) Virginia 31, Syracuse 10

Marques Hagans had 283 total yards with two touchdown runs and a TD pass to lead the Cavaliers (4-0) to a win over the Orangemen (2-2) in Charlottesville, Va.

Wali Lundy added a 27-yard run for his 10th touchdown of the season for the Cavaliers.

Next for Virginia: bye

(13) LSU 51, Mississippi State 0

Alley Broussard ran for a career-high three touchdowns in the first 17 minutes and the Tigers (3-1, 1-1 SEC) held the Bulldogs (1-3, 0-2) to seven first downs and 130 yards in a victory in Baton Rouge, La.

Playing in a rare morning game, the Tigers rolled up 594 yards and led 34-0 at half.

Next for LSU: at Georgia

(14) Utah 49, Air Force 35

Marty Johnson tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns and the Utes (4-0, 1-0 MWC) held off the Falcons (2-2, 1-1) in Salt Lake City, giving Utah its best start in 10 years.

Johnson, who had 20 carries for 68 yards, became the fourth Utah player to score four TDs.

Next for Utah: at New Mexico

(15) Purdue 38, Illinois 30

Kyle Orton passed for 366 yards and four touchdowns, and Taylor Stubblefield caught 11 passes for 115 yards to lead the Boilermakers (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) to a win over the Fighting Illini (2-2, 0-1) in Champaign, Ill.

Orton completed 35 of 50 passes and was not intercepted for the third straight game.

Next for Purdue: at Notre Dame

(16) Florida 20, Kentucky 3

With Hurricane Jeanne approaching, the Gators (2-1, 1-1 SEC) squeezed in their game against Kentucky in Gainesville, Fla., and beat the Wildcats (1-2, 0-1) behind Ciatrick Fason’s career-high 210 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Kickoff was moved up 6 1/2 hours to 11:30 a.m. local time because of the growing storm.

Next for Florida: Arkansas

(18) Michigan 30, Iowa 17

Braylon Edwards caught six passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and the Wolverines (3-1, 1-0) turned four turnovers into 27 points in a win over the Hawkeyes (2-2, 0-1) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Wolverines won their 23rd consecutive Big Ten opener.

Next for Michigan: at Indiana

(19) Minnesota 43, Northwestern 17

Laurence Maroney had a 50-yard touchdown run and finished with 145 yards rushing, and freshman Justin Valentine had three short TDs to lead the Golden Gophers (4-0 , 1-0 Big Ten) over the Wildcats (1-3, 0-1) in Minneapolis.

Marion Barber III, Minnesota’s leading rusher entering the game, had 22 carries for 86 yards and also threw a 21-yard TD pass to Jared Ellerson with 2:59 to play.

Maroney reached 100 yards rushing for the fifth straight game. Valentine had touchdown runs of 1 and 4 yards and also caught a 3-yard TD pass.

Next for Minnesota: Penn State

(20) Wisconsin 16, Penn State 3

Matt Bernstein bailed the Wisconsin Badgers out of trouble.

The 264-pound fullback bullied his way to a career-best 123 yards after replacing an ineffective and injured Booker Stanley to help the Badgers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) turn back the Nittany Lions (2-2, 0-1) in Madison, Wis.

Next for Wisconsin: Illinois

(23) Maryland 55, Duke 21

Joel Statham threw four touchdown passes to offset a host of mistakes and the Terrapins (3-1, 1-0 ACC) piled up 685 yards in total offense to beat the winless Blue Devils (0-4, 0-2) in Durham, N.C.

Next for Maryland: bye

(24) Louisville 34, North Carolina 0

Eric Shelton ran for three touchdowns and the Cardinals (3-0) earned their second shutout of the season with a win over the Tar Heels (2-2) in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Next for Louisville: East Carolina