Hokies survive

With pressure coming and Virginia Tech desperate, Tyrod Taylor’s eyes worked quickly from the left side of the field to the right, just fast enough.

The Hokies’ quarterback found Danny Coale running all alone down the left sideline and hit him for an 80-yard completion, setting up Taylor’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts three plays later and rescuing the 13th-ranked Hokies against No. 19 Nebraska for a 16-15 win Saturday at Blacksburg, Va.

“Once I saw that he was open, I just had to let it go,” said Taylor, who was hit just after he released the ball.

Coale hauled it in cleanly, but was forced out of bounds at the 3 with 1:11 left.

“That’s kind of what you play for, moments like that,” he said.

But Taylor wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot.

After being sacked on the first play from the 3 for an 8-yard loss and then rushed into throwing the ball away, Taylor scrambled around for what the school said was 9 seconds before rifling the ball to Roberts on the right side of the end zone with 21 seconds left.

“I redeemed myself,” said Roberts, who had dropped a third-down pass earlier.

The Hokies (2-1) struggled all day against the Nebraska defense, managing just 195 yards in the first three quarters and only one real scoring drive.

The Cornhuskers (2-1) fell to 1-21 in their last 22 games against teams in the top 20, and Virginia Tech extended to 32 its string of non-conference home wins.

(1) Florida 23, Tennessee 13: At Gainesville, Fla., Tim Tebow ran for 76 yards and a touchdown, Caleb Sturgis kicked three field goals and the Gators (3-0, 1-0) opened Southeastern Conference play with a victory over the Volunteers (2-1, 0-1).

Florida started counting down the days for this one more than nine months ago, right after Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin vowed to sing “Rocky Top” all night long after beating the Gators.

(2) Texas 34, Texas Tech 24: At Austin, Texas, Colt McCoy threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Dan Buckner in the fourth quarter and the Longhorns (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) got a measure of revenge against the Red Raiders (2-1, 0-1), who defeated them last year.

McCoy’s 3-yard TD to Buckner with 9 minutes left put Texas ahead 31-17 and shook off an otherwise shaky outing for last season’s runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

(4) Alabama 53, North Texas 7: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Greg McElroy passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another before sitting out most of the second half as the Crimson Tide (3-0) routed the Mean Green (1-2).

Mark Ingram ran for 91 yards and a TD on eight carries, and scored on a 29-yard reception for Alabama in its final pre-SEC tuneup before Arkansas visits.

(5) Penn State 31, Temple 6: At State College, Pa., Evan Royster ran for 134 yards and the Nittany Lions (3-0) revived their rushing attack in a win over the Owls (0-3).

Royster had 119 yards by halftime, including the 7-yard scoring run that gave the Nittany Lions a 14-3 lead late in the second quarter.

(5) Mississippi 52, Southeastern Louisiana 6: At Oxford, Miss., Jevan Snead threw for three touchdowns, Brandon Bolden rushed for 105 yards and the Rebels (2-0) got a big game from a freshman linebacker D.T. Shackleford in a win over the Lions (2-1).

Mississippi won its eighth straight game – its longest winning streak since it won 10 in 1971-72.

(9) LSU 31, Louisiana Lafayette 3: At Baton Rouge, La., Chad Jones had two interceptions, leading a dominant defensive performance by the Tigers (3-0) in their victory over the Rajin’ Cajuns (2-1).

Jordan Jefferson had two touchdown tosses to Brandon LaFell for LSU.

(11) Ohio State 38, Toledo 0: At Cleveland, Terrelle Pryor hooked up with Dane Sanzenbacher on two early touchdown passes and the Buckeyes (2-1) defused the high-scoring spread attack the Rockets (1-2).

Pryor passed for three scores, completing 17 of 28 passes for a career-high 262 yards.

(12) Oklahoma 45, Tulsa 0: At Norman, Okla., Landry Jones is mastering his role as a stand-in for Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford.

In just his second career start, Jones threw for 336 yards and set a school record with six touchdown passes, as the Sooners (2-1) defeated the Golden Hurricane (2-1).

(15) TCU 56, Texas State 21: At Fort Worth, Texas, Joseph Turner ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns, Jerry Hughes had three sacks and the Horned Frogs (2-0) won their eighth consecutive home opener, beating the Bobcats (1-1).

(16) Oklahoma State 41, Rice 24: At Stillwater, Okla., Zac Robinson rushed for one touchdown and threw for two others – both to Dez Bryant – as the Cowboys (2-1) rebounded from their first loss to beat the Owls (0-3).

(22) Kansas 44, Duke 16: At Lawrence, Kan., Todd Reesing threw three touchdown passes and Maxwell Onyegbule returned an interception 48 yards for another score, giving the Jayhawks (3-0) the victory over the Blue Devils (1-2).

(23) Georgia 52, Arkansas 41: At Fayetteville, Ark., Joe Cox threw for 375 yards and a school-record five touchdowns, and the Bulldogs (2-1) pulled away for a wild win over the Razorbacks (1-1).

Ryan Mallett set two school records for Arkansas, throwing for 408 yards and five touchdowns.

(24) North Carolina 31, East Carolina 17: At Chapel Hill, N.C., T.J. Yates threw for two touchdowns and freshman receiver Erik Highsmith had six catches for 113 yards and a score to lead the Tar Heels (3-0) past the Pirates (1-2).

(25) Michigan 45, E. Michigan 17: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Carlos Brown had a 90-yard TD run and a career-high 187 yards rushing as the Wolverines (3-0) beat the Eagles (0-3).

Freshman Tate Forcier had a lackluster day after two spectacular games for Michigan. He was 7 of 13 for 68 yards.