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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tigers use late push to win opener

Terrence Magee ran for two second-half touchdowns, Zach Mettenberger threw for 251 yards with a key late score and 12th-ranked LSU held on for a 37-27 victory over No. 20 TCU late Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.

Odell Beckham’s 75-yard kickoff return set up a 20-yard TD pass from Mettenberger to Jarvis Landry with 6 minutes left.

All in all the Tigers’ first game with new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron calling the plays provided a promising start to the season.

( 1) Alabama 35, Virginia Tech 10: At Atlanta, Christion Jones had two returns for touchdowns, Vinnie Sunseri brought back an interception for another TD, and the top-ranked Crimson Tide (1-0) overcame a sluggish offensive performance to beat the Hokies (0-1).

(2) Ohio State 40, Buffalo 20: At Columbus, Ohio, Braxton Miller threw two touchdown passes before fighting leg cramps and Jordan Hall ran for two more scores to lead the Buckeyes (1-0) to a victory the Bulls (0-1).

(7) Texas A&M 52, Rice 31: At College Station, Texas, after serving his first-half suspension, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel threw three TD passes and scrambled for 19 yards – ran his mouth a bit, too – as the Aggies beat the Owls.

Manziel was removed following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pointing at the scoreboard after a TD pass in the fourth quarter.

(10) Florida 24, Toledo 6: At Gainesville, Fla., Mack Brown ran 25 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns and Jeff Driskel completed 17 of 22 passes for 153 yards and a score to lead the Gators (1-0) over the Rockets (0-1).

(13) Oklahoma State 21, Mississippi State 3: At Houston, J.W. Walsh threw for 135 yards and ran for another 125 and a touchdown to lead the Cowboys (1-0) to a win over the Bulldogs (0-1). Walsh finished 18 of 27 after relieving starter Clint Chelf on Oklahoma State’s third series.

(14) Notre Dame 28, Temple 6: At South Bend, Ind., Tommy Rees threw a pair of 32-yard TD passes to DaVaris Daniels, a 66-yard scoring pass to Troy Niklas and the Irish (1-0) had three quick scoring drives to beat the Owls (0-1).

(15) Texas 56, New Mexico 7: At Austin, Texas, David Ash threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as the the Longhorns (1-0) shook off a slow start to roll over the Aggies (0-1).

(16) Oklahoma 34, Louisiana-Monroe 0: At Norman, Okla., Trevor Knight rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries and threw three touchdown passes in his first start and the Sooners (1-0) beat the Warhawks (0-1) for Sooners coach Bob Stoops’ 150th career win.

(17) Michigan 59, Central Michigan 9: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Devin Gardner ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in the first half as the Wolverines (1-0) went on to beat the Chippewas (0-1) in the highest-scoring opener for Michigan.

(18) Nebraska 37, Wyoming 34: At Lincoln, Neb., Ameer Abdullah and Imani Cross each ran for more than 100 yards, Taylor Martinez passed for three touchdowns and the Cornhuskers (1-0) survived two late turnovers to defeat the Cowboys (0-1) and win their nation-leading 28th straight opener.

(23) Wisconsin 45, UMass 0: At Madison, Wis., Melvin Gordon ran for 144 yards, James White added 143 and the Badgers (1-0) revamped defense shutout the Minutemen (0-1).