A-Maize-Ing Michigan Clobbers Colorado 27-3

Top 25

The difference in the long-awaited rematch between Michigan and Colorado was confidence. Brian Griese had it. John Hessler didn’t.

Griese passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns and Michigan’s defense smothered Colorado as the No. 14 Wolverines defeated the No. 8 Buffaloes 27-3 on Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Griese, who wasn’t announced as the starter until Tuesday, completed 21 of 28 passes with one interception for Michigan (1-0).

“I was expecting a close game,” Griese said. “We were just able to play well and we took advantage of some turnovers. Our defense did a great job getting the ball for us, and we capitalized. Our defense played a tremendous game.”

Hessler, who struggled in Colorado’s opener a week earlier, had four passes intercepted by the swarming maize-and-blue clad Michigan defense, led by All-American Charles Woodson. Hessler was 15 of 40 for 141 yards.

“Right now, it’s a confidence problem, in my mind,” said coach Rick Neuheisel, who held several animated conversations with Hessler on the Colorado sideline. “He’s not performing … well, he’s just got to play better, that’s all.”

Michigan, blitzing on almost every play, held the Buffaloes (1-1) to 224 yards, while the Wolverines had 426.

The Buffaloes made far too many mistakes, and three led to scores.

“They came after me on every snap, and they were fast and in my face all day,” Hessler said.

Next for Michigan: vs. Baylor.

Next for Colorado: vs. Wyoming, Sept. 27.

(1) Penn State 52, Temple 10

At State College, Pa., Chafie Fields ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns on reverses as the Nittany Lions (2-0) defeated the Owls (1-2).

Penn State shifted gears from last week’s passing extravaganza against Pitt and ran for 327 yards, led by Curtis Enis with 81 yards.

Mike McQueary, who threw for a school-record 366 yards last Saturday, was 10 for 19 for 158 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters of play.

Next for Penn State: at Louisville.

(5) Florida St. 50, Maryland 7

At Tallahassee, Fla., playing only in the first half, Thad Busby passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns for the Seminoles.

Florida State (2-0, 1-0 ACC) totaled 559 yards and held Maryland, playing its first league game under new coach Ron Vanderlinden, to 105 yards and nine first downs.

Florida State, which played 33 freshmen in the game, is 40-1 in the ACC since coming into the league in 1992. The Seminoles have also never lost to the Terrapins (0-2, 0-1) in eight meetings.

Next for Florida State: at Clemson.

(6) Nebraska 38, Cent. Florida 24

At Lincoln, Neb., the Cornhuskers fell behind surprising Central Florida three times in the first half before getting two touchdown runs in the third quarter from freshman Correll Buckhalter to defeat the Golden Knights.

Central Florida (0-3) led 17-14 at the half to throw a scare into Nebraska (2-0), which last lost to an unranked opponent at home in 1978.

Next for Nebraska: at Washington.

(9) Ohio St. 44, Bowling Green 13

At Columbus, Ohio, Michael Wiley scored two touchdowns, including a 100-yard kickoff return, as the Buckeyes overcame a sloppy first half to defeat the Falcons (1-1).

Despite losing a fumble, Wiley did it all for Ohio State (2-0). He rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries, caught two passes for 23 yards and even completed the first pass attempt of his collegiate career for 31 yards.

Next for Ohio State: vs. Arizona.

(10) LSU 24, Mississippi St. 9

At Starkville, Miss., injured tailback Kevin Faulk’s replacements keyed three second-half touchdown drives as the Tigers (2-0, 1-0 SEC) defeated the Bulldogs (2-1, 1-1).

Rondell Mealey started in place of Faulk, but it was Cecil Collins who rushed for 172 yards on 22 carries as LSU coach Gerry DiNardo alternated the two in the backfield.

Next for LSU: vs. Auburn.

(16) Auburn 19, Mississippi 9

With the game on the line, Dameyune Craig threw two perfect passes to Tyrone Goodson to lead the Tigers (2-0, 1-0 SEC) past the stubborn Rebels (2-1, 0-1) at Auburn, Ala.

Craig and the Auburn offense struggled over the first three quarters. But the senior tandem of Craig and Goodson came through late, first on a 47-yard strike in which Goodson split two defenders and leaped for the catch, then on a well-thrown timing pattern into the corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

Next for Auburn: at LSU.

(18) Iowa 54, Tulsa 16

At Iowa City, Iowa, Tavian Banks, breaking off one long run after another, set an Iowa single-game rushing mark with 314 yards.

Banks, who ran for a career-best 203 yards last week in a win over Northern Iowa, had touchdown runs of 71, 14, 14 and 23 yards as the Hawkeyes (2-0) avenged last year’s loss to the Golden Hurricane (0-2).

Next for Iowa: at Iowa State.

(19) Clemson 19, N.C. State 17

At Raleigh, N.C., Nealon Greene rallied the Tigers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) to victory over the Wolfpack (2-1, 1-1) in the final 9 minutes.

Matt Padgett’s 20-yard field goal with 19 seconds left proved to be the winning points, but Greene was the star down the stretch, completing 7 of 10 passes in the final 8:54.

Next for Clemson: vs. Florida St.

(20) Kansas St. 23, Ohio 20

At Manhattan, Kan., Lamar Chapman scored on a school-record, 94-yard punt return and Michael Bishop completed a long desperation pass to set up another score as the Wildcats (2-0) held off the Bobcats (2-1).

Next for Kansas State: vs. Bowling Green, Sept. 27.

(21) Michigan St. 51, Memphis 21

At East Lansing, Mich., Todd Schultz threw three touchdown passes in a 28-point first quarter for the Spartans.

For the second consecutive game, the Spartans (2-0) led 42-0 at halftime.

A week after grabbing seven turnovers, Michigan State’s defense was stingy again, holding the Tigers (1-2) to 13 yards in the first half and keeping them from crossing midfield.

Next for Michigan St.: at Notre Dame.

(22) Virginia Tech 31, Syracuse 3

At Blacksburg, Va., Ken Oxendine ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns and the Hokies (2-0, 2-0 Big East) smothered Syracuse’s Donovan McNabb.

McNabb completed 13 of 22 passes for 198 yards, but had a pass intercepted at a key point in the game and was under constant pressure from a defense that held the Orangemen (0-1, 1-3) to 35 yards rushing.

Next for Virginia Tech: at Temple.