Vols boot Gators

James Wilhoit kicked a 50-yard field goal with 6 seconds to go to lift No. 13 Tennessee to a 30-28 victory over 11th-ranked Florida on Saturday night in Knoxville, Tenn.

Wilhoit redeemed himself after missing an extra-point less than 5 minutes earlier that would have tied the game.

Tennessee was trailing 28-21 in the fourth quarter, when freshman Erik Ainge completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jayson Swain with 4:17 left. But Wilhoit, a sophomore who had never missed a PAT in his career, was wide right on the kick.

All Florida had to do was run out the clock, but the Gators (1-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had to punt with 55 seconds left.

It was enough time for the Vols (2-0, 1-0) to rally for their first win over Florida at home since 1998, the year they won the national championship. Tennessee had beaten the Gators the last two times in Gainesville, and won back-to-back games over Florida for the first time since 1970-71.

(3) Georgia 13, Marshall 3

The Bulldogs’ defense made up for another lackluster offensive showing, holding the Thundering Herd (0-3) to seven first downs in a victory in Athens, Ga.

Marshall, which held No. 9 Ohio State to 79 yards rushing in a 24-21 loss last week, shut down a Georgia running game that was without its top two backs. The Bulldogs (3-0) had 41 carries for 146 yards, most coming late in the game.

(4) Miami 48, Louisiana Tech 0

Frank Gore and Tyrone Moss combined for three touchdowns, leading the Hurricanes (2-0) to a victory over the Bulldogs (2-1) in Miami.

Gore ran 12 times for 61 yards and scored a touchdown early in the third quarter before sitting out much of the second half. Moss had 69 yards on seven carries and scored twice in the first quarter.

And Devin Hester, the Hurricanes’ most electrifying player, returned two punts for scores.

(7) W. Virg. 19, (21) Maryland 16 (OT)

Rasheed Marshall threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry in overtime to lift the Mountaineers (3-0) to a victory over the Terrapins (2-1) in Morgantown, W.Va.

West Virginia moved to 3-0 for the first time since 1996. Maryland suffered its first loss to the Mountaineers under coach Ralph Friedgen.

(8) Florida State 34, UAB 7

Leon Washington ran for 104 yards and a touchdown and the Seminoles (1-1) sacked Darrell Hackney eight times in a win over the Blazers (1-1) in Tallahassee, Fla.

B.J. Dean, James Coleman and Chris Rix scored on 1-yard runs and Xavier Beitia kicked two field goals for Florida State.

(9) Ohio State 22, N.C. State 14

Ohio State made up for a shoddy day offensively by forcing five turnovers, and Mike Nugent tied a school record with five field goals to give the Buckeyes (3-0) a victory over the Wolfpack (1-1) in Raleigh, N.C.

A week after Nugent booted a 55-yarder on the final play to beat Marshall, Ohio State needed more good fortune to get by the Wolfpack (1-1) for the second straight season. The Buckeyes managed only 137 yards of offense – 35 coming on their first drive – and converted only two of their 16 chances on third down.

(12) Virginia 51, Akron 0

Defensively dominant and offensively unstoppable, at least so far, the Cavaliers (3-0) started the season with three straight wins for the first time since 1998 with a victory over the Zips (0-3) in Charlottesville, Va.

Wali Lundy ran for three touchdowns for the third straight game and Marques Hagans threw two scoring passes to Heath Miller as Virginia led 34-0 by halftime, then held the Zips to 16 yards in the second half.

(15) Utah 48, Utah State 6

Alex Smith threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and the Utes (3-0) converted three turnovers by the Aggies (1-2) into touchdowns to rout their rival in Logan, Utah.

Utah scored on five of its six first-half possessions in building a 41-0 lead at the break.

(17) Michigan 24, San Diego State 21

Braylon Edwards caught eight passes for 130 yards and two TDs, including the game-winner in the third quarter, to lead the Wolverines (2-1) past the Aztecs (1-1) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Wolverines bounced back after last week’s loss at Notre Dame, but it wasn’t easy. The Aztecs (1-1), who entered the game three-touchdown underdogs, forced four turnovers and missed two fourth-quarter field goals that could have tied the game.

(19) Fresno St. 27, Portland St. 17

Wendell Mathis rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Bryson Sumlin added 127 yards as the Bulldogs (3-0) turned back the Division I-AA Vikings (1-1) in Fresno, Calif.

Marcus McCauley scored on a 15-yard interception return for the Bulldogs, who won at Washington and Kansas State in the previous two weeks to earn its first ranking since 2001.

(22) Minnesota 34, Colorado St. 16

Marion Barber III ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns and running mate Laurence Maroney added 132 yards, lifting the Golden Gophers (3-0) to a victory over the Rams (0-3) in Fort Collins, Colo.

Minnesota used its size advantage up front – an average of 27 pounds more per player – to clear huge holes for Barber and Maroney, who went over 100 yards in the same game for the sixth time and the second this season.

(23) Boise State 47, Texas-El Paso 31

Jared Zabransky threw for 392 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Broncos (3-0, 1-0 WAC) to a victory over the Miners (1-2, 0-1) in El Paso, Texas, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games.

Lawrence Bady had seven catches for 149 yards and Quinton Jones and James Drisan each caught touchdowns for Boise State.

The Broncos went ahead for good with 7:09 left in the third quarter after Zabransky fumbled into the Miners’ end zone and Andy Weldon fell on the ball for the touchdown. The 79-yard drive gave Boise State a 27-24 lead.

(25) Memphis 47, Arkansas State 35

Tim Goodwell forced a fumble and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:22 left and the Tigers (3-0) scored 21 points in the final three minutes for a comeback victory over the Indians (1-2) in Jonesboro, Ark.

Goodwell’s hit on Arkansas State quarterback Nick Noce that forced the fumble gave the Tigers their first lead of the game, 40-35.