Northwestern gets emotional victory
Erryn Cobb blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown Thursday night, helping Northwestern finally get beyond two months of mourning for the loss of coach Randy Walker to a heart attack, with a 21-3 victory over Miami (Ohio) at Oxford, Ohio.
Boston College 31, Central Michigan 24: At Mount Pleasant, Mich., Matt Ryan threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns and Brian Toal ended the Chippewas’ final scoring threat with a late interception as the Eagles held on for a victory.
Minnesota 44, Kent State 0: At Kent, Ohio, converted linebacker Alex Daniels rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Golden Gophers over the Golden Flashes.
South Carolina 15, Mississippi State 0: At Starkville, Miss., wide receiver Syvelle Newton threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Cory Boyd after a lateral from quarterback Blake Mitchell early in the fourth quarter to seal the Gamecocks’ win over the Bulldogs.
Ball State 38, Eastern Michigan 20: At Muncie, Ind., backup quarterback Nate Davis threw a 46-yard touchdown pass on a flea-flicker play and then had two more TD passes in the second half to lead the Cardinals to the win over the Hurons.
Buffalo 9, Temple 3: At Amherst, N.Y., James Starks of the Bulls sealed the victory over the Owls, scoring on an 18-yard scamper on the first overtime possession.
Starks finished with 86 yards rushing, his score coming on a sweep to the right, when he scampered untouched into the end zone.
Iowa State 45, Toledo 43 (OT): At Ames, Iowa, Todd Blythe caught a pair of touchdown passes in overtime and the Cyclones held on in triple overtime when Rockets’ receiver Chris Hopkins couldn’t hold on to a potential game-tying a 2-point conversion pass.
Quarterback Bret Meyer added three TD runs for the Cyclones, who picked up their first OT win in six tries.
Boise State 45, Sacramento State 0: At Boise, Jared Zabransky threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Broncos defeated the Hornets in the opening game of the season for both teams.
(24) Arizona State 35, Northern Arizona 14: At Tempe, Ariz., Rudy Carpenter threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, but the Sun Devils needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Division I-AA Lumberjacks. Keegan Herring had 15-yard touchdown run, and Dmitri Nance scored from 6 yards out for the Sun Devils in the final quarter.