Crimson Tide upset Clemson

Nick Saban’s plan to bring No. 24 Alabama back to prominence looks way ahead of schedule. As for No. 9 Clemson, another big game ended with the Tigers on the losing end.

The Crimson Tide had little trouble rolling past Clemson 34-10 at the Georgia Dome on Saturday night in Atlanta, the biggest victory in Saban’s two seasons at Alabama.

Alabama’s defense held Clemson to zero rushing yards and John Parker Wilson threw for two touchdowns as Alabama beat a top-10 opponent for the first time since topping No. 5 Florida in 2005. That was part of the last hurrah for former coach Mike Shula, who followed that 10-2 season with a 6-7 campaign that ended his time with the Tide.

Wilson finished 22 of 30 for 180 yards and, with his career total completions at 500, surpassed Brodie Croyle’s record of 488.

The Crimson Tide defense held the Tigers’ heralded “Thunder and Lightning” backfield of James Davis and C.J. Spiller to 20 yards combined.

(1) Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 21: At Athens, Ga., Knowshon Moreno ran for three touchdowns and the Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 to start a season for the first time, beat the Eagles to give new mascot Uga VII a win in his debut.

Moreno needed only eight carries for 59 yards to tie his career best with three touchdowns.

(2) Ohio State 43, Youngstown St. 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Heisman Trophy prospect Chris “Beanie” Wells went down with a foot injury in the third quarter after running for 111 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown in the Buckeyes’ win over the Penguins.

X-rays showed no broken bones, the team said.

(4) Oklahoma 57, Chattanooga 2: At Norman, Okla., Sam Bradford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Chris Brown ran for three scores and the Sooners got the victory over the Mocs.

(6) Missouri 52, (20) Illinois 42: At St. Louis, Sean Weatherspoon bailed out a leaky defense with two late takeaways and Jeremy Maclin had a 99-yard kickoff return and 45-yard punt return as the Tigers beat the Illini.

(7) LSU 41, Appalachian State 13: At Baton Rouge, La., Charles Scott rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 16 carries, including touchdowns of 8 and 29 yards as the Tigers defeated the Mountaineers.

(8) West Virginia 48, Villanova 21: At Morgantown, W. Va., Pat White threw a career-high five touchdown passes, set personal marks for attempts and completions and the Mountaineers beat the Wildcats.

White went 25 for 33. He finished with 208 passing yards and broke Marc Bulger’s school career record for total offense. Bulger’s career record was 7,827 yards. White has 7,984.

(10) Auburn 34, Louisiana-Monroe 0: At Auburn, Ala., Ben Tate ran for 115 yards on 13 carries and the Tigers scored touchdowns on defense and special teams in a win over the Warhawks.

(11) Texas 52, Florida Atlantic 10: At Austin, Texas, Colt McCoy passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Longhorns coasted to a win over the Owls.

(13) Wisconsin 38, Akron 17: At Madison, Wis., P.J. Hill ran for 210 yards and two touchdowns, but the Badgers needed a pair of third-quarter scores to shake free from the pesky Zips.

(14) Kansas 40, Florida International 10: At Lawrence, Kan., Todd Reesing threw three touchdown passes to Dezmon Briscoe to lead the Jayhawks past the Golden Panthers.

(16) BYU 41, Northern Iowa 17: At Provo, Utah, Max Hall threw for 486 yards and two touchdowns and the Cougars overcame four turnovers in the second half, beating the Panthers.

East Carolina 27, (17) Virginia Tech 22: At Charlotte, N.C., T.J. Lee blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 left to help the Pirates stun the Hokies.

(19) South Florida 56, Tennessee-Martin 7: At Tampa, Fla., Matt Grothe threw for two first-half touchdowns and the Bulls scored on their first four possessions in a win over the Skyhawks.

(22) Penn State 66, Coastal Carolina 10: At State College, Pa., Joe Paterno tied Florida State’s Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list for major college coaches as the Nittany Lions beat the Chanticleers.

Both Hall of Fame coaches have 373 career wins apiece. The Seminoles don’t open their season until next weekend.

Bowling Green 27, (25) Pittsburgh 17: At Pittsburgh, Tyler Sheehan ran 11 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback draw early in the fourth quarter as the Falcons rallied to upset the Panthers.