Storm delays UI game; Vandals down 56-0
The University of Idaho was trailing Arizona 56-0 after three quarters of their season-opening football game in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday night.
The start of the contest was delayed for more than an hour because of a thunderstorm and the threat of lightning.
Fans at Arizona Stadium were asked to clear the stand because of the possibility of lightning, but most of those in Arizona’s student section stayed.
Both teams were only the field ready for kickoff when the decision was made to delay the start of the game until the weather improved. Kickoff finally came at 8:09 p.m., and the game was still in progress at press time.
(5) Florida 56, Hawaii 10: At Gainesville, Fla., the Gators scored on offense, defense and special teams and routed the Warriors in the season opener for both teams.
It looked much like the Warriors’ last game, a 41-10 drubbing against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The biggest difference was Florida didn’t face Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan.
Major Wright returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown and Brandon James returned a punt 74 yards for a score for Florida.
Chris Rainey got loose for a 33-yard TD run. Jeff Demps followed with a more impressive 62-yarder. Tebow hooked up with Louis Murphy for a 48-yard score, and Ahmad Black returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown.
Even without injured speedster Percy Harvin (heel) and linebacker Brandon Spikes (toe), Florida dominated every aspect of this one and handed Greg McMackin a lopsided loss in his debut as Hawaii’s head coach.
Boise State 49, Idaho State 7: At Boise, freshman Kellen Moore threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns, and Tyler Shoemaker caught two passes for two touchdowns as the Broncos defeated the Bengals.
Becoming the first freshman to start in the season opener for the Broncos, the left-handed Moore used his quick release and rifle arm to complete 14 of 19 passes and no interceptions. The touchdown passes went for 80 and 56 yards.
For Idaho State, Russell Hill completed 15 of 22 passes for 74 yards, and Ken Cornist rushed 19 times for 98 yards.
It was the third consecutive year Boise State, of the Western Athletic Conference, opened the season at home against a team from a lower division. For the third straight year, the Broncos routed their opponent.
San Jose State 13, UC Davis 10: At San Jose, Calif., transfer Kyle Reed threw two touchdowns in the second half, including one with 8 seconds left to play, to lift the Spartans to a victory over the Aggies.
Reed, who came over from California, was the third quarterback used by Spartans coach Dick Tomey. He finished with 132 yards on 14-of-18 passing.
Louisiana Tech 22, Mississippi State 14: At Ruston, La., Brad Oestriecher made a career-best three field goals and the Bulldogs took advantage of three Mississippi State turnovers in the third quarter in an upset win.
The win by Tech was the first over a BCS conference squad in five years (at Michigan State in 2003) and first against an SEC team since an upset of No. 18 Alabama at Tuscaloosa in 1999.
The last time a current member of the SEC played in Ruston was 1908 when visitor LSU beat Tech 22-0.
Mississippi State held a 14-9 lead at halftime but had three turnovers in the third quarter.