Ohio State survives big scare

All the elements were in place for an epic upset of No. 6 Ohio State by Navy.

“If Ohio State comes in totally focused on us, we had no chance,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We felt like we had them in the perfect storm.”

The Buckeyes weathered that storm with the help of a college football rarity.

Brian Rolle intercepted a potential two-point conversion in the closing minutes and returned it for two points the other way, helping No. 6 Ohio State hold off pesky Navy 31-27 on Saturday.

A crowd of 105,092 – the largest to see the Buckeyes open a season – sat in stunned silence after the Midshipmen scored twice in just more than 4 minutes to cut a 29-14 deficit to two points with 2:23 left in the game.

Navy went for the tie, but Rolle stepped in front of Ricky Dobbs’ pass and rumbled up the sideline to preserve the win in the Midshipmen’s first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1931 – and keep the luster on next week’s showdown between the Buckeyes and No. 4 Southern Cal.

Terrelle Pryor was 14 of 21 for 174 yards, and ran for a touchdown and passed for another to help Ohio State build its lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Midshipmen came in as three-touchdown underdogs. The Buckeyes came in considered contenders to play for a national championship.

As it was, they barely got by Navy.

(1) Florida 62, Charleston Southern 3: At Gainesville, Fla., Tim Tebow accounted for two touchdowns, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps had scoring runs, and Brandon James ended the school’s longest special-teams drought in the Gators’ victory over the Buccaneers.

Tebow completed 10 of 15 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown, a 28-yard strike to Aaron Hernandez. Tebow also ran for a score, the 44th of his career.

(2) Texas 59, Louisiana Monroe 20: At Austin, Texas, Colt McCoy passed for 317 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown to Jordan Shipley, and freshman tailback D.J. Monroe returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball as the Longhorns romped past the Warhawks.

Cody Johnson scored Texas’ first three touchdowns on three 1-yard runs.

(5) Alabama 34, (7) Virginia Tech 24: At Atlanta, the Crimson Tide overcame a 98-yard kickoff return, two costly turnovers and several silly penalties, finally wearing down the Hokies in the final quarter to earn the victory.

Mark Ingram rushed for 150 yards and finished off Virginia Tech with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Greg McElroy threw for 230 yards in his debut as Alabama’s starting quarterback, taking quite a beating but standing tall at the end.

(9) Oklahoma State 24, (13) Georgia 10: At Stillwater, Okla., Zac Robinson threw two touchdown passes to star receiver Dez Bryant and also scored on a quarterback sneak as the Cowboys beat the Bulldogs to prove themselves deserving of their highest preseason ranking.

The Cowboys capitalized on a fourth-quarter fumble by new Georgia starting quarterback Joe Cox to seal the season-opening win on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to Bryant.

(9) Penn State 31, Akron 7: At State College, Pa., Daryll Clark threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions celebrated coach Joe Paterno’s return to the sideline with a win.

A tenacious defense overwhelmed the Zips’ spread attack, holding Akron to 186 yards of total offense. Akron didn’t record a first down until the third quarter.

(15) Georgia Tech 37, Jacksonville State 17: At Atlanta, Jonathan Dwyer ran for two touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets had 335 yards rushing in a win over the Gamecocks.

Dwyer, the 2008 ACC player of the year, scored on the first play from scrimmage, taking an option pitch for a 74-yard touchdown.

(21) North Carolina 40, The Citadel 6: At Chapel Hill, N.C., T.J. Yates threw two touchdown passes in the decisive first half, and the Tar Heels routed the Bulldogs.

Ryan Houston had touchdown runs of 5 and 3 yards, and Shaun Draughn rushed for 118 while helping North Carolina roll up 375 yards total offense.

(22) Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16: At Iowa City, Iowa, Jeremiha Hunter made up for a mental mistake by blocking Northern Iowa’s second field goal try in the closing seconds as the Hawkeyes held on to beat the Panthers.

Northern Iowa lined up for the potential winning field goal with 7 seconds left, but Broderick Binns blocked Billy Hallgren’s 40-yard attempt on a first down. Believing the game was over, Hunter and several Hawkeyes allowed UNI to recover the ball with a second left. Hunter got his hand on Hallgren’s second attempt to end the game.

(24) Nebraska 49, Florida Atlantic 3: At Lincoln, Neb., Roy Helu Jr. ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns and Zac Lee passed for 213 yards and two scores in his first start as the Cornhuskers defeated the Owls.

Nebraska won its 24th consecutive opener, the longest streak in the nation. Florida Atlantic fell to 1-16 against opponents from Bowl Championship Series automatic-qualifying conferences, including 0-7 vs. the Big 12.