Pac-10 roundup: Kansas St. runs over UCLA

Culturally and geographically it’s a long, long way from the beaches of Southern California to the farms and hamlets of the Kansas Flint Hills.

With Daniel Thomas carrying the ball, the difference in football is very thin.

The quick, rugged senior rushed for 235 yards and scored two touchdowns and Kansas State beat UCLA 31-22 Saturday in Manhattan, Kan., before the biggest home-opening crowd in school history.

Altogether, the Wildcats rushed for 313 yards.

“I looked up at the scoreboard walking off the field, and I think that they had over 300 yards rushing,” said UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel. “That’s not UCLA football. That’s not how we play, and it can’t be how we play if we expect to have any kind of success.”

Thomas had runs of 44 and 29 yards to set up two scores. After the Wildcats pounced on UCLA’s onside kick, he broke through the line and galloped 35 yards into the end zone with 58 seconds left, clinching Kansas State’s 21st consecutive home opening win.

“Coach (Bill) Snyder said we needed to go out and make a statement. And we did that,” said Thomas, who transferred from junior college last year and led the Big 12 with 1,265 yards rushing.

Thomas scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter but the Wildcats trailed 10-7 at halftime and managed only 9 yards of total offense in the second quarter. But they erupted for 272 yards in the second half.

The crowd of 51,059 was treated to a thrilling finish that included three touchdowns in the final 123 seconds as Kansas State avenged a 23-9 loss last year at UCLA.

(11) Oregon 72, New Mexico 0: Kenjon Barner replaced suspended running back LaMichael James for the Ducks and ran for a career-high 147 yards and four touchdowns before catching another score as Oregon crushed the Lobos in Eugene, Ore.

Quarterback Darron Thomas, making his debut at starter for Oregon, completed 13 of 23 passes for 220 yards and two TDs. The Ducks had a record 720 yards in total offense.

Stanford 45, Sacramento State 17: Andrew Luck threw a career-high four touchdown passes in helping the Cardinal win their first game without Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart, beating the Hornets in Stanford, Calif., in the season opener for both teams.

Luck completed 17 of 23 passes for 316 yards, including an 81-yard scoring toss to Doug Baldwin and a 59-yard touchdown to Stepfan Taylor. Luck also threw TD passes of 15 yards to Baldwin and 5 yards to Zach Ertz.

Kyle Monson returned a punt 70 yards for a score and Curtis Shaw rushed for a touchdown for the Hornets. Chris Diniz matched his career-best with a 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

California 52, UC Davis 3: Kevin Riley threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns in just more than a half of work, Jeff Tedford became California’s winningest coach in the modern era and the Golden Bears beat the Aggies in Berkeley, Calif.

Shane Vereen ran for two scores and caught a touchdown pass, all in the first half. Freshman Keenan Allen ran 18 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, then caught a 48-yard TD pass from Riley to start Cal’s second-half scoring.

Marvin Jones made a 13-yard TD reception for Cal.

Arizona State 54, Portland State 9: Cameron Marshall scored on three of his four first-half carries, and the Sun Devils used their quick-hitting offense to overwhelm the Vikings in a season opener for both teams in Tempe, Ariz.

Needing a good start after two lackluster seasons, Arizona State turned the first of consecutive games against Big Sky Conference schools into an early rout.

Marshall made the most of his limited opportunities, scoring on runs of 50, 38 and 5 yards to help the Sun Devils build a 30-6 halftime lead.

Zach Brown made three field goals for PSU, including a 53-yarder.