COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Players on the N.C. State football team prayed for quarterback Russell Martin, who was carted off the field on a stretcher.
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Demon Deacons live up to No. 23 ranking
Associated Press
WACO, Texas » Riley Skinner tossed three touchdown passes, two to Chip Brinkman, and No. 23 Wake Forest played up to its first preseason ranking in school history with a 41-13 win over Baylor last night.
Skinner, whose 72 percent completion percentage led the nation last season, was coolly efficient against the Bears, going 27-for-36 for 220 yards, adding a 43-yard TD strike to Ben Wooster in the third quarter. He also earned his 19th career victory, a school record for a quarterback.
Baylor, trying to shake off 12 years of losing, hired coach Art Briles away from Houston to replace Guy Morriss. But Briles became just another victim of dubious Bears history, becoming the sixth of the last seven Baylor coaches to lose his first game.
Briles had built a struggling Houston program into a Conference USA champion. His Baylor debut seemed to generate more of a wait-and-see attitude than much of a buzz. Only about 30,000 came to 50,000-seat Floyd Casey Stadium to watch it and many started leaving when Wake Forest took a 34-6 lead late in the third quarter.
The solid win should solidify the early season expectations for Wake Forest, which has clawed into the top ranks of the Atlantic Coast Conference under coach Jim Grobe. The Demon Deacons forced five turnovers, turning three into touchdowns. Cornerback Alphonso Smith got his 15th career interception.
Skinner completed 12 of his first 13 passes to stake Wake Forest to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Demon Deacons seemed to chew up just enough yards on every play to keep drives going. If they needed 7 yards on third down, they got 8. If they needed 1 yard on fourth down, they got 2.
Briles, trying to find any kind of edge he could, had kept his starting quarterback a secret after a three-way battle in training camp. Miami transfer Kirby Freeman won the start but was ineffective. Smith's interception set up Wake Forest's second touchdown and Freeman was pulled for freshman Robert Griffin.
Griffin, a better runner than passer at this point, put some life into the Bears by dancing and ducking along the sideline to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Jacoby Jones.
The lift wouldn't last.
Ben Parks missed the extra point and Wake Forest, aided by a big penalty on a late hit on Skinner, drove to a 42-yard field goal by Sam Swank that made it 20-6 at halftime.
Baylor's last chance to keep it close came at the start of the third quarter when Wake Forest fumbled on the first play. But a muffed handoff between Griffin and Jay Finley killed the Baylor drive after only one first down.
WAC and UH opponents
Cincinnati 40,
Eastern Kentucky 7
Dustin Grutza made the Bearcats' quarterback transition go smoothly, throwing for three touchdowns and running for another in a victory over the Colonels that eased Cincinnati's biggest concern - at least for now.
They didn't miss Ben Mauk on this night.
A few hours after Mauk appealed to an NCAA committee for another season of eligibility, his backup had a career night. Grutza set a career high with his three touchdown passes in the first half, helping Cincinnati (1-0) get off to a fast start.
Stanford 36,
Oregon State 28
Toby Gerhart ran for a career-high 147 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in his first game back from a knee injury and the Cardinal took advantage of two bizarre fumbles in the south end zone to beat the Beavers.
The first fumble gave the Cardinal the lead for good on a safety late in the third quarter. The second came with just 47 seconds remaining, when Darrell Catchings tried to stretch the ball over the goal line before Taylor Skaufel knocked it loose and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback.
Weber State 62,
Montana Western 6
Trevyn Smith ran for four touchdowns as the Wildcats opened the season with 535 yards of offense in a 62-6 win over the Bulldogs.
Defensive lineman Kevin Linehan returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first quarter for the Wildcats, who held the Bulldogs to one touchdown.
Big East
Connecticut 35,
Hofstra 3
Donald Brown ran for 146 yards and four first-half touchdowns as the Huskies won their season opener over the Pride.
It was the Huskies' seventh win without a loss against Championship Subdivision teams since UConn started playing major college football in 2002.
ACC
Georgia Tech 41,
Jacksonville State 14
Paul Johnson's option offense was a hit for the Yellow Jackets, and Ryan Perrilloux couldn't keep pace for the Gamecocks.
Jonathan Dwyer and quarterback Josh Nesbitt each ran for two touchdowns, Morgan Burnett intercepted two first-half passes by Perrilloux and Georgia Tech beat Jacksonville State.
Miami 52,
Charleston Southern 7
Graig Cooper had a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown and rushed for another score, quarterback Jacory Harris accounted for two touchdowns and the Hurricanes moved into their new home with a win over the Bucs.
Javarris James rushed 12 times for 73 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes (1-0), who took full control with a 21-point first quarter.
South Carolina 34,
N.C. State 0
The Gamecocks overcame four interceptions by first-time starter Tommy Beecher to give Steve Spurrier his 16th-straight opening game victory in a win over the Wolfpack.
Mike Davis and Taylor Rank had rushing touchdowns, and Dion LeCorn and Jared Cook caught TD passes from backup Chris Smelley to lift the Gamecocks.
Big 12
Iowa State 44,
South Dakota State 17
Austen Arnaud threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in his first career start, and the Cyclones returned five interceptions for a school-record 202 yards in a rout of the Jackrabbits.
Freshmen Sedrick Johnson and Darius Darks each caught touchdown passes for Iowa State.
SEC
Vanderbilt 34,
Miami (Ohio) 13
Quarterback Chris Nickson rushed for a career-high 166 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another TD to lead the Commodores to a victory over the RedHawks.
An interception and a punt return by D.J. Moore lead to 10 Vanderbilt points during a six-minute span of the first quarter.