Wofford 35, Presbyterian 28

CLINTON, S.C. - In the 2011 season opener for the Wofford football team, the Terriers needed a last minute touchdown catch to take a 35-28 win over Presbyterian at Bailey Memorial Stadium. Jeff Ashley had two touchdown catches, including the game winner, as the Terriers overcame penalties and turnovers for the win.

The Terriers start the season 1-0 and the Blue Hose are 0-1. Wofford was led by Eric Breitenstein with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Mitch Allen was 7-of-14 passing for 138 yards and he added 44 rushing yards and a touchdown. Alvin Scioneaux led the team with ten tackles, including two sacks. Penalties were a problem for the Terriers, with eleven for 121 yards in the game.

"I was pleased with the way the kids sucked it up and kept fighting," said head coach Mike Ayers. "We know that in a week we have to go down to Clemson. Today was hot and today was humid and I am sure Saturday in Clemson it will be hot and humid as well. We are a team that probably did not look like we have the potential to be a championship team. I think if we can iron out a few wrinkles here and there we will be all right."

The Blue Hose won the toss and received the opening kickoff. After gaining two first downs, Presbyterian was forced to punt. The Terriers picked up three first downs on their first series, but turned the ball over on downs. On the second series for the Blue Hose, they gained two first downs before once again punting. Wofford was then forced three-and-out.

With 1:11 left in the first quarter, the Blue Hose scored first with a 28-yard run by Seth Moreland to take a 7-0 lead. The Terriers opened their next drive with a 37-yard run by Alex Dunmire. Derek Boyce added a 16-yard first down run to end the first quarter. Eric Breitenstein ran the ball in from ten yards out for a touchdown which tied the game at seven with 12:56 in the second quarter.

Presbyterian was driving when Blake Wylie tipped a pass that was intercepted by Josh Holt at the 25-yard line. A reverse by Brenton Bersin gained 32 yards for the Terriers. On fourth-and-eight, Mitch Allen found Joseph Inman for 17 yards and the first down. Mitch Allen ran the ball in from the five yard line for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 5:07 left in the first half.

The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession by the Blue Hose. The Terriers used a 37-yard run by Donovan Johnson to move into Blue Hose territory, but were forced to punt with 1:44 left in the half. Presbyterian punted with under a minute remaining in the half. Wofford gained a first down by Eric Breitenstein to end the second quarter with a 14-7 lead.

To open the second half, the Terriers took a 21-7 lead when Lavadrick Farrar threw a halfback pass to a wide open Jeff Ashley for a 44-yard touchdown with 12:09 on the clock. The Blue Hose went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half and punted. Mitch Allen was intercepted by Justin Bethel to end the next drive by Wofford.  The Blue Hose attempted a 30-yard field goal that went wide right.

The Terriers then used a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Allen to Andrew Young on the far sideline to push the lead to 28-7 with 6:56 left in the third quarter. The Blue Hose were able to put together a drive, aided by a pass interference call, that was capped by a four-yard touchdown pass to Joey Gilkey with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

Wofford went three-and-out and punted, giving the Blue Hose the ball at midfield. Once again, key penalties against Wofford helped Presbyterian as they scored on a four-yard run by Demarcus Rouse with 10:15 in the fourth quarter to make it a 28-21 game. On the next drive, a pitch was fumbled by the Terriers, giving the Blue Hose the ball at the Wofford 47-yard line. A 28-yard pass completion to Arthur Williams put the ball inside the 15-yard line. On fourth-and-one, quarterback Ryan Singer ran for the first down to the four-yard line. Lance Byrd scored from four-yards out to tie the game at 28 with 5:32 in the fourth quarter.

With the ball back, the Terriers went three-and-out with two incompletions. The Blue Hose gained one first down before punting back to Wofford with 2:21 left in the game. Donovan Johnson had a 20-yard run, which was followed by a 25-yard carry by Eric Breitenstein. With 51 seconds left, Mitch Allen found Jeff Ashley for a 26-yard touchdown as he reached the ball out and hit the pylon. Stephon Shelton intercepted Ryan Singer with 26 seconds left in the game to take a 35-28 win.

Wofford had 534 total yards, with 352 on the ground. Presbyterian had 326 total yards, 209 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 30:03 to 29:57 margin. Wofford was 6-of-12 on third downs and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Presbyterian was 5-of-13 on third down and converted one fourth down. Each team had two turnovers.

Virginia Tech 66, Appalachian State 13

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech capitalized on a multitude of Appalachian State University mistakes to jump out to huge early lead and cruise to a 66-13 win over the Mountaineers in Saturday's season opener at Lane Stadium.

Appalachian (0-1) fumbled on the second play of the ballgame and Virginia Tech (1-0) needed only one snap to grab a 7-0 lead when David Wilson rumbled 20 yards for the first of his three touchdowns on the afternoon. Things didn't get much better for the Mountaineers from there, as they were limited to negative-four yards over their next two possessions and the Hokies stretched their advantage to 17-0 less than nine minutes in.

Things went from bad to worse for ASU in the second quarter, as they turned the ball over for the second time on their first snap of the period and Wilson once again needed only one play capitalize, this time rumbling in to the end zone from 19 yards out to make it 24-0. The Hokies would go on to find paydirt on each of their next four possessions, taking a 52-0 lead when Kyle Fuller recovered a blocked punt in the end zone just two-and-a-half minutes into the second half. 

The Mountaineers got on the board for the first time in 2011 later in the third period when backup quarterback Jamal Jackson found Brian Quick for an acrobatic 46-yard touchdown pass. Quick caught the throw from Jackson while streaking up the right hashmark then kept his balance as several tacklers tried to trip him up before falling into the end zone for the 21st score of his career. Quick was a bright spot for the Black and Gold with three receptions for 110 yards. The 100-yard receiving effort was the seventh of the senior all-American's career.

Jackson led Appalachian on a second touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, a seven-play, 80-yard jaunt that was highlighted by a 41-yard pass to Tony Washington and capped by a 15-yard scoring run by the sophomore signal-caller.

In addition to directing the Mountaineers' two scoring drives, Jackson rushed six times for a team-high 46 yards and threw for 87 yards and a score. He entered the game midway through the third quarter in relief of All-America starting quarterback DeAndre Presley, who managed to throw for 89 yards and rush for 43 more against the Hokies' staunch defense.

Appalachian's defense, which was forced to defend a short field due to offensive and special-teams mistakes throughout the afternoon, was led by safety Troy Sanders' 10 tackles. Linebacker Brandon Grier added eight stops, including one for loss, while nose tackle Dan Wylie chipped in with four tackles, including ASU's lone sack.

Junior Sam Martin had a career day, booming eight punts for an average of 45.0 yards. Two of his eight boots covered 50 or more yards while two more were downed inside the five yard line.

Wilson led the way for Virginia Tech (ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press college football top-25 poll), rushing for 162 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries. Making his first start, 6-6, 254-pound quarterback Logan Thomas completed 9-of-19 passes for 149 yards and two scores.

The margin of defeat was Appalachian's largest in 82 all-time season openers, the largest in any game since a 56-0 loss at NC State on Oct. 6, 1990 and the fifth largest-overall in program history. The Mountaineers surrendered 60 points for only the second time in 882 all-time games and allowed 50 for just the 15th time.


Georgia Southern 31, Samford 17

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Georgia Southern Football team (1-0) opened Southern Conference play and their season with a 31-17 win over Samford (0-1). The Eagles took a 4-3 series lead with the victory and snapped an 0-3 mark since the Bulldogs joined the SoCon.

GSU survived four fumbles but won the second half. The Eagles were tied 7-7 at halftime and despite similar number of total yards and time of possession scored 24 points in the second half. A 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown broke open a close 14-10 contest in the third quarter. Georgia Southern rattled off two more scores to pull ahead 31-10 before a last minute 42 yard touchdown catch by Kelvin Clay brought the game to the final score of 31-17.

The kickoff return for a touchdown was a career-best 99 yarder for Laron Scott. It was the first GSU kickoff return for a touchdown since the 2008 Elon game and the 11th in Eagle history.

Georgia Southern amassed 263 yards on 49 rushes to just 61 yards rushing for Samford. The Bulldogs outgained the Eagles in the passing game, throwing for 277 yards but committing two interceptions.

The Eagles scored just minutes into the second half and rebounded from an opening three and out with a 16 play 80 yard drive that ended with a two-yard run by Jerrick McKinnon. The first quarter ended with Georgia Southern on the march, but it was Samford that had two scoring tries in the period. The Bulldogs missed a 37-yard field goal and elected to pooch punt on another of similar distance.

A second quarter drive that started with 5:46 left gave the Eagles a chance to add on to their lead. A career-high 42 yard pass reception from Johnathan Bryant sparked the drive, but it was erased at the Samford 25 yard line on a fumble.

The Bulldogs tied the contest at 7-7 with a late second quarter drive which ended in a Fabian Truss six-yard touchdown rush. The 8 play 75 yard drive was hampered by two of the team's six first-half penalties but was kept alive by 53 yards of passing on three completions.

Georgia Southern surpassed their rushing total of 122 yards in last season's meeting with Samford on a six play 57 yard drive that ended in an 8 yard run through the right side of the Bulldog defense to retake the lead 14-7. Bryant amassed 53 of those 57 yards including the touchdown to propel himself over the 100-yard mark for the game.

GSU tacked on a 41 yard field goal and an 18 yard touchdown rush from Jerrick McKinnon in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 31-10. The two drives ate up nearly seven minutes of clock and left Samford with little time to mount a comeback attempt.


Vanderbilt 45, Elon 14

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Aaron Mellette caught 11 balls for 180 yards while Thomas Wilson threw for a career-high 233 yards and a score, but it was not enough as the Elon Phoenix dropped its 2011 opener by a 45-14 margin to Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt on Saturday night.

Elon (0-1) outgained the Commodores (1-0) in total yardage by a 323-309 margin and held a 35:30-24:30 edge in time of possession on the night and The Phoenix found itself down just 24-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

"I think this was valuable experience for this young team, to play in this SEC environment," said Elon head coach Jason Swepson.

After the two teams traded punts on their first possessions, Elon began its second drive of the game from its own 21. Wilson promptly hit Mellette for a 20-yard gain through the air.  On third-and-five, Wilson rushed for a seven-yard gain.  On second down, Wilson hit A.J. Harris for a 14-yard pick up and another first down.  Three plays later, Wilson was stripped of the ball and Vanderbilt recovered at its own 33.

Casey Hayward looked like he would be taken down for a loss of the first play of the drive for the Commodores, but he escaped and picked up 23 yards before being forced out at the Elon 44.  On third-and-one from the 35, Zac Stacy was dropped for a four-yard loss, setting up a fourth-and-five.  The Commodores were able to convert and keep the drive alive when Larry Smith hit an open Brandon Barden for 14 yards to the Elon 25.  Vanderbilt then faced another third-and-long before Smith hit Jordan Matthews for a 10-yard pick-up and another first down.  Smith then hit Fritz Lassing who found his way into the end zone for a 15-yard score as the Commodores took the 7-0 lead.  The drive went 67 yards on nine plays.

The Phoenix answered with a 13-play, 90-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard plunge from Dontay Taylor to even the score at seven with 11:00 left in the first half.  On third-and-five from its own 15, Wilson drilled a slanting Darrius McQueen for a gain of six to keep the drive going.  Elon moved the ball to the 40 after Wilson found Mellette for 21 yards on the last play of the first quarter.  On second down, the duo of Wilson and Mellette teamed up for 12 yards and another first down.  Once to the Vandy 30, Mellette caught another ball and picked up 27 yards to set up the first-and-goal. Three plays later, Taylor dove in to tie the contest.

Smith engineered a six-play, 76-yard drive in just 2:40 to put Vanderbilt back in front.  On second-and-one at their own 33, Smith completed a deep pass along the Vanderbilt sideline to Matthews for 44 yards to the Elon 23.  The Phoenix looked like it was going to make Vanderbilt settle for a field goal, but the Commodores went for it on a fourth-and-three from the Elon 16 before Smith faked a handoff up the middle and ran outside for the go-ahead score.

The lead quickly reached 21-7 when Wilson's first pass of the drive was picked off by Trey Wilson who returned it 21 yards for a touchdown.

Elon looked to cut into its deficit before halftime with a drive that started on its own 29.  After the Phoenix had moved out to its 41, Wilson lobbed a pass deep down the Elon sideline for Mellette, who hauled it in despite being grabbed, for a 27-yard completion.  On the next play, Mellette ran the ball for nine yards to set up a second-and-one at the Vanderbilt 23.  Harris grabbed the screen pass from Wilson and advanced to the Commodores' 14.  On third down, Mellette caught his eighth pass of the night, this one gaining nine yards to the five.  The Phoenix lined up to go for it on fourth-and-one, but a false start penalty sent the kicking team onto the field.  Adam Shreiner's 27-yard attempt from the right hash missed right and Elon went into the half down two touchdowns.

Wilson passed for a career-best 169 yards after completing 12 of his 17 pass attempts in the first half.  Mellette's 133 receiving yards gave him the seventh 100-yard receiving game of his career.

After forcing Vanderbilt to punt on its first possession of the second half, Elon took over at the Commodores' 49 thanks to a penalty.  The Phoenix quickly covered the 49 yards for a TD to pull within seven at 21-14.  On second-and-10, Wilson found freshman Andre Davis for 17 yards.  The next play saw the quarterback find Mellette yet again, this one going for 32 yards and a score.

Aided by its third fourth down conversion of the night, Vanderbilt marched 55 yards to go back on top by two scores.  On fourth-and-one, Micah Powell took a pitch around the right end for four yards.  Two plays later, Jerron Seymour went up the middle for 14 yards and a first down at the Elon 28.  Vanderbilt faced a third-and-four from the 22 when a pass interference penalty gave the Commodores a first down at the 17. Elon gave up just one more yard before Carey Spear came on to kick a 33-yard field goal to make it a 24-14 game with 7:53 to play in the third quarter.

Vanderbilt stretched its edge to 31-14 on its first drive of the fourth quarter.  After getting the ball at the Elon 37, the Commodores faced a third-and-13 from the 40 before a Phoenix penalty moved the ball to the 35.  Smith made Elon pay for the miscue by hitting Barden for an 11-yard gain and what was just the second third down conversion for the team on the night.  A 13-yard rush set up a first down at the 11 before Smith hit Chris Boyd in the end zone for the score.

The second Vanderbilt interception of the night set the Commodores up at the Elon 23.  Vanderbilt wasted no time turning it into a score as Wesley Tate took the reverse 23 yards for the score as the Phoenix deficit was stretched to 38-14 with 11:45 remaining in the game.

Vanderbilt tacked on another seven when Jordan Rodgers found Boyd for a 30-yard touchdown strike with 9:12 left.

On defense, Elon's Joshua Jones led the team with seven total tackles, including two stops for a loss.  He also tallied two quarterback hurries.  Jonathan Spain notched the lone sack of the game for the Phoenix.


The Citadel 31, Jacksonville 9

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel scored 31 unanswered points as the Bulldogs defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins, 31-9, before a season-opening crowd of 12,099 at Johnson Hagood Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Bulldogs produced the most rushing yards of any Citadel team since 1994 with 439 yards on 54 carries, led by sophomore quarterback Ben Dupress who rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The defensive effort was widespread as sophomore Derek Douglas recorded three solo tackles, including two sacks for a loss of 15 yards and one fumble recovery.

Jacksonville was first to put points on the board after both teams struggled in their opening drives. A sack by Rod Harland during the Dolphins' second possession gave them extra yardage they were unable to make up. A 55-yard punt by Jacksonville's Garrett Mohr backed Bulldog punt returner Greg Adams to the 4-yard line where the ball slipped through his fingers, creating a Bulldog turnover and setting up the Dolphin 2-yard touchdown run with 8:49 on the clock. The extra point attempt was bobbled on the snap and was no good.

The Dolphins added three more points at 49.9 on the clock with a Bladen Gudz 23-yard field goal to make the score 9-0 at the end of the first quarter, but that would be the last scoring drive for Jacksonville on the night.

With five minutes left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs found their rhythm, getting in scoring territory on three occasions and scoring two touchdowns before the end of the half. The first score came on the first play of the fourth Bulldog drive when Dupree broke loose for a 58-yard run with 4:29 on the clock. The Citadel defense kept the Dolphins in their own territory for the next drive and Dupree showed his speed and agility once again as he brushed past Jacksonville defenders for a 28-yard touchdown run with 1:12 left in the half.

The Citadel defense forced a Dolphin three-and-out and the Bulldogs found themselves in scoring range again with 18 seconds left in the half after fullback Darien Robinson ran for 42 yards on the first play of the next drive. With time running out, the Bulldogs brought out field goal kicker Ryan Sellsers who attempted a 31-yard field goal that sailed wide left. The Citadel went into halftime with the lead, 14-9.

The Bulldogs kept the momentum going into the second half, outscoring the Dolphins, 17-0. The Citadel ended the first drive with a 30-yard field goal by Sellers to extend the lead, 17-9. The Citadel followed up on the next drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Darien Robinson, marking his first career touchdown and giving the Bulldogs a 24-9 lead with 3:07 left in the third quarter. Junior slot back Dalton Trevino also recorded his first career touchdown with a 7-yard run and the final score of the game with 13:16 left on the clock. 

The Citadel totaled 472 yards of offense, including 33 yards passing. The Citadel defense held the Dolphins to 186 yards with -22 on the ground. The Bulldogs' special teams blocked three punts and punter Cass Couey averaged 44.8 yards a punt with two inside the 20 and a long for 50 yards.

Nebraska 40, Chattanooga 7

LINCOLN, Neb. --- The 21st-ranked Chattanooga Mocs football team put up a good fight in a 40-7 loss at No. 10 Nebraska.  The Mocs opened the season against an opponent from the Football Bowl Subdivision for the 10th time in school history, making their first trip to historic Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.

Senior linebacker Ryan Consiglio and sophomore defensive back D.J. Key led a Mocs defense that gave up 364 yards of total offense in the game, but won the turnover battle by recovering a pair of fumbles against one tipped interception.  Consiglio had a game-high 14 tackles with two for loss, a forced fumble and pass breakup, while Key made 11 stops with one for loss and a fumble recovery.

UTC was led offensively by senior QB B.J. Coleman, a 2011 Walter Payton Award Candidate.  Coleman was 19-33 for 174 yards, one touchdown and the one pick.  He hit eight different receivers with Joel Bradford, Chris Awuah and Faysal Shafat each capturing four apiece.

Taylor Martinez was the star for the Cornhuskers.  Martinez ran for 135 yards on 19 carries while completing 11 of 22 passes for 116 yards.  He had touchdown rushes of seven, 43 and 47 yards.

Big plays haunted the Mocs from the outset.  Nebraska converted nine third downs in 18 tries, six for 11 in the opening half.  Of the Cornhuskers 260 first half yards, 144 came on third down and another 43 on fourth.

The Huskers went on top five minutes into the game behind a Taylor Martinez seven-yard run.  That score was set up by a 52-yard run by Rex Burkhead on third and six.  Nebraska threatened again late in the opening frame, but the Mocs were able to hold their hosts to a 50-yard field goal. 

Another FG from Brett Maher in the second quarter was followed by a long scoring run from Martinez. On fourth-and-one, Martinez ran the option left keeping around the corner breaking away for a 43-yard TD scamper.  The Huskers tagged on one more field goal before the half to take a 23-0 lead into the locker room.

UTC came out of the locker room with an impressive seven play, 72-yard drive.  Coleman started the drive with a 25-yard pass to Awuah out of the backfield.  It was capped by a 13-yard TD pass from Coleman to sophomore WR Marlon Anthony.

That was as close as the Mocs would get on the scoreboard.  They did threaten in the fourth quarter, but freshman Nick Pollard's 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Nebraska's Josh Williams. 

Bradford, a preseason All-American, led Mocs receivers with 47 yards.  Awuah and Shafaat had 43 and 34 yards, respectively.  Freshman Marquis Green provided a spark with 37 rushing yards on seven carries, 31 coming in the second half.

Burkhead had 75 yards on 11 rushes for the Cornhuskers.  Nebraska totaled 229 of its 364 yards on the ground.  Brett Maher was a special teams star for the Huskers.  He made four field goals from 50, 48, 34 and 21 yards, while averaging 52 yards per punt with two downed inside the 20.  Maher also had three touchbacks on kickoffs.

Coastal Carolina 30, Furman 23

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Aramis Hillary's 3-yard touchdown run with 1:32 remaining in the game broke a tie and lifted Coastal Carolina to a 30-23 victory over Furman in the 2011 season opener for both teams Saturday evening at Brooks Stadium.

With the game tied 23-23, the Chanticleers took over possession at their own 29 following a Furman punt and covered 71 yards in nine plays for the game's decisive score. Hillary completed a pair of passes for 24 yards, and Travis Small ran three times for 25 yards in the game winning drive.

Furman's bid to tie the contest ended on downs at its own 32.

"Coastal Carolina did a good job of controlling the football tonight and driving it there at the end to win the game," said Furman head coach Bruce Fowler following his collegiate debut. "We did some things well, but we obviously have some things to work on to get better as a football team."

Hillary converted 10-of-13 passes for 124 yards and ran 16 times for 67 yards and two touchdowns to pace CCU, which posted a 426-358 advantage in total offense and fashioned a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, running 81 plays to Furman's 58.

Furman was paced by quarterback Chris Forcier and running back Jerodis Williams. Forcier, who missed the final nine games a year ago with an injury, completed 14-of-20 passes for 150 yards and ran eight times for 50 yards before exiting the contest late in the third quarter with cramps. Williams recorded the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career by running 16 times for 141 yards three scores.

Furman tied the game at 23-23 on its final snap of the third period when Williams rolled around right end on a toss sweep play and raced down the sideline on a 68-yard touchdown run.

From that point, however, Furman's offense struggled, managing only one first down and 20 total yards in the fourth quarter.

Coastal Carolina was forced to punt on its first two possession of the final period, and the Chanticleers failed to take advantage of the game's only turnover, a fumble by Furman's Tyler at the Paladin 27, by missing a 17-yard field goal with 5:21 remaining.

The Chanticleers opened the game's scoring with a 15-play, 79-yard drive that ended on Hillary's 4-yard scoring run.

Furman used a 50-yard kickoff return by Sederrik Cunningham to the CCU 39 to get on the board, which it did seven plays later on a Williams 5-yard run.

Coastal Carolina went up 16-6 with a 24-yard Grant Clayton field goal and 19-yard touchdown strike from backup quarterback Jamie Childers to Chris Presley.

The Paladins closed the first half with a 6-play, 32-yard drive that netted a Chas Short 37-yard field goal, the first of his career, to close to 16-9.

Furman tied the game in the third quarter with an 11-play, 76-yard drive that saw the Paladins overcome a pair of 10-yard holding penalties. Williams' 1-yard plunge at the 4:10 juncture knotted the game at 16-16.