ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- Lloyd Carr may have said some foolish things recently. But he was dead on following Michigan's 26-22 victory over Notre Dame when he observed, "It was as hard a hitting football game as I've ever been in."
It seemed every play, if a running back found some room, if a receiver got free, there was always someone on the other end waiting to deliver a big hit. The blow-for-blow pace contributed mightily to another classic Wolverines-Irish affair.
Good thing, too. Otherwise fans were largely treated to the 70-24 and 49-10 massacres we expected of opening weekend. Best finishes went to Virginia-UNC, Baylor-Boston College and Arizona-TCU.
| Week 2 Recaps |
| (2) Penn State 70, Akron 24 |
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69: Games since PSU last reached 70, Oct. 2, 1993 at Maryland (70-7).
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| Player of the Game |
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Rashard Casey, QB, Penn State. Ran for one touchdown and threw for another in Lions' rout.
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| Breakdown |
| JoePa's offense kept up the momentum from Arizona, with Casey and Kevin Thompson looking sharp, and the entire running-back stable getting a crack. |
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| (3) Tennessee 42, Wyoming 17 |
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13: Tennessee sacks of Cowboys QBs, a school record. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jamal Lewis, RB, Tennessee. What ACL tear? On 25 carries, junior nets 159 yards and three TDs. |
| Breakdown |
| Wyoming hung around, but the champs have to be happy with opportunistic defense, Tee Martin's strong arm and Lewis' successful return. |
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| (4) Florida 55, Western Michigan 26 |
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624: Florida's total offense, sadly, only 213 more than the defense allowed. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tim Lester, QB, Western Michigan. So what if he lost? MAC superstar gains credibility with 405-yard performance against SEC's Gators.
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| Breakdown |
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Steve Spurrier knew Western Michigan was no slouch. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine giving up 411 yards. Suddenly having 11 new defensive starters -- with Tennessee only two weeks away -- isn't so easy to downplay. |
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| (5) Nebraska 42, Iowa 7 |
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372: Yards by which Nebraska outgained Iowa (541-169). |
| Players of the Game |
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Bobby Newcombe and Eric Crouch, QBs, Nebraska. Husker fans got their wish - both contributed heavily, running for five TDs and completing 10 of 15 passes.
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| Breakdown |
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Adrenaline and a couple turnovers kept the Hawkeyes in it for a half before Nebraska poured it on, and Iowa's anemic offense was helpless from there. |
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| (6) Texas A&M 37, Louisiana Tech 17 |
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24: Number of points Texas A&M scored in the second quarter to blow the game open. |
| Player of the Game |
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Randy McCown, QB, Texas A&M. He threw for a career-high 252 yards as the normally run happy Aggies took to the air.
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| Breakdown |
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The Aggies knew they would have trouble with Louisiana Tech QB Tim Rattay but they kept him from killing them by showing off an air attack of their own. |
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| (7) Michigan 26, (16) Notre Dame 22 |
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30: Penalty yards gained by Michigan on its game-winning drive after an excessive celebration and personal foul by Notre Dame. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tommy Hendricks, SS, Michigan. Anchored a big-hit Wolverine secondary, including an interception and the tackle of Raki Nelson on ND's final reception. |
| Breakdown |
| Irish QB Jarious Jackson was much improved from last week and left the Wolverines' 'D' baffled on several occasions. But UM got significant pressure on him all game (including four sacks), giving the ball back to the offense, where Anthony Thomas was solid and Tom Brady hooked up with his receivers on several big plays. |
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| (8) Miami 57, Florida A&M 3 |
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18 Number of quarters FAMU has now gone without scoring a TD against Miami. |
| Player of the Game |
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James Jackson, RB, Miami. Miami's top running back racked up 103 yards on just 19 carries, including two touchdown runs. He only saw limited action in the blowout.
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Miami easily breezed past the Rattlers, as expected, moving to 2-0 ahead of a Sept. 18 meeting with No. 2 Penn State. The Hurricanes gave plenty of players some experience in this laugher. |
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| (9) Wisconsin 49, Murray State 14 |
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158.2: Average yards Ron Dayne will need over final 10 games to break rushing record. |
| Player of the Game |
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Nick Davis, WR/PR, Wisconsin. 76-yard second-quarter TD return paced big day.
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| Breakdown |
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Badgers didn't accomplish our proposed No. 1 goal of not getting hurt; Receiver Chris Chambers left early with a wrist injury - and what about Barry Alvarez on crutches?
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| (10) Georgia Tech 49, Navy 14 |
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342: Rushing yards, on 61 carries, by the normally pass-happy Yellow Jackets. |
| Player of the Game |
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Joe Burns, RB, Georgia Tech. Sophomore ran for 80 yards and career-high three TDs under heavy downpour. |
| Breakdown |
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Tech completely shut down Navy option QB Brian Broadwater, who averaged less than two yards a carry, while creating a running game of its own to weather the rain.
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| (11) Virginia Tech 47, James Madison 0 |
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6: Virginia Tech sacks, almost expected from Corey Moore and Co. |
| Player of the Game |
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Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech. Redshirt frosh lives up to hype with three TD runs but leaves early with bruised leg.
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| Breakdown |
| The kind of championship form folks in Blacksburg promised, but you can't gauge much against James Madison. |
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| (12) Georgia 38, Utah State 7 |
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57: Years since a Georgia receiver had as many yards in a game as Terrance Edwards. |
| Player of the Game |
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Edwards. Freshman (and brother of ex-Bulldog RB Robert) had 196 yards on 10 receptions.
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| Breakdown |
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If not for turnovers, the score would have been much worse. Heisman-contending QB Quincy Carter passed at will and also scrambled for several big runs.
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| Colorado State 41, (14) Colorado 14 |
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7: Colorado turnovers, in addition to nine sacks of its quarterbacks. |
| Player of the Game |
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Kevin McDougal, RB, Colorado State. Buffs couldn't stop him all day (189 yards, two TDs).
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| Breakdown |
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If Gary Barnett was to have one of those wake-up-in-a-cold-sweat nightmares leading up to this game, it still wouldn't have been as horrific as this. Buffs coughed it up, took too many sacks, failed to move the ball and, most likely, put their new coach in hot water already.
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| (17) UCLA 38, Boise State 7 |
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11: UCLA players who were ineligible for this laugher after illegally obtaining handicapped parking permits. |
| Player of the Game |
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Cory Paus, QB, UCLA. The freshman ignited UCLA's stagnant offense on the Bruins' fourth possession. He finished 8-of-16 for 120 yards and one TD.
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UCLA which ranked 99th in the country in defense last season allowed very little to Boise State. Of course, the Broncos figure to be the weakest team on the Bruins' schedule.
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| (18) Arkansas 26, SMU 0 |
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53: The length in yards of heralded freshman Cedric Cobbs' touchdown run in the second quarter. |
| Player of the Game |
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Anthony Lucas, WR, Arkansas. The SEC's leading returning receiver caught six passes for 194 yards, including three TDs. |
| Breakdown |
| As predicted here, QB Cliff Stoerner excelled when given protection. Arkansas outgained SMU 262-85 in the first half en route to a 19-0 lead. |
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| (20) Alabama 28, Vanderbilt 17 |
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2:55 Span during which Alabama's Shaun Alexander scored two fourth-quarter TDs. |
| Player of the Game |
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Alexander. Tide's only offensive threat registered 194 rushing and receiving yards, with three TDs.
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| Breakdown |
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Vandy controlled the momentum for nearly three quarters, going up 17-14 midway through the third after Dan Stricker's 20-yard reverse to the 1. But 'Bama and Alexander caught fire just in time to avoid more disaster for Mike DuBose.
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| (21) USC 62, Hawaii 7 |
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19: Hawaii's updated current losing streak, longest in I-A. |
| Player of the Game |
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Carson Palmer, QB, USC. Led Trojans assault on 14-of-16 passing for 167 yards and a TD. |
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Total domination, as Hawaii crossed midfield only once in the first half. Palmer, Chad Morton and Malaefou MacKenzie led a balanced offense.
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| (22) Purdue 47, Central Florida 13 |
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7: Purdue matched its longest winning streak in 20 years in the rout.
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| Player of the Game |
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Drew Brees, QB, Purdue. The Heisman hopeful threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns to help the Boilermakers breeze past Central Florida.
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| Breakdown |
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Life without Daunte Culpepper proved rough for Central Florida. It won't get any easier for the Knight, who visit No. 4 Florida next week, then travel to No. 10 Georgia Tech and No. 12 Georgia.
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| (23) Virginia 20, North Carolina 17 |
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329: Cavaliers tailback Thomas Jones' rushing yards in two games vs. Tar Heels. |
| Player of the Game |
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Dan Ellis, QB, Virginia. In his first start, Ellis hung in despite three INTs, completing a couple key third-down passes and engineering consecutive TD drives to start the second half. |
| Breakdown |
| UNC has to be concerned with the play of Sophomore QB Ron Curry, who was 10-of-28 with two INTs. In a tight game, Curry's inability to produce made the difference. |
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| (24) N.C. State 10, South Carolina 0 |
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6: South Carolina fumbles ... in the first half. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tropical Storm Dennis. Accomplished more than either team could muster under the torrential rain.
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| Breakdown |
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Wolfpack special teams came through again, with a punt-block producing the game's only touchdown. In the slosh, N.C. State QB Jamie Barnette could only muster 18 yards passing. |
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| (15) Arizona 35, TCU 31 |
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25-7: What Arizona trailed before mounting a massive comeback to avoid starting 0-2. |
| Player of the Game |
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Dennis Northcutt, WR, Arizona. Northcutt saved Arizona's bacon in the second half with three TD catches of over 30 yards in the midst of his career day. He finished with an astounding nine receptions for 227 yards.
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| Breakdown |
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Even though the win was exciting, for the second week in a row Arizona did not look like the team many thought could challenge for a national title. Perhaps it's the Pac-10 in general that is overrated. |
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| (25) Arizona State 31, Texas Tech 13 |
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33: The career-low number of yards that Texas Tech's Ricky Williams was limited to before leaving with a sprained left knee. |
| Player of the Game |
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J.R. Redmond, RB, Arizona State. He stole the show from Williams, running for 157 yards and two TDs. It was his first TD run, though, that was the masterpiece. Redmond broke out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage and outraced the entire defense 56 yards to the end zone.
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With their impressive showing, the Sun Devils clearly are the top team in Arizona for the time being. Redmond leaped into the Heisman Trophy watch with his impressive performance. |
