Ohio State's Wells injured; Paterno wins No. 373
An eerie silence descended on Ohio Stadium when Ohio State's Heisman Trophy prospect Chris "Beanie" Wells went down with a foot injury in the third quarter.
The star tailback was hurt in the third quarter after taking a handoff from Todd Boeckman on first and goal at the Youngstown State 2. His feet slipped underneath him as he planted to make a cut, with the ball rolling free as he hit the turf.
Wells was helped off the field, and later returned to the bench in the fourth quarter wearing a boot on his right foot. X-rays showed no broken bones, the team said.
"I may have rolled it or planted wrong a play or two before," Wells said through Ohio State spokeswoman Shelly Poe. "Something just didn't feel right. Then I think I felt a pop. But the X-rays are OK, so we'll see how it feels in a day or two."
If Wells is out, it would be a a huge blow for the Buckeyes, who host Ohio next week and play at No. 3 Southern California the following week. Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel declined to speculate if Wells would be available for either of those games.
Before the injury, Wells ran for 111 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run. Boeckman tossed 2 touchdown passes, and freshman quarterback phenom Terrelle Pryor looked solid in his college debut.
Penn St. 66, Coastal Carolina 10: Joe Paterno tied Florida State's Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list for major college coaches. Both Hall of Fame coaches have 373 career wins apiece. The Seminoles don't open their season until next weekend.
"I haven't even thought about it, and I'm not going to," Paterno said of the milestone. "I can only say it so many times, it's not a big deal to me."
Evan Royster ran for 3 touchdowns and 64 yards for host No. 22 Penn State against the Championship Subdivision Chanticleers, while Derrick Williams had an 89-yard kickoff return for a score to help the Nittany Lions won their seventh straight season opener.
Wisconsin 38, Akron 17: P.J. Hill ran for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns, but host No. 13 Wisconsin needed a pair of third-quarter scores to shake free from pesky Akron. It was the second career game of more than 200 yards rushing for Hill, who gained more than 1,200 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Badgers despite nagging injuries.
Indiana 31, W. Kentucky 13: Junior quarterback Kellen Lewis ran for touchdowns of 75 and 62 yards and threw for 2 more scores to break the school's career record for TD passes, leading host Indiana over Western Kentucky.
Iowa 46, Maine 3: Shonn Greene ran for 109 yards and a touchdown, and freshman Jewel Hampton added 2 late TDs as host Iowa defeated Maine. Greene, who missed last season due to academic issues at a junior college, scored on a 1-yard plunge on the Hawkeyes' first possession, capping a 69-yard drive, and Iowa was on its way to an easy win.
Utah 25, Michigan 23: Michigan's new era opened with an ugly-looking loss. Rich Rodriguez's debut as Wolverines coach was spoiled when Utah's Brian Johnson threw for 305 yards and a touchdown and Louie Sakoda kicked 4 field goals, providing enough scoring to hold on for a win over the host Wolverines. Utah outscored Michigan 22-10 in the first half and took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter but had a punt blocked and fumbled to give Michigan a shot to come back.
California 38, Michigan St. 31: Kevin Riley passed for 202 yards and 2 second-half touchdowns, and Shane Vereen broke an 81-yard scoring run with 4:21 left in host California's victory over Michigan State. Jahvid Best rushed for 111 yards and a score, while tight end Cameron Morrah and fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou caught Riley's TD passes.
Brian Hoyer passed for 321 yards, and Javon Ringer rushed for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Spartans,
Top 25
Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 21: Knowshon Moreno ran for 3 touchdowns, and host Georgia, ranked No. 1 to start a season for the first time, beat Georgia Southern. Moreno needed only 8 carries for 59 yards to tie his career best with 3 TDs.
USC 52, Virginia 7: Mark Sanchez threw 3 touchdown passes in his first game as Southern California's true No. 1 quarterback, and the No. 3 Trojans rolled past host Virginia. The Trojans led 21-0 after just 11 minutes and weren't tested.
Oklahoma 57, Chattanooga 2: Sam Bradford threw for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns, Chris Brown ran for 3 scores, and only an hourlong rainstorm could slow down fourth-ranked Oklahoma in a victory over visiting Chattanooga. The Sooners converted their first seven possessions into touchdowns and led 50-0 before a thunderstorm caused a lightning delay that extended halftime by 1 hour, 12 minutes.
Florida 56, Hawaii 10: Even without injured speedster Percy Harvin (heel) and linebacker Brandon Spikes (toe), host No. 5 Florida dominated every aspect of this one and handed Greg McMackin a lopsided loss in his debut as Hawaii's head coach.
LSU 41, Appalachian St. 13: Charles Scott rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 16 carries, including touchdowns of 8 and 29 yards, and host No. 7 LSU beat Appalachian State.
West Virginia 48, Villanova 21: Pat White threw a career-high 5 touchdown passes, and host No. 8 West Virginia beat Villanova, giving coach Rich Rodriguez's replacement, Bill Stewart, a successful regular-season debut.
Auburn 34, La.-Monroe 0: Ben Tate ran for 115 yards on 13 carries, and host No. 10 Auburn scored touchdowns on defense and special teams in a win over Louisiana-Monroe.
E. Carolina 27, Va. Tech 22: T.J. Lee blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 left to help host East Carolina stun No. 17 Virginia Tech.