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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, September 16, 2007

Utah overwhelms No. 11 UCLA for first win, 44-6

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Utah running back Darrell Mack, center, drives in for a 4-yard touchdown to put the Utes ahead 44-6 in their upset of No. 11 UCLA.

DOUGLAS C. PIZAC | Associated Press

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SALT LAKE CITY — After starting the season 0-2 and facing No. 11 UCLA, Utah was ready for any breaks the Utes could muster.

UCLA gave them plenty and Utah took advantage almost every time in a 44-6 upset yesterday. The Utes forced five turnovers and kept the Bruins from scoring a touchdown for the first time in four years.

"Everything went right for us," said Tommy Grady, who passed for three touchdowns and a career-best 243 yards and no interceptions.

Darrell Mack ran for 107 yards, becoming Utah's first 100-yard rusher since 2005. Safety Robert Johnson made two interceptions and forced a critical fumble that turned a sure touchdown for UCLA into a touchback that really got the Bruins' meltdown going.

Utah outscored UCLA 30-0 in the second half.

"We kept them off-balance," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We never let their quarterback get comfortable in the pocket and get a rhythm going."

The Bruins (2-1) committed 10 penalties and unraveled in the second half of their first-ever loss to Utah (1-2). The Utes had been 0-8 against UCLA, including a 31-10 loss in the season opener at the Rose Bowl last year.

UCLA shut out Utah in the second half of that game and the Utes hadn't forgotten.

"We prepared to win and we expected to win," said Martail Burnett, who had one of five sacks for the Utes.

Louie Sakoda kicked three field goals and Mack became the first Ute to rush for 100 yards since Quinton Ganther gained 120 in the 2005 Emerald Bowl against No. 24 Georgia Tech, which was also Utah's last win over a ranked team.

"This whole week we practiced to be a whole different offense — something they've never seen," Mack said. "They didn't know what to expect."

Mack ran for a touchdown and caught passes for two more in Utah's biggest offensive outburst of the season.

It was even a bigger day for the defense, which pressured UCLA's Ben Olson all game. Olson completed 20 of 40 passes for 290 yards and was intercepted three times during his first game in Utah, the state where he started his college career at Brigham Young.

NO. 2 LSU 44, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 0

BATON ROUGE, La. — Backup Ryan Perrilloux threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start, leading the Tigers (3-0) to an easy victory over the Blue Raiders (0-3)

With a Southeastern Conference showdown against Steve Spurrier's No. 17 South Carolina squad looming next weekend, LSU coach Les Miles decided to rest regular starter Matt Flynn, who had sprained his right ankle a week earlier and whose participation in practice had been limited since.

NO. 5 FLORIDA 59, NO. 22 TENNESSEE 20

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow completed 14 of 19 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 61 yards and two scores, as the Gators (3-0, 1-0) extended their winning streak to 10 and stretched their home winning streak to 18 with a rout of the Volunteers (1-2, 0-1) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both.

Brandon James returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown to give the Gators a 7-0 lead, and linebacker Dustin Doe scooped up Arian Foster's fumbled punt and returned it 18 yards to make it 35-20.

NO. 6 TEXAS 35, CENTRAL FLORIDA 32

ORLANDO, Fla. — Colt McCoy threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, Jamaal Charles scored on a 46-yard run to clinch the Longhorns' see-saw victory over the Knights (1-1) in UCF's new on-campus stadium.

Ryan Bailey kicked five field goals for Texas (3-0), which regrouped after squandering a 13-point lead to fall behind 24-23 early in the fourth quarter. Bailey put the Longhorns ahead for good, then tied a school record with a fifth field goal that made it 29-24 with 5:19 left.

NO. 7 WISCONSIN 45, THE CITADEL 31

MADISON, Wis. — Running back P.J. Hill tied a school record with five touchdowns, rushing for four and catching a pass for another, helping the Badgers (3-0) hold off the Bulldogs (2-1) to extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 12 games.

The Citadel (2-1), a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, never led, but matched Wisconsin touchdown-for-touchdown and went into halftime tied at 21 with one of the Big Ten's best.

KENTUCKY 40, NO. 9 LOUISVILLE 34

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Andre Woodson completed 30 of 44 passes for 275 yards and four TDs, including a 57-yard touchdown pass to Steve Johnson with 28 seconds left as the Wildcats (3-0) stunned the Cardinals (2-1) for their first victory over a top-10 team in three decades.

Kentucky was about to lose its fifth in a row to its intrastate rival and had been pushed back because of a personal foul penalty. Then Johnson zipped past the Cardinals' secondary and Woodson nailed him in stride.

NO. 10 OHIO STATE 33, WASHINGTON 14

SEATTLE — Chris Wells ran for 135 yards and a touchdown and Todd Boeckman completed 14 of 25 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and the Buckeyes (3-0) scored 24 consecutive points in the second half to beat the Huskies (2-1).

Washington was inside Ohio State territory only six times against the nation's top-ranked defense. The Huskies got 102 yards rushing and 153 yards passing, but were thwarted by three interceptions.

NO. 12 PENN STATE 45, BUFFALO 24

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Anthony Morelli threw for 202 yards and a career-high four touchdowns — two to Andrew Quarless — and Rodney Kinlaw ran for 129 yards and a score as the Nittany Lions (3-0) scored 17 points in the last 6:29 of the first half to pull away from the Bulls (1-2).

Fumbles by Austin Scott derailed two early Penn State drives, one on his own 8 that set up a Buffalo field goal to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead. But the defense held firm, and finally allowed Penn State to breathe easy.

NO. 13 RUTGERS 59, NORFOLK STATE 0

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Scarlet Knights (3-0) produced the biggest second quarter in the school history, and all they needed was 11 plays and 91 seconds to amass 277 yards and score 42 points in rolling past the Spartans (1-1).

Mike Teel started the blitz with touchdown passes of 43 yards to Kenny Britt and 28 yards to Tiquan Underwood on consecutive plays. Ray Rice scored on runs of 22, 7 and 4 yards, before Teel hit Britt with a 34-yard scoring pass.

NO. 21 BC 24, NO. 15 GEORGIA TECH 10

ATLANTA — Matt Ryan threw for a career-best 435 yards and a touchdown, and L.V. Whitworth had a pair of TD runs as the Eagles (3-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) upset the Yellow Jackets (2-1, 0-1).

ALABAMA 41, NO. 16 ARKANSAS 38

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Matt Caddell caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone from John Parker Wilson with 8 seconds left, that capped a 73-yard drive and lifting the Crimson Tide (2-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) over the Razorbacks (1-1, 0-1) for the first major win of the Nick Saban era.

NO. 17 S. CAROLINA 38, S. CAROLINA STATE 0

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Blake Mitchell overcame three interceptions and a fumble by throwing three touchdowns as the host Gamecocks defeated the Bulldogs (1-2) to start 3-0 for the first time in six years.

NO. 18 VIRGINIA TECH 28, OHIO 7

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Freshman Tyrod Taylor, inserted into the lineup in place of Sean Glennon to energize the offense, completed 18 of 31 passes for 287 yards and didn't make any mistakes in leading the Hokies (2-1) over the Bobcats (2-1).

NO. 20 CLEMSON 38, FURMAN 10

CLEMSON, S.C. — Cullen Harper went 16 for 19 for 266 yards and three touchdowns, and freshman Willy Korn threw a 42-yard touchdown pass on just his third snap of the season, leading the Tigers (3-0) over the Paladins (1-2).

NO. 23 GEORGIA 45, WESTERN CAROLINA 16

ATHENS, Ga. — Matthew Stafford threw two second-quarter scoring passes, backup Joe Cox added a 34-yard scoring pass and three running backs ran for touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (2-1) over the Catamounts (0-3).

NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 54, LOUISIANA-MONROE 14

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Stephen McGee threw for 237 yards and a touchdown and Jorvorskie Lane had two short scoring runs as the Aggies (3-0) scored on nine of their 10 possessions and amassed 547 yards to beat the Warhawks (0-3).