SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Tashard Choice helped Georgia Tech fans forget about the loss of Calvin Johnson. Notre Dame's three quarterbacks had Fighting Irish fans longing for Brady Quinn.

Choice rushed for a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns and the Georgia Tech defense had little trouble with Notre Dame's new passers, forcing two fumbles by Demetrius Jones, sacking Evan Sharpley seven times and keeping Jimmy Clausen from doing any damage in a 33-3 victory yesterday.

"I did not see this coming," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "I thought we would play pretty well defensively. I did not know we would run the ball as well as we ran it today."

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis didn't see it coming either. He said one of the biggest problems was the Irish weren't ready for the speed of the game, and blamed himself for not having the team prepared.

"Who else are you going to blame but yourself? I'm the head coach," he said. "It's my responsibility."

ATLANTIC COAST

Connecticut 45, Duke 14: Tyler Lorenzen completed 22 of 30 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns as the visiting Huskies pulled away in the second half to hand the Blue Devils their 21st consecutive loss.

Miami 31, Marshall 3: Javarris James ran for two touchdowns, Tavares Gooden and Calais Campbell had interceptions to set up easy scoring drives, and the host Hurricanes recorded six sacks in coach Randy Shannon's debut in routing the Thundering Herd.

Boston College 38, Wake Forest 28: Matt Ryan threw five touchdown passes — second most in school history to Doug Flutie — and DeJuan Tribble intercepted three passes to help the host Eagles beat the Demon Deacons and give Jeff Jagodzinski a victory in his head coaching debut.

Maryland 31, Villanova 14: Keon Lattimore ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns and Jordan Steffy, in his first start as quarterback, went 19 for 24 for 174 yards and ran 47 yards for a touchdown to lead the host Terrapins over the Wildcats.

North Carolina 37, James Madison 14: First-time starter T.J. Yates threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns to lead the host Tar Heels and new coach Butch Davis over the Dukes.

UCF 25, N.C. State 23: Kevin Smith rushed for a career-high 217 yards with two touchdowns, including an 80 yards, and the visiting Knights held on to spoil Tom O'Brien's debut as the Wolfpack's coach.

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

Colorado 31, Colorado State 28: Kevin Eberhart kicked a 22-yard field goal with 13 second left to send the game into overtime, then drilled a 35-yard field goal in overtime following an interception to lift the Buffaloes over the Rams in a game played at Denver.

Kansas 52, Central Michigan 7: Todd Reesing threw four touchdown passes in his debut and the host Jayhawks rolled up 538 yards on offense in routing the defending Mid-American champion Chippewas.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

Pittsburgh 27, Eastern Michigan 3: Bill Stull completed his first seven passes in his first college start and finished 14 of 20 for 177 yards and a touchdown to lead the host Panthers past the Eagles.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

Michigan State 55, UAB 18: Jehuu Caulcrick ran for 93 yards and a career-high four touchdowns and the host Spartans piled up 593 yards under new coach Mark Dantonio in cruising past the the Blazers and their new coach Neil Callaway.

NORTHWESTERN 27, NORTHEASTERN 0: C.J. Bacher completed 23 of 28 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown, and ran 5 yards for another score as the host Wildcats routed the Huskies.

Missouri 40, Illinois 34: Chase Daniel threw three touchdown passes, Jeremy Maclin returned a punt 66 yards for a score and Cornelius Brown intercepted a pass at the 1 with 51 seconds to play as the host Tigers held off the Illini, who trailed 37-13 late in the third quarter.

CONFERENCE USA

Mississippi 23, Memphis 21: Dustin Mouzon returned one of his two interceptions 99 yards for a touchdown and the visiting Rebels stopped a potential game-tying 2-point conversion with 31 seconds left to beat the Tigers.

MID-AMERICAN

Iowa 16, Northern Illinois 3: Albert Young ran for 144 yards and a touchdown and Jake Christensen hit Brandon Myers with a 5-yard touchdown pass to lead the visiting Hawkeyes over the Huskies in Chicago.

AKRON 22, ARMY 14: Reggie Corner's 74-yard interception return for a score and Chris Jacquemain's 19-yard touchdown pass to Jabari Arthur opened up a 16-7 halftime lead and the host Zips held on to beat the Black Knights at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Wyoming 23, Virginia 3: Devin Moore rushed for 125 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth for a 20-3 lead, and the host Cowboys held the Cavaliers to just 110 total yards.

AIR FORCE 34, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 3: Shaun Carney passed for 176 yards and a touchdown, Kip McCarthy ran for 129 yards, and the host Falcons, under new head coach Troy Calhoun scored on four drives on 70 yard or longer to rout the Bulldogs.

BYU 20, Arizona 7: Max Hall passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns in his college debut and the host Cougars extended their winning streak to 11 by beating the Wildcats, who didn't score until 53 seconds remained in the game.

PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE

Oregon 48, Houston 27: Quarterback Dennis Dixon ran for 141 yards, including an 80-yard scoring dash, and also completed 9 of 15 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns to power the host Ducks over the Cougars.

SOUTHEASTERN

Kentucky 50, E. Kentucky 10: Andre Woodson threw for three touchdowns, including a 51-yarder on his first snap of the season as the host Wildcats rolled past the Colonels.

Alabama 52, Western Carolina 6: Terry Grant rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns in his first start, including a 47-yard TD run on the first play of scrimmage, as the Tide opened the Nick Saban era with a rout of the visiting Catamounts.