SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A busted up knee could hardly put a damper on this day for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.

After a season of disappointment and an uninspiring opening-game victory against a heavy underdog, the Fighting Irish have something to truly celebrate — Notre Dame 35, Michigan 17.

"We definitely showed up against a good opponent and it's sweet," said Weis, on crutches after tearing his ACL and MCL in his left knee yesterday when he was hit in the second quarter along the sideline. "This was a big win for our program and our kids."

Ripping a page out of the playbook that Michigan used for consecutive blowout wins over the Irish the past two seasons, Notre Dame (2-0) took advantage of mistakes by the Wolverines (1-2) to jump to a three-touchdown lead. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said his team's six turnovers too much to overcome.

"I don't think we're that far off. We've just got to play better," he said. "I've said it many times, we're not good enough to play poorly and win. We're not right now."

Jimmy Clausen, who was sacked eight times by the Wolverines last year, was 10 of 21 passing for 147 yards with two touchdown passes, two interceptions and he wasn't sacked. Robert Hughes ran for two touchdowns for the Irish.

After losing 38-0 and 47-21 to the Wolverines the past two seasons, Clausen said yesterday's victory was big.

"It feels great. I was talking to a bunch of the guys before the game, I said, 'Remember what we felt like last year after this game. That's not going to happen again.' "

ACC

Duke 41, Navy 31: Thad Lewis threw for 317 yards and three touchdown passes to Eron Riley, and Vincent Rey returned a fumble for a score to help the Blue Devils beat the Midshipmen at Durham, N.C.

Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, a Kapolei High alum from Hawai'i, made his season debut for Navy after missing the first two games with a hamstring strain. The quarterback ran for 28 yards and threw for 45 yards with a touchdown, but left the game late in the first half due to heat exhaustion and was replaced by Jarod Bryant.

Clemson 27, North Carolina State 9: Cullen Harper, whose pass on the first play from scrimmage was intercepted and returned 33 yards for a touchdown, finished 20 of 28 for 262 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Tigers (2-1) over the Wolfpack (2-1) at Clemson, S.C.

Florida State 46, Chattanooga 7: Christian Ponder threw three first-half touchdown passes and the Seminoles cruised past the Mocs at Tallahassee, Fla., for coach Bobby Bowden's 375th career victory, keeping him tied with Penn State's Joe Paterno.

Virginia Tech 20, Georgia Tech 17: Tyrod Taylor and Darren Evans each ran for a touchdown and Dustin Keys kicked a 21-yard field goal to break a 17-all tie with 4:37 to play, lifting the Hokies (2-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) over the Yellow Jackets (2-1, 1-1) at Blacksburg, Va.

BIG 12

Oklahoma State 57, Missouri State 13: Keith Toston ran for 148 yards, Beau Johnson rushed for 138 yards, and Kendall Hunter added 132 more as the Cowboys (3-0) piled up 450 yards on the ground in rolling past the Bears (0-2) at Stillwater, Okla.

BIG EAST

Connecticut 45, Virginia 10: Donald Brown ran for 206 yards and three scores and the Huskies (3-0) had touchdowns on their first four drives in rolling past the Cavaliers (1-2) at East Hartford, Conn.

BIG TEN

Minnesota 35, Montana State 23: Freshman DeLeon Eskridge rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns, and Eric Decker had nine catches for 157 yards and a touchdown to lead the Gophers (3-0) over the Bobcats (1-2) at Minneapolis.

Iowa 17, Iowa State 5: Shonn Greene ran for 120 yards and a touchdown, and Andy Brodell returned a fourth-quarter punt 81 yards for a score to lead the host Hawkeyes (3-0) past the Cyclones (2-1) at Iowa City, Iowa.

Northwestern 33, Southern Illinois 7: Tyrell Sutton ran for 101 yards and scored on runs of 42, 2 and 15 yards, helping the host Wildcats (3-0), who after trailing 7-6, rallied with 27 unanswered points to turn back the Salukis (1-1) at Evanston, Ill.

Michigan State 17, Florida Atlantic 0: Javon Ringer splashed his way to a career-high 282 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns to lead the Spartans (2-1) past the Owls (1-2) in a nearly constant rain at East Lansing, Mich.

CONFERENCE USA

Air Force 31, Houston, 28: Quarterback Shea Smith ran for 97 yards and three touchdowns, and the Falcons (3-0) rushed for 380 yards, then withstood a late rally by the Cougars (2-1) in a game moved to Dallas because of Hurricane Ike.

MID-AMERICAN

Toledo 41, Eastern Michigan 17: DaJuane Collins rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, and Aaron Opelt helped the Rockets (1-1, 1-0 Mid-American) open up a 34-7 lead with three touchdown passes in the third quarter to beat the Eagles (1-2, 0-2) at Ypsilanti, Mich.

Central Michigan 31, Ohio 28: Dan LeFevour passed for 361 yards and ran for a touchdown and Ontario Sneed added two short scoring plunges to lead the Chippewas (2-1, 1-0 Mid-American) past the Bobcats (0-3, 0-1) at Athens, Ohio.

Miami (Ohio) 38, Charleston Southern 27: Eugene Harr returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown with 4:45 left in the third quarter to trigger a 21-0 outburst as the RedHawks (1-2) rallied from a 27-17 deficit to beat the Buccaneers (0-3) at Oxford, Ohio.

Buffalo 30, Temple 28: Drew Willy threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Naaman Roosevelt, who outjumped three defenders to make the catch, on the last play of the game, lifting the Bulls (2-1, 1-0 Mid-American) over the Owls (1-2, 0-1) at Amherst, N.Y.

MOUNTAIN WEST

TCU 31, Stanford 14: Ryan Christian scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to break a 14-all halftime tie, and quarterback Andy Dalton added a 10-yard run with 1:05 to play as the Horned Frogs (3-0) held off the Cardinal (1-2) at Fort Worth, Tex., in a game moved up six hours because of Hurricane Ike.

WYOMING 16, NORTH DAKOTA 13: Devon Moore sparked a struggling offense with 145 rushing yards and a touchdown and Jake Scott kicked a 29-yard field goal with 4 seconds left, lifting the Cowboys (2-1) over the Bison (2-1) at Laramie, Wyo.

New Mexico 36, Arizona 28: Rodney Ferguson ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns and freshman James Aho tied a school record with five field goals to help the Lobos (1-2) beat the Wildcats (2-1) at Albuquerque, N.M.

SEC

Tennessee 35, UAB 3: Jonathan Crompton threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns and Lennon Creer had 93 yards rushing and touchdown runs of 45 yards and 3 yards as the Volunteers (1-1) rolled up 548 yards on offense in cruising past the Blazers at Knoxville, Tenn.

Kentucky 20, Middle Tennessee 14: Robbie McAtee tackled Eldred King — who hauled in a 61-yard hail mary pass from quarterback Joe Craddock — at the 1-yard line as time expired as the Wildcats (3-0) held off the Blue Raiders (1-2) at Lexington, Ky.

Mississippi 34, Samford 10: Marshay Green scored on a 77-yard punt return and the Rebels (2-1) had consecutive touchdown drives of 53, 91 and 63 yards late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter to beat the Bulldogs (2-1) at Oxford, Miss.