Louisville opens with romp against archrival Kentucky

LOUISVILLE – Watching Teddy Bridgewater direct the University of Louisville's offense Sunday in a 32-14 victory against Kentucky before a record 55,386 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium gave the impression he could do whatever he needed to do.

By Jamie Rhodes,, U.S. Presswire

Teddy Bridgewater moved above .500 (6-5) as a starter in his second season at Louisville.

By Jamie Rhodes,, U.S. Presswire

Teddy Bridgewater moved above .500 (6-5) as a starter in his second season at Louisville.

When Kai Dominquez muffed a punt, forcing the Cardinals to begin their opening possession from their 1-yard line, Bridgewater simply directed a 99-yard touchdown drive. It was the first time since 2007 that the Cards scored on their first series of a season.

The play that might have summarized Bridgewater's nearly flawless game came on that first drive. One third-and-9 from the 2, he threw a 23-yard strike to Damian Copeland. The Cards faced only one more third down on that drive.

"Last year I felt I was just playing football just to play, just to be out there," Bridgewater said. "Now I'm playing with a purpose. And playing quarterback you have to be the manager; you have to be the leader of the team. So I did a great job managing the game."

The sophomore was 19-for-21 (a school-record 90.5% completions) for 232 yards and sat out the fourth quarter. Coach Charlie Strong replaced him for the final series of the third quarter with senior Will Stein, who was the starter last year before getting hurt in the UK game.

It might have seemed early to go with Stein, considering the Wildcats marched to Louisville's 5 on their first possession of the fourth quarter. But that threat ended when CoShik Williams lost the Wildcats' second fumble of the game.

But even if Kentucky had pulled within 11 points, the Cards were confident Bridgewater could have come back in to erase any of their mistakes. Strong, however, said he was certain Stein would finish the game.

"Once I took Teddy out I was going to leave Stein in the game," Strong said. "They turned the ball over, so I guess I'll never be able to find that out."

But Bridgewater has the confidence of his teammates.

"He's been on all summer and all camp," center Mario Benavides said, later adding, "Obviously, there are areas for improvement, but knowing he's back there really helps a lot."

Bridgewater led touchdown drives on the Cards' first three series — marches of 99, 85 and 93 yards —and they never trailed en route to their first home victory against Kentucky since 2006.

"You can't give up 76 yards on four-plus drives," Wildcats coach Joker Phillips said. "You can't do that, and we are better than that on defense."

Maybe, but Bridgewater made it seem otherwise.

As a freshman last season, he filled in against UK after Stein was hurt, and he lived up to the recruiting hype by leading the Cards to a 24-17 victory in Lexington. His first game as a sophomore made another statement.

"A year ago I don't know if he was really locked in," Strong said. "He wanted to be the quarterback, but it's almost he didn't want to study the game to go be the quarterback. So now it's just a totally different ballgame."

It certainly helped that the Cards' running game proved to be better than it was last season. They produced two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since 2010, with Senorise Perry gaining 108 yards —including a 47-yard score — and Jeremy Wright running for 105 yards and three touchdowns.

"A lot of times you just don't know with the first game," Strong said. "You just don't know how well they will play together. … We were able to stay in sync, and we were able to just move the ball up and down the field."

The Cards outgained UK 219-93 on the ground, marking the 17th consecutive time in the series that the team with more rushing yards won.

Kentucky defensive coordinator Rick Minter pointed to the Cats' inability to stop the run for Bridgewater's success.

"I've always said as a head coach or as a coordinator: When you can run the ball, you can do whatever you want to," Minter said. "If you can run the ball, you can throw the ball. Because then all of the sudden you quit rushing (the passer), your guys are tired, they're beat up, they're demoralized, they're no longer putting pressure on the quarterback."

Louisville didn't put much pressure on the passer, either. Maxwell Smith completed a career-high 35 passes in 50 attempts for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cats' no-huddle offense kept the Cards on their heels, but despite 373 yards of offense, they didn't take advantage of all their opportunities.

Phillips surprised Louisville with an onside kick to start the second half. The Cats recovered and marched to Louisville's 24, but Craig McIntosh missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.

Raymond Sanders fumbled after the Cats drove to the Louisville 39 in the second quarter.

"We obviously have to do a better job finishing drives," UK offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said. "That was probably the biggest thing today: We didn't finish."

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No. 12 Wisconsin survives scare from Northern Iowa

By Jeff Hanisch, US Presswire

"Wisconsin football may not be the prettiest thing to watch, but we get Ws," head coach Bret Bielema said.

By Jeff Hanisch, US Presswire

"Wisconsin football may not be the prettiest thing to watch, but we get Ws," head coach Bret Bielema said.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — After watching a comfortable fourth-quarter lead melt away in a matter of minutes, No. 12 Wisconsin needed a big defensive play from Ethan Hemer to fend off FCS school Northern Iowa on Saturday.

The redshirt junior defensive lineman batted down a pass by Panthers quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen on fourth-and-1 in Wisconsin territory, allowing the Badgers to escape with a 26-21 victory over the Panthers — who showed why they're regarded as one of the top teams in Division I's second tier.

Badgers coach Bret Bielema figured his team might learn more from a close call than a big blowout to start the season.

"You've got to touch a hot stove once," Bielema said. "Once you get burned, you're not going to do it again. And hopefully our guys learn, hey, you've got to put people away when we can."

Montee Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown for the Badgers, while new starting quarterback Danny O'Brien completed 19 of 23 passes for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jared Abbrederis in his debut.

"I believe we didn't make the statement that we wanted to," Ball said. "But I believe this was a great learning experience for us all, because we believe that the mentality (we had) toward the game, we weren't attacking the defense like we should have. But it's a lot easier to correct your mistakes after a win than a loss."

Kollmorgen threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

It was another huge effort against superior competition for the Panthers, who had one-point losses at Iowa in 2009 and at Iowa State last season. Northern Iowa beat Iowa State in 2007.

"Without the batted ball, we might still be playing," Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley said. "A guy got a hand up, so credit him."

Kollmorgen said the Panthers didn't get what they wanted, but should leave with their heads held high.

"Coach Farley said to come out and prove we belong," Kollmorgen said. "We did that today."

Despite their classification, Bielema said he knew the Panthers would put up a fight.

"There's a lot of FBS schools that I'd rather play than those guys," Bielema said. "They're a really, really good football team."

Although the Badgers got off to a sluggish start on offense, they appeared to be on track for a fairly comfortable win.

Wisconsin's defense didn't allow Northern Iowa on its side of the 50-yard line until the 4:27 mark in the third quarter — but then the Badgers nearly melted down.

Leading 26-7 in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin allowed Kollmorgen to throw a pair of long touchdowns to David Johnson, cutting the lead to five.

After forcing a Wisconsin punt, the Panthers drove again.

Facing fourth-and-1 at the Wisconsin 41-yard line, Hemer tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage to stop the drive.

"To me, we get a lot better out of this than a 42-0 blowout," Bielema said. "I don't see what that gets. I know our fans, it kept them in their seats."

The Badgers won their 15 consecutive season opener, extended their home winning streak to 17 games, the second-longest streak in school history, and have now won 33 consecutive regular-season nonconference games.

It was an efficient day for O'Brien, a transfer who was eligible to play for the Badgers right away because he already had graduated from Maryland — the same rule Russell Wilson took advantage of to play for the Badgers last year.

Coaches and teammates went out of their way this week to establish realistic expectations for O'Brien and shield him against direct comparisons to Wilson — a remarkable playmaker who led the Badgers to a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl appearance last season, and now has won a starting job with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks as a rookie.

"We weren't consistent on our side of the ball, but you take a win any way you can get it," O'Brien said. "(The score was) too tight, whatever you want to say. You want to win easily, obviously, but you take a win any way you can get it."

For Ball, it was a chance to brush off his recent off-the-field trouble. Ball was beaten up in an attack near campus a month ago, sustaining a concussion and missing part of camp.

"I know, and everyone else should know, that I'm going to come back even stronger next game and it will take off from there," Ball said.

It also was the debut for Badgers offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who replaced new Pittsburgh head coach Paul Chryst.

Bielema, who has grown fond of saying there might be sexier teams in college football than Wisconsin, stuck with that theme in summing up Saturday's win.

"Wisconsin football may not be the prettiest thing to watch, but we get Ws," Bielema said.

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Alabama is the new No. 1 this week

One might argue that the defending champs should have been No. 1 to start the season, so call the first regular-season poll a market correction if you like.

Alabama grabbed the top spot in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll following its emphatic statement win against Michigan. The Crimson Tide received 37 first-place votes, a net gain of 17 from the preseason poll.

Southern California also moved up a spot to No. 2, while preseason leader LSU slipped to third. USC claimed 14 No. 1 votes, while the Tigers retained seven. LSU became the first preseason No.1 squad to win its opener but fall from the top position in the coaches poll since 2008, when Georgia was overtaken by USC.

There was more shifting among the top seven, all winners in week one. No. 4 Oregon picked up the 59th first-place vote and swapped places with No. 5 Oklahoma, and No. 6 Florida State nudged ahead of No.7 Georgia. West Virginia vaulted into the No. 8 spot ahead of No. 9 South Carolina and No. 10 Arkansas. Michigan slid 11 places to No. 19 after being rolled by the Tide.

Auburn was the only team ranked in the preseason poll to drop out this week after falling to No.12 Clemson. Boise State, which lost its high-profile opener 17-13 at then-No.13 Michigan State, held on at No. 25. That keeps a streak alive of 63 consecutive poll appearances for the Broncos, second only to Alabama's 66 among the best active streaks. Michigan State rose two spots to No. 11.

Louisville entered the rankings this week at No. 24, giving the Big East a presence in the poll after the league was shut out of the top 25 in the preseason.

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Player of the Week: ACC

There were some pretty standout performances in the ACC games we saw over the weekend.

Miami running back Duke Johnson, North Carolina running back Giovani Bernard, Duke receiver Conner Vernon and Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner all come to mind, as Heather noted with her helmet stickers.

But the one that stood out the most: Clemson running back Andre Ellington, my choice for ACC player of the week for what he did against Auburn in a 26-19 win Saturday night. Ellington was not just good. He was the best in the country.

Ellington racked up a career-high 231 yards rushing to put him squarely atop the NCAA rushing leaders list after Week 1. I can guarantee you that nobody would have guessed that headed into the season because, quite frankly, he sometimes gets overshadowed in this offense with playmakers like Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins.

But there is no question he is just as valuable to this team as they are, and he proved it with some of his incredible feats of balance against Auburn. Not once, but twice, he somehow stayed on his feet after getting oh-so-close to having his knees hit the ground. He broke through tackles, and he showed an incredible second burst. He showed what a healthy Ellington looks like, and that has got to make Clemson fans smile today.

Of course, everybody in the ACC knows just how good Ellington can be because they have seen him play. Last season, he also had a 200-yard rushing game against Maryland. But he took his game to another level on Saturday night. Ellington now has three straight 100-yard rushing games, dating back to last season.

In all, he has 10 career 100-yard rushing games -- tops in the ACC.

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Big Ten says Ohio State, Penn State still could get trophy

By Rob Leifheit,, U.S. Presswire

Quarterback Braxton Miller and the rest of the Ohio State Buckeyes still could earn a trophy this season as champion of the Big Ten Leaders Division.

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Driskel to start for Florida in SEC opener

By David Jones, Florida Today

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida football coach Will Muschamp said Monday that Jeff Driskel will start at quarterback Saturday as the Gators visit Texas A&M in both teams' Southeastern Conference opener.

"I told Jeff I don't want you looking over your shoulder but you need to play well,'' Muschamp said.

"He wants me to play loose and calm so that's what I'm going to do," Driskel said. "He told me today I was going to play. He told me the choice wasn't just based on Saturday, through out camp and through out practice they had been evaluating us for a while.''

Driskel completed 10 of 16 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown in the season-opening 27-14 win against Bowling Green. He shared the job with Jacoby Brissett last week.

"I just felt like at this time it's good to name one guy and go with it,'' Muschamp said.

He said Driskel's ability to make things happen running with the ball "played a big part'' in the decision.

"I think right now in the development of our offense, that's something that's going to benefit us,'' Muschamp said.

He added Brissett needed to understand "he's one snap way.''

Brissett "wasn't very happy'' when being told he was No. 2, the coach said.

"I would expect that,'' Muschamp said.

Brissett was the No. 2 quarterback last season behind John Brantley, after Driskel started the season as the backup. Now it's Brissett, also a sophomore, who must take a back seat. Driskel said he planned to talk to his teammate but that the conversation would remain private.

"Obviously it was tough,'' Driskel said of falling behind Brissett last year. "But I didn't let it get to me too much. At first I was real upset and going through a little tough time. But I had the support of family and friends and just stayed working hard.''

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Big Ten Week 2 preview

Week 2 arrives with the long-awaited Pac-12/Big Ten challenge and ... what's that? Oh, that's right, the series was cancelled. But we get a look at what it might have been like with three interconference matchups. Elsewhere, we have the first showdown with Notre Dame and two teams already desperate for a win.

Here's your early Week 2 Big Ten preview of Saturday's games (all times ET):

Air Force (1-0) at No. 8 Michigan (0-1), 3:30 p.m., ABC: The Wolverines need to get over the Alabama loss quickly, as Air Force presents a tricky challenge with its option attack. Cody Getz ran for 218 yards on 17 carries in a win over Idaho State on Saturday. Michigan has better athletes but had better not still be thinking about the Crimson Tide debacle.

No. 12 Wisconsin (1-0) at Oregon State (0-0), 4 p.m., FX: The Badgers head out to the West Coast after a near-disaster against Northern Iowa. The Beavers had their opener against Nicholls State cancelled because of Hurricane Isaac, so Wisconsin won't have any fresh film on Oregon State.

No. 13 Michigan State (1-0) at Central Michigan (1-0), 3:30 p.m., ESPNU: Things might not be real pleasant in Mount Pleasant for the Chippewas, who had to avoid an upset bid from Southeast Missouri State in their opener. This game might give Michigan State a chance to work on its passing game against a team that served up 27 points to SEMO.

No. 17 Nebraska (1-0) at UCLA (1-0), 7:30 p.m., Fox: The Huskers go to the Rose Bowl for what they hope might be the first of two trips this season. Taylor Martinez looked terrific against Southern Miss and now goes back home to California. UCLA showed increased offensive firepower in an easy win over Rice, so this one could be a lot of fun.

UCF (1-0) No. 18 Ohio State (1-0), Noon, ESPN2: Much like the Buckeyes, UCF beat up on a MAC team from Ohio in its opener, waxing Akron 56-14. The Knights, who some picked to win C-USA this season, could give Ohio State some problems.

Purdue (1-0) at Notre Dame (1-0), 3:30 p.m., NBC: The Boilermakers haven't brought home the Shillelagh Trophy since 2007, but this might be their best chance since then. Though the Irish looked really good against Navy, they have to get over their jet lag from the trip back to Dublin. Who will start at quarterback this week for Purdue?

Illinois (1-0) at Arizona State (1-0), 10:30 p.m., ESPN: Both teams looked better than expected in their openers -- Illinois dispatched Western Michigan without much trouble, and Arizona State housed Northern Arizona 63-6. The Sun Devils don't figure to run for 305 yards a second straight week with the Illini defense coming to Tempe.

Iowa State (1-0) at Iowa (1-0), 3:30 p.m., BTN: Always a contentious rivalry, this one figures to be a pretty good game. Iowa showed it has much to work on after a nailbiter against Northern Illinois, while Iowa State beat Tulsa 38-23. The Hawkeyes look to avenge last year's overtime loss in Ames.

Vanderbilt (0-1) at Northwestern (1-0), 8 p.m., BTN: The Mississippi schools have the Egg Bowl. Maybe this is the Egghead Bowl. But both schools can play a little football, too. Vanderbilt nearly beat South Carolina on opening night and has a defense capable of giving Northwestern trouble. And, you know, the Big Ten can salvage some respect against the SEC. Ahem.

Penn State (0-1) at Virginia (1-0), Noon, ABC: The Ohio loss hurt in many ways, including the fact that the schedule offers few real breaks for Penn State the rest of the way. Now, the Nittany Lions must go on the road to ACC country and face Virginia, which blew out Richmond in its opener. The Lions try again for their first victory since 1997 (sorry, the NCAA made me write that sentence).

New Hampshire (1-0) at Minnesota (1-0), Noon, BTN: The Gophers have an excellent chance to improve to 2-0 and win their third straight game since last season, but nothing is guaranteed. The FCS Wildcats put up 531 total yards in their Week 1 victory over Holy Cross.

Indiana (1-0) at UMass (0-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN3: The Hoosiers got their first win since Sept. 17 by beating Indiana State on Saturday. Now they look for their first win over an FBS team since 2010. The Minutemen seek their first win as an FBS team, as they were drubbed by Connecticut in their first game since making the official transition from the FCS.

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