Minnesota 42, Eastern Illinois 20
Minnesota (1-0) rolled over Eastern Illinois (0-1) in its home opener despite being outgained 409-338, in total yards. The Golden Gophers’ defense held Eastern Illinois scoreless through three quarters to nullify the yardage discrepancy.
Offensively, redshirt sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner went 9-17 for 144 yards and a touchdown through the air, and also added two rushing touchdowns, gaining 15 yards on the ground on seven carries.
Redshirt freshman running back Berkley Edwards made his debut by gaining 60 yards rushing on just four carries while adding a pair of touchdowns.
Rutgers 41, Washington State 38
Rutgers (1-0) narrowly edged out Washington State (0-1) in a shootout that featured five lead changes and looked as though it could go either way throughout the entire game.
Senior running back Paul James pounded in the game-winning touchdown for the Scarlet Knights on a three-yard rush with under three and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday put Washington State ahead 38-34 with 8:13 remaining in the game on a 5-yard pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Rickey Galvin before James’ game-winning scamper.
Michigan State 45, Jacksonville State 7
Michigan State (1-0) opened up its season in East Lansing against a Jacksonville State (0-1) team that was simply overmatched. The Big Ten East Division favorites only needed to play star junior quarterback Connor Cook for the first half before building an insurmountable 38-0 lead.
Michigan State’s two-pronged rushing attack, featuring seniors Jeremy Langford and Nick Hill, complemented Cook’s aerial assault on the Gamecocks.
Penn State 26, UCF 24
The Nittany Lions (1-0) knocked off the University of Central Florida 0-1) on a last second 36-yard field goal by senior kicker Sam Ficken in their first game ever played outside of the United States. The game, held at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, was Penn State’s first contest under new head coach James Franklin.
UCF pulled ahead, 24-23, with 1:13 left in the game by way of a six-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore quarterback Justin Holman.
On the ensuing drive, Penn State sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg engineered a 55-yard march down the field. Facing fourth down with three yards to go on his own 33-yard line, Hackenberg was able to rush for a first down to extend the drive. Three consecutive Hackenberg pass completions set up Ficken’s own heroics.
Michigan 52, Appalachian State 14
In a rematch of the nightmarish 2007 opening weekend loss to Appalachian State that still haunts Michigan fans, the Wolverines redeemed themselves in overpowering fashion.
Michigan (1-0) scored 42 unanswered points to open the game and vanquish any chances of a repeat of the matchup with the Mountaineers seven years ago, also played in Ann Arbor.
Indiana 28, Indiana State 10
The Hoosiers (1-0) held off in-state rival Indiana State (0-1) in Bloomington by allowing their running game to carry them to victory.
Junior running back Tevin Coleman and senior D’Angelo Roberts had a combined 57 rushing attempts to pace Indiana’s offensive scheme.
Coleman rushed for 247 yards, highlighted by a 73-yard touchdown dash in the first quarter. He also had one other rushing touchdown, which Roberts backed up with a rushing score of his own to go with his 129 yards gained on the ground.
Iowa 31, Northern Iowa 23
The Hawkeyes (1-0) outlasted visiting Northern Iowa in a home opener that they would have liked to win by a wider margin.
Northern Iowa (0-1) pulled within one point at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a field goal that pushed the score to 24-23.
However, junior quarterback Jake Rudock eliminated the Panthers’ hopes for an upset by completing a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Damond Powell about midway through the final frame.
Ohio State 34, Navy 17
Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett played well in his college debut against Navy (0-1), which marked the first step in Ohio State’s (1-0) process of coping with the loss of star quarterback Braxton Miller.
Down 13-14 in the third quarter, Barrett swung the lead and the momentum to the Buckeyes’ side by connecting with senior wide receiver Devin Smith on an 80-yard score that put Ohio State in the lead for good.
A ten-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliot and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Barrett to sophomore wide receiver Michael Thomas rounded out Ohio State’s scoring in the fourth quarter.
Purdue 43, Western Michigan 34
Purdue (1-0) matched its win total from its disastrous 1-11 campaign in 2013 by orchestrating a balanced offensive attack against a pesky Western Michigan (0-1) team.
Playing in front of their home crowd, the Boilermakers’ offense managed to net 226 yards rushing and 181 passing yards to launch what will be a rebuilding year in West Lafayette.
Western Michigan’s sophomore quarterback Zach Terrell cut the Purdue lead to three with a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but a 38-yard rushing touchdown by Purdue’s senior running back Akeem Hunt with under four minutes remaining sealed the win.
Illinois 28, Youngstown State 17
After being held to just seven points through the first three quarters, the Illinois offense finally found its stride in the fourth quarter and scored three touchdowns to pull ahead of Youngstown State (0-1).
Illini (1-0) sophomore quarterback Wes Lunt came alive in the fourth quarter. Down 9-7, Lunt completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Mike Dudek to take hold of the lead for Illinois.
He also connected with junior running back Josh Ferguson and senior wide receiver Martize Barr in the final frame.
California 31, Northwestern 24
Northwestern (0-1) fell to visiting California (1-0) in a game that was not as close as the score appears.
After falling behind, 31-7, in the third quarter, the Wildcats were able to score 17 unanswered points but were unable to reach the end zone one final time.
Senior quarterback Trevor Siemian had to play frantically due to Northwestern’s early deficit and as a result, completed just 23 of his 42 passing attempts for 229 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
Nebraska 55, Florida Atlantic 7
Unsurprisingly, No. 22 Nebraska had no trouble racking up points against the outclassed Florida Atlantic Owls.
Senior running back Ameer Abdullah, the centerpiece of the Cornhusker offense, ran all over the Owls, gaining 227 rushing yards and notching one touchdown.
The Cornhusker defense held Florida Atlantic to just 200 total net yards, a number dwarfed by Nebraska’s staggering 784 yards of total offense, the fifth most productive offensive performance in program history.
Maryland 52, James Madison 7
Maryland’s inaugural game as a member of the Big Ten was far from dramatic.
The Terps (1-0) jumped out to a 17-0 lead on James Madison (0-1) in the first quarter en route to a punishing win that served as nothing more than a tune up.
Six Maryland rushers combined for 285 yards and five touchdowns to pace the Terps’ offense.
JMU did not put points on the board until freshman running back John Miller found the end zone on a one-yard rush with under 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
