Nebraska/Arizona St.
Nebraska benefited from 2 blocked punts, a third that was shanked for19 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown, all of which led to 28 points. If the special teams can play like this all year long, they might not even need to worry about balance on offense. The passing offense was very unimpressive, but Nebraska has found great success in the past with just a running game, so not to worry just yet. Jammal Lord looked good under pressure running the ball and the offensive line did a great job opening holes for the entire running game. The Huskers gained 300 yards on the ground, 283 after deducting the yards lost on sacks. The defense played well, although not a great night against the young offense of Arizona St. They yielded 258 total yards, but a good chunk of that came late with the reserves in the game. The 38 point win looked good on the scoreboard, but it was a much closer game than that indicates.
Florida St./Iowa St.
Florida St. almost gave this game away after having leads of 24 points twice in this game. Give Iowa St. a lot of credit for not giving up and playing to the very end. The numbers were dead even: First downs ISU 23-22; Total yards FSU 449-443; Time of possession FSU 30:46-29:14. If this is any indication of how the defense plays this year, Florida St. might be in for another long year. The pass rush was a concern before the season started and it showed. Seneca Wallace had a very impressive game going 22-33 for 313 yards with 2 TD’s. His only interception was returned for a TD. The Seminole offense looked comfortable under Rix and Greg Jones had a great game with 113 rushing yards. The Cyclone defense, which yielded 21 ppg last year, was shaky at best.
Ohio St./Texas Tech
The Buckeyes look like they have a star on their hands with Maurice Clarett. The true freshman ran for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns. This game was over by the 3rd quarter so the 372 yards given up by the Ohio St. defense is a little inflated. They shut down the Raiders for 3 quarters and had an impressive goal line stand before the half. Any questions about the young offensive backfield were answered in this game. The supposed improved Tech defense needs work if they plan to compete in the Big 12.
New Mexico/NC State
Philip Rivers threw for 276 yards with 3 TD’s and ran for another 2. New Mexico could get nothing going on offense as Casey Kelly had a disappointing game after playing great to finish out 2001. The only bright spot was the normal tough Lobo run defense, which gave up 2.9 ypc.