The first evening of the college football season had everything from lightning delays to vomit to overtime and the first targeting ejections of the season. Oh, and Lane Kiffin's decision to use two quarterbacks against Hawaii did not go smoothly.
- If you were exhausted from the crazy ending to the Ole Miss-Vanderbilt game and went to sleep, you missed Rutgers' two-point conversion attempt for the win against Fresno State in overtime.
After Gary Nova threw a TD pass to Brandon Coleman, the QB looked for him again as he rolled right on the two-point attempt. The pass glanced off Coleman's fingers, and Fresno kept its BCS Bowl hopes alive with a 52-51 victory.
In the game, quarterback Derek Carr attempted 71 passes. That's more than his brother, former No. 1 pick David Carr has thrown in the past five seasons.
RT @MoveTheSticks Derek Carr has 71 pass attempts in this game. His older brother has attempted 61 total passes over the last 5 NFL seasons.
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) August 30, 2013
- While Jeff Scott's 75 yard touchdown became the defining moment of Ole Miss's 39-35 win over Vanderbilt, No. 1 recruit Robert Nkemdiche made a fine impression in his first college football game. And if it wasn't for the crazy ending to that game or Jordan Matthews' puking, Nkemdiche's run off of a fake punt would be getting more love.
- Kiffin kept his quarterback decision close to the vest before USC's game against Hawaii, and it was easy to see why. Cody Kessler got the start, but both he and Max Wittek struggled as USC sleepwalked their way to a 30-13 victory. Both quarterbacks were a combined 15-29 for 172 yards.
After the game, Kiffin said he wasn't sure who would start at quarterback next week against Washington state. While Kessler had the Trojans' only TD pass, he also threw an interception and took a sack for a safety that gave Hawaii a 5-3 lead. Despite two drops, Marqise Lee finished with 8 catches for 104 yards.
- Three players were ejected for violating the NCAA's new rule against targeting, including Carlos Aviles of Indiana State, who flattened Indiana's Shane Wynn before Wynn had a chance to catch a punt.
Aviles was penalized for kick-catch interference and was second player kicked out of the game; Indiana's Jake Reed was ejected for throwing a punch in the first half. Because the infraction happened in the second half, Aviles will also miss the first half of the Sycamores' game against Purdue next week.
Tulane's Lorenzo Doss was also ejected, as well as a player from Missouri State in its game against Northwestern State. However, this hit by North Carolina's Brandon Ellerbe wasn't called.
- Oh, South Carolina true freshman walk-on kicker Elliott Fry lost an 'A' on his uniform.
- UNLV called a first quarter hook and lateral, and while the play worked, it didn't produce the desired results.
- And UConn became the first team of the season to fall to I-AA school, losing to Towson. While this doesn't rival Michigan's loss to Appalachian State, it would be cruel punishment for the Wolverines if they lose to UConn on September 21 after UConn 's flop Thursday night.
Ready to do it all again Friday?
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