College football

Vanderbilt edges Wake Forest on late TD

By wire services
Published September 2, 2005

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Jeff Jennings scored from 5 yards with 1:48 to play Thursday night to help Vanderbilt beat Wake Forest 24-20 and win a season opener for the first time in eight years.

Jay Cutler threw for 276 yards and a score and ran for 89 for the Commodores. Jennings ran for just 43 yards, but finished with two scores - the last helping Vanderbilt shake off a blown 11-point, third-quarter lead.

Herdley Harrison added a key 18-yard sack on the Demon Deacons' final drive after Wake Forest had pushed to the Commodores 30 with less than a minute to play.

Micah Andrews ran for a career-best 254 yards on 34 carries for the Demon Deacons.

OREGON 38, HOUSTON 24: Kellen Clemens threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns, and his 43-yard scramble set up the go-ahead score for the visiting Ducks. With Oregon down 21-20 early in the third quarter, Clemens made his long dash to the 1-yard line, where backup Dennis Dixon dived for the score a play later. It was a successful debut for Oregon's spread offense, installed in the offseason by new offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.

WESTERN CAROLINA 21, MARS HILL 7: Justin Clark passed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break a tie and lead the host Catamounts. The score was tied at 7 when Clark threw a 5-yard pass to John Bush for his first touchdown. Less than a minute later, he threw a 48-yard pass to Nick Miller to seal the victory for the Catamounts. Mars Hill, an NCAA Division II team, got its touchdown in the second quarter on a 5-yard pass from Brandon Sims to Antoine Jones.

CINCINNATI 28, E. MICHIGAN 26: Dustin Grutza threw for two touchdowns and rushed for a third in the host Bearcats' first game as a member of the Big East. Cincinnati erased a 20-14 halftime deficit on Grutza's 21-yard TD run on the opening drive of the third quarter. Bradley Glathaar scored on an 11-yard run to increase the lead to 28-20 with 13:13 left.

UCONN 38, BUFFALO 0: Matt Bonislawski threw two touchdowns and ran for a score in his first start for the host Huskies.

MARSHALL 36, WILLIAM & MARY 24: Backup Bernie Morris threw three touchdowns and the host Thundering Herd rallied to beat the Division I-AA Tribe in Mark Snyder's coaching debut.

SEC DONATION: The Southeastern Conference said it will donate $1-million to relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina, which battered Gulf Coast states that are home to half of the league's 12 schools. Individual conference schools also will collect money for disaster relief at home football games.

Meanwhile, with hotel space in Tallahassee at a premium this weekend as hurricane victims seek shelter, FSU is asking local residents to open their doors to fans in town for Monday's game against Miami to free up hotels.

MASCOT DEBATE: Utah sought permission from the NCAA to keep using its Utes nickname. The NCAA said there would be no decision today and declined to say when a ruling might be expected. Meanwhile, members of the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe have voted to oppose the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

TULSA: Safety Kedrick Alexander, who was suspended last season after pleading guilty to a burglary charge, missed Thursday's opener against Minnesota after his eligibility was not reinstated by the NCAA. The school said it would appeal.

Alexander, a junior who led the team with 121 tackles in 2003, was not enrolled at Tulsa last fall but did attend classes this spring.

He and defensive back Terrance Thomas were sentenced in August 2004 to deferred sentences of two years' unsupervised probation and 120 hours of community service after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary.

[Last modified September 2, 2005, 02:15:35]