| Houston | Penn State | |||
| Overall Record | 12-1 | Overall Record | 10-3 | |
| Conference Record | 8-0 | Conference Record | 6-2 | |
| Bowl Record | 8-11-1 | Bowl Record | 27-14-2 | |
| Last Bowl Win | 2008 Armed Forces | Last Bowl Win | 2010 Capital One |
ACC—Georgia Tech gave No. 5 Clemson its first loss of the year with a 31-17 defeat. Yellow Jackets quarterback Tevin Washington led the charge, rushing for 176 yards and a score. Never before has a Georgia Tech quarterback rushed for more than 151 yards in a game. The triple-option offense racked up 383 rushing yards and controlled the ball for 39 minutes in the game. The Yellow Jackets defense recovered two Clemson fumbles and picked off Tajh Boyd twice in the game. Georgia Tech ended a two-game losing streak and ended Clemson’s national title hopes.
Big 10—Minnesota upset Iowa 22-21 at TCF Bank Field to get the Golden Gophers their first conference win of the season. Minnesota lost its first three conference games by an average margin of 38 points. Minnesota quarterback Marqueis Gray passed for 193 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 62 yards and the winning touchdown. Marqueis Gray rushed for the right pylon on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 2:48 left in the game. Golden Gopher fans stormed the field when time expired. The win allows Minnesota to retain the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy for another year. Minnesota last defeated Iowa in consecutive years in 1999 and 2000.
Big 12—Iowa State upset a No. 19 Texas Tech team that had defeated Oklahoma the week before. Texas Tech was embarrassed 41-7 at home. Iowa State redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Barnett passed for 144 yards and rushed for 92 yards in his first start. The Cyclones rushed for 368 yards and controlled the ball for 40:09. Iowa State had not rushed for over 300 yards in a game since 2001. Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege accounted for all three of the Red Raiders turnovers. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once. Iowa State’s defense held the Red Raiders to their fewest points at home since a 56-3 Nebraska thumping in 2000.
Big East—Louisville got consecutive Big East wins for the first time since 2006 as it overpowered Syracuse 27-10. Louisville’s defense held the Orange to just 246 yards, their lowest output this season. The Orange only got past Louisville’s 35-yard line twice the whole game. Louisville freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was 17 for 24 with 198 yards and two touchdowns in his fifth start. Louisville tailback Victor Anderson rushed for 93 yards and a score. The Cardinals moved to 2-1 in the Big East and 4-4 overall.
C-USA—On Thursday night, No. 17 Houston thrashed cross-town rival Rice 73-36. Case Keenum threw nine touchdown passes in the game. His fifth touchdown pass broke the all-time FBS record for career touchdown passes, which was 134, set by Graham Harrell in 2008. Houston’s offense racked up 656 yards, 534 of which were threw the air. Wide receiver Patrick Edwards caught five touchdowns and had 318 yards receiving. Wide receiver Tyron Carrier returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, the seventh kickoff he has taken in for a touchdown in his career. Houston is undefeated at 8-0.
MAC—Western Michigan beat Ball State 45-35 to move within one game of bowl eligibility and stay undefeated at Waldo Stadium. The second quarter of the game had seven touchdowns: four consecutive touchdowns for Western Michigan and three touchdowns for Ball State. The Broncos had 610 yards in the game with 465 of them coming through the air. Wide receiver Jordan White caught 9 passes for 172 yards and became Western’s all-time receptions leader. Two other wide receivers had over 100 yards receiving: Chleb Ravenell had 9 catches for 157 yards, while Robert Arnheim had 104 yards on 8 catches.
MWC—Wyoming went into Qualcomm Stadium and defeated San Diego State 30-27 on Saturday night. The Cowboys scored all of their points before halftime, where they led 30-13, and held on in the second half after allowing SDSU to score two more touchdowns. Wyoming freshman quarterback Brett Smith threw two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns. Wyoming had no turnovers. The Cowboys forced one turnover; cornerback Tashaun Gipson came up with an interception on the Wyoming 5-yard line, denying the Aztecs from entering the red zone mid-way through the third quarter. The Cowboys are now 2-0 in the Mountain West.
Pac-12—No. 6 Stanford survived No. 20 USC. With a tie game late in the fourth quarter, USC cornerback Nickell Robey intercepted Andrew Luck at the Stanford 33-yard line and ran 33 yards for a pick six. The Trojans led by 7 with 3:08 left in the game. Stanford regrouped and drove 76 yards to tie the game with 38 seconds left. Each team scored a touchdown and a PAT in both the first and second overtime. In triple overtime, Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for a score, and a two point conversion was made to tight end Coby Fleener. The Trojans tried to answer. A 21-yard pass to freshman wide out Marqise Lee got them to the Stanford 4-yard line. On the next play, USC tailback Curtis McNeal fumbled when Stanford’s Terrence Stephens knocked the ball loose, and Stanford’s A.J. Tarpley recovered the ball in the end zone to get the Cardinal the 56-48 win. The Cardinal have now beat the Trojans three years in a row and are 8-0 for the first time since 1951.
SEC—No. 22 Georgia took down Florida 24-20 in the game dubbed the World’s Largest Cocktail Party. Georgia has now won six straight games, and Florida had lost four straight games for the first time since 1988. The Georgia defense held Florida to just 226 net yards and -19 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs defense only allowed 32 yards and one first down in the second half. Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones had four of the Bulldogs’ six sacks in the game. After leading 17-3, Florida turned the ball over on two fumbles that gave Georgia short fields of 25 and 18 yards that the Bulldogs capitalized on with touchdowns. Georgia’s offense was 3 for 3 on fourth downs.
Sun Belt—The Red Wolves beat the Mean Green 37-14 in Jonesboro Saturday to go 6-2 on the season. Arkansas State has its best record in eight games since 1986. The Red Wolves raced out to 31-0 by halftime. Arkansas State nearly doubled North Texas’s offensive output, 540 yards to 283 yards. In the second quarter, punter and placekick holder Neely Sullivent rushed for a 14-yard touchdown on a fake field goal attempt. Red Wolves quarterback Ryan Aplin passed for 322 yards and was also the team’s leading rusher in the game with 69 yards. The Red Wolves are undefeated in Sun Belt games and are bowl eligible.
Independents—Notre Dame beat Navy 56-14 in the Irish’s best performance of the season. Notre Dame rushed for seven touchdowns in the game and only punted the ball away once. The Fighting Irish’s defense held Navy to its lowest offensive output of the year at 229 yards. Notre Dame has now beat Navy for the second time in 5 years after winning 43 straight games against the Midshipmen from 1964 to 2006. The Fighting Irish move to 5-3.
ACC—Wake Forest has started ACC play 3-0 for the first time ever. The Demon Deacons beat the Seminoles 35-30 at home, putting up 391 yards of offense on a stout Seminole defense that was only giving up 257 yards per game prior to Saturday. Wake Forest forced one fumble and got four interceptions while giving not a single turnover to Florida State. The Demon Deacons have beaten the Seminoles in four of the last six meetings. Wake Forest is in the race for the ACC title.
Big 10—No. 14 Nebraska came back to beat Ohio State in the second half in what would become the biggest comeback in Cornhusker history. Down 21 points in the third quarter, the Huskers rallied to score 28 points and win their first Big 10 conference home game by a score of 34-27. Quarterback Taylor Martinez had his best passing percentage of the year, going 16 for 22. He also rushed for 102 yards. Running back Rex Burkhead was clutch, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown as well as making five catches, one of which was a touchdown.
Big 12—No. 3 Oklahoma embarrassed No. 11 Texas 55-17 in the Red River Rivalry. The 38-point victory was the most lopsided since 2003, when the Sooners won by a series-record 52 points. Oklahoma had a school record eight sacks. The Sooners also had a school record with three defensive touchdowns in the game: cornerback Demontre Hurst returned an interception for 55 yards, defensive end David King returned a sack-fumble for 19 yards, and cornerback Jamell Fleming stripped a receiver and returned the ball 56 yards to the end zone. 
Big East—The Scarlet Knights are 2-0 in the Big East for the second time in 21 years in the Big East. The Rutgers defense got four interceptions and picked up six sacks against Pittsburgh. Freshman Gary Nova got his first start at quarterback for the Scarlet Knights, replacing Chas Dodd. The freshman went 11 for 24, but did have two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Rutgers won the game 34-10 and is now a respectable 4-1.
C-USA—Houston dominated East Carolina by a score of 56-3 on Saturday night. Case Keenum completed 30 of 37 passes for 304 yards. Of eleven receivers catching passes, Patrick Edwards led with 133 yards and two touchdowns. Case Keenum is second in NCAA all-time passing yards with 15,895 yards. He is also second in NCAA all-time touchdowns with 124. Houston’s defense was just as dominant as its offense. The Cougars had four interceptions and nine sacks against the Pirates. The Cougar defense also held ECU to just 21 yards on the ground.
MAC—Miami (OH) defeated Army 35-28 to get their first win of the 2011 season. The RedHawks racked up 501 yards of offense on Army’s young defense. RedHawks quarterback Zac Dysert had 342 passing yards, while wide receiver Nick Harwell had ten catches for 186 yards. Dysert threw four touchdowns, two of which were caught by Harwell, and ran 1 yard for another. Don Treadwell picked up his first win as a head coach.
MWC—No. 5 Boise State blasted former conference rival Fresno State in its own stadium on national television Friday night by a score of 57-7. Boise State had scored 30 points before it allowed the Bulldogs offense to cross midfield. Kellen Moore threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Boise State wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn returned from suspension and caught two touchdowns in the second quarter. Freshman wide receiver Matt Miller had a touchdown catch in the first quarter. The Broncos’ running game accounted for another five scores. Boise State had a +4 turnover margin.
Pac-12—Oregon State picked up its first win of the season by beating Arizona 37-27 in Corvallis. The Beavers snapped a six-game losing streak dating back to last season. After a scoreless first quarter, Oregon State scored 27 of their 37 points in the second quarter. Midway through the third quarter, the Beavers had a 30-6 lead that they nearly squandered. The Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points before Oregon State scored again with 5:22 left. Oregon State won the turnover battle 4-2.
SEC—South Carolina smashed Kentucky 54-3 Saturday in Columbia, their biggest margin of victory in a SEC game since joining the conference in 1992. The Wildcats scored a field goal on their first possession of the game, but after that the game was all Gamecocks. The Gamecocks tallied 639 yards of offense. Connor Shaw got his first start of the season at quarterback. Shaw threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns. The Gamecocks defense was just as good, holding the Wildcats to just 96 yards of offense. The South Carolina defense only allowed four completions and made four interceptions.
Sun Belt—UL-Lafayette took down perennial Sun Belt favorite Troy Saturday night at Cajun Field. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended Troy’s four-game winning streak over UL-Lafayette and are now 3-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. Wide Receiver Javone Lawson had eight grabs for 131 yards. Senior cornerback Melvin White intercepted a pass from Troy’s Corey Robinson and ran it 89-yards for a pick-six. UL-Lafayette commands first place in the Sun Belt standings.
WAC—Utah State beat Wyoming Saturday night in Logan with a 63-19 landslide. The Aggies amassed their highest point total since 1963! Surprisingly, the game started with Wyoming winning 12-0. Freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton threw five touchdowns. Running back Robert Turbin ran for 109 yards and a touchdown; he also caught a 19-yard touchdown pass. Turbin has rushed for 100-plus yards in each of the Aggies’ last four games. Utah State went 8 for 11 on third downs.
ACC—Maryland laid waste to Miami on Monday night in fashion, sporting new uniforms based off of the Maryland state flag. Maryland took a 26-24 lead with 1:39 left in the game via a field goal. With Miami driving, Maryland defensive back Cameron Chism picked off Miami’s Stephen Morris on fourth down and ran 54 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach with less than forty ticks left on the clock. Maryland sophomore quarterback Danny O’Brien passed for 348 yards. Maryland avenged its 20-26 loss to the Hurricanes last year. Terrapin football is back.
Big 10—Northwestern picked up a quality win over Boston College Saturday in their opener. With Dan Persa still injured from a ruptured Achilles tendon, sophomore quarterback Kain Colter stepped up and played well. Colter completed 70.8% of passes on 24 attempts. The Eagles drove into the red zone looking to tie the game at 24 in the final minutes of the game, but senior defensive lineman Vince Browne came up with a sack on the final play to end the game.
Big 12—The Baylor Bears got the best of last year’s Rose Bowl winner in a shootout. TCU’s streak of 25-straight regular-season victories came to an end as the Bears beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2004. A field goal from Aaron Jones with 1:04 left in the game sealed the 50-48 win after the Horned Frogs came roaring back scoring 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 48-47 lead. Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III was phenomenal, passing for 359 yards and five touchdowns. After one week of play, Robert Griffin III looks to be a legitimate Heisman candidate.
Big East—South Florida upset No. 16 Notre Dame in South Bend in a game that had two rain delays. The South Florida defense forced two fumbles and made three interceptions to win the turnover battle 5-0. USF cornerback Kayvon Webster recovered a Notre Dame fumble and ran 96 yards for a touchdown to set the tone of the game just four minutes in. Despite gaining half the yardage that Notre Dame did, the Bulls played smarter football, exploiting the Irish’s mistakes and weaknesses.
C-USA—Case Keenum started his sixth season on the Houston Cougars with a quality 38-34 win over UCLA. Keenum threw for 310 yards, and wide out Tyron Carrier had 10 grabs for 138 yards. Houston’s victory avenges a loss last season to the Bruins and has moved Kevin Sumlin’s stock up as Rick Neuheisel’s stock drops.
MAC—In a game featuring the debuts of two new head coaches, Ball State came out on top of Indiana 27-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Cardinals quarterback Keith Wenning was efficient, going 23 for 29 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ball State rushed for 210 yards and controlled the rock for the majority of the second half. Ball State punter Scott Kovanda averaged 44.3 yards on three punts. The Cardinals have won their last two meetings against the Hoosiers.
MWC—The Broncos defeated Georgia 35-21 in Atlanta Saturday night. Boise State has taken down yet another BCS conference school and got its first victory over a SEC school. Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore went 28 for 34 passing, connecting with nine different targets. No. 5 Boise State looks to off to another great season and another BCS bowl game.
Pac-12—California picked up a solid win over Fresno State. It was the first time Cal beat Fresno State in three meetings. Cal quarterback Zach Maynard and wide receiver Keenan Allen are half-brothers. They connected for 112 yards through the air. The Golden Bears defense picked up 4 sacks. Despite 11 penalties, the Golden Bears were 7 yards short of doubling the Bulldogs’ modest 210 yards of total offense.
SEC— Two top 5 teams faced off on the opening weekend of college football, and LSU came out the winner over a stacked Oregon team 40-27. With starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson suspended because of a preseason brawl, backup Jarrett Lee did enough to lead the Tigers to victory. Oregon turned the ball over four times and the Tigers took advantage of the breaks, converting three Oregon fumbles into three touchdowns. LSU’s running backs Spencer Ware and Michael Ford outplayed Oregon’s star-studded tailbacks. LSU has won 34 straight nonconference games, the longest such streak in the nation.
Sun Belt—The Golden Panthers went to 1-0 in Sun Belt play after beating North Texas in their opener. FIU scored 28 points in the first quarter, a record for the program. Senior wide receiver had 283 all-purpose yards from receptions, rushes, punt returns, and kickoffs. Running backs Dariet Perry and Kedrick Rhodes each ran for two touchdowns. The Golden Panthers look to be a contender for the Sun Belt title.
WAC—Hawaii was the only WAC team to win in Week 1. The Warriors ran over Colorado 34-17 behind good quarterback play from senior signal-caller Bryant Moniz. Moniz, known as a passing quarterback, unleashed another dimension to his game by running for 121 yards in the opener, more yards than he rushed for all of last season. Hawaii cornerback Mike Edwards averaged 35.5 yards on two kickoff returns. Hawaii is the frontrunner to win the WAC this season.
Independents—In its first game since leaving the Mountain West Conference, BYU defeated Ole Miss in a close game by a score of 14-13. The Cougars trailed by a score of 0-13 in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Ross Apo pulled in a touchdown catch with 9:52 left. With 5:09 left the Cougars defense forced Ole Miss’s quarterback to fumble, and linebacker Kyle Van Noy jumped on top of the ball in the end zone to give BYU a one point lead and the eventual win.
| East Carolina | Houston | |||
| Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium | Robertson Stadium | |||
| S5 Tulsa | 50,010 | S4 Texas State | 32,119 | |
| S11 Memphis | 48,123 | S10 UTEP | 32,119 | |
| O16 NC State | 50,410 | S25 Tulane | 32,007 | |
| O23 Marshall | 50,145 | O9 Mississippi State | 32,067 | |
| N6 Navy | 50,191 | N5 UCF | 32,008 | |
| N26 SMU | 49,108 | N13 Tulsa | 30,046 | |
| AVERAGE | 49,665 | AVERAGE | 31,728 | |
| Marshall | Memphis | |||
| Edwards Stadium | Liberty Bowl | |||
| S10 West Virginia | 41,382 | S18 Middle Tennessee | 27,965 | |
| S25 Ohio | 28,143 | O2 Tulsa | 22,231 | |
| O13 UCF | 23,601 | O16 Southern Miss | 18,848 | |
| O30 UTEP | 24,740 | O30 Houston | 19,731 | |
| N13 Memphis | 25,108 | N6 Tennessee | 39,742 | |
| N27 Tulane | 19,302 | N27 UCF | 14,992 | |
| AVERAGE | 27,046 | AVERAGE | 23,918 | |
| Rice | Southern Methodist | |||
| Rice Stadium, Reliant Stadium* | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | |||
| S4 Texas* | 70,445 | S11 UAB | 16,612 | |
| S18 Northwestern | 15,562 | S18 Washington State | 18,184 | |
| S25 Baylor | 23,395 | S24 TCU | 35,481 | |
| O2 SMU | 14,981 | O9 Tulsa | 19,329 | |
| O16 Houston | 26,342 | O23 Houston | 20,741 | |
| N20 East Carolina | 15,262 | N20 Marshall | 17,513 | |
| N27 UAB | 13,007 | |||
| AVERAGE | 25,571 | AVERAGE | 21,310 | |
| Southern Miss | Tulane | |||
| M.M. Roberts Stadium | Louisiana Superdome | |||
| S11 Prairie View A&M | 27,316 | S2 Southeast Louisiana | 20,258 | |
| S17 Kansas | 30,211 | S11 Mississippi | 36,389 | |
| O2 Marshall | 27,518 | O9 Army | 28,756 | |
| O9 East Carolina | 32,334 | O30 SMU | 18,636 | |
| O30 UAB | 26,415 | N6 Southern Miss | 22,737 | |
| N20 Houston | 32,606 | N13 Rice | 16,698 | |
| N20 UCF | 19,069 | |||
| AVERAGE | 29,400 | AVERAGE | 23,220 | |
| Tulsa | UAB | |||
| Chapman Stadium | Legion Field | |||
| S11 Bowling Green | 19,565 | S2 Florida Atlantic | 25,885 | |
| S25 Central Arkansas | 21,928 | S18 Troy | 23,681 | |
| O16 Tulane | 23,295 | O16 UTEP | 11,756 | |
| N6 Rice | 19,036 | N6 Marshall | 17,860 | |
| N20 UTEP | 16,547 | N11 East Carolina | 14,083 | |
| N26 Southern Miss | 21,901 | N20 Memphis | 16,177 | |
| AVERAGE | 20,379 | AVERAGE | 18,240 | |
| UCF | UTEP | |||
| Bright House Networks Stadium | Sun Bowl | |||
| S4 South Dakota | 34,373 | S4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 30,029 | |
| S11 NC State | 43,020 | S18 New Mexico State | 39,214 | |
| O6 UAB | 40,281 | S25 Memphis | 29,765 | |
| O23 Rice | 38,151 | O9 Rice | 28,955 | |
| O30 East Carolina | 40,073 | O23 Tulane | 25,007 | |
| N13 Southern Miss | 40,358 | N6 SMU | 23,127 | |
| D4 SMU | 41,045 | |||
| AVERAGE | 39,614 | AVERAGE | 29,350 | |
East Carolina | 49,665 |
UCF | 39,614 |
Houston | 31,728 |
Southern Miss | 29,400 |
UTEP | 29,350 |
Marshall | 27,046 |
Rice | 25,571 |
Memphis | 23,918 |
Tulane | 23,220 |
Southern Methodist | 21,310 |
Tulsa | 20,379 |
UAB | 18,240 |
