New Signal-Callers Help ‘Bama, Buckeyes

Second-ranked Alabama and No. 5 Ohio State were able to win their season openers while unveiling their new quarterbacks.

Blake Sims performed well in the Crimson Tide's 33-23 win against West Virginia, completing 24 of his 33 passes for 250 yards and rushing for 42 yards. Sims was able to find Amari Cooper 12 times for 130 yards, while T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry combined to run for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

Alabama's defense surrendered 365 passing yards but held the Mountaineers to 28 yards on 24 carries.

J.T. Barrett threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes picked up their 25th consecutive regular-season win, beating Navy 34-17 in Baltimore. Barrett ran for 50 yards and completed 12 of his 15 passes, including an 80-yard TD toss to Devin Smith.

Darron Lee returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

In other top-25 action:

— Top-ranked Florida State opened its national title defense with a victory as Jameis (JAYM'-ihs) Winston threw for 370 yards and scored on a 28-yard run to lead the Seminoles past Oklahoma State 37-31. FSU built an early 17-point lead before holding off the Cowboys.

— Third-ranked Oregon crushed South Dakota 62-13 as Marcus Mariota (mar-ee-OH'-tah) completed 14 of 20 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Mariota also ran for a touchdown, while Byron Marshall totaled 89 yards on the ground and had eight catches for 138 yards and two scores.

— Trevor Knight passed for 253 yards and a touchdown to help fourth-ranked Oklahoma hammer Louisiana Tech 48-16. Keith Ford had 116 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns.

— Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson passed for 243 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns, but the sixth-ranked Tigers needed a dominant second half to beat Arkansas 45-21. Nick Marshall returned from suspension with a 19-yard TD run while the Tigers outscored the Razorbacks 24-0 in the second half.

— Seventh-ranked UCLA scored three defensive touchdowns and Brett Hundley ran for a second-half score on a 28-20 victory at Virginia. Hundley was 20 of 33 for 242 yards and no interceptions.

— No. 11 Stanford whipped UC Davis 45-0 behind Ty Montgomery, who returned his first career punt for a touchdown and caught five passes for 77 yards and another score. Kevin Hogan was 12 of 16 for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

— Kenny Hilliard's 28-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter gave 13th-ranked LSU its only lead in a 28-24 triumph over No. 14 Wisconsin. Hilliard had 110 rushing yards and Anthony Jennings through a pair of touchdown passes to help the Tigers storm back from a 24-7 deficit.

— Todd Gurley accounted for four touchdowns as 12th-ranked Georgia ripped No. 16 Clemson 45-21. Gurley ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns, returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD and set a school record for all-purpose yards with 293.

— Steve Sarkisian won his debut as Southern California's head coach as Cody Kessler threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns to lead the 15th-ranked Trojans past Fresno State 52-13. The Trojans ran a school- and Pac-12 record 105 plays while racking up 37 first downs and 702 yards of total offense.

— Everett Golson threw two long touchdown passes and ran for three more scores in leading 17th-ranked Notre Dame's 48-17 trouncing of Rice. Golson was 14 of 22 passing for 295 yards, including scoring strikes of 75 and 53 yards.

— Jake Waters threw for 223 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as No. 20 Kansas State pounded Stephen F. Austin 55-16.

— No. 22 Nebraska ripped Florida Atlantic 55-7 as Ameer Abdullah ran for a career-high 232 yards and Tommy Armstrong Jr. passed for a career-high 271 yards and two TDs.

— Marquise Williams scored four touchdowns and Jeff Schoettmer returned an interception for a score to help 23rd-ranked North Carolina rally from a 22-21 deficit and crush Liberty 56-29.

— Maty (MA'-tee) Mauk threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns to lead 24th-rated Missouri past South Dakota State 38-18.

— Lavon Coleman carried 19 times for 94 yards and John Ross grabbed a 91-yard scoring pass from Jeff Lindquist as No. 25 Washington held off Hawaii 17-16.