COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES: Rudolph leads No. 10 Oklahoma State past Tulsa

Chase is on in college football, and Alabama leads the pack 

College football is back, and the start of the 2017 season looks very similar to the start of seasons past: many contenders, all of whom seem to be chasing Alabama. Week 1 isn't the be-all and end-all, though it might feel that way for Florida State and Florida fans. We can, however, now paint a more detailed picture of the season. Opening weekend is about finding signs of what a team can become. As we all know, it isn't how you start the season, it's how you finish it, but it looks like we might start with Alabama in Atlanta ... and finish with Alabama in Atlanta. Yes, there are plenty of weeks remaining, but a No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide team that lost so much on defense won in the most Alabama fashion: by owning the trenches and keeping No. 3 Florida State one-dimensional. The Tide looked like a seasoned, championship squad, while the Seminoles looked lost and overwhelmed for most of the second half of their 24-7 loss. To make matters worse, FSU quarterback Deondre Francois left the game with an injury. Alabama pulled away from Florida State in the second half. AP Photo/John Bazemore Remember, Alabama is only going to get better, and it has plenty more teams to steamroller in the process. The most revealing game might have been No. 11 Michigan's 33-17 win over No. 17 Florida. The Wolverines are an inexperienced bunch, but they seemed to get through their defensive growing pains with ease against what looked like an outcoached and overmatched Gators team at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Gators were expected to be better on offense, especially at quarterback. We didn't know what to expect from a Michigan defense that had to replace 10 starters. Michigan embarrassed Florida, which showed no signs of improvement at quarterback, thanks to the Wolverines' constant obliteration of the Gators' offensive line, which Florida coach Jim McElwain assured would be a strength of his team. Instead, redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks got yanked, and Notre Dame grad transfer Malik Zaire looked bewildered as Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown sent in blitz after blitz. Michigan used two quarterbacks by design -- Wilton Speight, who should cement himself as the starter, and John O'Korn -- while Florida's changes came out of necessity. Michigan came away with answers, while Florida is left starting from scratch and looking worse than ever under offensive-minded McElwain heading into Week 2. Alabama didn't blow out Florida State like it has done to other season-opening opponents, but the Crimson Tide methodically wore the Seminoles down. New Texas coach Tom Herman says the pitfalls that led to the Longhorns' season-opening loss to visiting Maryland can be corrected. The Seminoles fear sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois suffered a significant injury to his left leg Saturday night when he was sacked late in the fourth quarter of a 24-7 loss to Alabama. 2 Related USC avoided becoming Saturday's biggest surprise. You can't ignore the talent Western Michigan has -- even without boat-rowing former head coach P.J. Fleck -- but the No. 4 team in the country and Heisman Trophy favorite Sam Darnold shouldn't have had to fight the Broncos off until late in the fourth quarter of a 49-31 win. Darnold, who said earlier this week that he knew he'd have butterflies in his stomach before the opener, didn't have the look of a Heisman Trophy favorite with his two interceptions, but 28 fourth-quarter points, capped by a Marvell Tell III pick-six, saved the Trojans. However, make no mistake, the defense has a ways to go after giving up 263 rushing yards a week before playing No. 14 Stanford and the nearly untouchable Bryce Love. Perhaps the most disappointing performance from Week 1 came from No. 23 Texas. The Longhorns were supposed to be starting over under new coach Tom Herman, but Saturday's 51-41 home loss to Maryland showed that the problems that cost Charlie Strong his job -- bad defense and inconsistent special teams -- are still plaguing the Longhorns. Strong was fired because of losses such as this, and now Herman, whose name alone is a major reason Texas started the season ranked, is left dealing with questions that might be too tough for him to answer quickly. Here are your Heisman-like performances from Week 1. This isn't to say that these guys will be true Heisman contenders, but they put up some of the prettiest numbers Saturday. 1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State: He'll probably be the first running back taken in next year's NFL draft -- and for good reason. He had 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in No. 6 Penn State's 52-0 win over Akron. He also caught three passes for 54 yards. 2. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: Hey, remember him? Yeah, he actually won the Heisman last year. All he did to kick off this season was throw for 378 yards and two touchdowns while running for another 107 yards. 3. Drew Lock, QB, Missouri: Who? Yeah, Mizzou's quarterback makes it on here after a record-setting day. Forget that it was against Missouri State. Lock threw for a school-record 521 yards and tied the SEC single-game record with seven touchdown passes. 4. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: It feels like he has been a Heisman finalist for the past 10 years. With new coach Lincoln Riley taking over, Mayfield celebrated his new head coach's debut with 329 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-20 passing. 5. Luke Falk, QB, Washington State: Falk completed his first 20 passes and set the school's career touchdown pass record in a win over Montana State. He was 33-for-39 passing for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Kelly Bryant turned in a strong performance in his debut as Clemson's starting quarterback. Joshua S. Kelly/USA TODAY Sports What's in a name? Here are five guys you should probably know after Week 1, if you didn't already know about them. 1. Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma: He has been as steady as you could be at tight end, with 14 touchdowns in two years, but on Saturday he notched his first 100-yard outing, catching seven passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. 2. Kelly Bryant, QB, Clemson: Taking over for Deshaun Watson was never going to be easy, but Bryant made it look that way in his starting debut. He accounted for 313 total yards and two touchdowns (one pass, one rush). 3. J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State: The freshman was nearly unstoppable in Thursday's win over Indiana, carrying the ball 29 times for 181 yards. Ninety-four of those yards came after contact. 4. Jake Bentley, QB, South Carolina: The kid -- and I emphasize kid -- skipped his senior year of high school to join South Carolina's team last year. He became the starter in Game 7 and finished the year 4-3 as the starter. He kicked off the 2017 season with 215 yards and three touchdowns in the Gamecocks' 35-28 win over NC State. 5. Brandon Wimbush, QB, Notre Dame: In his starting debut with the Irish, Wimbush threw for 184 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 106 yards and another score. Each week breeds new questions. Here are three that I have going into Week 2: How do two offenses rebound from losing their starting quarterbacks? Florida State and Georgia watched their starting quarterbacks -- Deondre Francois and Jacob Eason, respectively -- leave their games with what appeared to be serious injuries. Georgia will turn to former top prospect and true freshman Jake Fromm, who threw for 143 yards and a touchdown in a win over Appalachian State, but the picture at FSU is murkier. Redshirt junior J.J. Cosentino and true freshman James Blackman could get the first looks. Where does Florida's offense go from here? Franks had an up-and-down debut, but he looked more polished as a passer than Zaire. The biggest problem was that Florida's offensive line was as durable as a soup sandwich, and the playcalling was stale. How does Florida regroup? Is there another quarterback battle, or are changes in store with playcalling by offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier? Is Cal for real? OK, the Golden Bears aren't winning the Pac-12 and won't be a playoff anything, but Justin Wilcox kicked off his tenure in a shocking way, with a 35-30 win at North Carolina. It was the first East Coast day game for Cal since 2012, and in his debut start at quarterback, Ross Bowers threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns. Where in the world did this come from?


COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES: Rudolph leads No. 10 Oklahoma State past Tulsa 

Mason Rudolph threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to help No. 10 Oklahoma State beat Tulsa 59-24 on Thursday night. Rudolph completed 20 of 24 passes with no interceptions. The senior joined Brandon Weeden as the only Cowboys quarterbacks to surpass 9,000 yards in career passing. Preseason AP All-American James Washington caught six passes for 145 yards, including touchdown receptions of 77 and 40 yards. Justice Hill ran for 132 yards and a touchdown, J.D. King had 95 and LD Brown 92 for the Cowboys, who are in the preseason Top 10 for the third time in school history. Oklahoma State gained 640 total yards. Tulsa quarterback Chad President, who got the start over Luke Skipper, passed for 178 yards and ran for 69. Corey Taylor II ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns. D'Angelo Brewer finished with 33 yards on 22 carries. The takeaway TULSA: The Golden Hurricane are down several notches from the squad that went 10-3 last season and beat Central Michigan 55-10 in the Miami Beach Bowl. Neither quarterback is ready to replace Dane Evans, who broke many of the school's passing records. The Golden Hurricane showed fight but were outmanned. OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys, wary of home upsets after last year's stunning loss to Central Michigan, were never in danger in this one. Oklahoma State rushed for 332 yards on 37 carries to balance its dynamic passing attack. Up next TULSA: The Golden Hurricane host Louisiana on Sept. 9. OKLAHOMA ST: The Cowboys play at South Alabama on Sept. 8. Oklahoma State will play its first Saturday game in Week 3 at Pittsburgh. Hayden shines in debut as Arkansas downs Florida A&M Freshman Chase Hayden rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut as Arkansas opened its season with a 49-7 win over Florida A&M on Thursday night. Henre' Tolliver added an 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown for the Razorbacks (1-0), who nearly notched their first shutout since 2014 in their first game since an offseason switch to a 3-4 defensive look. Hayden finished with 14 carries, becoming the first Arkansas player to top 100 yards rushing in his debut since Alex Collins did so to open the 2013 season. Austin Allen finished 14-of-19 passing for 135 yards with a touchdown for Arkansas. Devwah Whaley added 60 yards rushing on 12 carries for the Razorbacks, and South Carolina transfer David Williams rushed for two touchdowns. Florida A&M quarterback Vince Jeffries connected with Brandon Norwood for a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Rattlers' lone score. The takeaway FLORIDA A&M: Rattlers quarterback Ryan Stanley didn't play in the game because of a sore ankle, a week after accounting for 238 yards in a season-opening win over Texas Southern. Stanley likely could have played in the game, but coach Alex Wood decided to rest the sophomore in the Football Championship Subdivision school's matchup against a Southeastern Conference opponent. ARKANSAS: The three-headed combination of Hayden, Whaley and Williams somewhat eased any concerns the Razorbacks might have had about their rushing attack after former running back Rawleigh Williams' career came to an end following a second neck injury in the spring. Arkansas finished with 236 yards rushing on 45 carries overall, an average of 4.5 yards per rush. Up next FLORIDA A&M: The Rattlers are off next week before wrapping up their nonconference season when they travel to Tampa to face Tennessee State on Sept. 16. ARKANSAS: After defeating TCU 41-38 in double overtime a year ago in Texas, the Horned Frogs make the return trip to Fayetteville next Saturday. J.K. Dobbins broke Ohio State's freshman record by rushing for 181 yards in his college debut, J.T. Barrett threw three touchdown passes and the second-ranked Buckeyes pulled away to beat Indiana 49-21 on Thursday night. The Buckeyes have won 23 straight over the Hoosiers. Indiana had big plans for what was billed as the biggest opener in school history — a prime time, nationally televised game that included the first trip by ESPN's "College GameDay" to Bloomington. Instead, Dobbins stole the show. With Mike Weber, Ohio State's top runner in 2016, out with a hamstring injury, Dobbins stepped in and surpassed Maurice Clarett's previous debut record of 175 yards set in 2002 against Texas Tech. Barrett overcame a slow start to finish 20 of 35 for 304 yards. He added 61 yards rushing and another score to move within two touchdowns of matching Drew Brees' Big Ten career record for total touchdowns of 106. But the Buckeyes weren't themselves early. They didn't reach the end zone until Antonio Williams' 1-yard plunge with 5:17 left in the first half. They finally retook the lead on Barrett's 2-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter and pulled away after Parris Campbell hauled in a 74-yard TD pass to make it 27-21 with 4:38 left in the third. Ohio State scored the last 28 points. Indiana, controlled most of the first half of Tom Allen's home debut as coach. Hoosiers quarterback Richard Lagow played fearlessly, finishing 40 of 65 with 410 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also broke Ben Chappell's school record for pass attempts of 64 set in 2010 against Michigan, and finished with the second-highest completions total in one game. The takeaway Ohio State: The Buckeyes avoided a double dose of danger — winning a rare conference opener in Week 1 and getting a road win, too. And Dobbins' big performance should put pressure on Weber to come back strong — and soon. Indiana: No, the Hoosiers didn't end their losing streak against Ohio State. But it wasn't a total loss. They sold out Memorial Stadium and were competitive on an entertaining night. Up next Ohio State: Heads home Sept. 9 for an even tougher matchup against No. 7 Oklahoma. Indiana: The Hoosiers travel to Virginia on Sept. 9. Arizona State unveils Tillman statue at Sun Devil Stadium The walls around Sun Devil Stadium and the new football complex are lined with photos of Pat Tillman. Images of the former player and Army Ranger can be found across the campus and around town, too. Now there's a bronze likeness of perhaps the greatest Sun Devil in school history. Arizona State unveiled a bronze statue of Tillman during a ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium on Wednesday, a monument designed as a tribute to the man who gave so much and as inspiration to the players trying to follow his footsteps. "Pat spent his whole life trying to be the best person he could possibly be," Tillman's brother, Kevin, said before the drape was dropped. "He didn't focus on money, he didn't focus on fame, he didn't focus on a pretty statue. It was, 'How can I make myself a better person in all these different facets of my life?' And ASU gave him an opportunity to do that." The ceremony, held in the redesigned football facilities in the north end zone, drew several hundred people, including Tillman's family, former and current ASU players and university officials. Tillman played at Arizona State from 1994-97 and went on to play for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals before walking away from a multimillion contract to serve his country in wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Tillman became an Army Ranger in 2003 and served until being killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. Before you go ... Do you like what you see? The Columbia Missourian produces in-depth journalism across many platforms while coaching talented MU students. Independent reporting isn’t cheap to produce, even if it’s free to consume. 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Takeaways from Alabama's victory against Florida State: Dominant defense for the Tide 

A look at some of the highlights from the first full Saturday of the 2017 college football season. USA TODAY Sports Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) throws on the run.(Photo: Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports) ATLANTA –  No. 1 Alabama pulled away from No. 3 Florida State in the second half, winning 24-7 in the first official game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here are four takeaways from Saturday: For a half, the game more than lived up to all the preseason hype  The difference came in the third quarter, when Alabama’s special teams made a couple of plays – Nick Saban would call them hidden points, y’all, and there was a definite edge there – and the Tide took over. A blocked punt led to a field goal followed by a fumbled kickoff that led to a touchdown. Just like that, 10-7 became a two-touchdown lead. Momentum turned. And it was over. Otherwise, both teams were what they’d been billed as. Fast, ferocious defenses made things difficult all night for talented offenses. It was worthy of a national title game. As has been often noted, that game will be played in the same stadium. The best news for college football fans is, we’ve got a whole season to play first. The worst possible outcome for Florida State was not a loss Either team could have survived that and remained firmly in the chase for the College Football Playoff. But late in the fourth quarter with the outcome all but decided, Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois went down with an apparent left knee injury. If the injury is severe, the season’s narrative could change completely for Florida State. Francois was chased down by a blitzing Ronnie Harrison and immediately clutched his left knee. Moments later he emerged from a pop-up medical tent on crutches, with the left leg in a brace, and left the field on a cart.  The names and numbers change, but Alabama’s defense remains The Crimson Tide’s 2016 defense might have been the best of the Nick Saban era. When seven were taken in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft, you might have thought a slight drop-off was possible. … Or not. Deep into the fourth quarter, Alabama held Florida State to 25 rushing yards. The Seminoles’ only touchdown came on an impressive 11-play, 90-yard drive. But the rest of the way, yards came at a premium and points, well, they didn’t come at all. And like Saban’s other great defenses, when the Tide smelled blood, it responded like sharks in the water. After taking a 21-7 lead, Bama intercepted Deondre Francois on consecutive passes. That the Tide didn’t score after either pick was testament to Florida State’s D – but the Seminoles had zero shot of a comeback against that attack. After all the offseason talk about whether Jalen Hurts’ passing would improve, there wasn’t much new in evidence Hurts made a great throw on a 53-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley — but Ridley was so open, the old Bama offensive coordinator would’ve been signaling touchdown before Hurts released the pass. We also saw Hurts bolting too early from the pocket several times, similar to last year. Against Florida State, his scrambles didn’t usually net much. But here’s the thing: Like last year, it might be unnecessary. It’s very likely the Tide won’t need much in the way of a precision passing game. The defense and run game will be more than enough against most opponents. Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide