Off the field, where seemingly all the action is in college sports these days, the Pacific-12 and the Southeastern Conferences appear poised to grow. The SEC made another definitive statement about its superiority Saturday. No. 4 Louisiana State dominated the line of scrimmage and overpowered No. 3 Oregon, 40-27, cashing in on Ducks turnovers and preventing their frenetic offense from controlling the game's tempo. The Ducks again flailed offensively as they also sputtered through last year's national title game against Auburn before falling, 22-19. Boise State 35, Georgia 21: The non-believers were sent scattering again Saturday night as the Southeastern Conference was added to the inventory of Boise State's victims from brand-name conferences. The fifth-ranked Broncos, who have disposed of teams from the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference, wore out No. 19 Georgia, 35-21. South Florida 23, Notre Dame 20: Kayvon Webster returned a fumble 96 yards for an early touchdown as South Florida came to Notre Dame for the first time and stunned the 16th-ranked Irish, 23-20, in a game disrupted for hours because of storms. Crimson Tide 48, Kent State 7: AJ McCarron stepped up in Alabama's quarterback race Saturday, throwing for a touchdown and 226 yards as the Crimson Tide beat Kent State 48-7 in its first game since the twister that destroyed thousands of homes and killed 50 people within a few miles of campus four months ago. Florida State 34, Louisiana-Monroe 0: EJ Manuel threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns and backup quarterback Clint Trickett threw a touchdown pass on his first college play as No. 6 Florida State beat Louisiana-Monroe in the season opener for both teams. Stanford 57, San Jose State 3: Andrew Luck threw two touchdowns and ran for another score, leading Stanford past San Jose State in the season opener. The Heisman Trophy runner-up completed 17 of 26 passes for 171 yards and looked every bit the player many believe will take home college football's most famous award this season. He connected with seven different receivers and showed no signs of slipping under new coach David Shaw. Nebraska 40, Chattanooga 7: Taylor Martinez ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns out of Nebraska's new no-huddle offense and the No. 10 Cornhuskers beat Chattanooga in their first game as Big Ten members. South Carolina 56, East Carolina 37: Fifth-year senior Stephen Garcia came off the bench to run for two touchdowns and throw for another as he rallied the 12th-ranked Gamecocks past East Carolina. Virginia Tech 66, Appalachian State 13: David Wilson ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 13 Virginia Tech routed Appalachian State. Other results: Arkansas 51, Missouri State 7; Ohio State 42, Akron 0; Florida 41, Florida Atlantic 3; Auburn 42, Utah State 38; USC 19, Minnesota 17.
