Ohio Doesn’t Pass Up an Opportunity to Win

Quarterback Kareem Wilson ran for two touchdowns and Ohio University--throwing only three passes--overcame a 14-point deficit to shock Maryland, 21-14, Saturday night at College Park, Md., ruining the head coaching debut of Ron Vanderlinden.

Ohio (2-0), of the Mid-American Conference, was 0-8 against Atlantic Coast Conference teams before pulling off one of the biggest upsets in school history.

Ohio allowed the Terrapins touchdowns on each of their first two possessions, then dominated Maryland with a relentless running attack led by Wilson.

Wilson ran for 81 yards in 20 carries and increased his career rushing touchdown total to 27, breaking the school mark of 26 set by Andy Vetter (1974-77). Wilson completed one of his three passes for 10 yards.

John Cosgrove scored the tiebreaking touchdown on a five-yard run with 12:04 left, and the Ohio defense made the lead stand up.

No. 18 Clemson 23, Appalachian State 12--Since the Tigers (1-0) have now won 33 in a row against Southern Conference teams, the outcome of this game at Clemson, S.C., wasn’t surprising. But the way Clemson did it was.

Clemson, traditionally a running team, went to the air as Nealon Greene passed for two touchdowns and a career-high 250 yards. Greene missed on only two of his last 17 passes. The Tigers have a new offensive coordinator, Steve Ensminger, who came from Georgia, where he worked with quarterback Eric Zeier in the early 1990s.

Eight Clemson receivers caught passes against Appalachian State (0-1). Tony Horne, who caught 20 passes all last season, caught 10.

There were still some bows to tradition--star tailback Raymond Priester gained 138 yards, his 13th career 100-yard game and fifth in a row.

North Carolina State 45, Duke 14--North Carolina State followed its upset of Syracuse by rolling over Duke at Durham, N.C., getting another outstanding effort from quarterback Jamie Barnette.

The Wolfpack, coming off consecutive 3-8 seasons, has now started 2-0 on the road for the first time since 1968, while the Blue Devils (0-1) lost their 14th in a row--the nation’s longest losing streak.

It was the largest margin of victory by the Wolfpack in the 72-game series as quarterback Jamie Barnette was 15 for 19 for 224 yards, while adding 45 on the ground.

EAST

Randy Moss turned two short receptions into spectacular long touchdowns and Marshall capitalized on three Army turnovers to lead the Thundering Herd (1-1) to a 35-25 victory over the Cadets (0-1) at West Point, N.Y. Moss made five catches for 186 yards, including touchdown pass plays covering 90 and 79 yards. Chad Pennington threw for three touchdowns as Marshall, which lost its opener to West Virginia, 42-31, got its first victory since moving up to Division I-A. It was Army’s 1,000th football game. Army outgained Marshall, 527 yards to 337 overall, but two lost fumbles and had a pass intercepted.

Amos Zereoue rushed for a career-high 199 yards and two touchdowns in 31 carries, and defensive back/kick returner Nate Terry scored on a 100-yard kickoff return as West Virginia (2-0) recorded a 24-17 victory over East Carolina (0-1) at Morgantown, W. Va. The same two players led the Mountaineers over Marshall last Saturday, when Zereoue rushed for 174 yards and Terry had two fourth-quarter interceptions. East Carolina, which has now lost to West Virginia 10 times in 11 games, lost the nation’s leading returning rusher, Scott Harley, because of a sprained ankle in the second quarter. His status is uncertain.

Stacey Mack, who rushed for 126 yards in 16 carries, scored on 26-yard run with 1:25 left at Philadelphia to give Temple (1-1, 1-0) a 28-21 victory over Boston College (0-1, 0-1). It was only the second Big East victory in 40 games for the Owls.

SOUTH

Tommy Bowden made a successful coaching debut as Tulane beat favored Cincinnati, 31-17, in the Louisiana Superdome. He is the third major college coach in the family, joining his father, Bobby Bowden of Florida State, and brother, Terry Bowden of Auburn. Led by junior quarterback Shaun King’s four touchdown passes and a defense that forced four turnovers, Tulane controlled the Conference USA opener played before 20,828. King completed 21 of 34 passes for 265 yards and rushed for 87 yards in 17 carries. His scrambling kept the Bearcats (1-1) off balance through most of the game. . . . Bernard Oden completed 16 of 29 passes for 205 yards and three touchdown passes and also ran for a touchdown as the Tigers (1-1) recorded a 28-7 victory over Alabama Birmingham (0-2) at Memphis, Tenn.

MIDWEST

LeAndre Moore went 85 yards for the longest touchdown run in Ball State history and also scored on a one-yard run as the Cardinals (1-1) recorded a 24-6 victory over Division I-AA James Madison at Muncie, Ind. Moore finished with 140 yards in 17 carries. . . . Bob Niemet ran for two touchdowns and Bowling Green (1-1, 1-0) shut down Miami of Ohio (1-1, 0-1) in the second half for a 28-21 Mid-American Conference victory at Bowling Green, Ohio. . . . Adrian Brown scored two touchdowns as part of a ground game that produced 328 yards and Youngstown State (2-0) beat Kent, 44-23, at Youngstown, Ohio.

WEST

John Dutton passed for 253 yards and three touchdowns to lead Nevada (1-1) to a 31-14 victory over Nevada Las Vegas (0-1) at Reno. UNLV quarterback Jon Denton passed for 265 yards and a touchdown and Todd Floyd had 11 receptions for 100 yards for the Rebels. Sophomore Chris Lemon rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown in 34 carries for Nevada and UNLV’s Rodrick Johnson, the junior college player of the year last season at Dixie College in Utah, rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. UNLV, losing for the eighth time in nine meetings with its intrastate rival, has lost 20 of 22 games and has a 15-game road losing streak.

Brian Brennan, sidelined last year by shoulder surgery, completed 18 of 28 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns and Idaho (1-1) shut down Portland State (0-2) for a 46-0 victory at Moscow, Ida. . . . Utah State second-string running back Melvin Blue, filling in for injured starter Demario Brown, ran for 137 yards and a touchdown to lead the Aggies (2-0) to a 41-7 victory over Idaho State (0-1) at Logan, Utah. . . . Azusa Pacific, despite scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter, lost its season opener to San Diego, 25-15, at San Diego.