Ole Miss Rebels Tame Memphis Tigers
NCAA Football Week One Storylines, USC Freshman QB Wins First Start
Sep 6, 2009
The 2009 NCAA Football season started off with Heisman hopeful Sam Bradford of Oklahoma injuring his shoulder; the school's National Championship dreams are gone with his loss as he will be out 3-4 weeks.
With Bradford out, maybe someone else can join in on the Heisman chase; a true freshman from USC perhaps? Time will tell how good Matt Barkley truly is- on to some top storylines for week one.
#8 Ole Miss 45, Memphis 14
This game started out as if Memphis could have a shot at beating No. 8 ranked Ole Miss; not really as the Rebels defense stopped Memphis most of the day. With a 17-7 halftime lead, Ole Miss out-gained Memphis 275 yards to 192.
The game was a snooze fest fest for three quarters as neither team could execute on 3rd down (Rebels 5-of-12, Tigers 4-of-16), which resulted in 13 total punts.
And then came Jevan Snead with two TD passes in less than a minute with about six minutes to play to close the door on the Tigers. Snead finished the day 12-of-22 for 175yards and 2 TD, he also threw 2 interceptions but rebounded nicely.
Ole Miss running back/receiver Dexter McCluster was all over the field. McCluster ran for 50 yards and a touchdown, and also caught 6 passes for 65 more yards and another score. Sophomore running back Brandon Bolden added 71 yards and a TD.
Next Week: in Oxford, MS vs Southeastern Louisiana
#4 USC 56, San Jose State 3
For the first time in USC history, a true freshman got the start at quarterback. Matt Barkley proved the right man for the job completing 15-of-19 passes for 223 yards and a TD in the romp of San Jose. Barkley sat out the final quarter since the game was obviously over at 42-3.
Barkley admitted to being nervous at the sight of the crowd, but he made coach Carroll happy by making good throws all day. scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap
The run game and defense was the other story on Saturday, the Trojans defense allowed just 121 total yards compared to USC's 620. USC used four running backs to score six touchdowns. Joe McKnight led the way with 145 yards and 2 scores for the Trojans.
Next Week: at #6 Ohio State
#2 Texas 59, Louisiana-Monroe 20
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy started 2009 looking like a true Heisman hopeful. McCoy torched the Warhawks for 317 yards and 2 TD on 21-of-29 passing.
Longhorns running back Cody Johnson got the scoring started by crossing the goal line three consecutive times on one yard scores to begin the game.
D.J. Monroe returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score followed by McCoy tossing a 78 yard pass to help give Texas a 38-10 halftime lead. The defense overpowered the Warhawks to seal the victory in the second half.
Next Week: at Wyoming
Other Notables: #23 Notre Dame beat Nevada 35-0. Wisconsin won 28-20 over Northern Illinois, while the #6 Ohio State Buckeyes escaped embarrassment (barely) vs Navy 31-27.
