ACC football: Dayes, Wolfpack impressive in Doeren's debut

RALEIGH, N.C. - Freshman Matt Dayes ran for 84 yards and three touchdowns to help North Carolina State beat Louisiana Tech in its first game under coach Dave Doeren.

Tony Creecy also scored for the Wolfpack (1-0), who scored the first 24 points with Doeren's no-huddle offense and led comfortably all afternoon.

Still, an early left foot injury to starting quarterback Brandon Mitchell put a damper on the afternoon. Mitchell, who beat out Pete Thomas for the job during training camp, broke a bone in his foot after directing N.C. State to touchdowns on its first two possessions.

Mitchell left midway through the opening quarter, then returned to the sideline late in the half on crutches and wearing a protective boot. Doeren says Mitchell could miss four to six weeks.

Kenneth Dixon ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs (0-1), who lost their first game under coach Skip Holtz.

No. 8 Clemson 38, No. 5 Georgia 35

CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two others, Clemson’s defense sacked Aaron Murray four times and the eighth-ranked Tigers stung No. 5 Georgia.

Boyd had scoring passes of 77 yards to Sammy Watkins, 24 yards to Zac Brooks and 9 yards to Stanton Seckinger. Boyd also added TD runs of 4 and 2 yards to win the lone matchup of top 10 teams in college football’s opening weekend.

The Tigers took the lead for good, 31-28, on Chandler Catanzaro’s 24-yard field goal in the third quarter. Georgia had a chip-shot try for a tying kick on its next possession, but couldn’t get if off after Nathan Theus’ bad snap .

Two series later, Boyd led a 12-play, 87-yard TD drive that ended with tight end Seckinger tip-toeing the sidelines to get in.

Georgia’s Todd Gurley ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

Penn State 23, Syracuse 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Christian Hackenberg threw two touchdown passes in his first college game and the freshman led Penn State over Syracuse.

Hackenberg went 22 for 31 for 278 yards with two interceptions and became the second freshman to start a Penn State opener at quarterback since 1910.

The 18-year-old blue chip recruit hit Eugene Lewis with a deep pass down the middle and the receiver reached into the end zone for a 54-yard score that made it 23-10 with 11:39 left in the fourth quarter. Hackenberg also hooked up with Allen Robinson on a 51-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Robinson, Penn State's leading receiver last season, unexpectedly did not play in the first half, but finished with seven catches for 133 yards.

Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen got the start at quarterback for new Syracuse coach Scott Shafer, and finished 16 for 37 for 189 yards.

Georgia Tech 70, Elon 0

ATLANTA - Vad Lee threw for two touchdowns and ran for one more in Georgia Tech's rout of Elon.

Four different Georgia Tech players ran for touchdowns in the first quarter Saturday, and the Yellow Jackets added a school-record 173 interception return yards.

Georgia Tech achieved the largest margin of victory by an ACC school, surpassing Florida State's 69-0 win over Western Carolina in 2008.

The template for this first-ever meeting between FBS Georgia Tech and FCS Elon was in place quickly. Georgia Tech's first two scores were set up when the Phoenix lost a fumble on the game's second play from scrimmage, and minutes later the Yellow Jackets blocked Elon's first punt.

The Yellow Jackets led 42-0 at halftime after reserve linebacker Tyler Marcordes returned an interception 95 yards for a score.

Maryland 43, Florida International 10

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - C.J. Brown celebrated his return from injury with a marvelous performance, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two scores to lead Maryland over Florida International.

Brown missed all of last year after tearing his left ACL in preseason practice. The senior made up for lost time during a torrid first half, completing 15 of 16 passes and running for 99 yards to help the Terrapins (1-0) go up 40-10.

Brown finished 20 for 23 for 281 yards passing and ran for 105 yards on 11 carries before being removed in the third quarter. His touchdown runs were 29 and 11 yards, and he threw for scores of 25, 17 and 66 yards.

Playing its first game under coach Ron Turner, Florida International (0-1) gave up 399 yards before halftime and managed only 59 yards and three first downs over the opening 30 minutes.

Boston College 24, Villanova 14

BOSTON - Alex Amidon had 13 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown as Boston College recovered from a slow start to beat Villanova and win its first game under coach Steve Addazio.

Andre Williams ran for 114 yards on 23 carries for the Eagles (1-0), who won just twice last season and fired coach Frank Spaziani.

John Robertson ran for 94 yards and passed for 158 more for Villanova (0-1). Jamal Abdur-Rahman caught one TD pass and had a 47-yard touchdown run on a fake punt on the game's opening drive.

The Wildcats, a top 10 team in the Football Championship Subdivision, also led 14-7 before Boston College scored the next 17 points.

Duke 45, N.C. Central 0

DURHAM, N.C. - Brandon Connette threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Duke earned its first shutout in 24 years with a season-opening rout of North Carolina Central.

Jamison Crowder returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, starting QB Anthony Boone had a 1-yard touchdown run and Jela Duncan added a 3-yard scoring run.

Connette - his backup and short-yardage specialist - ran 1 yard for a touchdown, threw an early 3-yard TD pass to Braxton Deaver and added a late 19-yard scoring pass to Isaac Blakeney.

Duke led 28-0 before N.C. Central crossed midfield, scoring touchdowns four straight times it touched the ball while cruising to its most lopsided victory under sixth-year coach David Cutcliffe.

The Blue Devils outgained the Eagles 488-184 in their first shutout since Steve Spurrier's final Duke team blanked rival North Carolina 41-0 in 1989.

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