ATLANTA — Against all odds, undermanned North Carolina nearly rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit before losing 30-24 to LSU on Saturday night.
Patrick Peterson had 257 yards — including an 87-yard touchdown — on kickoff and punt returns, leading No. 21 LSU to a 30-10 halftime lead. Not surprising, given the Tar Heels were missing 13 key players because of an NCAA investigation over relationships with agents and possible academic violations.
But No. 18 North Carolina made a game of it, scoring two second-half touchdowns, then getting two shots at the win after recovering an onside kick and a fumble. T.J. Yates drove the Heels to the LSU 6-yard line and got off two passes into the end zone after throwing for a career-high 412 yards.
Both slipped through the hands of Zack Pianalto.
Hey, give the Tar Heels credit — it looked as though they were headed for a blowout.
Backed up against his own goal line, Yates rolled to his right and heaved a pass out of the end zone that Jheranie Boyd took to the other end zone for a 97-yard touchdown — the longest play from scrimmage in North Carolina history. Yates then hooked up with Erik Highsmith on a 14-yard touchdown with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
North Carolina recovered a disputed onside kick, but LSU stopped that drive by forcing Yates to fumble as he tried to scramble.
Trying to run out the clock, Stevan Ridley fumbled and the Tar Heels recovered, getting one more shot at an improbable victory.
North Carolina was missing most of the NFL prospects on its touted defense — at least six starters, including the entire secondary. The offense wasn’t at full strength, either, forced to improvise without leading receiver Greg Little and its top two tailbacks, Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston.
But plenty of players stepped up for the Tar Heels, no one more than Yates. He completed 28-of-45 and had three touchdown passes.
His favorite receiver was Boyd, who had six catches for 221 yards, making him only the fourth player in North Carolina history to have 200 receiving yards in a game.
No. 1 Alabama 48, San Jose State 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Trent Richardson ran for two touchdowns and Greg McElroy passed for 218 yards for the defending national champions, which shrugged off the absence of injured Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and suspended defensive end Marcell Dareus.
No. 4 Florida 34, Miami (Ohio) 12
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators used four interceptions, several red-zone stops and Jeff Demps’ long touchdown run to beat the heavy underdog RedHawks. But the real story was Florida’s anemic offense. There were fumbles, bad snaps, poor throws, several penalties and a whole lot of frustration in The Swamp.
No. 9 Iowa 37, Eastern Illinois 7
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and senior Ricky Stanzi threw for 229 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes, who won their 10th straight season opener under coach Kirk Ferentz.
No. 16 Georgia Tech 41, South Carolina St. 10
ATLANTA — Joshua Nesbitt ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, Roddy Jones added two scoring runs and the Yellow Jackets rolled.
No. 17 Arkansas 44, Tennessee Tech 3
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ryan Mallett went 21-of-24 for 301 yards passing and three touchdowns to lead the Razorbacks, who are sporting their highest preseason ranking since 1990.
No. 19 Penn State 44, Youngstown State 14
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Rob Bolden passed for 239 yards and two TDs — a promising debut for the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in coach Joe Paterno’s 45 years.
No. 20 Florida State 59, Samford 6
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Christian Ponder threw four first-half touchdown passes and Greg Reid returned a punt 74 yards for another score as the cruising Seminoles exploded for 35 points during an 11-minute span of the second quarter to build a 42-0 lead.
No. 22 Auburn 52, Arkansas State 26
AUBURN, Ala. — Making his first start, quarterback Cam Newton ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 186 yards and three more scores to help the Tigers.
No. 23 Georgia 55, Louisiana-Lafayette 7
ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray passed for three touchdowns and ran for another in leading the Bulldogs, who played without top receiver A.J. Green.
Green is one of several players from different schools the NCAA is investigating about whether they attended a party hosted by a sports agent in Miami. Green said he has never been to Miami.
No. 25 West Virginia 31, Coastal Carolina 0
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Geno Smith threw two touchdown passes and Noel Devine rushed for 111 yards and a score, leading the Mountaineers, who led just 10-0 at halftime.
The Associated Press
