After struggling to pick up the offense, Devin Hester was moved to a reserve role on defense. Good thing he still plays special teams for No. 4 Miami.
Hester, the Hurricanes’ most electrifying player, returned two punts for scores to lead Miami to a 48-0 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
He also blocked a field goal against Florida State last week that allowed Miami (2-0) to tie the game in regulation.
“He’s so fast, so explosive,” coach Larry Coker said. “He makes fast people look slow.”
The sophomore’s two returns were spectacular.
Hester ran back one punt 51 yards to give Miami a 24-0 lead in the second quarter. He sliced between two defenders, almost fell to the ground, and then ran away from everyone.
Hester, who finished third in the 60 meters at the Big East indoor track and field championships this year, wasn’t done. He returned another punt 92 yards in the fourth period.
“I just want to go out and make plays,” said Hester, who caught four passes last season before moving to cornerback this spring.
Sproles rolls
Darren Sproles rushed for a team-record 292 yards on 38 carries, leading Kansas State past Louisiana-Lafayette 40-20.
Sproles broke his own record of 273 yards. Held to 31 yards the week before, the 5-foot-7-inch senior shredded the Ragin’ Cajuns for 195 yards on 23 carries in the first half.
Quotable
“I was tempted to go for it on that fourth down. If you make it, you’re a wise man. If you don’t, you’re not so wise.”
–Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, who went for a field goal and a 16-13 lead when facing fourth-and-short in the overtime. The Terps lost to West Virginia 19-16.
Dogged `D’
Georgia coach Mark Richt is not accustomed to winning with only 13 points.
Then again, Marshall coach Bob Pruett isn’t used to getting only three points from his team.
The Bulldogs’ defense made up for a lackluster offensive showing, holding Marshall to 160 yards and seven first downs in a 13-3 victory.
The only other time in Richt’s four years that Georgia won with as few as 13 points was a 13-7 win over South Carolina in 2002. Marshall had not been held to so few points since a 42-0 loss to Toledo in 2000.
More than one-third of the Thundering Herd’s total yards came on its first play from scrimmage — a 57-yard pass that set up a 33-yard field goal by Ian O’Connor. Georgia’s defense held Marshall to 37 yards rushing.
“They have a great defense,” said Pruett, whose team has lost three straight for the first time in his nine seasons. “We set out three to four years ago to schedule the best teams in the country, and Georgia is definitely one of those teams.”
First-timers’ frantic win
Memphis earned its first win as a ranked team the hard way. The No. 25 Tigers scored 21 points in the final three minutes for a 47-35 comeback victory over Arkansas State.
Tim Goodwell forced a fumble and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:22 left for the Tigers’ first lead of the game, 40-35. Memphis is 3-0 for the first time since 1973.
Sooners’ rising star
Adrian Peterson can’t explain how he does it.
“It’s all instincts really,” Peterson said. “I kind of amazed myself a little bit.”
In No. 2 Oklahoma’s 31-7 win over Oregon, Peterson ran for 183 yards and two scores. He’s the first Oklahoma freshman to run for at least 100 yards in each of his first three games.
Just warming up
It took a while for Texas Tech to get started, but it was worth the wait.
The Red Raiders failed to score on their first seven drives and fell behind 21-0, but then scored 56 straight points in a 70-35 victory over TCU. The nation’s leading passer, Sonny Cumbie, was 30 of 50 for 441 yards and four TDs.
Running wild
Maurice Drew became the 75th player in NCAA Division I-A history and the second this season with a 300-yard rushing game, racking up 322 yards on the ground in UCLA’s 37-31 win over Washington. By halftime, he had 235 yards on 13 carries.
Drew scored five TDs, also a school record and the most ever by one player against the Huskies. West Virginia’s Kay-Jay Harris gained 337 yards two weeks ago.
This and that
Uh oh. Maine, playing a Division I-A opponent for the first time since 1991, handed Mississippi State its second loss in three games under new coach Sylvester Croom. . . . TCU’s loss ended quarterback Tye Gunn’s winning streak as a starter at 10. He had been chasing the school record of 12 straight set by Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh. . . . Mark Clayton caught six passes for 91 yards to become Oklahoma’s career leader in receptions. The senior now has 173 receptions. . . . Penn extended the nation’s longest Division I-AA winning streak to 17 with a 61-18 win over San Diego.
