Two pre-season SportsRatings top 25 teams dodged bullets Saturday afternoon, but Oregon State lost to a team from the FCS.
#22 Auburn 42, Utah State 38
Auburn needed two last-2-minutes touchdowns to avoid a big upset at the hands of the Aggies, who last year fought Oklahoma all the way to the end in their debut. This year they are without leader Diondre Borel, but have running back Robert Turbin and receiver Stanley Morrison who were out last season.
The Tigers were expected to suffer a big downgrade from last year's team, but they should have been able to run the ball—and stop the run—better than they did against Utah State. They rushed for only 95 yards and gave up 181 as Utah State took leads of 21-7 in the first half and 38-28 with 4 minutes remaining, both on Turbin TD rushes. Tubin had 70 yards on the day.
New quarterback Barrett Trotter cut the lead to 38-28 with a 15-year TD pass to Philip Lutzenkirchen, then Auburn recovered an onside kick and scored again with less than a minute remaining. Michael Dyer took it in from the 1 for the winning touchdown. Dyer had 56 yards and 2 touchdowns Saturday.
#17 USC 19, Minnesota 17
USC was in far less trouble than Auburn as they never trailed during the contest, but it was shaky at the end as the Trojans needed a defensive stop to prevent a big upset.
Southern Cal scored a touchdown in the first quarter and added another in the 2nd, both times Matt Barkley passes to Robert Woods. In both cases, however, they failed on 2-point extra point attempts and led just 12-0. A Minnesota field goal and another Barkley-Woods hookup made it 19-3 at the half.
But that was it for USC's offense as they would score no points in the second half. Minnesota scored on a 9-yard Duane Bennett run in the third quarter and, using backup quarterback Max Shortell after MarQueis Gray was injured, cut the lead to 19-7 midway through the 4th on a pass to Brandon Green.
USC's offense ran off most of the clock on the next drive and the defense came up with an interception to seal the win.
Sacramento State 29, #25 Oregon State 28 OT
Oregon State faced I-AA Sacramento State, who finished 6-5 last year but was #85—solidly in FBS territory—in our All Division Strength Power Rating. Still, that's only the level of Troy or Toledo, and the Beavers shouldn't have had trouble with them at home.
They are without, however, many notable players such as James Rodgers and several defensive starters out with injury. This is also their debut without JacQuizz Rodgers, but they may have found a replacement in Malcolm Agnew.
There was no score in the first quarter, and the Beavers managed only a field goal in the 2nd. Sacramento, meanwhile, put together touchdown passes from Jeff Fleming to Chase Deadder to take a 14-3 halftime lead.
The Beavers added another Trevor Romaine field goal but Sacramento responded with a wide receiver pass as Morris Norrise connected with Brandyn Reed for a 38 yard touchdown to extend their lead to 21-6.
In the fourth Agnew came alive with two touchdown runs and Oregon State tied the game with a 2-point conversion. In overtime, Agnew, who finished with 206 yards, gave the Beavers their first lead on an 18-yard run. They led 28-21.
But on their possession Sacramento's Fleming hit Brandyn Reed for a touchdown and then—going for the win—a 2-point conversion that made the final score Sacramento State 29, Oregon State 28.
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