CLOSE CALLBrady Quinn and hometown favorite Darius Walker each ran for a touchdown Saturday night for No. 2 Notre Dame. The Irish, with their highest preseason ranking since 1994, rallied for a 14-10 victory over Georgia Tech. Notre Dame fell behind 10-0 and were on the verge of going scoreless in the opening half for the first time in nearly two years before Quinn ran it in from the 5-yard line with 11 seconds left in the half.

WITHOUT VINCEColt McCoy and No. 3 Texas passed their first test without Vince Young, cruising to a 56-7 victory over North Texas. McCoy finished 12-of-19 for 178 yards and three touchdowns, including a 60-yard score to Limas Sweed on his second pass of the game. Sweed finished with five catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns in a tuneup for next weekend's showdown with top-ranked Ohio State.

BAD STARTThe Dan Hawkins Era in Colorado started with plenty of blunders and a 19-10 loss to Division I-AA Montana State. Hawkins, who was brought in from Boise State to restore a program soiled by scandal under Gary Barnett, was hoping to join Rick Neuheisel as only the second Colorado coach to win his debut since 1932.

MATT WHOJohn David Booty, Southern California's replacement for Matt Leinart, completed 24-of-35 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns, in leading the Trojans to a 50-14 season opening win over Arkansas.

RIGHT BACK AT ITSteve Slaton ran for 203 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead No. 5 West Virginia past Marshall 42-10. Slaton, the nation's top freshman in 2005 with 19 rushing TDs, had his second straight 200-yard game. He set a Sugar Bowl record with 204 yards in a win over Georgia in January.

GATORS TEN YEARS LATERFlorida's 1996 national championship team celebrated its 10-year reunion before the No. 7 Gators' 34-7 win over Southern Miss. Coach Steve Spurrier returned to Florida Field for the first time since leaving his alma mater following the 2001 season and received a rousing ovation.

HAWKEYES AT HOMEDrew Tate threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns as No. 16 Iowa christened newly renovated Kinnick Stadium with a 41-7 win over Montana. The Hawkeyes held Montana to 10 yards rushing en route to their 19th win in 20 home games.

REUNIONDrew Stanton threw for 225 yards and a touchdown to lead Michigan State to a 27-17 win over Idaho and new coach Dennis Erickson. The game was a reunion for Erickson and Michigan State coach John L. Smith, who coached together with three different programs in the 1980s. Smith served as Erickson's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Idaho and they later worked together at Wyoming and Washington State.

TAKING OVERSean Glennon threw three touchdown passes in his first career start as No. 17 Virginia Tech beat Northeastern 38-0. Glennon, a sophomore who won the job vacated when Marcus Vick was dismissed from the team after last season, completed 15 of 18 passes for 222 yards.

RECORDChase Daniel set a Missouri record with five touchdown passes, helping the Tigers beat Murray State 47-7. Daniel, making his first career start, was 23-of-32 for 320 yards and a passer rating of 207.44. He broke the school mark that was held by six others.

TURNED BACKVMI's Patrick McKinney stopped Matt McGreevy's attempted 2-point conversion run with no time left as the Keydets opened the season with a 20-19 victory over Davidson. ... Derius Swinton blocked Grambling State's point-after attempt in overtime to preserve Hampton's 27-26 victory in the season-opening SWAC/MEAC Challenge.

SPEAKING"I've been waiting for this my entire life. I don't want to lie to you. It felt pretty good. It was a dream start." — Colt McCoy, who was 12-of-19 for 178 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for another score as No. 2 Texas began the post-Vince Young era with a 56-7 rout of North Texas."I'd like to think we can be explosive. We took a step — now, the next step is higher, we understand that — but we took a step." — Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, whose top-ranked Buckeyes cruised to a 35-12 win over Northern Illinois in a tuneup for next week's meeting with No. 3 Texas.