OSU, UT get tough home wins; UM, BG fall on the road

Ohio State's Braxton Miller scores a touchdown against Alabama-Birmingham's Jake Genus, bottom, and Lamar Johnson (6) during the second quarter Saturday in Columbus.

Buckeyes pull away for win

COLUMBUS -- Urban Meyer did not return to the sidelines to write off two-touchdown victories.

The coach kept up appearances after Ohio State's 29-15 victory over winless Alabama-Birmingham. He clapped and smiled after singing the final notes of the alma mater in the south end zone, belted the fight song with his team in the locker room, and told players to enjoy the rest of their Saturday.

"I'm loving coaching this team," Meyer said.

Make no mistake: He was in no mood to celebrate.

With the Buckeyes perhaps looking ahead to next weekend's circle-the-date trip to Michigan State, what looked to be the most sugary of cupcakes went down the wrong way. READ MORE.

No. 11 Notre Dame picks off Michigan

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- This time, there were no late-game theatrics for the Michigan football team. Then again, there were no first-half daggers for the Wolverines either.

Instead, there were first-half blunders. Five of them, in fact, in a 13-6 loss to No. 11 Notre Dame.

But those didn't ultimately cost the No. 18 Wolverines.

Instead, the loss came as a result of precise execution by the Irish defense, which prevented Michigan from making any substantial dents in Notre Dame's territory or on the scoreboard.

Michigan couldn't capitalize on its chances five times inside the 20-yard line. READ MORE.

Rockets struggle in win against surprising Chanticleers

For $350,000, you can buy a whole bunch of fun stuff.

That amount, guaranteed to Coastal Carolina to travel west for an anticipated bloodletting, was nearly written off as a frivolous misuse of funds for the University of Toledo football team.

The Rockets won, and they move to 3-1 overall. Those two things were expected Saturday at the Glass Bowl. What came as a surprise is how hard, and how long, they had to work to finish the job.

Coastal Carolina, a middling team from the Football Championship Subdivision, led the game at around the midway point of the third quarter before the Rockets' special teams wrested control and finalized a tough 38-28 triumph. READ MORE.

Hokies hand Falcons first shutout since 1998

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Bowling Green State University football team was hoping for a repeat of its season-opening magic when it played Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Bowling Green defender Ryland Ward (15) tries to pull down Virginia Tech's Tony Gregory as Darrell Hunter (1) moves in. AP Enlarge

In their season-opener at Florida, the Falcons gave the nationally-ranked Gators all they could handle before falling in the fourth quarter.

Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller (17) breaks up a pass against Bowling Green wide receiver Chris Galion. AP Enlarge

BG wasn't able to repeat that performance against the Hokies. In fact, a disappointing day offensively put too much pressure on the defense, and the Falcons suffered a 37-0 loss at Lane Stadium. The shutout marked the first time BG had not scored in a contest since the 1998 opener at Missouri, a span of 169 games. READ MORE.