Buckeye freshman opens with big game

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Maurice Clarett made some history -- and then went on to bigger things.

Clarett became the first true freshman to start at tailback in an Ohio State season opener, then rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 13 Buckeyes beat Texas Tech 45-21 on Saturday in the Pigskin Classic.

Clarett scored on runs of 59, 45 and 2 yards -- and set up two other short touchdown runs by Lydell Ross as the Buckeyes rolled up 318 yards on the ground.

Early in the third quarter, after he ran untouched through the right side for the 45-yard score, the crowd of 100,037 at Ohio Stadium chanted, "Mau-rice! Mau-rice!"

Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, touted as a Heisman Trophy contender but befuddled most of the day by the Ohio State defense, completed 26 of 44 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

No. 10 Nebraska 48 Arizona St. 10

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Jammal Lord threw his first career TD pass and ran for 103 yards in his first start for Nebraska as the Cornhuskers won the Black Coaches Association Classic.

The Cornhuskers blocked two punts and played strong defensively on a night they were trying to forget closing last season with blowout losses to Colorado and Miami.

With three new starters on the offensive line, Lord didn't get a lot of protection and was forced to scramble a lot. He finished with 17 carries, with most of his yardage coming on broken pass plays. He also completed 5 of 13 passes for 33 yards, including a 9-yard strike to Wilson Thomas that put the Huskers up 17-3 early in the second half.

-- From wire reports