Fresno St. Stuns No. 10 Oregon St.

David Carr threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns as Fresno State repeatedly struck with its big-play offense to upset No. 10 Oregon State--the highest-ranked team ever to visit Bulldog Stadium--44-24 on Sunday night.

Carr, who was 21 for 34, and his receivers delighted a frenzied sellout crowd and overwhelmed Oregon State’s defense, which was the Pac-10’s best last season.

Fresno State, which opened the season last week with a win at Colorado, posted its 16th straight home victory and made a strong case for its first national ranking since 1993.

Extra bleacher seats and a giant video replay screen were installed at Bulldog Stadium for what Carr said was Fresno State’s biggest home game ever. Fireworks flew across the sky with each Fresno State score, and a party atmosphere developed when the Bulldogs’ victory seemed assured.

After the final whistle, thousands of students stormed the field and tore down one set of goalposts.

Rodney Wright caught seven passes for a career-high 182 yards and two TDs, including a 32-yard score with 10:13 to play that gave the Bulldogs a 38-24 lead.

Oregon State (0-1) has national title aspirations, but the Beavers didn’t look anything like contenders against Fresno State.

The Beavers committed 19 penalties for 129 yards; they also dropped several passes and blew simple assignments on both sides of the ball. Fresno State exposed the Beavers’ terrible pass protection with a relentless pass rush that recorded several sacks and hurried many of Jonathan Smith’s throws.

The Beavers, picked as the nation’s top team by Sports Illustrated, were taunted with chants of “Overrated! Overrated!” starting early in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs snapped Oregon State’s seven-game winning streak--the school’s longest since 1966-67--from last season, which included thrashing of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The Beavers’ 13-game winning streak against non-conference opponents also ended.

Ken Simonton, Oregon State’s Heisman hopeful tailback, never got going. With several defenders keyed on him with every play, Simonton managed just 42 yards--his lowest total in 17 games--on 15 carries.

Fresno State came out roaring, scoring on its first two possessions and never trailing.

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At Cincinnati, Purdue won its opener by running the ball and picking it off--a hint of things to come without Drew Brees running the offense.

Brandon Hance scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, Joey Harris had a 16-yard touchdown run and Purdue’s defense intercepted three passes as the Boilermakers held on for a 19-14 victory over Cincinnati.

Nearly half of the stadium-record crowd of 35,097 were Purdue fans who made the three-hour drive to get a glimpse of what it will be like without Brees running the offense.

It didn’t take them long to realize the Boilermakers are going to depend upon their running game and their defense for a while.

Brees was the Big Ten’s career passing leader and took Purdue to its first Rose Bowl in 34 years last season by deftly running the Boilermakers’ spread offense. Hance has some learning to do.

The redshirt freshman was erratic in going 14 of 25 for 117 yards without an interception. The only time the Boilermakers moved the ball was when their runners found room and the Bearcats helped with penalties.

Cincinnati’s LaDaris Vann had two touchdown catches, including a 17-yard reception that cut it to 19-14 in the third quarter. Purdue’s Stuart Schweigert intercepted a pass in the end zone to clinch it with 36 seconds left.

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Lee Suggs wanted to go back in the game after being sidelined by a knee injury on Saturday. He’ll have to wait until next year.

The Virginia Tech tailback awoke Sunday with swelling in his left knee, an indication the tear in his anterior cruciate ligament is new and will require season-ending surgery.

“He could possibly be ready for spring ball,” Hokies trainer Mike Goforth said.

Are you ready for some college football?

Before the NFL lays claim to Monday night for the next 17 weeks, No. 20 Mississippi State and Memphis will try to fill the void for football fans tonight on ESPN.

The father of Nebraska football Coach Frank Solich died last week of heart failure, the university said. Frank Solich Sr., 81, died Friday, the night before his son’s team played Troy State. The younger Solich did not mention his father after the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers’ 42-14 win.