Vick’s Brother Makes His Mark

Bryan Randall gave Marcus Vick a tension-free stage for his Virginia Tech debut, but the No. 9 Hokies had plenty to worry about before they got it together and defeated Central Florida, 49-28, Sunday at Blacksburg, Va., in the opener for both teams.

Randall directed three touchdown drives in as many tries before yielding for a second-quarter series to Michael Vick’s younger brother. When Vick led the team 80 yards, it was 28-0.

But then the Golden Knights, using an effective mix of Ryan Schneider’s passing and Alex Haynes’ running, closed within 28-21 before the Hokies scored twice within 39 seconds apart put it away.

The clinching score came with 11:32 left when Schneider threw to avoid a blitzing Vegas Robinson, and defensive tackle Jason Lallis intercepted it and ran 45 yards to give the Hokies a 42-21 lead.

By the time Vick trotted onto the field to a rousing welcome from 65,115 -- the largest crowd in school history -- Randall had completed 12 of 14 for 169 yards and the Hokies were leading, 21-0. In all, Randall completed 22 of 28 for 278 yards

Vick rolled right and threw to tight end Keith Willis for 14 yards on his first play, completed a 14-yard pass to Ernest Wilford on his third play, and rolled right and hit Justin Hamilton for 18 more to set up Jones’ 18-yard scoring run.

Vick completed three of four on the drive, overthrowing DeAngelo Hall in the end zone. In all, he completed seven of 10 for 102 yards. Brother Michael went three-and-out on his first career series against James Madison in 1999, but the Hokies won that one, 47-0.

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Selvin Young returned two kicks for touchdowns and Derrick Johnson and Michael Huff returned interceptions for two more as No. 5 Texas overwhelmed New Mexico State, 66-7, at Austin, Texas, in the opener for both teams.

Chance Mock passed for two touchdowns in his first career start. Both went to Roy Williams, who extended his school record with his sixth straight 100-yard receiving game.

Young’s 97-yard return in the second quarter erased a 7-0 New Mexico State lead and started the rout. He also had a 39-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

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Eric Shelton rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns to lead Louisville to a 40-24 victory over Kentucky at Lexington in the opener for both teams. It was the sixth win for the Cardinals in 10 meetings since the teams renewed their rivalry in 1994.

A sudden, heavy thunderstorm delayed the start of the game by one hour 34 minutes. The delay didn’t appear to affect Louisville, which scored touchdowns on its first two possessions.

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Jason Whieldon threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns in his starting debut, leading Hawaii to a 40-17 victory over Appalachian State in the season opener for both teams Saturday night at Honolulu. Jeremiah Cockheran caught all three touchdowns and had seven receptions for 154 yards. Whieldon completed 21 of 35. He started for Timmy Chang, the nation’s second leading passer last season with 4,474 yards who was serving a one-game NCAA suspension for an academic violation.... Linebacker Logan Carter recovered a fumble for a touchdown, intercepted a pass and blocked a potentially game-tying extra point attempt to lead Nevada over Southern Utah, 24-23, Saturday night in Reno. Chance Kretschmer, who led the nation in rushing in 2001 but sat out last season with a knee injury, rushed for 170 yards in 26 carries for the Wolf Pack.