Boise State victory has a violent ending

The biggest home game in Boise State history became a four-quarter bullying of the Broncos’ big-conference neighbors to the west that left frustrated Oregon players hitting each other after a teammate punched a Broncos player.

Kellen Moore threw for 197 yards and a touchdown, and the 14th-ranked Broncos pushed aside No. 16 Oregon 19-8, shoving aside their biggest obstacle between them and a possible second Bowl Championship Series berth.

D.J. Harper scored on a one-yard run early in the third quarter and Boise State held on for a shaky final 25 minutes of mistakes and turnovers to record their 50th straight regular-season home victory and ruin Chip Kelly’s debut as Oregon head coach.

But the lasting image from this eagerly awaited kickoff to the 2009 college football season will be Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount punching Boise State’s Byron Hout after the final whistle and then needing to be restrained from fans by police on the field.

As the Broncos began celebrating on their famous blue turf, Hout yelled in Blount’s face and tapped him on the shoulder pad. That drew an immediate scream from Boise State Coach Chris Petersen, but before Petersen could pull Hout away, Blount landed a right hand to Hout’s jaw.

Then as Blount was being pulled off the field, he had to be restrained from fans heckling him on the way to the Oregon locker room.

No. 19 Utah 35, Utah State 27: Terrance Cain passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns at Salt Lake City in his debut and the 19th-ranked Utes extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 15.

Matt Asiata ran for a career-best 156 yards and two touchdowns as Utah beat longtime former assistant Gary Andersen in his first game as Utah State’s coach.

South Carolina 7, at North Carolina State 3: Brian Maddox had a short touchdown run and Stephen Garcia completed a key third-down 33-yard pass to Moe Brown in the final minutes to help the Gamecocks win at Raleigh.

at Indiana 19, Eastern Kentucky 13: Ben Chappell threw for a career-high 326 yards and finished 27 for 36 with two interceptions and one touchdown pass and the Hoosiers won at Bloomington.

at Iowa State 34, North Dakota State 17: Austen Arnaud threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns at Ames and the Cyclones made Coach Paul Rhoads a winner in his debut.

In other games: Nick Yako kicked a 32-yard field goal with no time left and Villanova overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Temple, 27-24, at Philadelphia. . . . Tyler Sheehan threw two touchdowns to help Bowling Green to a 31-14 over Troy at Bowling Green, Ohio. . . . Uegene Jarvis ran for 141 yards and a touchdown to lead Kent State to an 18-0 win over Coastal Carolina at Kent, Ohio. . . . Riley Dodge threw for 216 yards and a touchdown to Michael Outlaw, leading North Texas to a 20-10 victory over Ball State at Muncie, Ind.

Elsewhere

Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham will sit out the third-ranked Sooners’ season opener Saturday against No. 20 Brigham Young because of cartilage damage in his right knee. . . . North Carolina sophomore receive Dwight Jones will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today and sit out Saturday’s opener against the Citadel.