MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Miami tops Kent State, 27-10, for first victory

The RedHawks' balanced offense dealt the Golden Flashes their second defeat.
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KENT -- Brandon Murphy rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown, and Martin Nance caught seven passes for 103 yards and two scores from Josh Betts Saturday to lead Miami (Ohio) over Kent State, 27-10.
The trio helped offset a strong performance by Kent State quarterback Michael Machen, who completed 31 of 56 passes for 338 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Golden Flashes (1-2, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) pulled to 17-10 on Machen's 61-yard scoring pass to Derrick Bush with 14:20 remaining. The touchdown came just 37 seconds after Nance caught a 1-yard TD from Betts.
Miami (1-2, 1-1) made it 20-10 on Todd Soderquist's 19-yard field goal with 10:08 left and stretched the lead when Betts and Nance connected on a 14-yard score with 2:15 to play.
Toledo 42, Temple 17
PHILADELPHIA -- Bruce Gradkowski threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, and Toledo became the latest team to rout Temple.
Michael Billops scored on a 78-yard run, one of the few bright spots for Temple. The Owls (0-3) have been outscored 170-33 in losses to Arizona State, Wisconsin and Toledo.
A week after racking up 612 yards in a 56-23 victory over Western Michigan, Toledo (3-0) outclassed Temple. The Rockets jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and cruised the rest of the way.
Gradkowski, who became the first I-A quarterback to complete at least 70 percent of his passes in two consecutive seasons last year, threw TD passes of 13 yards to Trinity Dawson and 22 yards to Chris Hopkins in the first eight minutes.
He tossed a 16-yard TD pass to Jon Allen in the second quarter, sat out the first two series of the third quarter after being shaken up late in the first half and returned to lead Toledo to two more touchdowns.
Auburn 63, Ball St. 3
AUBURN, Ala. -- Kenny Irons and Brad Lester rushed for two touchdowns each and Lester returned a kick 93 yards for another TD, helping Auburn roll.
Brandon Cox completed 16 of 19 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers (2-1), who had five tailbacks score and reached the end zone on every possession against the Cardinals (0-3).
Irons carried 11 times for 147 yards, including a 68-yard score, and didn't play in the second half. The Tigers had been searching for a tailback tandem among four contenders, and Irons and Lester did their part to emerge from the logjam.
No. 4 Virginia Tech 45, Ohio 0
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Marcus Vick threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and Virginia Tech got its second shutout in a row.
The fourth-ranked Hokies (3-0), who blanked Duke 45-0 last Saturday, turned three turnovers into touchdowns and turned the Bobcats away twice deep in Tech territory. Brooks Rossman missed a 36-yard field goal, and an interception ended the other drive.
The Bobcats (1-2) were coming off a 16-10 overtime victory against Pittsburgh that heightened excitement in their first season under former Nebraska coach Frank Solich, but they had never played a team ranked as high as the Hokies.
And probably won't be in any rush to again. Ohio finished with just 188 yards to the Hokies' 473.