COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP News and notes

Pittsburgh: Quarterback Bill Stull is out indefinitely after needing surgery Sunday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb that occurred during his first college start. The injury is similar to that sustained a year ago by Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, who missed two games after being hurt during a Sept. 16 game against Miami. Stull’s thumb was bent backward while being tackled by Eastern Michigan’s Darren Matthews during the third quarter of Pitt’s 24-3 victory on Saturday night. Stull left the game after fumbling a pitch to running back LaRod Stephens-Howling on the next play. Stull injured the same thumb Aug. 10 in practice, cut when his right hand struck a teammate’s helmet. That injury required five stitches, but Stull missed only one practice. Before being hurt Saturday, Stull was 14-of-20 for 177 yards and a 21-yard touchdown to Oderick Turner in his first extensive college playing time. He threw only 10 passes a year ago as a seldom-used backup to three-year starter Tyler Palko.

California: Last year, a season-opening thumping by Tennessee lingered throughout the Golden Bears’ 10-win season. No. 12 Cal emerged with a different feeling after a convincing 45-31 victory over the 15th-ranked Volunteers Saturday night in Memorial Stadium. “It was a big one, no question about it,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “We’ve been carrying this with us for a year.” With 11 games remaining, beginning with a trip to Colorado State this week, the Golden Bears can’t afford to look too far ahead. But a convincing victory in the opening weekend’s only matchup of ranked teams has stamped Cal as a legitimate national title contender. Likewise, DeSean Jackson’s electrifying 77-yard punt return for a touchdown will likely raise his profile in the Heisman Trophy race.

Coaching debuts mixed: Butch Davis had no problems winning his debut at North Carolina. Tom O’Brien’s career at North Carolina State couldn’t have started much worse. The Tar Heels clicked right away, scoring the first 24 points in their 37-14 rout of James Madison behind three touchdown passes from redshirt freshman T.J. Yates in his first start, giving the long-suffering fans at Kenan Stadium a reason to smile again. “You could not have scripted a better environment for a college football game,” Davis said. Things were much tougher for the rival coach to whom Davis will be inextricably linked — O’Brien, a former rival from their Big East days who was hired by N.C. State to replace Chuck Amato. The first play from scrimmage in the O’Brien era was auspicious — Central Florida’s Kevin Smith ran 80 yards untouched for a touchdown, setting the tone for a 25-23 victory over the Wolfpack after a fourth-quarter rally fell short. Things got worse Sunday when school officials said leading rusher Toney Baker would miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury sustained in the fourth quarter.

Associated Press