Michigan cruises; Minnesota needs overtime at Syracuse

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tate Forcier threw three touchdown passes and Denard Robinson ran for a score before halftime, leading Michigan to a 31-7 win over Western Michigan on Saturday.

The freshmen quarterbacks helped the Wolverines (1-0) look better on offense than they ever did last year, when they lost a school-record nine games in Rich Rodriguez’s debut season with college football’s winningest program.

The Wolverines insisted they were focused on Western Michigan — and not distracted by a report alleging they have broken NCAA rules under Rodriguez because of the time they’ve spent training and practicing and stories about a real estate deal gone bad involving the coach and a booster banned from Clemson.

The Broncos (0-1) avoided a shutout on Tim Hiller’s 73-yard pass to Juan Nunez early in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota 23 Syracuse 20, OT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Eric Ellestad kicked a 35-yard field goal in overtime to give Minnesota a comeback win over Greg Paulus and the Syracuse Orange.

Paulus was 19-for-31 for 167 yards and one touchdown, but the former Duke point guard threw his only interception in the extra period to give the Gophers the big break they needed.

Adam Weber was 19-for-42 for 248 yards and Decker had nine catches for 183 yards for Minnesota.

Paulus had not played football since he was honored as 2004 national player of the year at Christian Brothers Academy in suburban Syracuse.

Northwestern 47 Towson 14

EVANSTON, Ill. — Mike Kafka led three touchdown drives in the first quarter and passed for a career-high 192 yards to lead Northwestern.

Andrew Brewer added a career-high 145 yards receiving, including a 72-yard touchdown, and the Wildcats (1-0) got off strongly after going 9-4 last season. Expectations are higher now. They hope to compete for the Big Ten title after reaching the Alamo Bowl last year.

Well, how’s this for a start?

They scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and then got a safety while building a 30-0 lead and never looked back. Towson simply was no match, which was no surprise.

The Tigers (0-1) switched coaches last season after a 3-9 finish, firing Gordy Combs and hiring Rob Ambrose off Connecticut’s staff, and they were playing a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for just the second time.

Michigan St. 44 Montana St. 3

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes and Keith Nichol tossed two for Michigan State.

The Spartans (1-0) overmatched their first-ever opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA.

Montana State (0-1) has lost four straight against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents since upsetting Colorado in 2006.

Missouri 37 Illinois 9

ST. LOUIS — Blaine Gabbert threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth in a stellar starting debut to lead rebuilding Missouri to its fifth win in a row in the neutral-site series.

Juice Williams was held in check and failed to convert a crucial fourth-down play for Illinois, which just missed cracking the preseason Top 25 but flopped despite an offense with eight returning starters.