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 yesterday.

The freshman 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.

"It was a nice win for Michigan," Rodriguez said with a grin. "Maybe I'll sleep two hours tonight."

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.

MORE BIG TEN

Purdue 52, Toledo 31: Ralph Bolden broke loose for a 78-yard touchdown run on his first carry and finished with 234 yards and two touchdowns as the Boilermakers beat the Rockets at West Lafayette, Ind., to make Danny Hope's head coaching debut a success.

Missouri 37, Illinois 9: Blaine Gabbert threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth in a stellar starting debut to lead the rebuilding Tigers over the Illini for their fifth straight win in the neutral-site series in St. Louis.

Northwestern 47, Towson 14: Mike Kafka led three touchdown drives in the first quarter and passed for a career-high 192 yards to lead the Wildcats over the Tigers at Evanston, Ill., spoiling the coaching debut of Rob Ambrose.

Michigan State 44, Montana State 3: Kirk Cousins completed 10 of 17 passes for 183 yards and three touchdown, and Keith Nichol was 9 of 18 for 135 yards and two TDs as the Spartans cruised past the Bobcats at East Lansing, Mich.

ACC

Boston College 54, Northeastern 0: Montel Harris scored on a 48-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, finished the first half with 104 yards and three touchdowns — two rushing, one receiving — as the Eagles ran away from the crosstown rival Huskies.

Baylor 24, Wake Forest 21: Robert Griffin completed his first eight passes, finishing with 136 yards passing and a touchdown, to help the Bears turn back the Demon Deacons at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Clemson 37, Middle Tennessee 14: C.J. Spiller, who opened the game with a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown, did not play the second half because of injury in the Tigers' win over the Blue Raiders at Clemson, S.C.

BIG 12

Texas A&M 41, New Mexico 6: Jerrod Johnson completed 31 of 41 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as the Aggies piled up 606 yards in rolling past the Lobos at College Station, Texas.

Texas Tech 38, North Dakota 13: Taylor Potts completed 34 of 48 passes for 405 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for two scores to lead the Red Raiders past the Fighting Sioux at Lubbock, Texas.

BIG EAST

West Virginia 33, Liberty 20: Robert Sands intercepted a Tommy Beecher pass midway through the fourth quarter to set up Noel Devine's 24-yard TD run for a 33-13 lead as the Mountaineers held off the Flames at Morgantown, W.Va.

Pitt 38, Youngstown State 3: Dion Lewis scored three touchdowns by halftime while running for 129 yards in his first college start, and the host Panthers outgained the Penguins, 390-159, in cruising to victory at Pittsburgh.

Minnesota 23, Syracuse 20: Eric Ellestad kicked a 35-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Golden Gophers to victory at Syracuse, N.Y., spoiling the debut of Orange quarterback Greg Paulus, a former Duke point guard.

CONFERENCE USA

East Carolina 29, Appalachian State 24: Brandon Jackson ran 39 yards for a touchdown and Dominique Lindsay later scored on a 21-yard run to give the visiting Pirates a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter before holding off the Mountaineers at Greenville, N.C.

UAB 44, Rice 24: Joe Webb rushed for 189 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns, and also threw for 221 yards and two more touchdowns to lead the Blazers over the Owls in their Conference USA opener at Birmingham, Ala.

SMU 31, Stephen F. Austin 23: Shawnbrey McNeal ran for 158 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown, and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell scored on fourth-and-1 with 7:47 left in the game to lead the Mustangs over the Lumberjacks at Dallas.

Houston 55, Northwestern State 7: Case Keenum completed 23 of his 30 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns, powering the Cougars past the Demons at Houston in the first meeting between the two teams.

MID-AMERICAN

Kentucky 42, Miami (Ohio) 0: Mike Hartline threw two touchdowns passes — one of them to former quarterback rival Randall Cobb — to lead the Wildcats to a victory at Cincinnati in Michael Haywood's debut as head coach of the RedHawks.

Army 27, Eastern Michigan 14: Kingsley Ehie ran for two touchdowns as new coach Rich Ellerson, a former University of Hawai'i assistant, became the first Black Knights coach to win his first game in 18 years with a victory over the Eagles at Ypsilanti, Mich.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Wyoming 29, Weber State 22: Darius Terry rushed for two touchdowns as the Cowboys beat the Wildcats, who were led by quarterback Cameron Higgins, a Saint Louis alum from Hawai'i, who passed for 322 yards and three TDs. But Higgins also threw five interceptions in the game at Laramie, Wyo.

Air Force 72, Nicholls State 0: Jared Tew scored three touchdowns and Tim Jefferson accounted for three more as the host Falcons piled up 576 yards of total offense to romp past the Colonels at Air Force Academy, Colo.

PACIFIC-10

Oregon State 34, Portland State 7: Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 103 yards and three touchdowns while big brother James caught a pair of passes for 95 yards and a score to lead the host Beavers over the Vikings at Corvallis, Ore.

UCLA 33, San Diego State 14: Kevin Prince passed for 176 yards and a touchdown in his college debut as the Bruins improved to 21-0-1 against the Aztecs, which scored on their first two possessions at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Arizona State 50, Idaho State 3: Linebacker Mike Nixon returned one of his three interceptions for a touchdown and blocked a punt, and Thomas Weber tied a school record with five field goals to lead the Sun Devils past the Bengals at Tempe, Ariz.

SEC

Tennessee 63, Western Kentucky 7: Jonathan Crompton completed 21 of 28 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns, and the Volunteers finished with 657 total yards, while holding the Hilltoppers to 83 at Knoxville, Tenn.

Mississippi State 45, Jackson State 7: Chris Relf threw three touchdowns and ran for another as the Bulldogs shrugged off 12 penalties and two turnovers to make Dan Mullen's coaching debut a success at Starkville, Miss.