Ann Arbor, Mich. ? Philip Brabbs went from unknown to goat to man of the hour for Michigan.

The walk-on kicked a 44-yard field goal the first of his career as time expired to give 13th-ranked Michigan a riveting 31-29 victory over No. 11 Washington on Saturday.

“I’ve hung low for a while in college,” said Brabbs, a junior who had never attempted a field goal for the Wolverines before Saturday. “This changes things.”

After the Wolverines failed to complete a pass on third-and-10 with 6 seconds left, Washington was penalized 15 yards for having 12 men on the field. Without the flag, Michigan would have attempted a 59-yard field goal.

“We switched substitution groups, which we’re going to kick ourselves about for a thousand years,” Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Wolverines quarterback John Navarre spiked the ball to stop the clock at 5 seconds, allowing the field-goal team to get on the field. To the delight of the crowd of 111,491 at Michigan Stadium, Brabbs’ kick went right down the middle for his first field goal since he was a senior at Midland (Mich.) Dow High School in 1998.

No. 1 Miami 63, Florida A&M 17

Miami Ken Dorsey became the winningest quarterback at Miami, and the Hurricanes showed they’re ready to defend the national championship. Dorsey improved to 27-1 as a starter and moved past Gino Torretta (26-2) on the school’s career list. The Hurricanes also extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games in dominating fashion.

No. 4 Tennessee 47, Wyoming 7

Nashville, Tenn. Casey Clausen threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, and Cedric Houston and Jabari Davis each ran for two TDs as Tennessee routed Wyoming. The Volunteers won their eighth consecutive opener and 16th straight non-conference game thanks to a defense that lost three defensive linemen to the NFL last April.

No. 5 Florida State 40, Virginia 19

Tallahassee, Fla. Greg Jones ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns as Florida State shook off three first-half turnovers to defeat Virginia. The Seminoles (2-0, 1-0 ACC) dropped from No. 3 after narrowly defeating Iowa State last week, but they jumped to a 33-0 lead behind Jones, who had his career high in yardage. Matt Schaub, who completed 19 of 25 passes for 247 yards, threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns to make the score respectable for the Cavaliers (0-2, 0-1).

No. 6 Florida 51, UAB 3

Gainesville, Fla. The Ron Zook era at Florida got off to a shining start with a record-setting rout of Alabama-Birmingham. Taylor Jacobs had 246 yards to break the school single-game receiving record of 237, set by Carlos Alvarez in 1969. The mark had stood as one of the very few not rewritten during Steve Spurrier’s 12 seasons as coach.

No. 8 Georgia 31, Clemson 28

Athens, Ga. Backup quarterback D.J. Shockley ran for one touchdown and passed for another as Georgia rallied to escape a major upset. Billy Bennett kicked a 43-yard field goal with 5:19 remaining to snap a 28-all tie in the renewal of a longtime rivalry. The two schools, only about an hour’s drive apart, played for the first time since 1995.

No. 12 Wash. State 31, Nevada 7

Seattle Jonathan Smith had two short touchdown runs and Will Derting returned one of his three interceptions for a school-record 98-yard score as Washington State opened with a victory over Nevada. Jason Gesser, whose Heisman campaign began in July with a poster put up on the side of grain elevator in Dusty, Wash., recovered from a slow start to complete 17 of 29 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown.

No. 15 Oregon 36, Mississippi State 13

Eugene, Ore. With former quarterback Joey Harrington looking on, Jason Fife opened a new era for Oregon by throwing three touchdown passes. Onterrio Smith ran for 124 yards on 28 carries for the Ducks, and Fife completed 14 of 26 passes for 166 yards in his first game as a starter.

No. 18 Michigan State 56, E. Michigan 7

East Lansing, Mich. Jeff Smoker threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns as Michigan State opened its season with a win over Eastern Michigan.

No. 19 Marshall 50, Appalachian State 17

Huntington, W.Va. Byron Leftwich threw for 469 yards and four touchdowns as Marshall overcame a sluggish start to beat Division I-AA Appalachian State. Leftwich, who set a Mid-American Conference record with 4,132 yards passing last season, finished 27-of-41 and ran for a fifth score.

Notre Dame 22, No. 21 Maryland 0

East Rutherford, N.J. Tyrone Willingham’s debut as Notre Dame’s coach was a dandy an efficient if not exciting victory over Maryland in the Kickoff Classic before a crowd of 72,903 at Giants Stadium. The Irish unveiled their West Coast offense directed by Carlyle Holiday, and it worked well enough to easily handle the Terrapins, who barely resembled their ACC championship team of a year ago.

No. 22 South Carolina 34, New Mexico State 24

Columbia, S.C. South Carolina coach Lou Holtz tied Bo Schembechler for ninth on the career list with his 234th win as the Gamecocks beat New Mexico State. South Carolina’s largest season-opening crowd of 83,717 didn’t see the thumping it expected. But the Gamecocks got 113 yards rushing and a pretty, 44-yard TD pass from new quarterback Corey Jenkins to win their third straight opener.

No. 24 Penn State 27, Central Florida 24

State College, Pa. Zack Mills threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns as Penn State built a big lead and held off Central Florida in the season opener for both teams. The win was No. 328 for Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno, who leads the career list, and ended two straight losses in season openers by Penn State. Central Florida’s Ryan Schneider completed 32 of 46 passes for 345 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Doug Gabriel caught 11 passes for 153 yards.

No. 25 NC State 34, E. Tennessee State 0

Raleigh, N.C. Greg Golden ran for two touchdowns and Lamont Reid returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score as North Carolina State beat Division I-AA East Tennessee State. The Wolfpack improved to 2-0 for the third time in as many seasons under coach Chuck Amato.