Virginia Tech tight end Sam Wheeler (83) hauls in a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against East Carolina's Leon Best. Virginia Tech won, 17-7, on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

Blacksburg, Va. ? Virginia Tech charged onto the field with an enormous burden. Barely adults, these guys were playing for themselves, playing for their school, playing for all those maroon-clad fans.

Most important, they were playing for 32 Hokies who weren’t at Lane Stadium.

On an extraordinary afternoon of healing and remembrance, the football game was almost an afterthought. No. 9 Virginia Tech managed to control its emotions just enough Saturday to pull out a 17-7 victory over East Carolina.

“I know I was overanxious,” linebacker Vince Hall said. “Coach warned us about it, but how can you be ready for that? It was so emotional.”

Indeed, the Hokies appeared a bit overwhelmed by the burden of what they’ll face all year: rallying a school that is desperate to move on from the worst mass shooting in modern American history. The 32 victims of April’s campus massacre were honored in a heart-tugging pregame ceremony, which was followed by a sluggish performance on the field.

“We’re not magical healers or anything,” quarterback Sean Glennon said. “The most we can do is go out and show that we’re giving every ounce of effort for the fans, for the families, for this community.”

The running game struggled. Glennon threw an interception, lost a fumble, was sacked four times and continually missed open receivers with errant passes. The Hokies offense even heard boos from a home crowd that honored a plea not to jeer the Pirates.

The defense helped turn things around.

East Carolina, a 271â2-point underdog that didn’t have its No. 1 quarterback, was leading when Victor Harris returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown with just over three minutes remaining in the first half, pushing the Hokies ahead 10-7.

The crowd breathed a sigh of relief when Virginia Tech finally put it away early in the fourth quarter. Glennon hooked up with Sam Wheeler on a 21-yard touchdown with just over 13 minutes remaining, the Hokies’ only offensive TD.

Wheeler, a sophomore tight end, was Virginia Tech’s most effective weapon. He caught a career-best seven passes for 81 yards.

“We fought through it and found a way to win, even when things were not perfect,” coach Frank Beamer said.

But just getting through the game may have been Virginia Tech’s most significant accomplishment. After all, they’ve heard all summer how they’ll provide a much-needed catharsis for a campus that still has fresh memories of that awful day.

“It’s going to be a continuous process,” Beamer said. “As long as you’re at Virginia Tech, you’re going to remember April 16th.”

East Carolina played well but didn’t ruin the script. When it was over, both teams kneeled at the 50-yard line for a prayer. Then the Hokies turned toward the band in the north end zone, singing along while they played the school’s alma mater.

“That was kind of a nice touch, to have our fans and our players all together at the end,” Beamer said, though he had to fake it – he forgot the words.

“I’ll know the words next time,” the coach said sheepishly.

The Pirates played a supporting but important role. One of the biggest cheers went up when East Carolina officials presented a $100,000 check to Virginia Tech’s memorial fund during the pregame ceremony.

“It was a special day,” coach Skip Holtz said. “It was neat for us to have an opportunity to be a part of it.”

The crowd fell silent during a video montage of images after the shooting, the somber sidetrack provided by the song “Walk Humbly Son” from the group Eddie From Ohio, whose lead singer is a Virginia Tech alumna. Thirty-two orange balloons – one for each of the victims – were released into the gray sky.

Then it was time for some football.

“Let’s go Hokies! Let’s go Hokies!” the crowd roared, clearly ready to get on with the healing.

Suddenly, the Metallica anthem “Enter Sandman” began pumping throughout the stadium, the student body bouncing up and down with glee, the rest of the sellout crowd of 66,233 letting out a roar that must have reverberated throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains.

No. 3 West Virginia 62, Western Michigan 24

Morgantown, W.Va. – Pat White threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, and Steve Slaton scored four times. It was the Mountaineers’ highest scoring game since an 80-7 win over Rutgers in 2001, WVU coach Rich Rodriguez’s first season. West Virginia improved to 5-0 against Mid-American Conference schools under Rodriguez.

Western Michigan’s defense, sixth in the nation against the run last season, couldn’t corral one of the nation’s top rushing tandems, and that emphasis also allowed White to thrive through the air. The junior went 10-of-18 for 192 yards. He also ran for 97 yards in improving to 16-2 as a starter.

Slaton, the nation’s fourth-leading rusher a year ago, ran for 109 yards as the Mountaineers broke the game open with two scores in a 1:15 span early in the third quarter.

No. 6 Florida 49, Western Kentucky 3

Gainesville, Fla. – Tim Tebow and Florida had an even easier day than expected against Western Kentucky. The Gators didn’t even have to play 60 minutes.

Tebow threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score, and the Gators opened defense of their national championship with a rout of Western Kentucky that was called with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter because of lightning.

No. 7 Wisconsin 42, Washington State 21

Madison, Wis. – New starting quarterback Tyler Donovan threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to help No. 7 Wisconsin shake off a mediocre defensive performance.

With Washington State focused on stopping running back P.J. Hill, the Badgers turned to Donovan, a fifth-year senior who was given the starting job by coach Bret Bielema only 10 days ago. Wisconsin trailed 14-7 late in the first quarter but scored 21 unanswered points before halftime as Donovan got hot and the defense began to contain Cougars quarterback Alex Brink.

No. 11 Ohio State 38, Youngstown State 6

Columbus, Ohio – No. 11 Ohio State took its first step toward forgetting the end of last season. Todd Boeckman played well in his first start replacing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith, and the Buckeyes made just about all the big plays in beating Youngstown State.

The Buckeyes welcomed the game as a way to put some distance between themselves and the painful memories of a humiliating 41-14 defeat to Florida in the BCS national championship game Jan. 8.

No. 12 California 45, No. 15 Tennessee 31

Berkeley, Calif. – DeSean Jackson scampered 77 yards for his sixth career punt return for a touchdown, and the Golden Bears avenged last season’s loss to the Volunteers. Justin Forsett rushed for 156 yards and a score, and Nate Longshore passed for 241 yards and two TDs as the Bears (1-0) racked up the most points scored against the Volunteers in 12 years to win the opening weekend’s only matchup between ranked schools.

No. 14 UCLA, Stanford 17

Stanford, Calif. – Ben Olson helped UCLA spoil Jim Harbaugh’s debut at Stanford. Olson threw five touchdown passes, and Kahlil Bell ran for a career-high 195 yards to lead the 14th-ranked Bruins in Harbaugh’s first game as the Cardinal coach.

Olson’s cool efficiency in his return to the starting lineup and 20 returning starters for the Bruins (1-0, 1-0 Pac-10) were too much for the emotion-fueled Cardinal (0-1, 0-1), who tried to match the high energy level of their new head coach.

No. 17 Penn State 59, Florida International 0

State College, Pa. – Penn State welcomed Joe Paterno back to the sidelines with a suffocating show of defense. Linebacker Sean Lee led a furious defense with seven tackles, a forced fumble and a sack, and Anthony Morelli threw for three touchdowns and a career-high 295 yards.

It was a happy homecoming for the 80-year-old Paterno in his first appearance back on the sidelines since breaking his left leg last year at Wisconsin.

No. 21 Arkansas 46, Troy 26

Fayetteville, Ark. – Darren McFadden started his Heisman Trophy campaign in style, running for 151 yards and a touchdown and also throwing for a score. McFadden, last year’s Heisman runner-up, helped the Razorbacks pull away in the third quarter.

Arkansas led only 23-17 at halftime, but Felix Jones scored on a 44-yard run and McFadden tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Crosby Tuck to make it 37-17.