CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer was beaten at his own game.

Just when it appeared "Beamer Ball," was about to bail out a sluggish offense again yesterday, it was East Carolina, not the Hokies, who came up with the big special teams play.

And after T.J. Lee blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 left in a 27-22 upset win over the 17th-ranked Hokies, Beamer and Hokies were stunned.

"It hurts to lose on a blocked kick at the end," Beamer said.

Now Beamer knows how so many of his opponents have felt, as the Hokies lost for the first time in 18 games that they blocked a kick. Even a defensive touchdown wasn't enough as Virginia Tech's hopes of returning to a Bowl Championship Series game took a big hit on opening weekend.

"There's no excuse for that," Beamer said of Lee's block.

The win was another milestone for coach Skip Holtz, who was recently given a new six-year contract after rescuing the Conference USA program from tough times.

"It's a story of a group of young men that have come together and said, 'We're tired of losing. We want to accomplish something special,' " said Holtz, who has led the Pirates to consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1999-2000. "They're working very hard for that on the field and I'm very proud of them."

After Patrick Pinkney's 3-yard touchdown run with 3:36 left cut the deficit to 22-20, the Pirates stopped the Hokies' struggling offense and quarterback Sean Glennon. Lee burst through the line of scrimmage unblocked, smothered Brent Bowden's punt with his left hand, scooped up the ball on one bounce and ran in for the winning touchdown.

"It hit my arm. I was just looking around to see if anyone else could scoop and score," Lee said. "But I got a good bounce and came right to my hands. I just took it."

It quickly ended the flak the senior backup receiver and junior-college transfer received from his coach after early mistakes that included a 15-yard penalty for an illegal block that stalled a first-quarter drive.

"I got on him hard," Holtz said. "I'm going to have to apologize to him now."

BOWLING GREEN 27, NO. 25 PITT 17

PITTSBURGH — Tyler Sheehan ran 11 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback draw early in the fourth quarter as the Falcons rallied to upset the Panthers.

The Falcons — despite being outgained 393-254 — rallied from a 14-0 deficit for their first victory against a Top 25 team from outside the MAC since upsetting then-No. 16 Purdue 27-26 on Sept. 6, 2003.

NO. 2 OHIO STATE 43, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 0

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An eerie silence descended on Ohio Stadium when Ohio State's Heisman Trophy prospect Chris "Beanie" Wells went down with a foot injury in the third quarter.

The star tailback, who ran for 111 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run, was helped off the field, and later returned to the bench in the fourth quarter wearing a boot on his right foot. X-rays showed no broken bones, the team said.

NO. 3 USC 52, VIRGINIA 7

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mark Sanchez threw three touchdown passes in his first game as the Trojans true No. 1 quarterback in a victory over the Cavaliers.

The Trojans lead 21-0 after just 11 minutes and weren't tested.

Sanchez, just more than three weeks removed from a dislocated kneecap that kept him out of practice until this week, showed no ill effects. He was 26-for-35 for 338 yards.

NO. 4 OKLAHOMA 57, CHATTANOOGA 2

NORMAN, Okla. — Sam Bradford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Chris Brown ran for three scores and only an hourlong rainstorm could slow down the Sooners in their rout of the Mocs.

The Sooners converted their first seven possessions into touchdowns and led 50-0 before a thunderstorm caused a lightning delay that extended halftime by 1 hour and 12 minutes. Bradford completed 17 of 22 passes, including a 3-yard score to Quentin Chaney and a 7-yard TD to Manuel Johnson on fade patterns.

NO. 6 MISSOURI 52, NO. 20 ILLINOIS 42

ST. LOUIS — Sean Weatherspoon had two late takeaways and Jeremy Maclin had a 99-yard kickoff return and 45-yard punt return before leaving in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury as the Tigers outlasted the Illini.

Weatherspoon stopped one fourth-quarter drive with an interception at the Missouri 26, then he ripped the ball out of Daniel Dufrene's hands after a reception and returned it 35 yards for touchdown and a 52-35 lead.

NO. 7 LSU 41, APPALACHIAN STATE 13

BATON ROUGE, La. — Charles Scott rushed for a career-high 160 yards on 16 carries, including touchdowns of 8 and 29 yards as the Tigers rolled past the Mountaineers.

Andrew Hatch, who transferred from Harvard in 2007, quarterbacked the Tigers' opening three series, which produced 17 points. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee also got a chance. Both threw their first touchdown passes as Tigers.

NO. 8 WEST VIRGINIA 48, VILLANOVA 21

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Pat White threw a career-high five touchdown passes and the Mountaineer beat the Wildcats, giving Rich Rodriguez's replacement, Bill Stewart, a successful regular-season debut.

White set careers highs by going 25-of-33, finished with 208 passing yards and broke Marc Bulger's school career record for total offense. Alric Arnett and Jock Sanders each caught two of White's scoring passes and the other went to Will Johnson.

NO. 24 ALABAMA 34, NO. 9 CLEMSON 9

ATLANTA, Ga. — Alabama's defense held Clemson to zero yards rushing and John Parker Wilson threw two touchdown passes as the Crimson Tide beat a top-10 opponent for the first time since topping No. 5 Florida in 2005.

Wilson finished 22 of 30 for 180 yards and, with his career total completions now at 500, surpassed Brodie Croyle's old school record of 488.

The Crimson Tide defense held the Tigers' heralded "Thunder and Lightning" backfield of James Davis and C.J. Spiller to 20 yards combined.

NO. 10 AUBURN 34, LOUISIANA-MONROE 0

AUBURN, Ala. — Ben Tate ran for 115 yards on 13 carries and the Tigers scored touchdowns on a 9-yard fumble return by Michael Goggans and a 66-yard punt return by Robert Dunn in cruising past the Warhawks.

The Tigers scarcely needed to pass in debuting Tony Franklin's new spread offense, resorting to a still punishing ground game (321 yards rushing) and defense while alternating quarterbacks on every series for much of the game.

NO. 11 TEXAS 52, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 10

AUSTIN, Texas — On a night when Texas retired the No. 10 jersey of Vince Young, Colt McCoy passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Longhorns coasted past the Owls.

McCoy's third touchdown pass made it 42-10 and he left early in the fourth quarter with 222 yards on 24-of-29 passing. He also did his best to imitate Young with 103 yards rushing on 12 carries.

NO. 12 TEXAS TECH 49, EASTERN WASHINGTON 24

LUBBOCK, Texas — Graham Harrell completed 43 of 58 passes for 536 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score to lead the Red Raiders over the Eagles.

Harrell connected with eight different receivers but it was a quiet night for Michael Crabtree, the nation's leading receiver in 2007. The All-American finished with 73 yards on nine catches, one a 4-yard TD in the first quarter.

NO. 13 WISCONSIN 38, AKRON 17

MADISON, Wis. — P.J. Hill ran for 210 yards and two touchdowns, but the Badgers needed a pair of third-quarter scores — a 2-yard plunge by Hill and a 2-yard run by Zach Brown — to shake free from the pesky Zips, who trailed just 17-10 at halftime.

NO. 14 KANSAS 40, FLA. INTERNATIONAL 10

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Todd Reesing threw three touchdown passes to Dezmon Briscoe and the Jayhawks opened with a victory over the Golden Panthers before a record-breaking home crowd of 52,112, breaking the mark of 51,910 which watched the Jayhawks beat nemesis Nebraska 76-39 last year.

NO. 15 ARIZONA ST. 30, NORTHERN ARIZONA 13

TEMPE, Ariz. — Rudy Carpenter threw a 52-yard touchdown pass on the game's fifth play, and finished 22 of 28 for 388 yards as the Sun Devils beat the overmatched Lumberjacks, who haven't beaten ASU since 1938.

NO. 16 BYU 41, NORTHERN IOWA 17

PROVO, Utah — Max Hall threw for 486 yards and two touchdowns and Cougars overcame four turnovers in the second half to beat the Championship Subdivision Panthers and extend the longest winning streak in the nation to 11.

NO. 19 SOUTH FLORIDA 56, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 7

TAMPA, Fla. — Matt Grothe threw TD passes of 18 and 22 yards to Jessie Hester, and Mike Ford scored on runs of 4 and 6 yards, helping the Bulls build a 35-0 halftime lead in routing the Skyhawks.

NO. 21 OREGON 44, WASHINGTON 10

EUGENE, Ore. — Jeremiah Masoli stepped in for Justin Roper — who left in the second quarter with a concussion — and threw for 126 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Ducks romp past rival Washington. Oregon coach Coach Mike Bellotti said it was not clear how the injury occurred.

NO. 22 PENN STATE 66, COASTAL CAROLINA 10

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Evan Royster ran for three touchdowns and Derrick Williams had an 89-yard kickoff return for a score to help Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno tie Florida State's Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list for major college coaches with his 373rd victory.