09/07/2008 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Delhomme found Dante Rosario in the back of the end zone as time expired to give the Carolina Panthers a 26-24 win over the San Diego Chargers.
D.J. Hackett caught a seven-yard pass on the first play of the drive and got out of bounds, and Muhsin Muhammad had a 13-yard reception over the middle to get to the two-minute warning. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-7 from the San Diego 45, Delhomme found Rosario for an 11-yard gain.
From the 34, Delhomme threw a bullet to Dwayne Jarrett to get to the 23, and with 31 seconds left threw a three-yard pass to Nick Goings. After an incompletion out of the end zone, there were only six seconds left. A short pass brought the Panthers to the 14-yard line with two seconds left, and Delhomme avoided the rush and threw a pass through two San Diego defenders into Rosario's hands for the game-winning score.
Delhomme finished the contest completing 23-of-41 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown to lead the Panthers (1-0). Rosario had 96 yards on seven receptions and the game-winning score. DeAngelo Williams ran for 86 yards on 18 carries in the win.
Philip Rivers threw for 217 yards and three scores on 17-of-27 passing, as he dropped to 15-2 all-time at home as a starter. LaDainian Tomlinson had 97 yards on 22 carries, but Carolina kept him out of the end zone. Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers each scored a touchdown for the Chargers (0-1).
<< Newhan, Astros rally past Rockies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Newhan hit a go-ahead RBI triple in a
two-run eighth inning as the Houston Astros came back to edge the Colorado
Rockies, 7-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Coors Field.
Jose Cast
<< Cowboys' Barber leaves with injury
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber
III left Sunday's 28-10 win over the Cleveland Browns with an apparent injury
to his ribs.
He was sent to the locker room during the final quarter to have X-rays
<< Murray upends Nadal to reach U.S. Open final
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Andy Murray advanced to
his first ever Grand Slam final with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over
top-ranked Rafael Nadal on Sunday at the U.S. Open.
The match was suspended on Satu
<< Villegas gets first win; Singh all but clinches FedEx Cup
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Camilo Villegas finally collected his first
PGA Tour victory on Sunday, when he held on down the back nine to win the BMW
Championship.
"I don't know what to say," acknowledged Villegas, who shot a final
Stankowski wins Canadian Tour Championship >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Stankowski birdied his final two holes
Sunday to earn his first victory on the Canadian Tour at the Canadian Tour
Championship.
He shot a final-round, three-under 69 and won the title at by two s
Romo, Cowboys take down Browns >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Romo threw for 320 yards with a
touchdown and an interception on 24-of-32 passing to lead the Dallas Cowboys
to a 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the season-opener for both
teams.
Pirates' McLouth leaves after being hit in face >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates center fielder Nate McLouth
left in the fourth inning of Pittsburgh's 11-6 loss to the San Francisco
Giants on Sunday after being struck in the face by a batted ball.
McLouth dove to
Warner and Cardinals slide past Niners >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Warner was an efficient 19-of-30 for
197 yards and a touchdown as the Arizona Cardinals edged the San Francisco
49ers, 23-13 in the season opener for both NFC West squads.
Edgerrin James carried
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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