UNR crashes party, stuns Golden Bears

BERKELEY, Calif. - Cody Fajardo, Stefphon Jefferson and UNR spoiled California's stadium reopening party.

Jefferson ran for 145 yards and scored his third touchdown with 36 seconds remaining Saturday as the Wolf Pack beat California 31-24 in the first game in 21 months at Memorial Stadium.

"Good teams find a way to try and overcome adversity," Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault said. "I'm not saying we're a good team at this particular time, but we did overcome some adversity."

Fajardo completed 25 of 32 passes for 230 yards and added 97 yards rushing and a touchdown for UNR (1-0), which was playing its first game as a member of the Mountain West Conference and put a damper on what was supposed to be a celebratory day for the Golden Bears.

Fajardo engineered the winning drive by throwing a 14-yard pass to Zach Sudfeld on third-and-4 from the Cal 38 and a 19-yarder to Brandon Wimberly that set up Jefferson's winning score.

Wimberly missed all of last season recovering from a bullet wound to his stomach.

"It's a long road. This is game one," he said. "A year ago, there was no way I was going to play a football game."

Cal quarterback Zach Maynard returned after being benched for the first three series as punishment for missing a tutoring session earlier this summer to throw for 247 yards and two touchdowns for the Golden Bears (0-1).

But he also lost a fumble deep in UNR territory in the fourth quarter as the Bears lost at home to UNR for the second time in 25 tries and first since 1903.

■ Colorado State 22, Colorado 17 - At Denver, Jim McElwain became the first Rams coach to win his debut in 42 years when Colorado State rallied past the in-state rival Buffaloes.

Garret Grayson completed 14 of 21 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and Jared Roberts kicked two fourth-quarter field goals after the Rams (1-0) fell behind 17-16 in the fourth quarter.

Kansas transfer Jordan Webb was 22-for-41 for 176 yards and two TDs for the Buffaloes (0-1).

McElwain, the former offensive coordinator at Alabama, became the first Rams coach to win his debut since Jerry Wampfler in 1970.

■ No. 15 Texas 37, Wyoming 17 - At Austin, Texas, Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown both rushed for more than 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns, leading the Longhorns (1-0) over the Cowboys (0-1).

Bergeron had 110 yards and scored Texas' first touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. He put the game away with a 17-yard TD in the fourth. Brown ran for 105 yards.

Robert Herron had touchdown catches of 82 and 22 yards for Wyoming. Cowboys quarterback Brett Smith passed for 276 yards, but he threw two interceptions in the second quarter that set up Texas touchdowns.

■ Air Force 49, Idaho State 21 - At Air Force Academy, Colo., Cody Getz ran for 218 yards and three touchdowns, Connor Dietz rushed for 74 and a score and had 142 yards passing, and the Falcons (1-0) dominated the Bengals (0-1) of the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Falcons rushed for 490 yards and had 628 yards of total offense.

■ New Mexico 66, Southern 21 - At Albuquerque, N.M., Demarcus Rogers rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, and freshman quarterback Cole Gautsche scored two rushing touchdowns as the Lobos (1-0) beat the Jaguars (0-1) in Bob Davie's debut as coach.

The Lobos scored 38 points in the second quarter against Southern, an FCS school, as many as they totaled in their final six games last season.

■ Fresno State 37, Weber State 10 - At Fresno, Calif., Derek Carr threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns, and Robbie Rouse rushed for 123 yards and two scores as the Bulldogs (1-0) defeated the Wildcats (0-1) in their first game as a member of the Mountain West and Tim DeRuyter's debut as coach.

■ Washington 21, San Diego State 12 - At Seattle, safety Will Shamburger returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, and Keith Price threw for 222 yards and a TD as the Huskies (1-0) held off the Aztecs (0-1).