Beavers tumble on the road, 34-3

Freshman Marcus Barnett caught a touchdown pass and recovered a blocked punt in the end zone Thursday night, helping host Cincinnati turn Oregon State’s mistakes into a 34-3 victory.

The Bearcats (2-0) got a signature win for first-year Coach Brian Kelly, who has installed a wide-open, no-huddle offense and tried to inject excitement into a program that is treated as an afterthought locally.

Oregon State (1-1) got a sideline visit from well-known alumni Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals receiving tandem. It didn’t help.

Sophomore Sean Canfield threw interceptions that set up a field goal and Ben Mauk’s five-yard touchdown pass to Barnett, putting Cincinnati ahead, 10-3, at halftime. After the intermission, the Beavers continued to self-destruction.

Oregon State’s Sammie Stroughter, who took a leave of absence during fall football and sat out the opener, tried to fair-catch a punt at his nine-yard line and fumbled. Cincinnati recovered at the two, and Bradley Glatthaar’s run put the Bearcats in control.

Brian Brohm threw for a career-high 401 yards and five touchdowns and Anthony Allen added a school-record 275 rushing yards and two scores as No. 8 Louisville avoided a major upset and defeated Middle Tennessee, 58-42, at Louisville, Ky.

Mario Urrutia, Gary Barnidge and Harry Douglas all topped 100 yards receiving as the Cardinals (2-0) extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 20 games.

The Blue Raiders (0-2) never led, but the Sun Belt Conference champions never let the Cardinals get comfortable.

West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez has signed a contract extension through 2013. . . . Blake Mitchell will return to his starting quarterback spot for South Carolina against No. 11 Georgia on Saturday.