IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nearly everyone assumed that Iowa would lean on senior quarterback James Vandenberg until the rest of the offense found its footing under new coordinator Greg Davis.  But the Hawkeyes’ passing game is a major concern with Iowa State (1-0) visiting Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Iowa (1-0) survived a fierce test from Northern Illinois last weekend, beating the Huskies 18-17 on running back Damon Bullock’s 23-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Vandenberg threw for just 129 yards — averaging less than four yards an attempt — and was sacked six times. Though Vandenberg completed 21 of his 33 tries, none of them went for scores.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rookie Joe Kelly pitched 6 2-3 effective innings and also doubled, helping the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Mets 5-4. Kelly (5-6) allowed five hits and two runs. He made his second start after a brief stint in the bullpen, and turned in his longest outing of the season. Edward Mujica got the last out of the seventh, giving him 16 straight scoreless appearances since coming over from Miami at the trade deadline. Jason Motte recorded five outs for his 33rd save in 38 chances. Skip Schumaker hit a solo homer and Matt Carpenter drove in two runs for the NL wild card-leading Cardinals. Daniel Murphy and Kelly Shoppach hit two-run homers for New York, which had won three straight and seven of eight.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs might be the only NFL team that has more questions heading into the regular season than they had at the start of training camp. Most of it pertains to injuries. Linebacker Derrick Johnson has been hobbling around on a bad ankle, cornerback Brandon Flowers has a bum heel, safety Kendrick Lewis is dealing with a shoulder injury. and backup cornerback Jalil Brown has been trying to recover from a groin strain. That’s just on defense, where the Chiefs are also without Pro Bowl linebacker Tamba Hali for Sunday’s game against Atlanta. He’s suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. Still, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel believes most of the injured guys will be ready to go, and after an encouraging preseason finale, he’s optimistic about the first game that counts.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State running back Shontrelle Johnson was forced to confront the possibility that he’d never play football again. Now Johnson has bounced back from months spent worrying about a neck injury and is in the best shape of his life. Johnson, who missed much of 2011 following a scary injury in early October, celebrated his return to football on Saturday with the best outing of his career. Johnson rushed for a personal-best 120 yards on 18 carries as Iowa State beat Tulsa 38-23. Johnson and fellow junior James White will split carries on Saturday when the Cyclones (1-0) play at rival Iowa (1-0).

It was a perfect Week 1 for the retooled Big 12, at least as far as the scoreboard goes. All the league’s members, including newcomers TCU and West Virginia, got off to winning starts. How they got there varied widely, and in some cases left more questions than answers. No. 4 Oklahoma scuffled its way to a 24-7 victory at UTEP, No. 22 Kansas State needed a late scoring binge to separate from stubborn Missouri State, Iowa State trailed Tulsa early and Kansas had its hands full with South Dakota State in the second half. Sooners coach Bob Stoops says there is more parity than ever in college football, so early season mismatches that became a hallmark of the opening weekend are becoming rarer.