No. 1 ALABAMA 38, No. 13 MISSISSIPPI STATE 7
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - AJ McCarron passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and No. 1 Alabama reached the end zone on its first three possessions in a 38-7 victory over No. 13 Mississippi State on Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) quickly turned the meeting of unbeaten SEC West teams into a mismatch, rolling toward a national title game rematch at No. 6 LSU.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 3-1) came in averaging 36.7 points a game but didn't score until the final minutes. They had been leading the nation in turnover margin but lost two fumbles and an interception.
McCarron completed 16 of 23 passes before sitting out the fourth quarter. He headed to the locker room briefly early in the quarter briefly but returned to the sideline. Coach Nick Saban said McCarron bruised his back but will be fine for LSU.
The Tide has now won the past five meetings and this one turned into more of the same, despite considerably more hype.
Read Full Game Story: Alabama vs. Mississippi State
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No. 12 GEORGIA 17, No. 3 FLORIDA 9
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The 12th-ranked Bulldogs stopped the No. 3 Gators from every angle, forcing six turnovers to put themselves on the cusp of the Southeastern Conference title game.
The victory gave Georgia consecutive wins in the series for the first time since 1989.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) did little on offense until Aaron Murray found Malcolm Mitchell for a 45-yard touchdown with 7:11 remaining that put them ahead 17-9.
Georgia sealed its fifth victory in the last 23 games in the rivalry with - what else? - a defensive play. Jarvis Jones knocked the ball out of Jordan Reed's hands near the goal line, and teammate Sanders Commings recovered in the end zone with 2:05 left.
Jones had another huge game against Florida (7-1, 6-1), and the Bulldogs responded as well as possible to safety Shawn Williams' criticism of "playing too soft" earlier in the week.
Read Full Game Story: Georgia vs. Florida
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No. 17 SOUTH CAROLINA 38, TENNESSEE 35
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Connor Shaw threw three touchdowns and ran for another score, and No. 17 South Carolina overcame the loss of tailback Marcus Lattimore.
Tyler Bray had driven the Vols to South Carolina's 19 with 1:08 left when he was hit from behind by defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The ball popped loose and linebacker Shaq Wilson recovered.
Tennessee (3-5, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) forced a punt and got the ball back with 36 seconds to go, but Victor Hampton intercepted a long pass from Bray to close it out for South Carolina.
More pressing, though, is the loss of Lattimore to a serious injury. The junior was taken to a hospital after hurting his right knee in the second quarter.
Shaw finished with a career-high 356 yards passing and the Gamecocks (7-2, 5-2) rolled up 510 yards after managing only 368 combined the previous two weeks in losses at LSU and Florida. Tight end Justice Cunningham had six catches for 108 yards and receiver Bruce Ellington had six catches for 101 yards as South Carolina won three straight over the Vols for the first time in a series that began in 1903.
Bray passed for 368 yards and four touchdowns, three to Zach Rogers.
Read Full Game Story: South Carolina vs. Tennessee
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NO. 22 TEXAS A&M 63, AUBURN 21
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Johnny Manziel ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more - all in a little more than a half - to lead Texas A&M to the easy victory against struggling Auburn.
On eight possessions led by Manziel, Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) scored seven touchdowns. The only non-scoring drive run by the freshman nicknamed "Johnny Football" ended with a missed 48-yard field goal by Taylor Bertolet on the final play of the first half.
Manziel completed 16 of 23 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns and had nine carries for 90 yards and three scores.
Auburn (1-7, 0-6), which has lost five straight, is off to its worst start since going 1-7 in 1952.
The Aggies gained 671 total yards, the most ever allowed by Auburn, in their first game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Texas A&M led 42-7 at halftime and 49-7 after Manziel's final possession.
Read Full Game Story: Texas A&M vs. Auburn
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VANDERBILT 49, MASSACHUSETTS 7
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jordan Rodgers threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score to lead Vanderbilt to a 49-7 victory over Massachusetts on Saturday night.
Sluggish most of the first half, the Commodores (4-4) broke open a seven-point game with two late first-half touchdowns in 55 seconds. They added four touchdowns in the third quarter to claim successive wins for the first time since starting 3-0 last year.
Along with an interception return for a score by Trey Wilson, Jonathan Krause returned a punt 40 yards to the end zone. It marked the first time a Vanderbilt punt return went the distance since 1999.
Massachusetts (0-8) remains winless in its first year in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy, the school's all-time rushing leader, exited five minutes into the game with an injury. He later returned to the sideline wearing a splint on his right ankle.
Read Full Game Story: Vanderbilt vs. Massachusetts
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MISSISSIPPI 30, ARKANSAS 27
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Bo Wallace and Bryson Rose made sure Mississippi's season of resurgence didn't suffer a setback in a 30-27 win over Arkansas on Saturday.
In fact, the duo helped the Rebels take a major step forward - closing in on the school's first bowl berth since 2009.
Rose kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired to secure the win for Ole Miss, its second straight in the Southeastern Conference after snapping a 16-game league losing streak against Auburn. It was the senior's third field goal of the game, including a career-best 53-yarder that put the Rebels (5-3, 2-2) up 27-20 early in the fourth quarter.
The late-game kick helped Ole Miss stave off a rally by the Razorbacks and put the school within one win of bowl eligibility. It also marked the school's first road win in the SEC since beating Vanderbilt 23-7 in 2009, the same year it last won back-to-back conference games.
Read Full Game Story: Mississippi vs. Arkansas
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MISSOURI 33, KENTUCKY 10
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Missouri got touchdowns off all three of Kentucky's lost fumbles and quarterback James Franklin presided over a strong finish in a reserve role coming off a knee injury as the Tigers earned a long-delayed first win in their debut SEC season with a 33-10 victory on Saturday.
Kendial Lawrence ran for 108 yards on 23 carries with two TDs for Missouri (4-4, 1-4), which overcame its own sloppiness, too, after getting last week off following a 32-point loss at home to top-ranked Alabama. Marcus Murphy fumbled his first two punt-return attempts and Corbin Berkstresser was intercepted on consecutive passes by freshman J.D. Harmon to start the second half before getting replaced by Franklin, who was limited in practice this week after missing most of the previous two games with a strained left knee.
Raymond Sanders scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter for Kentucky (1-8, 0-5), which has lost seven in a row. The Wildcats produced just three points off three turnovers.