AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - LSU's defense delivered a first-quarter safety and shut out Auburn in the second half to give the second-ranked Tigers a 12-10 victory Saturday night.
Auburn led 10-9 at halftime but managed only 183 yards.
A fumbled punt return by Auburn's Quan Bray set up Drew Alleman's 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter that gave LSU (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) a 12-10 lead. Alleman missed a 34-yarder with 39 seconds remaining.
Auburn (1-3, 0-2 SEC) managed only one first down on its final possession. Kiehl Frazier's final pass was intercepted by Tharold Simon as the game ended.
LSU's Zach Mettenberger had two first-half fumbles but threw a 33-yard pass to running back Spencer Ware on a key third-down late in the game.
Sam Montgomery tackled Tre Mason in the end zone midway through the first quarter and Michael Ford's 1-yard TD run four minutes later made it 9-0 LSU.
Onterrio McCalebb scored Auburn's touchdown on 4-yard run on the last play of the first quarter to make it 9-7 and from there it was nothing but field goals and defense.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 40, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 7
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Florida Atlantic's brief tour of Southeastern Conference powers ended with on a positive, with the Owls stopping No. 1 Alabama's shutout streak.
The rest of the time was a struggle for coach Carl Pelini's team, which fell 40-7 to the Crimson Tide on Saturday but did manage the late touchdown.
"That's a great defense that we faced," Pelini said. "I mean, I don't know if it was a slow start or if it was a fast start for them defensively. They're a very good defensive football team and they were just physically handling us upfront early in the game."
AJ McCarron threw three touchdown passes, including an early 85-yarder to Kenny Bell, for the Crimson Tide (4-0).
Eddie Lacy rushed for 106 yards in the first half for the Tide, which rolled to 134 consecutive points and two shutouts before allowing a touchdown in the final minutes.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 48, VANDERBILT 3
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Aaron Murray completed his first 12 passes and No. 5 Georgia finally got off to a good start, blowing out Vanderbilt before halftime on the way to a 48-3 victory Saturday night.
Murray hooked up with Tavarres King and Marlon Brown on touchdown throws, breaking a tie with Eric Zeier for second place in school history.
The junior quarterback has 69 TDs, just three behind David Greene.
Murray also scored on a 1-yard sneak as the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) raced to a 27-0 lead. He finished 18 of 24 for 250 yards. Todd Gurley rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Keith Marshall also had a pair of scoring runs.
Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-2) took its worst defeat since a 48-0 loss to Tennessee in 2003.
NO. 7 SOUTH CAROLINA 31, MISSOURI 10
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Connor Shaw completed 20 straight passes and threw for two touchdowns, Marcus Lattimore ran for two scores and No. 7 South Carolina manhandled Missouri 31-10 in the Tigers first Southeastern Conference road game Saturday.
Shaw missed his first pass to Lattimore on the game's first series, then hit his final 20 and finished with 252 yards passing as the Gamecocks (2-0 SEC) improved to 4-0 for just the ninth time in 119 seasons of football.
Missouri (2-2, 0-2) struggled against a Gamecocks defense that has given up three touchdowns all year. The Tigers had a season-low 254 yards.
Lattimore rushed for 85 yards. His touchdowns gave him South Carolina's career mark with 33 rushing scores, a record Lattimore shared with Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and Harold Green.
Shaw came into the game having played just two quarters the past two contests because of a shoulder injury sustained in the season-opening win over Vanderbilt. But Spurrier raised plenty of eyebrows early this week, flatly stating Shaw was fine and ready to go.
NO. 14 FLORIDA 38, KENTUCKY 0
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The latest game in the Kentucky-Florida series went about like the previous four: the Gators took the lead early and won in lopsided fashion.
Jeff Driskel accounted for two touchdowns, and No. 14 Florida beat Kentucky 38-0 Saturday for its 26th consecutive win in the Southeastern Conference series.
The Gators (4-0, 3-0 SEC) also recorded their first shutout in conference play since a 52-0 victory against Mississippi State in 2001.
"Any time you get a shutout, man, those things are hard to come by in this day and age of football, regardless of who you're playing," Florida coach Will Muschamp said.
Florida struggled early, not a great sign with No. 2 LSU up next in two weeks. The slow start also was a rarity against the Wildcats (1-3, 0-1). The Gators had outscored Kentucky 94-3 in the first quarter in the last four meetings, essentially sealing games before some fans settled into their seats.
NO. 23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 30, SOUTH ALABAMA 10
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi State started its season with four straight wins for the first time since 1999, beating South Alabama 30-10 on Saturday night.
Tyler Russell completed 13 of 27 passes for 171 yards for the Bulldogs (4-0) while LaDarius Perkins rushed for a team-high 69 yards - including a 44-yard touchdown run.
Nickoe Whitley and Johnthan Banks both had long interception returns that stopped South Alabama drives.
It was the 15th career interception for Banks and third this season. The Bulldogs led 20-0 at halftime, giving up just 104 yards at that point.
South Alabama (1-3) lost its first game against a Southeastern Conference opponent. C.J. Bennett completed 14 of 26 passes for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Demetre Baker added 49 yards rushing.
TENNESSEE 47, AKRON 26
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tyler Bray threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns and Rajion Neal rushed for a career-high 151 yards Saturday night as Tennessee pulled away in the second half for a 47-26 victory over Akron.
Bray's 3-yard touchdown pass to Neal with 6:47 left in the third quarter broke a 23-23 tie and put the Volunteers (3-1) ahead for good. After giving up the game's final 24 points last week in a 37-20 loss to Florida, Tennessee ended Saturday's game on a 21-0 run.
Bray also threw touchdown passes to Brendan Downs, Justin Hunter and Jacob Carter, though he also had one interception that was returned for a touchdown by Akron's Avis Commack. Downs and Carter scored their first career touchdowns.
Akron (1-3) has lost 22 consecutive road games since winning 42-35 at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 18, 2008.
RUTGERS 35, ARKANSAS 26
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Gary Nova was 25 of 35 passing for a career-best 397 yards and five touchdowns to lead Rutgers to a 35-26 win over Arkansas on Saturday night.
The win secures the Scarlet Knights' first 4-0 start since the 2006 season, and first-year coach Kyle Flood becomes the third coach in school history to start his career with that mark. The last was John Bateman in 1960.
Nova threw two touchdown passes to Brandon Coleman, who finished with six catches for 89 yards. Jawan Jamison had 33 carries for 118 yards for Rutgers.
Tyler Wilson, returning after missing a loss to Alabama with a concussion, was 20 of 40 passing for 419 yards for Arkansas (1-3). Cobi Hamilton had 10 catches for a Southeastern Conference record 303 yards and three touchdowns for the Razorbacks.
OLE MISS 39, TULANE 0
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chief Brown's diving interception in the end zone in the final minutes set off exuberant celebrations on the Mississippi sideline, even though the Rebels had led by more than three touchdowns since the first quarter.
For Ole Miss, winning at winless Tulane was not enough. The Rebels' defense sought redemption after a loss last week in which Texas put up 66 points, and Brown's drive-ending play punctuated a confidence-restoring 39-0 victory over the Green Wave on Saturday.
"One goal for the week was getting a shutout and that's exactly what every defensive player wanted to do," said Ole Miss linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, who also had an interception. "It was big-time for us. We need this confidence."
Mississippi's offense had its share of highlights as well, piling up 304 yards on the ground, including a pair of touchdowns by Jeff Scott. Mississippi's Bo Wallace was 7 of 16 for 101 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Donte Moncrief. Randall Mackey and Ja-Mes Logan each added running touchdowns.
TEXAS A&M 70, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 14
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Johnny Manziel threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more by halftime as Texas A&M built a big lead and coasted to a 70-14 win over South Carolina St. on Saturday night.
Two of Manziel's touchdown passes went to Uzoma Nwachukwu. All four of Nwachukwu's receptions this season have been for touchdowns.
The Aggies (2-1) were up 14-7 after the first quarter before Manziel scored on runs of 39 and 20 yards to give A&M a commanding lead.
Ben Malena had two rushing touchdowns in the first half and Texas A&M led 49-7 at halftime.
Dustin Harris had a 96-yard punt return for a touchdown and finished with a school and Southeastern Conference record 246 punt return yards for A&M.
Richard Cue threw for 189 yards and a touchdown for South Carolina St. (1-3) of the Football Championship Subdivision.