NO. 12 LSU 22, NO. 7 Auburn 21
Cole Tracy kicked a 42-yard field goal on the final play to give No. 12 LSU a 22-21 victory over No. 7 Auburn on Saturday in their Southeastern Conference opener.
Joe Burrow led LSU (3-0) down the field in the final minutes with clutch plays and two pass interference calls against Auburn (2-1). That set up Tracy's field goal that was almost right down the middle and sent LSU players swarming onto the field to celebrate.
Burrow hit Derrick Dillon over the outstretched arms of Auburn linebacker Deshaun Davis for a 71-yard touchdown strike with 8:18 left. Burrow's two-point attempt failed, leaving Auburn up 21-19.
The LSU defense held to set up another chance with 5:38 remaining. The result was a 14-play, 52-yard drive. A pass interference call against Jeremiah Dinson on third-and-11 kept the drive alive. Then Burrow hit Stephen Sullivan for 9 yards on fourth-and-7 to keep the offense on the field.
Burrow held his own against Auburn's more heralded Jarrett Stidham. He completed 15 of 34 passes for 249 yards, with Justin Jefferson gaining 97 yards on five catches.
Stidham was 16 of 28 for 198 yards and a touchdown but threw two interceptions. JaTarvious Whitlow ran for 104 yards on 22 carries.
Auburn's Anders Carlson missed a 52-yard field goal attempt wide left with nearly 13 minutes left.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 62, OLE MISS 7
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, Jerry Jeudy caught two scoring passes and Alabama buried Mississippi.
Alabama (3-0) gave up a touchdown on the first play of the Southeastern Conference opener, but responded by scoring the next 62 points. The Tide's offense had 516 total yards and was so effective that Tagovailoa's evening was over by midway through the second quarter.
The left-handed sophomore completed 11 of 15 passes during his short time on the field. The Tide then turned to Jalen Hurts, who completed 7 of 10 passes for 85 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
It was so lopsided that third-stringer Mac Jones was in the game before the end of the third quarter.
Ole Miss (2-1) suffered through a second straight blowout loss to the Crimson Tide. The Rebels fell 66-3 last year in Tuscaloosa.
NO. 3 GEORGIA 49, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7
Jake Fromm threw three touchdown passes and Elijah Holyfield ran for 100 yards, each playing only the first half for Georgia.
Georgia (3-0) led the Blue Raiders (1-2) 42-7 at halftime. It was an impressive warmup for the Bulldogs' stretch of seven straight Southeastern Conference games, beginning next week at Missouri. There were clouds but no rain in the game that was moved up to a noon kickoff due to Tropical Storm Florence.
Freshman Justin Fields ran 15 yards for a touchdown in the first half and threw a touchdowns pass in relief of Fromm. Jeremiah Holloman caught three passes for 90 yards, including an 11-yard scoring pass from Fromm in the first quarter. Mecole Hardman had a touchdown catch and a 70-yard punt return touchdown, and Tyler Simmons had a 56-yard touchdown run.
NO. 8 NOTRE DAME 22, VANDERBILT 17
Jalen Elliott knocked the ball loose from Vanderbilt receiver Kalija Lipscomb with 1:07 remaining to give Notre Dame a fourth-down stop.
Kyle Shurmur threw for 326 yards and a touchdown for Vanderbilt (2-1), rallying his team from a 16-3 halftime deficit. His fourth-and-4 pass from the Notre Dame 31 to Lipscomb, who caught 11 passes, was nicely thrown and the receiver almost made a reaching catch at the 11. But Elliott, with some help from the ground, knocked the ball loose and incomplete.
Tony Jones Jr. finished with 118 yards on 17 carries for Notre Dame (3-0). He also caught two passes from quarterback Brandon Wimbush for 56 yards.
Wimbush, who had 297 passing yards but three interceptions in the 24-16 victory against Ball State, threw for 122 yards and added 84 yards on the ground, including a 13-yard scramble for a touchdown as Notre Dame took an early 10-0 lead late in the first quarter. But despite a 2-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Ian Book to tight end Nic Weishar early in the fourth quarter for a 22-10 lead, the Irish struggled over the last three quarters and had to hold on.
NO. 16 MISSISSIPPI STATE 56, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 10
Nick Fitzgerald accounted for 350 yards of offense and six touchdowns to lead Mississippi State.
Fitzgerald ran for 107 yards and four touchdowns, the second time he's had four rushing touchdowns in a game. Fitzgerald also completed 14 of 21 passes 243 yards and two touchdowns.
Aeris Williams added 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground for Mississippi State (3-0). The Bulldogs totaled 607 yards of offense with 331 yards on the ground.
Andrew Nunez was 21 of 29 for 224 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Louisiana (1-1). He threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Jamarcus Bradley in the fourth quarter.
OTHER SATURDAY SCORES
North Texas 44, Arkansas 17
Florida 48, Colorado State 10
Missouri 40, Purdue 37
Kentucky 48, Murray State 10
Tennessee 24, UTEP 0
Texas A&M 48, ULM 10