No. 3 Georgia Built Strong
Fromm, RBs Overwhelm Gamecocks
Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm knew the third-ranked Bulldogs were built to last after their run to last season's national title game. He believes the rest of the country found that out Saturday.
Fromm threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, all three of Georgia's latest running combo scored touchdowns and the Bulldogs turned an expected Southeastern Conference showdown into a 41-17 rout over No. 24 South Carolina on Saturday at Columbia, S.C.
“We weren't going anywhere,” Fromm said. “We've worked too hard to stay where we are.”
That was evident at Williams-Brice Stadium, where Georgia (2-0, 1-0 SEC) used dominating offense and suffocating defense to win its fourth straight over the Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1).
Fromm was 15 of 18 passing, including a 34-yard TD pass to Mecole Hardman. D'Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien looked every bit as effective as NFL runners Nick Chubb and Sony Michel did a year ago in leading Georgia to the College Football Playoff.
Holyfield led the way with 76 yards and a 5-yard score. Swift had a 17-yard TD run, and Herrien piled on with a 15-yard scoring burst in the third quarter as Georgia went up by 31 points.
Cornerback Deandre Baker set the tone on defense early with an interception off a tipped ball in the opening minute that led to a touchdown.
The Bulldogs outrushed South Carolina 271 yards to 54.
No. 2 Clemson 28, Texas A&M 26: At College Station, Texas, Kelly Bryant threw for 205 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score to help the Tigers escape Kellen Mond and Texas A&M.
Mond was spectacular in the second half, throwing for three touchdowns, with a 14-yard pass to Kendrick Rogers cutting the lead to 28-26 with 46 seconds left. But his big performance came up just short when the 2-point conversion attempt was intercepted in the end zone.
Mond finished with a career-high 430 yards passing and Rogers had 120 yards receiving and two TDs.
Clemson's vaunted defensive line, led by firstteam All-America end Clelin Ferrell and tackle Christian Wilkins and sec- ond-team All-America tackle Dexter Lawrence, helped the Tigers pile up 10 tackles for losses and four sacks.
No. 8 Notre Dame 24, Ball State 16: At South Bend, Ind., Jalen Elliott had a pair of interceptions that Notre Dame turned into touchdowns and the Fighting Irish held off stubborn Ball State 24-16 on Saturday on a day when its offense was frustrated much of the game.
The Irish (2-0), coming off an emotional 24-17 season-opening victory over Michigan, looked lackluster against the Mid-American Conference foe whose campus in Muncie is a 2 1⁄2- hour drive. The Cardinals (1-1) also played nothing like the 34 1⁄2- point underdogs they were labeled in the schools' first meeting in football.
After going the entire 2017 season and last week without an interception by a safety, Elliott picked off a pair of Riley Neal passes that the offense converted into a pair of rushing touchdowns of 31 and 1 yards by junior Tony Jones Jr. for a 21-6 lead in the third quarter
Kentucky 27, No. 25 Florida 16: At Gainesville, Fla., Kentucky ended one of college football's longest losing streaks by upsetting Florida.
Terry Wilson accounted for three touchdowns, Benny Snell ran for 175 yards and the Wildcats beat the Gators for the first time since 1986. Kentucky hadn't won in Gainesville since 1979, having lost 31 straight to Florida.
Early Heisman talk: Through two games, Tua Tagovailoa has thrown for 555 yards and six touchdowns in just 35 attempts (25 completions) for Alabama. That's 15.9 yard per attempt and a TD every six passes.
Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins has been equally ridiculous: 546 yards and nine touchdowns in 53 attempts (44 completions). That's 10.3 per attempt to go with a touchdown pass every six throws.
Around the nation: Good day for the American Athletic Conference with Houston throttling Arizona, USF outlasting Georgia Tech and East Carolina trouncing North Carolina. No, there is no Power Six, but the American again looks to be the best of the non-Power Five conferences and victories like that can help when it comes time for the selection committee to pick the best Group of Five league champion. ... Kyler Murray accounted for five touchdowns for No. 6 Oklahoma against UCLA, but there was also bad news for the Sooners. Star RB Rodney Anderson, one of the more underrated players in the country, left with a knee injury.