Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tua, Smith lead No. 2 Alabama to 59-31 rout of Mississippi
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith hooked up for five touchdown passes and a few school records while No. 2 Alabama ran away from Mississippi.
The Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) actually trailed for the first time this season before flexing its muscles against the 371/2-point underdogs. The Rebels (2-3, 1-1) couldn’t even slow down Smith, who sometimes gets overshadowed in a loaded receiving group.
Not this game. Smith had 11 catches for school records of 274 yards and five TDs, all by early in the third quarter. He had 221 yards by halftime, and added a 27-yard score to punctuate the biggest game of any Tide receiver.
Tagovailoa passed for a school-record six touchdowns and rushed for a seventh. He had matched the record of five TD passes in two straight games but finally eclipsed it in the fourth quarter.
He completed 26 of 36 passes for 418 yards.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Tide, even with a blocked punt for a touchdown tossed in.
Ole Miss turned a muffed punt into a score and then took a 10-7 lead on Luke Logan’s 33-yard field goal. Alabama’s first deficit of the season lasted 3: 44.
Then Alabama scored 31 points in the second quarter.
The Rebels started backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee with Matt Corral sidelined with bruised ribs sustained in a loss to California.
Plumlee passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third. He finished 10-of-28 passing for 141 yards with an interception, and ran 25 times for 109 yards.
NO. 7 AUBURN 56, MISSISSIPPI STATE 23
AUBURN, Ala. — Seth Williams had eight receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns, JaTarvious Whitlow ran for three scores and Bo Nix had his best game in an Auburn uniform.
Auburn (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) started fast, scoring three touchdowns on its first eight plays from scrimmage. It was aided by five Miss State penalties and a fumbled kickoff in the first five minutes that resulted in short fields.
Whitlow galloped for a 30-yard score on Auburn’s first play. After the Tigers stifled Tommy Stevens and the Miss State offense for minus-22 yards on their first two possessions, Nix and receiver Anthony Schwartz added redzone rushing touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. Save for a lost fumble by Williams with 4:30 left in the second quarter, Auburn scored a touchdown on every possession in the first half.
Penn State transfer Stevens earned the nod at quarterback for the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1), but Garrett Shrader took over in the first quarter after Stevens sustained an injury on a big hit.
NO. 9 FLORIDA 38, TOWSON 0
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Trask was perfect early and a spectator late. He broke a school record in between.
He had no idea about how good his performance was until coach Dan Mullen’s wife told him on the field afterward.
Trask threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, helping No. 9 Florida beat lower-division Towson and extend its winning streak to nine. He set a school record in the process.
The junior making his second collegiate start completed 15 consecutive passes to open the game, giving him 18 straight completions and breaking Chris Leak’s mark (17) set against Wyoming in 2005.
“It’s pretty cool to be part of history like that, especially after all the great quarterbacks that have played here,” Trask said. “I guess I felt a little more comfortable.”
Trask’s hot streak ended with a dropped pass by Jacob Copeland early in the third quarter. He responded with a perfect throw to Kyle Pitts in the corner of the end zone for their second TD hookup of the afternoon.
Trask finished 18-of-20 passing for 188 yards, giving way to Emory Jones in the fourth quarter. Trask showed progress by not having any turnovers. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in his first start , against Tennessee.
He was considerably more efficient, as expected, against the overmatched Tigers (3-2).
“Overall, I thought he managed the game pretty well,” Dan Mullen said.
The Gators (5-0) need it to continue as they begin a daunting October against seventh-ranked Auburn next week.
“You look at this team: we’ve taken care of business to this point,” Mullen said. “Whatever the situation — good and bad — we’ve taken care of business so far to this point. We’ve played some good teams, but now it’s going to go to a whole new level.”
Although Florida won the game and covered the 351/2-point spread, it also struggled to run the ball early. The Gators mustered 60 yards on 16 carries in the first half.
Mullen put it all on his offensive line.
“That has got to improve for us,” Mullen said. “The mental toughness of the offensive line within their preparation has got to improve as we move forward. ... Whatever you’re doing is not enough. They need to do more.”
Towson moved the ball well early, but ended its first two drives with a fumble and a missed field goal.
VANDERBILT 24, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 18
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Oh baby, what an eventful last 24 hours it’s been for Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Vaughn rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown and Riley Neal threw for 189 yards and a touchdown and Vanderbilt defeated Northern Illinois.
Vaughn did all this after becoming a father of a baby boy around 7 p.m. Friday night.
The victory was the first of the season for the Commodores (1-3), who dropped their first three games of the season to Power Five teams, two of which came against Top Five ranked opponents No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 LSU.
“(I’m) just very happy for our football team to get this win,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. “We’ll come back tomorrow and fix what needs to be fixed, but I told those guys, ‘Go enjoy it.’”
After winning their season opening game, Northern Illinois (1-3) has dropped three straight, all against Power Five Teams.
“Obviously it was a tough game,” Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock said. “I thought our players responded and came out in the second half and fought and scratched to put us in the game. We spotted them 14 points on things that were easily avoidable, simple plays that we have to execute.”
Vanderbilt’s Keyon Brooks and Vaughn scored rushing touchdowns by on their first two drives of the game.
SOUTH CAROLINA 24, KENTUCKY 7
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rico Dowdle and Tavien Feaster each rushed for more than 100 yards and South Carolina snapped a five-game series losing streak to Kentucky with a victory.
The Gamecocks (2-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) also ended a run of six consecutive losses to Power Five opponents against the Wildcats (2-3, 0-3). All week, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp emphasized an improved running attack: Dowdle and Clemson grad transfer Feaster made sure it happened.
Dowdle ran for 102 yards and a 30-yard touchdown, his second time surpassing the century mark in three games. But Dowdle appeared to injure his left leg less than two minutes into the fourth quarter and needed support to make the sidelines as the crowd chanted “Rico, Rico.”
Feaster gave South Carolina a second 100-yard rusher with 107 yards (67 in the final period) and touchdown runs of 2 and 19 yards. It’s the first time the Gamecocks had a pair of 100-yard rushers in SEC play since 2001 when Andrew Pinnock and Derek Watson did it in a win over Vanderbilt with Lou Holtz as coach.
The Gamecocks defense did the rest, pressuring Kentucky quarterback Sawyer Smith throughout and giving up just 111 yards total the first three quarters.