The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bryant, Tigers bounce back
Kelly Bryant threw three touchdown passes, Missouri held rebuilding West Virginia to 171 yards of total offense, and the Tigers rolled to a 38-7 victory in their home opener Saturday.
More importantly, they bounced back from last week’s stunning loss at Wyoming.
Bryant finished with 150 yards passing but played less than three quarters, heading to the locker room after becoming overheated. But with the game out of reach, it didn’t really matter.
Albert Okwuegbunam had two touchdown grabs. Larry Rountree added 99 yards and a score on the ground. Nick Bolton had a pair of interceptions and returned the second for a fourth-quarter
touchdown that only emphasized a dominant performance on the defensive side of the ball.
After allowing the Cowboys to run for 297 yards in a 37-31 loss, the Tigers (1-1) limited the Mountaineers (1-1) to 30 yards rushing. Transfer quarterback Austin Kendall was just 15 of 25 for 137 yards, most of that coming on a late touchdown throw, and also had a pair of interceptions.
West Virginia’s running game may have been the most embarrassing aspect of the day. Brown had vowed it would improve after managing 34 yards against James Madison last week, but the Mountaineers finished with 32 carries for 30 yards. (At) No. 2 Alabama 62, New
Mexico State 10: Tua Tagovailoa passed for three touchdowns and ran 25 yards for a fourth, all in the first half of Alabama’s rout New Mexico State.
The Crimson Tide (2-0) were off to the races starting with the game’s first play, when Henry Ruggs III collected a lateral and sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown. It didn’t get any better for the Aggies (0-2) after that in sweltering conditions that contributed to thousands of empty seats at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (At) Mississippi State 38,
Southern Miss 15: Kylin Hill rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown to lead Mississippi State to a win over Southern Miss.
Hill was injured late in the first half but returned in the second half and totaled 67 yards and his touchdown run in the second half. The Bulldogs (2-0) finished with 386 yards of total offense and collected 210 yards on the ground.
Southern Miss (1-1) was held scoreless in the first 40 minutes.
(At) Purdue 42, Vanderbilt 24: Elijah Sindelar passed for 509 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another TD in Purdue’s victory over Vanderbilt.
Speedy sophomore Rondale Moore caught 13 passes for 220 yards for Purdue, both career highs.
Riley Neal, a graduate transfer from Ball State, threw for 378 yards for two touchdowns as the Commodores had an improved offensive effort from an opening 30-6 loss to Georgia but hurt themselves with 13 penalties for 100 yards. (At) So u th Caro l ina 72,
Charleston Southern 10: Freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski completed 24 of 30 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for South Carolina, leading the Gamecocks over Charleston Southern.
South Carolina (1-1) mostly kept it simple for Hilinski against the FCS Buccaneers (0-2) with plenty of screens, short passes and handoffs.
But it was a fine debut for the freshman, who took over for senior Jake Bentley after the senior broke his foot on the final play of last week’s loss to North Carolina. The Gamecocks had a school- record 775 total yards.