Dawgs win battle of unbeatens
Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and No. 3 Georgia shut down No. 1 Tennessee’s high-powered offense, dominating the Volunteers 27-13 on Saturday in Athens, Georgia, in an SEC showdown of top-ranked teams.
Georgia (9-0, 6-0 SEC) turned the 25th regular-season matchup of the top two teams in the AP poll into a rout that made clear the defending national champions are still the team to beat.
“Competitive excellence, competitive toughness,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart when asked about Bennett’s ability to shine on the grandest stages. “He’s a winner. Let’s be honest. The guy knows how to win.”
In a deafening and soggy Sanford Stadium, Georgia led 27-6 before Tennessee scored its first touchdown with 4:15 remaining.
Hendon Hooker, who entered as the Heisman Trophy frontrunner after taking down Alabama last month, passed for only 195 yards for Tennessee (8-1, 4-1) and was sacked six times by star defensive tackle Jalen Carter and the Bulldogs’ defense.
Hooker threw an interception, lost a fumble that nearly resulted in a safety for Georgia and didn’t throw a touchdown pass.
Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt said Georgia’s defense was “way more physical than Alabama.”
Tennessee’s final possession ended with Hooker dropped for no gain on a fourth-down run with less than three minutes remaining. The Volunteers came in averaging almost 50 points per game.
Hooker and his potent top receivers, Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, were contained. The Vols were held to two first-half field goals as Georgia took a 24-6 halftime lead. Rain in the second half made it only more difficult to move.
LSU 32, Alabama 31 (OT)
Jayden Daniels ran for 25-yard touchdown in overtime and then found Mason Taylor for a do-ordie two-point conversion, and the No. 10 Tigers (7-2, 5-1 SEC) tripped the No. 6 Crimson Tide (7-2, 4-2) in Baton Rouge to give first-year LSU coach Brian Kelly his first victory over Alabama coach Nick Saban.
The victory in a riveting game that included six second-half lead changes and a tying field goal by Alabama in the last 30 seconds gave LSU control of the SEC West with two league games remaining.
Alabama began overtime with the ball and took a 31-24 lead on Roydell Williams’ second touchdown of the game.
But Daniels needed just one play in overtime to score and force a decision by Kelly to try to tie it with a kick or let Daniels try to win it.
“I just love the way our guys competed. I didn’t want to keep going in overtime,” Kelly said as jubilant fans stormed onto the field. “It just felt like it was the right time to try to win the game.”
Alabama, favored by nearly two touchdowns, lost in Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2010.
TCU 34, Texas Tech 24
Derius Davis returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and Kendre Miller ran for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter as the No. 7 Horned Frogs reached 9-0 for the first time since 2010.
Davis caught one of Max Duggan’s two fourth-quarter TD passes for host TCU, 6-0 in the Big 12.
The Red Raiders (4-5, 2-4) went ahead 17-13 in the third quarter on Tyler Shough’s 33-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Sparkman.
Kansas 37, Oklahoma State 16
Devin Neal ran for 224 yards and a touchdown and had 110 receiving yards for the host Jayhawks (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) to key the upset over the No. 18 Cowboys (6-3, 3-3). The Jayhawks are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2008. Kansas had 351 yards rushing, with Neal setting career highs in both rushing and receiving yards. Jason Bean went 18-for-23 passng for 203 yards.