Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Nix helps No. 8 Auburn over No. 17 Texas A&M, 28-20
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Bo Nix threw a touchdown pass and JaTarvious Whitlow ran for a score as No. 8 Auburn built a big lead and withstood a late charge from Texas A&M to get a 28-20 win over the 17th-ranked Aggies on Saturday.
Nix didn’t put up flashy numbers against the Aggies, but he looked poised and didn’t make any big mistakes in his first true road game in front of a rowdy crowd of 101,681. Fellow freshman Joey Gatewood replaced Nix for a few snaps throughout the game and he threw his first career touchdown pass in the first quarter.
The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) were up 21-3 before A&M (2-2, 0-1) finally got going offensively in the fourth quarter. Mond cut the lead to 2110 with his first touchdown pass early in the fourth before Auburn added a touchdown rushing. But the Aggies made a field goal before Mond connected with Ainias Smith on a 15-yard TD pass with just over two minutes left to get them to 28-20.
But Auburn recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock.
Mond had 335 yards passing but Texas A&M previously solid running game was held to just 56 yards.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 49, SOUTHERN MISS 7
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The glaring sun was the only thing that slowed down Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III early, and that was only for an instant.
Ruggs held up momentarily before pulling in his second long touchdown catch in the second-ranked Crimson Tide’s victory over Southern Miss. He collected it and was off to the races again for a 74-yard score.
Ruggs said it wasn’t an underthrown ball by Tua Tagovailoa, who had another huge game.
“The sun caught in my eye,” he said. “The ball was right in the sun, so I actually turned around to make sure I secured the catch instead of catching it over the shoulder.”
Tagovailoa passed for 293 yards and five touchdowns in just three quarters, including a 45-yarder and 74-yarder to Ruggs in the first nine minutes.
He had his second straight five-TD game and the Tide (40) raced to a 28-0 lead in the first 19 minutes in yet another lopsided victory. Last season’s Heisman Trophy runner-up completed 17 of 21 passes.
The Golden Eagles (2-2) couldn’t keep up with the speedy Ruggs, despite a little help from the sun. He had a career high in receiving yards even before the first quarter ended.
Ruggs finished with four catches for 148 yards, all in the first half and all on four targets. He sprinted to the end zone untouched on a slant pattern for the 45-yarder.
NO. 3 GEORGIA 23, NO. 7 NOTRE DAME 17
ATHENS, Ga. — Jake Fromm threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Lawrence Cager early in the fourth quarter and No. 3 Georgia, getting a tougher fight than many expected, held off No. 7 Notre Dame 23-17 on a raucous Saturday night between the hedges, a result that could have ramifications all the way to the College Football Playoff.
The Bulldogs (4-0) trailed 10-7 at halftime but turned the momentum when redshirt freshman Divaad Wilson intercepted a pass by Ian Book deep in Notre Dame territory. The Fromm-to-Cager combination gave Georgia a 23-10 lead, but the Fighting Irish (2-1) had a chance at the end.
Book’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Chase Claypool cut the deficit with 3:12 remaining, the Notre Dame defense held, and Book got the ball back at his own 48 after a poor punt with just under 2 minutes to go.
The Irish got as far as the Georgia 38, but no further. It ended with Book zig-zagging on a desperate scramble before hurling up a long pass that fell incomplete, denying Notre Dame the signature win over a top opponent it so desperately needs.
With Georgia up 13-10 after a pair of field goals by Rodrigo Blankenship, Cager hauled in a 36-yard pass along the sideline to push the Bulldogs into the red zone. Then, on third-and-7 from the 15, Notre Dame brought a blitz and Fromm coolly lofted one toward Cager along the left side of the end zone.
NO. 4 LSU 66, VANDERBILT 38
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Burrow tossed four of his school-record six touchdown passes to Ja’Marr Chase and threw for 398 yards, leading No. 4 LSU to a romp over Vanderbilt in the Tigers’ SEC opener.
LSU (4-0) beat Vanderbilt (0-3, 0-2) for the eighth straight time and improved to 12-5 all-time in Nashville in the first game between these SEC charter members since 2010.
The Tigers showed off their new high-powered offense, scoring their most points this season and most ever in regulation against an SEC opponent. They needed 2:11 or less on their first seven scoring drives, and LSU scored 4 seconds after Micah Baskerville returned an onside kick 46 yards to open the third quarter on Burrow’s fifth TD pass.
Burrow had a game for the record books.
He became both the first LSU quarterback to throw for 350 yards or more in three straight games, and his 357 yards passing by halftime also was the most in school history. Burrow opened the game hitting 13 of his first 14 for 244 yards before his second incompletion at 9:19 in the second quarter. He finished 25 of 34 before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter.
NO. 9 FLORIDA 34, TENNESSEE 3
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Trask threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns in his first start in nearly seven years and No. 9 Florida beat slumping Tennessee, extending the Gators’ dominance in a series that used to be the most prominent in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division.
Trask’s first collegiate start was far from perfect, though. The fourth-year junior lost a fumble and threw two interceptions against the Volunteers (1-3, 0-1 SEC)
But he did enough to overcome those miscues and lead Florida (4-0, 2-0) to its 14th win in its last 15 games against Tennessee. Trask completed 20 of 28 passes, none better than the ones that went for touchdowns to Kyle Pitts and Freddie Swain.
NO. 23 CALIFORNIA 28, MISSISSIPPI 20
OXFORD, Miss. — Chase Garbers threw for four touchdowns, but No. 23 California needed a game-saving tackle at the 1-yard line from linebacker Evan Weaver on the game’s final play to defeat Mississippi.
Cal (4-0) was in control until the final six minutes, when reserve quarterback John Rhys Plumlee led Ole Miss (22) on a late rally to wipe out a 28-13 deficit. Plumlee was stopped by Weaver for no gain on fourth down at the 1-yard line as time expired.
Garbers completed 23 of 35 passes for 357 yards, including TDs of 9 and 60 yards to Jordan Duncan and Jake Tonges on the opening two possessions of the third quarter, setting up the late defensive heroics.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 28, KENTUCKY 13
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Kylin Hill rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi State to a victory over Kentucky.
Mississippi State (3-1, 1-0 SEC) handed the ball to Hill, the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher 26 times in the game, taking some of the offensive pressure off freshman quarterback Garrett Schrader who started in place of injured senior Tommy Stevens, a Penn State transfer.
MISSOURI 34, SOUTH CAROLINA 14
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri’s defense scored the easy way and the hard way as the Tigers beat South Carolina.
Linebacker Cale Garrett recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and safety Ronnell Perkins returned an interception 100 yards for another score for the Tigers (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference).