Alabama blows past Kent State for 48-0 win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—Alabama didn’t miss a beat after tailback Damien Harris went down a couple of minutes into the game.
The youngsters made sure of it. Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed the opening drive with a 20-yard touchdown run and fellow freshman Joshua Jacobs scored his first two career touchdowns in the top-ranked Crimson Tide’s 48-0 win Saturday over Kent State.
The Tide (4-0) dominated coach Nick Saban’s alma mater from the start while scoring on a kickoff return and even a short touchdown throw to linebacker/ short-yardage blocker Mack Wilson—yet another freshman. The only bad news for Alabama was Harris sprained his right ankle on the opening drive and didn’t return.
He was hardly needed in this game, when No. 2 quarterback Blake Barnett played much of the way and the emerging Jacobs ran for 97 yards. It amounted to a Saturday afternoon respite for the Tide after a bruising 48-43 comeback win over No. 23 Mississippi.
“The goal going into this game was to play a complete game, start fast, finish, and I think we probably did that as well as we’ve done all year,” Saban said.
Hurts was 16-of-24 passing for 164 yards and ran for 54 yards while splitting time with Barnett. He found Wilson for a 1-yard third-quarter score that was supposed to go to tight end O.J. Howard.
Alabama did whatever it wanted in the first half, outgaining Kent State 352-53 and amassing a 41-0 lead. The Golden Flashes, who had trailed Penn State 16-13 at halftime in the opener, managed just 13 passing yards in the first three quarters before finally driving in the fourth.
Backup quarterback George Bollas was initially given a touchdown on a fourth-quarter run toward the goal line, but was ruled down at the 1 after a review.
Most of the fans, including all but a handful of students, were long gone by then.
MISSISSIPPI 45, GEORGIA 14
OXFORD, Miss.—Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly faked the handoff and then took off running toward the end zone. A few seconds and 41 yards later, the quarterback had cruised through the middle of the Georgia defense and into the end zone untouched.
It was pretty much that easy for the Rebels all afternoon. Ole Miss finally built a lead it couldn’t give away.
No. 23 Ole Miss rolled to a 45-14 victory over No. 12 Georgia on Saturday, building a 31-0 lead by halftime and a 45-0 advantage by midway through the fourth quarter.
Kelly threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Ole Miss (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) broke a 10-game losing streak in the series dating to 1996.
Georgia (3-1, 1-1) lost its first game under new coach Kirby Smart and looked overmatched. To make matters worse, star running back Nick Chubb sprained an ankle in the second quarter and didn’t return.
It was an impressive win for the Rebels, who have played some of their worst football this season after gaining big leads. Ole Miss led Florida State by 22 points and Alabama by 21 this season before losing both games.
Kelly was sharp from the opening series, completing 18 of 24 passes and adding the 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that was his last play of the afternoon. Tight end Evan Engram led the Rebels with six catches for 95 yards.
Ole Miss also ran for a season-high 180 yards. Derrick Jones returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Brian Herrien led the Bulldogs with 78 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason had a tough day, completing just 16 of 36 passes for 137 yards and an interception.
Chubb had 57 yards rushing on 12 carries before he hurt his ankle. Smart said he wasn’t sure how about the severity of Chubb’s injury.
TENNESSEE 38, FLORIDA 28
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Joshua Dobbs accounted for five second-half touchdowns Saturday and No. 14 Tennessee erased a 21-point deficit to beat No. 19 Florida 38-28 and end their 11-game losing streak in the annual series.
This marks the first time Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) has beaten Florida (3-1, 1-1) since a 30-28 victory in 2004. The Volunteers had lost to Florida by a single point each of the last two years despite leading in the fourth quarter of both games.
This time, Tennessee delivered the comeback by scoring 38 consecutive points.
Dobbs threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth score—all in the second half. He went 16 of 32 for 319 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Dobbs also rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Trailing 21-0 early against the nation’s top-ranked defense, Tennessee stormed back and took a 24-21 lead with 12:45 left on Dobbs’ 67-yard completion to a wide-open Jauan Jennings, who bobbled the ball a few times near the right sideline before making the catch while staying inbounds.
After Todd Kelly Jr. intercepted an Austin Appleby pass on Florida’s next possession, Dobbs connected with Josh Malone on a 42-yard touchdown with 11:48 remaining. Dobbs added a 5-yard touchdown run with 8:27 left to make it 38-21.
Appleby was starting in place of Luke Del Rio, who injured his left knee last week in a 32-0 rout of North Texas.
Florida took an early 21-0 advantage on a pair of Appleby touchdown passes and a 1-yard run by Jordan Scarlett. Both Appleby touchdown passes were set up by long completions from Appleby to Antonio Callaway. The Gators led 21-3 at halftime.
Twice in the first half, Tennessee got inside Florida’s 5-yard line and failed to score.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 47, UMASS 35
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.—Aeris Williams ran for a 16-yard touchdown and Jamoral Graham returned an interception 38 yards for a score on the next play from scrimmage to help Mississippi State erase a third-quarter deficit and beat Massachusetts 47-35 on Saturday.
The two scores 17 seconds apart were followed four minutes later by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Nick Fitzgerald to Farrod Green that made it 41-21 just before the end of the third quarter.
Fitzgerald completed 25 of 38 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns, and he also ran for 110 yards for the Bulldogs (2-2). Fred Ross caught eight passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns for Mississippi State, which once again struggled to play well for two halves in a row.
Andrew Ford, making his second start for the injured Ross Comis, completed 24 of 40 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns for UMass (1-3).
MISSOURI 79, DELAWARE STATE 0
COLUMBIA, Mo.—Drew Lock threw a school record-tying five touchdown passes, and Missouri shattered its school scoring record Saturday, dismantling Delaware State 79-0.
The previous record of 69 points has occurred three times, most recently on Sept. 17, 2011, when the Tigers shut out Western Illinois.
Lock completed 26 of 36 pass attempts for 402 yards.
The Tigers (2-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) led 58-0 at halftime, resulting in a shortened second half. The third and fourth quarters were reduced from 15 minutes to 10.
According to NCAA rule, games may be shortened by time if both coaches are in agreement.
Delaware State (0-3) managed just 140 yards of offense, 133 of which came in the first half. Mike Waters rushed seven times for 31 yards and Brycen Alleyne had nine carries for 21 yards.
J’Mon Moore had eight catches for 114 yards and four touchdowns, tying the school record for receiving touchdowns.
Damarea Crockett led the Tigers in rushing with 12 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
VANDERBILT 31, W KENTUCKY 30, OT
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.— Vanderbilt’s defense turned away a 2-point conversion play at the end of the first overtime as the Commodores escaped with a 31-30 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday.
Kyle Shurmur’s 5-yard pass to Nathan Marcus on the first possession of overtime gave Vanderbilt (2-2) its first lead of the game, and Tommy Openshaw added the point after for the Commodores.
Western Kentucky (2-2) answered quickly, needing just two plays to find the end zone on Mike White’s 8-yard pass to Shaquille Johnson.
Hilltoppers coach Jeff Brohm elected to go for two points. White rolled to his right, but his pass was batted into the air and intercepted in the middle of the defensive line, as Vanderbilt players rushed the field to celebrate the comeback victory.
The Commodores went 75 yards in the final 1:02 of regulation in seven plays to tie the game at 24-24 and force overtime.