Kentucky overcomes Eastern; Tennessee tops Indiana State

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stephen Johnson accounted for two touchdowns and Benny Snell rushed for the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter to rally Kentucky past Eastern Kentucky 27-16 on Saturday.

Nearly two years after rallying late to eventually beat the FCS Colonels 34-27 in overtime, the Wildcats (2-0) overcame ineffective play on both sides of the ball that created a 13-3 second-quarter deficit. Johnson rebounded from a shaky start to hit tight end C.J. Conrad for a 23-yard TD just before halftime and then Blake Bone for 43 yards in the third. Snell’s 25-yard TD run on the next play provided a 17-16 lead.

On the next possession Johnson spun past several defenders down the right sideline for a 21-yard TD run with 10:09 remaining. He finished 15 of 22 passing for 224 yards and rushed for 48 yards. Kentucky outgained EKU 436-318 in its home opener and improved to 5-0 against the Colonels (0-2).

Mississipi 45, UT Martin 23

OXFORD, Miss.—Mississippi quarterback Shea Patterson threw for a single-game school record 489 yards and five touchdowns Saturday as the Rebels rallied from a second-quarter deficit to defeat UT Martin 45-23.

Patterson finished 32-of-43 passing and led five consecutive scoring drives, accounting for 31 unanswered points that spanned the second and third quarters. In two games, Patterson has thrown for 918 yards and nine touchdowns, connecting with 10 different receivers.

“Shea keeps getting better and we made plays,” Mississippi coach Matt Luke said. “I thought we came out slow, but late in the second quarter and in the third quarter, we started to execute. We started slow but our players stayed with it.”

A.J. Brown had touchdown catches of 58 and 2 yards, finishing with 156 yards on eight receptions. DeMarkus Lodge, Jordan Wilkins and D.K. Metcalf added scoring receptions of 28, 16 and 2 yards, respectively. The Rebels (2-0) finished with 543 total yards.

Vanderbilt 42, Alabama A&M 0

NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as the Commodores smashed Alabama A&M 42-0 on Saturday, improving to 2-0 for the first time under fourthyear coach Derek Mason.

The Commodores dominated all facets of the game as they readied for next week’s home challenge against 19th-ranked Kansas State. Shurmur completed 12-of-12 passes for 175 yards and three scores in the first half alone, finishing 15-for-18 for 202 yards. Vanderbilt outgained the Bulldogs 291-38 in the opening two quarters, holding Alabama A&M (0-2) to three first downs. The Commodores blocked one Bulldogs punt - converting it into a touchdown - and deflected another. Vanderbilt scored touchdowns on five-of-six possessions in the opening half.

Vanderbilt recorded its first shutout since the Commodores blanked Kentucky 40-0 in 2012.

Alabama A&M has scored a total of seven points in its first two contests. Quarterback Damion May led the Bulldogs with six carries for 27 yards. But Alabama A&M’s rushing attack overall produced just 59 yards on 32 carries.

Tennessee 42, Indiana State 7

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Ty Chandler returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, Carlin Fils-aime had two scoring runs and No. 25 Tennessee breezed to a 42-7 victory over Football Championship Subdivision program Indiana State on Saturday.

Five days after John Kelly ran for four touchdowns in Tennessee’s 42-41 double-overtime triumph over Georgia Tech, he shared the spotlight with his backups in a game that had much less suspense. Kelly ran for 80 yards and caught five passes for 60 yards to lead the Volunteers (2-0) in rushing and receiving, but two guys below him on the depth chart scored Tennessee’s first three touchdowns.

Chandler took the opening kickoff just to the right of the right hash, easily shed an attempted arm tackle as he approached his own 35 and ran untouched the rest of the way. Chandler is the first Tennessee true freshman to score on a kickoff return since Leonard Scott did it against Georgia in 1999.

Fils-aime, who didn’t have a single carry against Georgia Tech, scored on two of his three rushing attempts Saturday. His 4-yard burst up the middle and 30-yard sprint around the left end put Tennessee ahead 21-0.

The Vols made it 28-0 late in the second quarter on Quinten Dormady’s 19-yard pass to Brandon Johnson, the first career touchdown for the son of former major league catcher Charles Johnson.

Dormady had played the entire Georgia Tech game after winning a preseason competition with redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano. Both quarterbacks played Saturday, with Guarantano making his college debut on Tennessee’s third possession of the game.

Dormady was 13 of 18 for 194 yards with two touchdown passes to go along with two turnovers—one fumble and an interception. Guarantano went 4 of 12 for 41 yards with a touchdown pass.

Alabama 41, Fresno State 10

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—Jalen Hurts ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns and passed for a third score in No. 1 Alabama’s 41-10 victory over Fresno State on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide (2-0) polished off the 44-point underdog Bulldogs (1-1) with a workmanlike performance on the heels of a hard-hitting opening victory over No. 10 Florida State in Atlanta.

Hurts completed 14 of 18 passes for 128 yards, but his biggest play came in the opening minute. He faked a handoff and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown on the second offensive play, stepping out of a last-gasp tackle attempt at the 15.

Hurts also hit a wide-open Hale Hentges for a 23-yarder in the first quarter. It was the tight end’s first career touchdown.

“I think everybody should know we’re not interested in sliding backward,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “We need to move forward in terms of what we need to continue to do to try to improve and become a better team.”

The Tide led 28-3 at halftime against Fresno State, which had opened coach Jeff Tedford’s first season with a 66-0 win over FCS Incarnate Word.

Fresno State scored on Chason Virgil’s 26-yard pass to Derrion Grim with just over six minutes left. That was set up by Da’Mari Scott’s 63-yard kick return

Alabama outgained the Bulldogs 305-58 on the ground.