KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Colin Simmons tied the program record with five sacks as top-ranked Texas held off No. 14 Tennessee 20-17 with President Donald Trump on hand in the Longhorns’ first visit to Neyland Stadium. Raleek Brown ran for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 4-yarder with 5:41 left gave the Longhorns the winning margin in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Texas had 10 sacks. Tennessee made it interesting late with a TD with 1:22 left and then recovering the onside kick. Jelani McDonald batted away Faizon Brandon’s pass to Travis Smith Jr. in the end zone on the final play.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sam Leavitt passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 10 LSU take a convincing 35-6 victory over No. 23 Texas A&M. Both of Leavitt's scoring passes went to Jackson Harris and the second one covered 57 yards on a 4-and-1 play. LSU coach Lane Kiffin sprinted down the home sideline in celebration while the pass was in the air, seeing that his aggressive fourth-down call was working to perfection. Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed struggled for the second straight game. He completing 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards. He also was intercepted by safety Tamarcus Cooley deep in A&M territory as the Aggies lost their second straight game.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Kamario Taylor threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns, including a tiebreaking, 24-yard pass to Sanfrisco Magee with 3:57 remaining, and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied past No. 19 Missouri 31-24. Fluff Bothwell rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown and had six catches for 55 yards and another score for the Bulldogs. Anthony Evans III had eight catches for 114 yards, and Magee had two TD receptions. Taylor, who finished 27 of 38, led the Bulldogs on two long touchdown drives in the first quarter and two more in the fourth. In between, it was all Missouri. Austin Simmons finished with 295 yards passing and three touchdowns for the Tigers.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Keelon Russell threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 8 Alabama beat South Carolina 49-18. Ryan Coleman-Williams caught two touchdown passes, and Red Morgan returned an interception for a score for the Crimson Tide. Russell completed 21 of 27 passes as Alabama answered a sluggish third quarter with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Gamecocks pulled within 35-18 before Alabama regained control.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Encouraging fans to get inside Neyland Stadium earlier than usual with President Donald Trump coming to Tennessee's college football game against Texas sure worked Saturday. Fans in their seats got to see Air Force One fly over the stadium on the way to the nearby airport. The president left in the second half. Trump’s visit didn’t appear to affect communications between coaches and players on the field. Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said this week that when a president attends a game, security could shut down the teams' sideline headset communications. Both schools reportedly worked with the Secret Service to coordinate audio channels to keep communications clear.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, Duke Clark added 126 yards and a score on the ground and No. 21 Florida manhandled fourth-ranked Mississippi 52-28 to reach 4-0 for the first time since 2019. The Gators, 3 1/2-point favorites, proved Las Vegas oddsmakers right by leading from start to finish. They scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives in the second half. The Rebels insisted that last week’s victory against LSU, the one that spoiled former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s return, was not their “Super Bowl.” But they failed to build off that emotional win. Florida had a lot to do with it.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Texas linebacker Justin Cryer hasn’t seen anything like what Longhorns edge rusher Colin Simmons did Saturday. Simmons had the first sack in the first quarter for top-ranked Texas against No. 14 Tennessee. He had another in the second quarter. Simmons then had sacks on back-to-back plays in the third quarter. His final sack came in the fourth forcing a punt that led to the clinching touchdown drive for a big 20-17 win on the road. Simmons tied the program record with five sacks in a single game. Simmons also drew a big penalty for how he celebrated one sack that had him apologizing after the game.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Chris Cole scored on a 85-yard fumble return as No. 2 Georgia took advantage of three first-half turnovers by John Mateer and overwhelmed struggling Oklahoma 41-13. Mateer lost two fumbles, each recovered by Cole, and threw an interception in the first half as Texas fell behind 28-0. K.J. Bolden picked off a pass from Mateer in the second quarter. While Mateer struggled with turnovers, Gunner Stockton was almost perfect in the first half for Georgia. Stockton completed his first nine passes, including a 35-yard touchdown throw to Talyn Taylor. The Sooners finished with four turnovers.
