TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Keelon Russell threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of fourth-quarter scores that helped Alabama pull away, and the 13th-ranked Crimson Tide beat Texas A&M 31-20 to end a two-game skid. The Tide entered the teams’ first meeting since 2023 coming off losses to Georgia and Tennessee. Alabama trailed 20-17 in the second half before taking control with a fourth-down stop and two scoring drives. Russell completed 19 of 30 passes with an interception, and he found Daniel Hill, Marshall Pritchett and Kalen Edwards for TDs. His No. 1 target was Rico Scott, who finished with six receptions for 156 yards.
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Sam Leavitt accounted for four touchdowns, including two throws to speedster Jackson Harris, and No. 18 LSU beat Auburn 38-17 to end an eight-game, road-losing streak in Southeastern Conference play. Leavitt threw for a career-high 387 yards, ran for 54 more and played turnover-free football for the second consecutive week. LSU (6-2, 4-2 SEC) scored on five of six possessions in the first half to take a commanding 31-10 lead into the locker room. Auburn (4-3, 2-3) seemed to have a letdown a week after stunning then-No. 1 Georgia on the road. Byrum Brown threw for 160 yards and was sacked six times.
UNDATED (AP) — Miami had no problem passing its first test as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25. No. 2 BYU wasn’t as fortunate. Playing with their highest ranking since 1984, the Cougars lost 39-31 in two overtimes to UCF and the ranks of the unbeaten thinned to Miami, UCLA and Utah. UCF was among five unranked teams to knock off ranked opponents. No. 8 Texas Tech lost to Cincinnati, No. 11 Tennessee to South Carolina, No. 15 Iowa to Minnesota and No. 16 Southern California to Wisconsin.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — LaNorris Sellers accounted for three touchdown and Malik Orsan nailed a 48-yard field goal as time expired to lift South Carolina past No. 11 Tennessee 27-24. Sellers rallied the Gamecocks (4-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) in the final minutes and the defense got a strip sack and fumble of Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre with 33 seconds to play to set up the winning kick. Sellers threw for a touchdown and ran for two others, including the tying scored with 1:17 left. Moments later, MacIntyre fumbled after a sack by Dylan Stewart and defensive tackle Tomiwa Durojaiye recovered at the Tennessee 34.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning threw a touchdown pass and had his first two rushing scores of the season, including the tiebreaker in the fourth quarter, and No. 19 Texas held on for a wild 34-27 victory over seventh-ranked Mississippi after blowing a 21-point lead in the second half. The Longhorns also nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final two minutes when receiver Emmett Mosley IV couldn’t hang on to an onside kick and the Rebels recovered to stay alive. But Trinidad Chambliss’ pass into the end zone on the final play was intercepted. Raleek Brown had 157 yards rushing, including a 47-yard run that set up Manning’s 1-yard stroll. Chambliss threw two TD passes to Horatio Fields
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian wouldn’t mind seeing the edgy Arch Manning every week. The quarterback helped take the edge off what would have been a visceral reaction from Texas fans if the Longhorns had blown yet another double-digit lead. Manning did have two interceptions and lost a fumble that No. 7 Mississippi recovered for a touchdown in 19th-ranked Texas’ 34-27 victory. But he also led and finished off the drive to the touchdown that put the Longhorns ahead for good in the fourth quarter. The edginess came from a two-game losing streak that sent Texas sliding out of the top spot in the poll.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kenny Minchey threw for 203 yards a touchdown and rushed for another score in No. 12 Kentucky’s 34-17 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday night. The Wildcats (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak to the Commodores (3-5, 0-5) and moved into sole possession of first place in the league standings by a half-game over No. 5 Georgia. The Bulldogs were idle Saturday. Kentucky, which lost to Vanderbilt 45-17 last year, had just 14 yards in the first quarter and fell behind 10-0 before scoring back-to-back touchdowns on its last two possessions of the first half.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor’s attempt to come back from injury proved unsuccessful on Saturday. Taylor completed just 2 of his 5 passes for 10 yards while taking two sacks against Oklahoma. He took a hit while running out of bounds on fourth down late in the first quarter, was taken to the locker room and did not come back. Taylor, MSU’s star signal-caller, suffered a foot or toe injury in State’s win over Missouri on Sept. 26. He left the next week’s game against Alabama with 12 minutes left and sat out last week’s game against LSU. The Mississippi native made slow and steady progress ahead of State’s game with the Sooners on Saturday. He was listed as questionable on the availability report until game day.
