Georgia offensive lineman Amarius Mims congratulates quarterback Stetson Bennett during the Bulldogs’ 48-7 win over South Carolina on Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina. Artie Walker Jr./Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Stetson Bennett went 16 for 23 for 284 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 1 Georgia beat South Carolina 48-7 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (3-0) nearly had a second shutout of the season in their Southeastern Conference opener, but the backups allowed a touchdown pass with 53 seconds to go.
Georgia has allowed just 10 points this season and the garbage-time score was the first offensive touchdown it gave up in its past five regular-season games.
South Carolina (1-2) started 0-2 in the SEC for the fourth straight year.
The Georgia offense scored on eight of its first nine drives, gaining 551 yards and averaging nearly 10 yards a play before putting in the backups in the fourth quarter.
(2) ALABAMA 63, LOUISIANA-MONROE 7: Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth, Will Anderson Jr. scored on an interception return and the Crimson Tide (3-0) rolled to a win over the Warkhawks (1-2) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The Crimson Tide scored on offense, defense and special teams in the first six minutes and raced to a 28-0 first-quarter lead. It was a whirlwind start against the 49 1/2-point underdog Warhawks a week after a much closer-than-expected victory over Texas cost Alabama the No. 1 ranking.
It wasn’t a seamless performance for either the Tide offense or Young, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
He completed passes for 13 of 18 yards for 236 yards but also threw his first two interceptions of the season. He did run for a 7-yard score, where he spun near the goal line and dove across.
(4) MICHIGAN 59, UCONN 0: Blake Corum rushed for a career-high four touchdowns in the first half and added a fifth score in the third quarter to match a school record, helping the Wolverines (3-0) beat the Huskies (1-3) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Wolverines led 38-0 at halftime before coasting in the second half of a game that looked a lot like their first two tune-ups, when they beat Colorado State 51-7 and Hawaii 56-10.
The Huskies had just 64 yards of offense in the first half, had a punt blocked and gave up a punt return for a touchdown over the opening 30 minutes.
J.J. McCarthy was 15 of 18 for 214 yards, a week after coach Jim Harbaugh said he had won the quarterback competition.
(6) OKLAHOMA 49, NEBRASKA 14: Dillon Gabriel threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and the Sooners (3-0) hammered Nebraska (1-3) in Lincoln, Nebraska in the Cornhuskers’ first game following the firing of Scott Frost.
The game was put on the schedule 10 years ago as the back end of a home-and-home series intended to celebrate what once was among college football’s greatest rivalries. Instead, it was further confirmation the Cornhuskers are just a shell of the program that decades ago battled the Sooners for conference titles year-in and year-out.
OU posted its most lopsided victory over Nebraska since a 45-10 win in 1990. The Sooners have won seven of eight against the Huskers. The next meetings are set for 2029 and ’30.
(9) KENTUCKY 31, YOUNGSTOWN 0: Will Levis accounted for three touchdowns, Kavosiey Smoke ran for a score and the Wildcats (3-0) shook off a slow start to shut out Penguins (2-1) Lexington, Kentucky.
Boosted by its first top-10 ranking since October 2007, the Wildcats (3-0) followed up last week’s Southeastern Conference win at Florida by physically dominating the FCS Penguins (2-1) in the inaugural meeting.
(25) OREGON 41, (12) BYU 20: Bo Nix threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more to lead the Ducks (2-1) to a victory over the Couguars (2-1) in Eugene, Oregon.
The victory extended Oregon’s winning streak at Autzen Stadium to 21 games, the third-longest in the nation.
Nix, a transfer from Auburn, completed 13 of 18 passes for 222 yards and ran for 35 yards on nine carries. Terrance Ferguson caught both of Nix’s touchdown passes and finished with 24 yards receiving.
(17) BAYLOR 42, TEXAS STATE 7: Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen faked a handoff and took off untouched for a 35-yard touchdown run just before halftime, when the Bobcats (1-2) thought it had a fourth-down stop, and the 17th-ranked Bears (2-1) went on to a victory in Waco, Texas.
True freshman Richard Reese ran 19 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns for the Bears, who avoided becoming another Top 25 team to lose at home to a Sun Belt Conference team this season. Shapen completed 15 of 26 passes for 184 yards with a 28-yard TD to Gavin Holmes.
(20) OLE MISS 42, GEORGIA TECH 0: No. 20 Ole Miss shrugged off its uncertainty at quarterback by running right through Georgia Tech (1-2), with Zach Evans and Quinshon Judkins leading a 316-yard pummeling on the ground that carried the Rebels (3-0) to a win in Atlanta.
(22) PENN STATE 41, AUBURN 12: Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 176 rushing yards and four touchdowns as the Nittany Lions (3-0) cruised to a win over the Tigers (2-1) in Auburn, Alabama.
The Nittany Lions’ freshman running backs were instrumental in the red zone. Penn State scored touchdowns on each of its first four trips inside the 20-yard line. Quarterback Sean Clifford passed for 178 yards.
The Penn State defense forced four turnovers by Auburn and also held Tigers star running back Tank Bigsby to 39 rushing yards.
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