Here is the latest SEC sports news from The Associated Press following Saturday's day of college football:
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — KJ Jefferson threw for a career-high 366 yards and tied a career high with three touchdowns to lead No. 20 Arkansas to a 45-10 win over Georgia Southern. Arkansas all but clinched the win on a 91-yard pass from Jefferson to preseason All-SEC wide receiver Treylon Burks with 11:18 left in the third quarter. It gave Arkansas a 38-10 lead. Georgia Southern’s touchdown came on a 76-yard run by quarterback Justin Tomlin. Tomlin was 11-of-23 passing for another 65 yards.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bryce Young’s first collegiate road start was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped top-ranked Alabama beat No. 11 Florida 31-29 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. The defending national champion Crimson Tide stopped a botched 2-point conversion with 3:10 left and extended its winning streak to 17, making it 32 in a row against teams from the SEC’s Eastern Division. The Gators have now dropped eight straight in the series and fell to 0-5 against No. 1-ranked teams at Florida Field. This one was closer than oddsmakers and just about everyone else expected despite the Gators playing without dynamic backup quarterback Anthony Richardson.
UNDATED — Alabama looked beatable. Ohio State’s defense still looked discombobulated. Clemson’s offense still looked limp. Oklahoma was far less than elite again. Maybe the season of the super team won’t be such a forgone conclusion after all. The top-ranked Crimson Tide faced its first serious challenge, but managed to get win at No. 11 Florida. The No. 9 Buckeyes, No. 6 Tigers and No. 3 Sooners also were winners. Those four teams have combined for 20 College Football Playoff appearances, but all four have shown signs of weakness in the early going.
ATHENS — No. 2 Georgia has romped to another dominating win with a 40-13 blowout of South Carolina. JT Daniels returned to the lineup and threw for 303 yards with three touchdowns. The Bulldogs' fearsome defense nearly made it three straight games without allowing a TD, finally giving up its first of the season with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs improve to 3-0 on the season in their first SEC game. South Carolina drops to 2-1 in its conference opener, though the Gamecocks could take a degree of satisfaction from Luke Doty's 36-yard TD pass to Josh Vann.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tanner McKee ran for a touchdown and threw for two more as Stanford beat Vanderbilt 41-23 Saturday night in the first meeting between the programs best known for their academics. Stanford improved to 2-1 and finally can head home on a two-game winning streak. Stanford played the first three games on the road as the only Power Five program this season to even play its first two straight games away from home. Vanderbilt fell to 1-2 losing its eighth straight at home. Stanford took control scoring 13 points in the final 1:53 of the second quarter.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Max Johnson passed for 372 yards and a career-best five touchdowns in less than three quarters, LSU defensive end Andre Anthony returned a fumble for a 33-yard score, and the Tigers topped Central Michigan 49-21. Johnson completed 26 of 35 passes but was pulled after throwing an interception that was returned 20 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Deion Smith had touchdown catches of 28 and 40 yards in the first quarter as the Tigers raced to a 21-0 lead. LSU freshman tight end Jack Bech had one-handed 20-yard touchdown and Devonta Lee had a 21-yard TD catch.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Calvin Austin scored three second-half touchdowns including a questionable 94-yard punt return in the fourth quarter as Memphis rallied for a 31-29 victory over Mississippi State. The victory and Austin’s punt return culminated a wild final six minutes that included onside kicks, penalties and reviews such as whether Austin could return the punt on which he scored or if the ball was dead. In the end, Memphis (3-0) escaped with the victory culminated by a 51-yard field goal from Tiger kicker Joe Doyle with 2:02 left. A two-play drive from Mississippi State (2-1) after the field goal was capped by a 36-yard touchdown from quarterback Will Rogers to Makai Polk. But Rogers run for the two-point conversion failed, preserving the Memphis victory.
ATHENS, Ga. — JT Daniels returned as No. 2 Georgia’s starting quarterback. Daniels didn’t play in last weekend’s 56-7 victory over UAB because of an oblique injury. Stetson Bennett stepped in and tied a school record with five touchdown passes — all in the first half. Despite Bennett’s performance, the Bulldogs went back to the player who came into the season as their undisputed No. 1 quarterback. South Carolina also had some suspense at quarterback, with former graduate assistant Zeb Noland making another start. Luke Doty is recovering from a foot sprain sustained in practice last month.
