Georgia defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins celebrates after recovering a fumble during the Bulldogs’ 27-13 win over Tennessee on Saturday in Athens, Georgia. John Bazemore/Associated Press
ATHENS, Ga. — Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and No. 1 Georgia shut down No. 2 Tennessee’s high-powered offense, dominating the Volunteers 27-13 on Saturday in an SEC showdown of the nation’s top-ranked teams.
Georgia (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) turned the 25th regular-season matchup of the top two teams in the AP poll into rout that made clear the defending national champs are still the team to beat.
In a deafening and soggy Sanford Stadium, Georgia led 27-6 before Tennessee scored its first touchdown with 4:15 remaining.
Hendon Hooker, who entered as the Heisman Trophy frontrunner after taking down Alabama last month, passed for only 195 yards for Tennessee (8-1, 4-1) and was sacked six times by star defensive tackle Jalen Carter and the Bulldogs’ defense.
Hooker threw an interception, lost a fumble that nearly resulted in a safety for Georgia and didn’t throw a touchdown pass.
Tennessee’s final possession ended with Hooker dropped for no gain on a fourth-down run with less than 3 minutes remaining. The Volunteers came in averaging almost 50 points per game.
The Volunteers rode that Alabama victory to the top spot in the first College Football Playoff ranking. Georgia was No. 3 in those.
That will change Tuesday. The Bulldogs also took control of the SEC’s East Division in the race. They should cruise to another conference championship game.
(2) OHIO STATE 21, NORTHWESTERN 7: Miyan Williams ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and the Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) got all they could handle from the Wildcats (1-8, 1-5) in a victory on a rainy and windy day in Evanston, Illinois.
The Buckeyes came in tied with Tennessee in the AP poll and trailing only the Volunteers in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings. But what figured to be an easy win turned into a struggle.
Ohio State didn’t score until the closing minutes of the first half, when Emeka Egbuka ran it in from the 15, with the rain and whipping wind creating havoc.
NOTRE DAME 35, (5) CLEMSON 14: Prince Kollie scored on a blocked punt, Benjamin Morrison returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown and had another interception to set up another score as the Fighting Irish (6-3) earned their second straight win over a ranked opponent, beating the Tigers (8-1) in South Bend, Indiana.
It was just the third win over a top-10 opponent for Notre Dame in its past 10 games since 2018. The other wins were against No. 8 Stanford in 2018 and top-ranked Clemson in 2020. Just as in that 47-40 victory two years ago, fans stormed the field to celebrate. The loss ended a 14-game winning streak by the Tigers, the longest active streak among FBS teams. It was Clemson’s fifth road loss since 2015.
(15) LSU 32, (6) ALABAMA 31: Jayden Daniels ran for 25-yard touchdown in overtime and then found Mason Taylor for a do-or-die 2-point conversion, and the Tigers (7-2, 5-1 SEC) defeated the Crimson Tide (7-2, 4-2) to give first-year LSU Coach Brian Kelly his first victory over Alabama Coach Nick Saban.
The surprising victory in a riveting game that included six second-half lead changes and a tying field goal by Alabama in the 30 seconds also gave LSU control of the SEC West Division with two league games remaining.
(7) TCU 34, TEXAS TECH 24: Derius Davis returned the first punt 82 yards for a touchdown, Kendre Miller ran for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter and the Horned Frogs (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) pulled away in a win over the Red Raiders (4-5, 2-4) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Davis caught one of Max Duggan’s two fourth-quarter TD passes as the Horned Frogs reached 9-0 for the first time since 2010, a 13-0 season that ended with a Rose Bowl victory and No. 2 national ranking.
(8) OREGON 49, COLORADO 10: Bo Nix and the Oregon offense found creative ways to score, including an offensive lineman catching a touchdown pass and a linebacker scoring from short, as the eighth-ranked Ducks (8-1, 6-0 Pac-12) routed the Buffaloes (1-8, 15) in Boulder, Colorado.
With the wind howling – 39 mph gusts – the Ducks breezed to their eighth straight win since a 49-3 loss to No. 1 Georgia in the season opener.
TEXAS 34, (13) KANSAS STATE 27: Bijan Robinson romped for 209 yards and a touchdown, Quinn Ewers threw for 197 yards and two more scores, and the Longhorns (6-3, 5-2 Big 12) held off the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2) in Manhattan, Kansas.
Xavier Worthy had two touchdown catches and Roschon Johnson added a TD run for the Longhorns, who built a 31-10 halftime lead and then had to make a defensive stand in the closing minutes to preserve the victory.
MICHIGAN STATE 23, (14) ILLINOIS 15: Payton Thorne threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) ended a troubling week where eight players were suspended for a post-game fight with Michigan last week by defeating the Illini (7-2, 4-2) in Champaign, Illinois.
(16) PENN STATE 45, INDIANA 14: Kaytron Allen ran for 86 yards and scored a season-high three times while Nicholas Singleton rushed for 73 yards and another score to help the Nittany Lions (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) rout the Hoosiers (3-6, 1-5) in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Nittany Lions have won eight of the last nine in this series and six of their wins this season have come by double digits.
(17) NORTH CAROLINA 21, VIRGINIA 7: Drake Maye threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and the Tar Heels (8-1, 5-0 ACC) outscored the Cavaliers (3-6, 1-5) after halftime to rally for a win in Charlottesville, Virginia.
KANSAS 37, (18) OKLAHOMA 16: Devin Neal ran for 224 yards and a touchdown and had 110 receiving yards, leading the Jayhawks (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) past the Cowboys (6-6, 3-3) in Lawrence, Kansas.
(19) TULANE 27, TULSA 13: Tyjae Spears ran for 157 yards and a touchdown and Shaadie Clayton-Johnson gained 106 to lead the Green Wave (8-1, 5-0 AAC) to a win over the Golden Hurricane (3-6, 1-4) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
PITTSBURGH 17, (22) SYRACUSE 9: Rodney Hammond ran for a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown while filling in for injured Israel Abanikanda and the Panthers (5-4, 2-3 ACC) shut down the Orange (6-3, 3-2) to end a two-game losing streak in Pittsburgh.
(23) LIBERTY 21, ARKANSAS 19: Johnathan Bennett threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the Flames (8-1) used a late goal-line stop on a 2-point conversion try to beat the Razorbacks (5-4) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
(25) UCF 35, MEMPHIS 28: Mikey Keene passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns and RJ Harvey rushed for 151 yards and a score to lead the Knights (7-2, 4-1 AAC) to a win over the Tigers (4-5, 2-4) in Memphis, Tennessee.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
