Georgia, Notre Dame and Alabama remained unbeaten — and mostly untested.
Gunner Stockton threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, and the second-ranked Bulldogs pulled away late to beat Vanderbilt 38-14 on Saturday. The Bulldogs led 21-14 at halftime but got a lucky — Luckie, really — bounce in the third quarter to help create some cushion.
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Tight end Lawson Luckie grabbed a tipped pass from Stockton that was nearly intercepted and turned it into a 43-yard reception that set up a touchdown. Georgia also benefitted from a blocked field goal and a fourth-down stop that came courtesy of an overturned reception.
Meanwhile in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, CJ Carr threw four TD passes, Jonaz Walton ran for 108 yards and the third-ranked Fighting Irish handled the Tar Heels 37-26. It was Notre Dame's 15th consecutive victory — all of them by at least 10 points.
The seventh-ranked Crimson Tide were supposedly on upset alert in Starkville, Mississippi. But Alabama rolled over Kamario Taylor and No. 16 Mississippi State 56-23, sending a clear statement about the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference.
Keelon Russell threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns, Trae'shawn Brown ran for two scores and the Tide scored at least 45 points for the fifth consecutive game to start the season. It's one short of the team record set in 2018. Alabama plays at Georgia next Saturday.
The Alabama-Mississippi State matchup was expected to be a showcase for Taylor, who had been so impressive through four games. But he threw two interceptions, was sacked five times and headed to the locker room with 12 minutes to play with an injury.
No. 4 Miami (at Clemson), No. 5 Ohio State (at Iowa), No. 6 Indiana (at Rutgers) and No. 8 Florida (at Missouri) all were facing road tests later Saturday.
In the Big 12 Conference, Cincinnati will try to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2021 with a visit to Arizona, where Noah Fifita already has thrown for 11 touchdowns to increase his career total to 84, most among active FBS quarterbacks.
Since a 28-17 loss at BYU, the Wildcats have come back from early deficits of 10-0 to Northern Illinois and 14-0 at Washington State to win both games by double digits.
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