It was another week of chalk. All 15 teams that played in the top-20 this week won, and most won big. In fact, here are some of their scores: Ohio State 76 v. FAMU 0; Louisville 72 v. Florida International 0; Florida State 54 v. Bethune-Cookman 6; Miami 77 v. Savannah St. 7; and Washington 56 v. Idaho St. 0.
This week we saw two SEC intra-conference games, while the rest continued part of their out-of-conference schedule.
Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-2 SEC): 24
Massachusetts (0-4): 7
Vanderbilt had no trouble against Massachusetts, who have been outscored this season 130-28. Quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels had 219 yards with two touchdowns, with 105 yards going to wide receiver Jonathan Krause and 76 going to Jordan Matthews. The game was never pretty, but Vanderbilt was always in control.
Georgia (2-1, 1-0 SEC): 45
North Texas (2-2): 21
When North Texas’ Zac Whitfield blocked Georgia punter Collin Barber’s punt early in the third quarter and scored a touchdown to tie the game 21-21 the world watched with bated breath to see if North Texas could pull off the upset. Fortunately for Bulldog fans, they scored the next 24 points to pull off a win that looked like more a blowout than it really was. Georgia Quarterback Aaron Murray was 22-of-30, for 408 yards, while Todd Gurley had another 91 yards on the ground.
Arkansas (3-0, 0-0 SEC): 24
Rutgers (3-1): 28
Bret Bielema suffered his first loss at the helm of Arkansas, after suffering a late defeat to a talented Rutgers team. Losing 24-14 heading into the fourth quarter, Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova threw two touchdown passes (33 yards, 4 yards) to wide receiver Leonte Carroo in the final 10 minutes of the game. Nova ended the game with 346 passing yards, while Arkansas quarterback AJ Derby had only 137 yards in the air.
Texas A&M (3-1, 0-1 SEC): 42
Southern Methodist (1-2): 13
The Aggies took a quick 14-0 lead and never looked back. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel had 244 yards in the air and 102 on the ground and three total touchdowns. Former Texas Longhorn and current SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert threw 62 passes, completing only 37 of them for 310 yards. Fun fact: Texas A&M scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and missed the PAT on all three.
Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC): 31
Colorado State (1-3): 6
Alabama won by 25 points, but looked quite sloppy doing it. Winning only 17-6 going into the fourth quarter, Alabama was uninspired for a team that played so well just one week before. Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron had 258 yards in the air and running back TJ Yeldon had 49 yards on the ground. Outside of a 38-yard run by TJ Yeldon, the Crimson Tide running backs only were able to amass 28 yards on 20 carries.
Mississippi State (2-2, 0-1 SEC): 62
Troy (2-2): 7
Behind 35 points in the second quarter, the Bulldogs took a 45-10 lead into halftime and coasted to a big win. Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott had 233 yards in the air, and a committee of running backs (nine total players rushed the ball during the game) had 235 yards on the ground. Troy struggled all game and was only able to amass 186 total yards.
Louisiana State (4-0, 1-0 SEC): 35
Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC): 21
LSU jumped out to a quick 21-point lead in the first half and never looked back. It was a career day by LSU running back Jeremy Hill who had 183 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns. LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger had 229 yards in the air with one touchdown and one interception. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall had 224 yards in the air but threw two costly interceptions. While running back Tre Mason was the best player on the Auburn team with 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Missouri (3-0, 1-0): 45
Indiana (2-2): 28
It is hard to believe, but the Missouri Tigers are the only 3-0 team in the SEC East after a big win over the Hoosiers. Missouri quarterback James Franklin had 343 yards in the air with two touchdowns and two interceptions and running back Russell Hansbrough had 104 yards on 13 carries. Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham also had his first 100-plus-yard game in his short career.