AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — With Georgia’s No. 1 ranking and lengthy winning streak on the line, Brock Bowers caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Carson Beck in the final minutes of a 27-20 win over Auburn on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) made it the Beck-and-Bowers show in the fourth quarter to bail out of another slow start and SEC scare. Georgia’s school-record winning streak ultimately stretched to 22 games, even if the Bulldogs only dominated when they absolutely had to.
Auburn (3-2, 0-2), which led 10-0 after the first quarter, had tied it on Alex McPherson’s 42-yard field goal with 10:57 left.
Auburn’s final drive was halted with a fourth-down interception by Malaki Starks just across midfield.
Payton Thorne passed for 82 yards with the interception and ran for 92 yards for the Tigers, including an early 61-yarder.
NO. 2 MICHIGAN 45, NEBRASKA 7
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy passed for two touchdowns to Roman Wilson and ran for another, and Michigan rolled past Nebraska.
Michigan (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) made fast work of the Cornhuskers, scoring on its first three possessions and leading 28-0 at half.
The Wolverines came in having allowed a nation-low 5.8 points per game, and they held the Huskers (2-3, 0-2) scoreless until the final five minutes.
The Huskers, who came in as the top rushing team in the Big Ten, were held to a season-low 106 yards on the ground.
NO. 3 TEXAS 40, NO. 24 KANSAS 14
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jonathon Brooks rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns to lead Texas to a win over Kansas, which lost standout quarterback Jalon Daniels in pregame warmups with back stiffness.
Quinn Ewers passed for 325 yards and ran 30 yards for the game’s first score. Texas (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) also got another standout game from its defense, which has surrendered just three touchdowns in the past three games.
Texas finished with 336 yards rushing and 661 yards overall, and wore down Kansas (4-1, 1-1) in the second half. The Longhorns blew the game open in the fourth quarter with Ewer’s touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell and the quarterback’s second touchdown run.
NO. 6 PENN STATE 41, NORTHWESTERN 13
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Drew Allar threw a touchdown and ran for another in Penn State's win over Northwestern.
The Nittany Lions (5-0, 3-0 Big Ten) buried the Wildcats (2-3, 1-2) in the second half, scoring 17 in the third quarter to break open a game that was tied at 10 at halftime, and won their 10th in a row since losing to Ohio State last October.
Allar completed 18 of 33 passes for 189 yards. Nick Singleton ran for 80 yards and a score and had a touchdown catch. Trey Potts also ran for a TD and caught one.
Wildcats quarterback Ben Bryant threw for just 122 yards after passing for 396 and four touchdowns in the previous game.
NO. 8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 48, COLORADO 41
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Caleb Williams threw for 403 yards and tied a career high with six touchdown passes as Southern California held off Colorado after racing out to a big lead.
Leading 34-7 in the second quarter, the Trojans saw Colorado storm back to make it a one-score game with 1:43 remaining on Shedeur Sanders’ 16-yard TD strike to Jimmy Horn Jr. The Trojans recovered the onside-kick attempt and Williams kneeled three times to close out the win.
The Trojans (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) improved to 17-0 all-time against the Buffaloes (3-2, 0-2), who were knocked off for a second straight week after a 3-0 start that made Deion Sanders’ team the biggest story in college football.
Sanders finished with 371 yards passing and four touchdowns, along with a 25-yard scamper for a score just before halftime. He had one interception.
KENTUCKY 33, NO. 22 FLORIDA 14
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Ray Davis rushed for a career-high 280 yards and scored four touchdowns, including three in the first half, as Kentucky overwhelmed Florida.
The Vanderbilt transfer established a career rushing best with 206 yards before the break alone.
Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) totaled 398 yards against the SEC’s top overall and scoring defense, which entered the game yielding just 224 yards and 13.5 points per outing. The Wildcats also beat the Gators (3-2, 1-1) for the third consecutive time — their first such streak since winning four in a row from 1948-51 — and fourth in six meetings.
Graham Mertz completed 25 of 30 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked three times. He was also intercepted by Trevin Wallace.