STARS
-Najee Harris, Alabama, ran for 206 yards and five, helping the second-ranked Crimson Tide beat Mississippi and former Crimson Tide assistant Lane Kiffin 63-48 in the highest-scoring Southeastern Conference regulation game ever.
-Michael Carter, North Carolina, ran for a career-high 214 yards and two TDs, including a 62-yarder midway through the fourth quarter, to lead the Tar Heels past No. 19 Virginia Tech, 56-45.
-Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, threw for three TDs and rushed for another as the top-ranked Tigers proved once more who’s boss in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 42-17 beatdown of seventh-ranked Miami.
-Connor Bazelak, Missouri, threw for 406 yards and four TDs despite missing three of his top receiving targets due to COVID-19 protocols to help the Tigers escape with a 45-41 victory over No. 17 LSU in a game moved from Baton Rouge because of Hurricane Delta.
-Myles Brennan, LSU, threw for 430 yards and four TDs in a 45-41 loss to Missouri.
-Kyren Williams, Notre Dame, ran for 185 yards and two TDs in the No. 5 Fighting Irish’s 42-26 victory.
-Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M, rushed for 174 yards and two TDs, and the No. 21 Aggies beat fourth-ranked Florida 41-38 on Seth Small’s 26-yard field goal as time expired.
-Phil Jurkovec, Boston College, threw for 358 yards and three TD passes to Zay Flowers - the last a 25-yarder in overtime - and ran for a score as Eagles beat Pittsburgh 31-30.
-Kevin Harris, South Carolina, ran for 171 yards and two TDs to help the Gamecocks beat Vanderbilt 41-7.
-Breece Hall, Iowa State, ran for 135 yards and two scores to help the No. 24 Cyclones beat Texas Tech 31-15.
_Deon Jackson, Duke. rushed for a career-high 169 yards as the Blue Devils held off Syracuse 38-24.
- Asher O’Hara, Middle Tennessee, accounted for four TDs, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jarrin Pierce with 1:20 remaining, in a 31-28 win over Florida International.
- Gunnar Watson, Troy, threw for 338 yards and four TDs in a 37-17 win over Texas State,
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RECORDING-SETTING SEC SHOWDOWN
Lane Kiffin’s first game against former boss Nick Saban turned into quite the offensive show.
Najee Harris ran for 206 yards and five touchdowns and No. 2 Alabama beat former Crimson Tide assistant Kiffin 63-48 in the highest-scoring Southeastern Conference regulation game ever.
Matt Corral passed for 365 yards for Ole Miss and the Rebels put up 647 yards on the Tide. The teams combined for an SEC-record 1,370 yards.
Alabama and Ole Miss traded touchdowns for much of the night, but with the Tide (leading 49-42 the Rebels misfired in Alabama territory and had to settle for a field goal. That was as good as a stop in this game. Receiver DeVonta Smith went 14 yards for a touchdown run to make it 56-45 with 3:16 left.
After another Ole Miss field goal, Alabama recovered an onside kick and Harris busted a 39-yard touchdown run moments later to seal it.
Saban is 21-0 when coaching against one of his former assistants.
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RED RIVER RATTLER
Benched early and celebrating late, Spencer Rattler had quite the first experience in a most unusual version of the Red River rivalry.
The Oklahoma freshman threw a 25-yard scoring pass to Drake Stoops in the fourth overtime and the Sooners survived a late rally from No. 22 Texas in regulation for a 53-45 victory.
Rattler sat most of the second quarter in favor of Tanner Mordecai after an interception and a fumble, but came back with two of his three scoring passes in overtime as the Sooners bounced back from their first back-to-back losses in the regular season since 1999.
The dramatic ending was quite familiar, even if it was the first time since 1999 that neither team was ranked in the Top 20. It was just the second four-OT game in 25 seasons of the Big 12, joining Kansas State’s 53-50 victory over Texas A&M in 2011.
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NUMBERS
2_Times No. 24 Iowa State has opened conference play with straight straight wins since 1950, this season and 2002.
119_Non-offensive TDs scored by Kansas State since 1999, most in the FBS.
399_Yards rushing by North Carolina in a 56-45 win over No. 19 Virginia Tech, the Tar Heels’ most since 1993.
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STINGY BULLDOGS
Tennessee charged off the field at halftime, seemingly holding all the momentum.
But there were still two quarters to go.
That time belongs to Georgia.
Bouncing back from a goal-line stand at the end of the the first half, the No. 3 Bulldogs dominated the final 30 minutes to beat the No. 14 Volunteers 44-21.
Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, while the defense forced three turnovers - returning one of them for a TD - and held Tennessee to just 71 yards total offense in the second half.
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