Alabama tops A&M

AJ McCarron and Alabama were not about to let Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M get another signature win.

McCarron threw four touchdown passes, Vinnie Sunseri returned an interception 73 yards for a score and No. 1 Alabama paid back No. 6 Texas A&M with a 49-42 victory Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Alabama (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) spotted the Aggies (2-1, 0-1) a 14-0 lead, shades of last season when A&M jumped out to a 20-0 lead in Tuscaloosa on the way to victory that all but won the Heisman for Manziel.

McCarron and the Tide didn’t take as long to respond this time, ripping off the next 35 points. McCarron tossed three touchdowns in the first half to put Alabama up 28-14. Sunseri’s pick-6 made it 35-14 less than three minutes into the third.

Manziel was his spectacular self, throwing for a career-best 464 yards and five TDs. But a first-half interception in the end zone swung the game the Tide’s way.

(7) Louisville 27, Kentucky 13: Senorise Perry ran for 100 yards and two TDs and Teddy Bridgewater overcame a shaky start to pass for 250 yards as the Cardinals (3-0) scored on four consecutive drives to pull away from the Wildcats (1-2) in Lexington, Ky.

(8) LSU 45, Kent State 13: Zach Mettenberger passed for three TDs, Jeremy Hill ran for 117 yards and two TDs on 11 first-half carries and the Tigers (3-0) cruised past the Golden Flashes (1-2) in Baton Rouge, La.

(10) Florida State 62, Nevada 7: Quarterback Jameis Winston accounted for three TDs, Florida State’s four tailbacks all scored and the Seminoles (2-0) routed the Wolf Pack (1-2) in Tallahassee, Fla.

(11) Michigan 28, Akron 24: Fitzgerald Toussaint scored on a 2-yard TD run with 2:49 left and the Wolverines (3-0) made a stop on the final play to hold on for a victory over the Zips (1-2) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Akron hasn’t won a road game in nearly five years and was expected to lose by more than five TDs.

(12) Oklahoma State 59, Lamar 3: Jeremy Smith rushed for three first-half touchdowns as the Cowboys (3-0) crushed the FCS Cardinals (1-2) in Stillwater, Okla.

(13) South Carolina 35, Vanderbilt 25: Connor Shaw passed for three scores, Jadeveon Clowney forced a fumble and the Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1 SEC) held off the Commodores (1-2, 0-2) in Columbia, S.C.

(14) Oklahoma 51, Tulsa 20: Blake Bell passed for 413 yards and four TDs in his first start as quarterback and the Sooners (3-0) rolled past the Golden Hurricane (1-2) in Norman, Okla.

Sterling Shepard caught eight passes for 123 yards and two TDs and Jaz Reynolds had 109 yards receiving and one score for Oklahoma.

(17) Northwestern 38, Western Michigan 17: Treyvon Green rushed for 158 yards and two TDs, QB Kain Colter ran for 106 yards and a score and passed for another, and the Wildcats (3-0) defeated the Broncos (0-3) in Evanston, Ill.

(21) Notre Dame 31, Purdue 24: DaVaris Daniels made TD catches from Tommy Rees on two successive Notre Dame plays in the fourth quarter, and Bennett Jackson followed that flurry with a 34-yard interception return to rally the Fighting Irish (2-1) to a victory over the Boilermakers (1-2) in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Fighting Irish have won six straight in a series that has been played every year since 1946.

(25) Mississippi 44, Texas 23: Jeff Scott ran for 164 yards and a TD and also scored on a 73-yard punt return, helping the Rebels (3-0) roll over the reeling Longhorns (1-2) in Austin, Texas.

Bo Wallace passed for two TDs and ran another for the Rebels, who led 14-0 midway through the first quarter before Texas scored 23 straight points.