Top 25 football: No. 2 Alabama beats South Carolina in SEC opener

Tua Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 444 yards and tied his personal best with five touchdowns to help No. 2 Alabama open Southeastern Conference play with a 47-23 victory over South Carolina on Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina.

Tagovailoa and his receivers quickly got the Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0) rolling with first-quarter TD passes of 24 yards to Najee Harris and 81 yards to Henry Ruggs III. Whenever the Gamecocks (1-2, 0-1) drew within range, Tagovailoa came right back to restore Alabama’s edge.

(1) Clemson 41, Syracuse 6: Trevor Lawrence threw for three touchdowns and ran for another and the top-ranked Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the nemesis Orange (1-2, 0-1) in Syracuse, New York.

(3) Georgia 55, Arkansas State 0: Jake Fromm threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns before taking the rest of the day off, and the Bulldogs (3-0) turned in a dominating defensive performance against the Red Wolves (1-2) in Athens, Georgia.

(4) LSU 65, Northwestern State 14: Joe Burrow completed 21 of 24 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tigers (3-0) pulled away from the Demons (0-3) in the second half in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

(6) Ohio State 51, Indiana 10: J.K. Dobbins ran for 193 yards and scored twice, Justin Fields threw three touchdown passes and the Buckeyes (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) routed the Hoosiers (2-1, 0-1) in Bloomington, Indiana.

Ohio State hasn’t lost to Indiana since 1988.

(7) Notre Dame 66, New Mexico 14: Ian Book threw a career-high five touchdown passes and Fighting Irish (2-0) defense came up with three first-half interceptions against the Lobos (1-1) in South Bend, Indiana.

(8) Auburn 55, Kent State 16: JaTarvious Whitlow rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and Bo Nix ran and passed for scores to lead the Tigers (3-0) past the Golden Flashes (1-2) in Auburn, Alabama.

(9) Florida 29, Kentucky 21: Kyle Trask relieved an injured Feleipe Franks and rallied Florida with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, including his go-ahead, 4-yard scoring run with 4:11 remaining that lifted the Gators (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) to a victory over the Wildcats (2-1, 0-1) in Lexington, Kentucky.

(12) Texas 48, Rice 13: Sam Ehlinger threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Jake Smith caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns and the Longhorns (2-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season with a rout of the Owls (0-3) in Houston.

(13) Penn State 17, Pittsburgh 10: Journey Brown ran for 109 yards and a touchdown and the Nittany Lions (3-0) held off the Panthers (1-2) in University Park, Pennsylvania, in their 100th meeting.

Pitt opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal at the Penn State 1 trailing by a touchdown with less than 4 minutes to go. Alex Kessman’s 19-yard attempt clanked off the upright.

(16) Texas A&M 62, Lamar 3: Freshman Isaiah Spiller ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns and Kellen Mond threw for 317 yards with a touchdown pass and a run in three quarters to lead the Aggies (2-1) over the Cardinals (2-1) in College Station, Texas.

(19) Iowa 18, Iowa State 17: Nate Stanley threw for 201 yards and ran for a score, and the Hawkeyes (3-0) made a big fourth-down stop, allowing Iowa to beat the Cyclones (1-1) in Ames, Iowa, for its fifth straight win in the series.

Temple 20, (21) Maryland 17: Kenny Yeboah put Temple ahead on a one-handed touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter, and the Owls (2-0) used two clutch goal-line stops to beat the Terrapins (2-1) in Philadelphia.

(25) Virginia 31, Florida State 24: Wayne Taulapapa ran for two touchdowns, the second with 2:34 remaining, and the Cavaliers (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) hung on to beat the Seminoles (1-2, 0-1) in Charlottesville, Virginia.