COLUMBIA, Mo. -Jake Fromm threw three touchdown passes and No. 2 Georgia had a defensive touchdown and returned a blocked punt for a score to beat Missouri 43-29 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) blanketed Missouri's wide receivers, harassed star quarterback Drew Lock, and forced three turnovers in the first half against the seventh-best offense in the country entering the game. Lock, the highly touted NFL prospect, completed 23 of 48 passes for 221 yards for the Tigers (3-1, 0-1 SEC).
The Bulldogs opened a 20-7 halftime lead without an offensive touchdown. In the first quarter, Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell stripped Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, scooped up the ball and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown-along the way, picking up an accidental downfield block from an official against Lock. In the second quarter, Eric Stokes burst off the left side of the Georgia line, blocked a punt and returned it 8 yards for another TD.
Fromm threw touchdown passes of 33 yards to Riley Ridley, 61 yards to Jeremiah Holloman and 54 yards to Mecole Hardman in the second half. Fromm completed 13 of 23 passes for 260 yards. Elijah Holyfield rushed 14 times for 90 yards, and D'Andre Swift added 16 carries for 71 yards.
Missouri rushed for 172 yards, with Larry Rountree III, Damarea Crockett, Tyler Badie and Lock all scoring rushing touchdowns. Okwuegbunam had nine catches for 81 yards. Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker held Missouri leading receiver Emanuel Hall-who entered with 430 receiving yards-without a catch.
Mississippi 38, Kent St. 17
OXFORD, Miss.-Jordan Ta'amu threw for 442 yards, two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead Mississippi over Kent State 38-17 on Saturday.
Ole Miss (3-1) had some good moments, especially in the second half, but struggled to shake the malaise from last week's 62-7 loss to No. 1 Alabama. The Rebels and Golden Flashes went into halftime tied at 7.
The game had two delays for lightning, a 53-minute stoppage at the beginning of the second half and another 1-hour, 43-minute delay in the fourth quarter.
Kent State (1-3) pulled within 21-17 midway through the third quarter on Woody Barrett's 2-yard touchdown run, but couldn't get closer. Ole Miss responded with two lengthy offensive drives that added 10 points and gave the Rebels a comfortable advantage.
Barrett completed 24 of 42 passes for 224 yards and an interception. He also ran for 53 yards, including the 2-yard touchdown.
Ole Miss got off to a decent start when Ta'amu threw a short swing pass to Scottie Phillips, who ran for a 38-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. But then the Rebels' offense inexplicably went cold.
The usual long passes from Ta'amu to his talented receivers weren't connecting and the running game wasn't able to offset that problem. That kept the Golden Flashes in the game, but they weren't able to totally capitalize.
South Carolina 37, Vanderbilt 14
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Jake Bentley threw for 261 yards and a touchdown, and the South Carolina Gamecocks bounced back from their hurricane-forced break, routing Vanderbilt 37-14 Saturday.
South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) had its game against Marshall canceled by Hurricane Florence , leaving the Gamecocks looking for a 12th game this season. The Gamecocks hadn't played since being routed 41-17 by now-No. 2 Georgia on Sept. 8 .
They showed no rust as South Carolina won its 10th straight and 17th in the last 19 years against Vanderbilt.
The Gamecocks scored the game's first 10 points and then reeled off 20 straight after Vanderbilt got within 17-14 late in the first half. SouthCarolina could have had a bigger margin of victory but lost two fumbles inside the Vandy 30 in the fourth quarter after a 39-minute lightning and rain delay.
Rico Dowdle ran for a TD and 112 yards, and Mon Denson and Ty'Son Williams each ran for touchdowns. Parker White kicked three field goals for South Carolina.
Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-1) felt pretty confident coming into its SEC opener after coming up just short in a 22-17 loss at No. 8 Notre Dame last week .
The Commodores couldn't match Bentley and the Gamecocks who outgained them 149-32 in the first quarter and finished 534-284 in total offense.
Ke'Shawn Vaughn scored on a 2-yard TD run after an interception. Kyle Shurmur added a 2-yard TD pass for Vanderbilt. The Commodores struggled with snapping the ball and even switched right guard Bruno Reagan over to center late. It didn't help with a bad snap on third down and Vanderbilt trying to chip away at the Gamecocks' lead late.