TUSCALOOSA, Ala.-Jaylen Waddle returned a punt for a touchdown and caught two scoring passes, including a 94-yarder, in No. 1 Alabama's 56-14 victory Saturday over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts staked the Crimson Tide (5-0) to a 49-0 halftime lead over the Ragin' Cajuns (1-3) en route to the defending national champions' latest blowout.
Then third-teamer Mac Jones got into the act with his 94-yarder to the freshman Waddle late in the third quarter. It tied for the second-longest TD catch in Alabama history.
Alabama has scored at least 45 points five games in a row for the first time in program history.
Tagovailoa completed all eight of his attempts for 128 yards and two touchdowns, mostly in the first quarter. Hurts was 4 of 6 for 118 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown to Henry Ruggs III.
Ruggs caught five passes for 116 yards and two TDs. Waddle gained 138 yards on three catches and returned a punt 63 yards for a score.
No. 2 Georgia 38,
Tennessee 12
ATHENS, Ga.-D'Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns, including a late 14-yarder to ice the game, and No. 2 Georgia used dominant defense to overcome a sluggish offensive start in its win over Tennessee on Saturday.
Freshman quarterback Justin Fields scored on runs of 12 and 15 yards, and Isaac Nauta had a 31-yard touchdown on a fumble return. The Bulldogs led by only 12 points early in the final quarter before pulling away.
Georgia (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) scored touchdowns on its last drive of the first half and opening possession after halftime but otherwise couldn't maintain momentum.
Jake Fromm completed 16 of 22 passes for 185 yards while sharing time with Fields.
Tennessee (2-3, 0-2) was held to 209 yards. The Vols finally scored on Jarrett Guarantano's 37-yard pass to Josh Palmer late in the third quarter. Guarantano's 35-yard scoring pass to Ty Chandler about four minutes into the final quarter cut Georgia's lead to 24-12.
Vanderbilt 31,
Tennessee State 27
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Vanderbilt survived a scare from crosstown foe Tennessee State, squeezing out a close home win against the FBS Tigers on Saturday.
The Commodores (3-2) sputtered offensively out of the gate with quarterback Kyle Shurmur throwing two interceptions, as many as he had in Vanderbilt's first four games, in the game's first 15 minutes.
Sparked by a pair of Power 5 transfers in quarterback Demry Croft and wide receiver Treon Harris, the Tigers (2-1) rode their pass-happy offense and played opportunistic defense for a 13-10 halftime lead.
Vanderbilt responded with two rapid-fire touchdowns - a 38-yard pass from Shurmur to Kalija Lipscomb and a weaving 78-yard run by Ke'Shawn Vaughn - in the first six minutes of the second half and looked to be salting away the win. But TSU refused to go quietly, charging back and putting the game in doubt until Croft, a Minnesota transfer, threw incomplete on fourth down, turning the ball over on downs with 1:25 remaining in the game.