Tennessee routs Virginia in season opener

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Milton III threw two touchdown passes and ran for two other scores as the 12th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers routed Virginia 49-13 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams and the Cavaliers’ first game in 294 days.

Tennessee and Virginia marked the Cavs’ first football game since a shooting left three players dead last November with a moment of silence before kickoff. The Vols also wore a sticker on the back of their helmets with the numbers of the late Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry.

Virginia running back Mike Hollins, who needed several surgeries after being wounded in the shooting, played. He finished with four carries for minus-7 yards and one catch.

The Vols improved to 4-1 all-time against Virginia in the first game of this series since the 1991 Sugar Bowl.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 48, UT-MARTIN 7: Carson Beck overcame a sluggish first half to throw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Mekhi Mews and host Georgia, the two-time defending national champion, leaned on its defense to overwhelm Tennessee-Martin 48-7.

Georgia (1-0) showed it must make progress on offense if it can realize its dream of becoming the first team to win three straight national championships in The Associated Press poll era. The Bulldogs were outgained in the opening quarter and led only 17-0 at halftime against the Football Championship Subdivision Skyhawks (0-1).

Beck, placed in the difficult position of following Stetson Bennett’s back-to-back championship seasons at quarterback, gained momentum in the second half. He threw a short completion to his left to Mews, who cut back to the middle of the field, dodged a would-be tackler and used his speed for his first career scoring catch.

NO. 4 ALABAMA 56, MTSU 7: Jalen Milroe passed for three long touchdowns and ran for a pair of scores to lead Alabama to a season-opening win over visiting Middle Tennessee State.

Milroe emerged on top of a three-man battle to replace Bryce Young in fall camp for the Crimson Tide, and delivered big plays and no costly mistakes in his second career start. He launched on-target touchdown passes of 47 yards to Isaiah Bond, 48 to Jermaine Burton and 29 to Amari Niblack.

A much bigger challenge awaits with a visit from No. 11 Texas.

NO. 21NO. CAROLINA 31, SO. CAROLINA 17: Heisman Trophy hopeful Drake Maye threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns, North Carolina’s upstart defense had nine sacks and the Tar Heels beat border rival South Carolina on Saturday night in a neutral-site game in Charlotte.

British Brooks ran for 103 yards and Omarion Hampton added two short TD runs for the Tar Heels.

Maye, who grew up in the Charlotte suburb of Huntersville, led scoring drives on five of North Carolina’s first six possessions, excluding a kneel down at the end of the first half.

NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI 73, MERCER 7: Jaxson Dart threw four touchdown passes, including three to Tre Harris in the opening four minutes as host Mississippi rolled past Mercer.

Ole Miss (1-0) opened with four consecutive touchdown drives and built a 38-7 halftime lead. Dart was 11 of 11 for 237 yards in the early surge and finished 18 of 23 passing for 334 yards before yielding to Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders midway through the third quarter.

Harris, a transfer from Louisiana Tech after earning All-Conference USA honors last season, had touchdown receptions of 38, 28 and 20 yards, capping three of the four early scoring drives. Harris added a 16-yard touchdown catch early in the third period to break a school record for TD receptions in a single game.

NO. 23 TEXAS A&M 52, NEW MEXICO 10: Conner Weigman threw for 236 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s debut and host Texas A&M rolled over New Mexico.

Coach Jimbo Fisher hired Petrino, a former head coach at Louisville, Arkansas and with the Atlanta Falcons, to try to beef up an offense that struggled last season as the Aggies finished 5-7. Petrino took over play-calling duties from Fisher and the decision looked like a good one in the opener.

Weigman and the Aggies were nearly unstoppable in the first half, scoring touchdowns on their first five possessions, with the first four coming through the air. New Mexico’s only stop before halftime came when Tavian Combs blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Randy Bond as time expired in the second quarter.

ARKANSAS 56, W. CAROLINA 13: K.J. Jefferson completed his first 12 passes while leading Arkansas to three first-quarter touchdowns, and the Razorbacks methodically put away FCS-level Western Carolina at home. Jefferson’s second pass of the game was a wide-receiver screen to the left sideline that turned into a 65-yard catch-and-run by Jaedon Wilson.

AUBURN 59, UMASS 14: Robby Ashford rushed for three first-half touchdowns as host Auburn defeated UMass in Hugh Freeze’s debut as the Tigers’ head coach. Ashford, the Tigers’ 2022 starting quarterback, was used in red-zone packages to complement new starter and Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne. 

KENTUCKY 44, BALL STATE 14: Ray Davis ran for two touchdowns while Devin Leary passed for one in their Kentucky debuts, and Kentucky’s defense made several big plays to rout Ball State in Lexington. The Wildcats trailed 7-3 entering the second quarter before rallying with 20 unanswered points, with 10 coming off two fumble recoveries.

MISSISSIPPI ST. 48, SE LOUISIANA 7: Will Rogers threw for threw for 227 yards and host Mississippi State overcame a slow start and rolled over Southeastern Louisiana in the season opener for both schools. The game marked the debut of head coach Zach Arnett, who coached the Bulldogs in the ReliaQuest Bowl win over Illinois to close the 2022 season after legendary coach Mike Leach died suddenly last December. 

VANDERBILT 47, ALABAMA A&M 13: Will Sheppard scored two touchdowns on short receptions, and Sedrick Alexander reached the end zone twice on fourth-quarter runs to help Vanderbilt beat Alabama A&M at home. Sheppard finished with six receptions for 62 yards, and Jayden McGowan added six catches for 70 yards.