The SEC had four ranked-on-ranked matchups in Week 4 of the college football season, including No. 1 Texas’ 20-17 win over No. 14 Tennessee. Twenty-first-ranked Florida beat Ole Miss, while No. 10 LSU beat No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 24 Mississippi State knocked off No. 19 Missouri, as well.
The fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs rolled past Oklahoma in Athens, Ga., No. 8 Alabama crushed South Carolina and Auburn got past Vanderbilt. Kentucky and Arkansas earned non-conference wins.
No. 1 Texas 20, No. 14 Tennessee 17
The top-ranked Texas Longhorns knew just how to celebrate their latest win over Tennessee after their first visit to Neyland Stadium.
Break out the victory cigars.
Colin Simmons tied the program record with five sacks as Texas held the 14th-ranked Volunteers 20-17 on Saturday.
The cigar tradition stems from the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry, which Arch Manning’s uncle Peyton played in for the Vols in the 1990s.
Raleek Brown ran for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and his 4-yarder with 5:41 left gave the Longhorns (4-0) the winning margin in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Giannis Spetic kicked a pair of field goals.
Texas dominated defensively with 10 sacks, led by Simmons.
Tennessee quarterback Brandon Faizon made it interesting late, capping an 80-yard drive with a 30-yard TD pass to Mike Matthews with 1:22 left. Linebacker Arion Carter recovered the onside kick, and Jelani McDonald batted away Brandon’s Hail Mary pass to Travis Smith Jr. in the end zone on the final play.
Sarkisian called it a crazy finish to a game in which Texas also gave up a 57-yard punt return by Qua Moss for a TD. Sarkisian took a timeout that gave Tennessee a second chance at the onside kick after sending the first out of bounds.
Florida 52, Ole Miss 28
New Florida coach Jon Sumrall called his program a sleeping giant when he took over 10 months ago and has said repeatedly since that it’s time to “wake the beast.”
Well, the Gators are officially growling.
Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, Duke Clark added 126 yards and a score on the ground, as No. 21 Florida manhandled fourth-ranked Mississippi 52-28 on Saturday to reach 4-0 for the first time since 2019. It tied Florida’s most points against a top-five team since beating Florida State 52-20 in the 1996 national championship game.
The Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC), installed as 3 1/2-point favorites, proved Las Vegas oddsmakers right by leading from start to finish. They scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives in the second half to pull away.
The Rebels (3-1, 1-1), meanwhile, insisted that last week’s victory against LSU, the one that spoiled former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s return, was not their “Super Bowl.” But they failed to build off that emotional win.
Florida had a lot to do with it in the Swamp.
The Gators jumped on the Rebels early, leading 10-0 before Heisman Trophy front-runner Trinidad Chambliss even threw a pass, and set the pace the rest of the afternoon. Florida was unstoppable running the ball.
Baugh became the third player in school history to top 100 yards rushing in five consecutive games, joining Emmitt Smith (1987, ’88) and Fred Taylor (1997).
Baugh was elusive between the tackles, and Clark allowed the Rebels no break when he subbed into the game. Florida finished with 302 yards rushing and six TDs on the ground.
Clark’s 45-yard TD run early in the third was the play of the game. He juked cornerback Antonio Kite and former Florida safety Sharif Denson on his way to the end zone.
Chambliss and Ole Miss scored 11 points in a 3-minute stretch spanning the second and third quarters and seemed to have all the momentum although Florida still led 17-14. But London Montgomery returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards to set up Clark’s scamper.
Ole Miss seemed out of sorts from the start. Trailing 7-0, Chambliss handed off four consecutive times to backup running back JT Lindsey. Lindsey failed to move the chains on a fourth-and-1 play, giving the Gators great field position.
Chambliss injured his left thigh on the team’s second series. He returned and used the exercise bike between drives. He ended up throwing for 298 yards, with a touchdown and an interception late. He also ran seven times for 44 yards and two scores.
No. 10 LSU 35, No. 23 Texas A&M 6
Sam Leavitt hit Jackson Harris twice for touchdowns — once for 57 yards on a Lane Kiffin fourth-and-short special — and No. 10 LSU defeated 23rd-ranked Texas A&M 35-6 on Saturday night.
Kiffin started sprinting down the sideline while Leavitt’s fourth-down pass was in the air, having seen the Aggies freeze on a play fake as Harris sprinted into the open down the middle of the field.
The LSU coach then put both hands over his shoulder and swung them down vigorously as if wielding a sledge hammer.
But then Kiffin decided, “That’s not how we roll. It’s not how we talk to our team, you know, being conservative.
The play put LSU (3-1, 1-1 SEC) ahead 21-3 in the third quarter and the Aggies (2-2, 0-2) did not threaten after that en route to their second straight defeat.
Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed struggled for a second straight game, completing 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards, with some passes landing nowhere near intended receivers. He also was intercepted by safety Tamarcus Cooley deep in A&M territory.
Reed didn’t have many chances to throw comfortably. LSU applied pressure and kept him largely contained in the backfield — unlike the previous two times that Reed had faced LSU coordinator Blake Baker’s defense.
Last season, Reed quieted Death Valley with 108 yards and two TDs rushing to go with two more TDs passing in a 49-25 triumph that helped A&M earn a College Football Playoff berth.
Now, A&M looks like a longshot at best for the 2026 CFP and will all but certainly drop out of the AP Top 25.
Reed was sacked four times in his latest visit to LSU and did not account for any touchdowns. LSU edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen helped stall a third-quarter drive with his team-high seventh sack of the season.
The biggest concern for LSU’s defense was the sight of linebacker Whit Weeks hobbling to the locker room in a walking boot after an apparent ankle injury. Kiffin said he didn’t have an update on the severity of the injury.
LSU never trailed after Dilin Jones’ 1-yard TD run made it 7-0. Leavitt, who passed for 312 yards, gave LSU a 14-3 halftime lead with his first scoring pass to Harris, which covered 16 yards on a timing pass to the right corner.
Leavitt said he pulled a hamstring in the second quarter. He subbed out a few times in favor of backup Landen Clark, who rushed for touchdowns of 4 and 2 yards late in the third quarter.
No. 24 Mississippi State 31, No. 19 Missouri 24
Kamario Taylor threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns, including a tiebreaking, 24-yard pass to Sanfrisco Magee with 3:57 remaining, as No. 24 Mississippi State rallied past No. 19 Missouri 31-24 on Saturday night.
Fluff Bothwell rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown and had six catches for 55 yards and another score for the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference). Anthony Evans III had eight catches for 114 yards, and Magee had two TD receptions.
Bothwell is the sixth Mississippi State running back since 1995 to record 120-plus yards rushing and 50-plus yards receiving in the same game.
Magee finished with three catches for 76 yards and has now caught a TD pass in five consecutive games dating to last season.
The Bulldogs had 499 yards of total offense and have gained 400 or more total yards in four consecutive games for the first time since 2022. A ranked Mississippi State won a game against a ranked opponent for the first time since Oct. 11, 2014 when the No. 3 Bulldogs led by Dak Prescott beat No. 2 Auburn.
The Bulldogs had 499 yards of total offense and have gained 400 or more total yards in four consecutive games for the first time since 2022. A ranked Mississippi State won a game against a ranked opponent for the first time since Oct. 11, 2014 when the No. 3 Bulldogs led by Dak Prescott beat No. 2 Auburn.
Trajen Greco intercepted Taylor midway through the second quarter, and Simmons threw a 9-yard TD pass to Donovan Olugbode to get the Tigers within 14-10.
Simmons connected with Lee for TDs of 21 and 28 yards in the third quarter, the latter giving Missouri a 24-17 advantage.
The teams traded punts before Taylor led a 14-play, 73-yard drive capped by Bothwell’s 4-yard run to tie it at 24-all. Mississippi State forced another punt to set up the decisive score.
Missouri advanced to the Mississippi State 38 to set up a Hail Mary on the final play. Simmons’ pass was broken up in the end zone by cornerback Kelley Jones.
–briefs and photo courtesy of the SEC
SEC SCORES
Saturday
No. 1 Texas 20, No. 14 Tennessee 17
No. 2 Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13
No. 21 Florida 52, Ole Miss 28
No. 8 Alabama 49, South Carolina 18
No. 10 LSU 35, No. 23 Texas A&M 6
N0. 24 Miss. State 31, No. 19 Missouri 24
Kentucky 45, South Alabama 21
Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 15
Arkansas 34, Tulsa 6
SEC STANDINGS
| conf | cpct | overall | opct | home | road | neutral | strk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama | 2-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Florida | 2-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Georgia | 2-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Mississippi State | 2-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Texas | 1-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Auburn | 1-1 | 0.500 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | W1 |
 Kentucky | 1-1 | 0.500 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 0-0 | W2 |
 LSU | 1-1 | 0.500 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 3-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | W1 |
 Ole Miss | 1-1 | 0.500 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | L1 |
 Missouri | 0-1 | 0.000 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Tennessee | 0-1 | 0.000 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Vanderbilt | 0-1 | 0.000 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 3-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Arkansas | 0-1 | 0.000 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | W1 |
 Oklahoma | 0-1 | 0.000 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | L1 |
 South Carolina | 0-2 | 0.000 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | L2 |
 Texas A&M | 0-2 | 0.000 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | L2 |