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Saturday's college football: Bennett, No. 2 Georgia romp over No. 18 Auburn

John Zenor
Associated Press

Auburn, Ala. — Stetson Bennett passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns and led No. 2 Georgia past No. 18 Auburn for the second straight year in a 34-10 victory Saturday.

The nation’s top defense gave up only its second touchdown of the year for the Bulldogs (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), who were still without injured starting quarterback JT Daniels. None of that kept Georgia from another comfortable SEC win and a fifth straight in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) carries the ball as Auburn linebacker Zakoby McClain (9) tries to tackle him during the first half.

Bennett, who made his first college start in a Top 10 matchup with Auburn (3-2, 1-1) last season, completed 14 of 21 passes and hit Ladd McConkey in stride for a 60-yard third quarter score. He also had a 30-yard run.

Daniels is out with a lat injury for the second straight week, along with some sidelined receivers.

“It’s next man up mentality,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “That’s what we talked about all week. We’ve got a lot of guys hurt and beat up, including the quarterback. We feel like he’s getting better, but Stetson played a heck of a game.”

But the Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd didn’t seem to bother the Bulldogs, who dominated in the trenches on both sides.

“We won the line of scrimmage battle,” Bennett said. “It was so much fun. I had a blast.”

Zamir White ran for 79 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns, doing most of his damage in the second half.

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Bo Nix and the Tigers came in averaging 40 points per game but couldn’t solve the Georgia defensive puzzle despite moving the ball at times. Nix completed 21 of 38 passes for 217 yards with an interception off a dropped ball a week after delivering a comeback win at LSU.

Georgia also sacked Nix four times and harried him all afternoon, and the Tigers had some other drops to boot. The Bulldogs allowed just 46 yards on 29 rushes.

Auburn had failed fourth-down passes end its final drive of the first half and its opening one in the second. Nix griped about what he thought was a missed call on the first one.

“The guy completely grabs him. I thought it should have definitely been a pass interference,” he said. “Obviously if it had been them they probably would have called it, but that’s just part of the game, part of the rivalry.”

More Saturday games

Boise State 26, (at) No. 10 BYU 17: Hank Bachmeier threw for 172 yards and Boise State forced four turnovers, Cyrus Habibi-Likio ran for a season-high 75 yards and a touchdown, and Andrew Van Buren added a season-high 60 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos (3-3) snapped a two-game losing streak in the series.

Jaren Hall threw for a career-high 302 yards and a touchdown for BYU (5-1). Tyler Allgeier ran for 73 yards and a touchdown. The Cougars outgained Boise State 413-312 in total yards.

(At) No. 17 Mississippi 52, No. 13 Arkansas 51: Sam Williams and Tavius Robinson pressured Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson on a potential game-winning 2-point conversion after Mississippi allowed a touchdown on the final play of regulation.

Arkansas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) scored on a 9-yard pass from Jefferson to Warren Thompson as time expired to pull within a point and decided to go for the win.

Jefferson rolled right and under extended pressure from Williams and Robinson, overthrew Treylon Burks in the end zone.

“However it works, it’s a win,” Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin said. “Obviously, it’s a huge play at the end. Offensively, we did well. I’ve been in games like this before and it’s a lot better when you win.”

Ole Miss (4-1, 1-1) took the lead with 1:07 remaining as Matt Corral threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Sanders, accompanied by a soaring clipboard flip by a trailing coach Lane Kiffin, racing down the home sideline.