TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 1 Alabama got everything but the shutout.
AJ McCarron threw three touchdown passes, including an early 85-yarder to Kenny Bell, and the Crimson Tide routed Florida Atlantic 40-7 on Saturday.
Eddie Lacy rushed for 106 yards in the first half for the Tide (4-0), who rolled to 134 consecutive points and two shutouts before allowing a touchdown in the final minutes.
“We try to pride ourselves always on people not scoring on our defense,” Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner said. “We try to get zero and have no one score on us. That’s a big accomplishment for us. They got in, at the end, one touchdown, but we still had a great game.”
The Owls (1-3) managed only one first down through three quarters and were outgained 503-110 in total yards. They were coming off a 56-20 loss to another SEC power, No. 5 Georgia.
Florida Atlantic Coach Carl Pelini called Alabama “as physical a team as there is out there.”
“That’s not Georgia we faced today, that’s Alabama — it’s very different,” Pelini said. “Different schemewise. I think they’re more physical than Georgia. You know, I don’t compare teams but they’re just different. They play differently. They pressure more than Georgia did. They’re physical in their man coverage.”
This one was even more one-sided for the 50-point underdogs.
McCarron was 15 of 25 passing for 212 yards before leaving midway through the third quarter. The 85-yarder came 1:42 into the game and is tied for the fifth-longest touchdown pass in Tide history.
The only suspense late was whether Alabama could complete a third consecutive shutout for the first time since Bear Bryant’s unbeaten 1966 team.
Alabama ran its shutout streak to 192 minutes, 25 seconds dating to the third quarter of the opener against Michigan, but that’s as far as it got.
Graham Wilbert hit Alex Deleon for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 2:49 left, silencing the remaining fans hoping for three shutouts in a row. It took 8 minutes, 24 seconds, 15 plays and two fourthdown conversions to reach the end zone on the drive.
An unsportsmanlike conduct flag against Alabama’s bench for stepping too far onto the field two plays before the score showed how badly the Tide wanted to keep the shutouts flowing.
The Owls had just 41 total yards and one first down through three quarters before finally moving the ball across midfield on the final drive.
Wilbert was 7 of 13 passing for 34 yards — 23 on the scoring drive. Earlier, Jesse Williams had blocked a field goal attempt.
“They played really well, we just started slow,” Wilbert said. “It was just tough to get things going the first half and we just did a terrible job coming out. We didn’t have a lot of energy.”
TENNESSEE 47, AKRON 26
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— Tyler Bray threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns and Rajion Neal rushed for a career-high 151 yards as Tennessee pulled away in the second half for a victory over Akron. Bray’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Neal with 6:47 left in the third quarter broke a 23-23 tie and put the Volunteers (3-1) ahead for good. After giving up the game’s final 24 points last week in a 37-20 loss to Florida, Tennessee ended Saturday’s game on a 21-0 run.
Bray also threw touchdown passes to Brendan Downs, Justin Hunter and Jacob Carter, though he also had one interception that was returned for a touchdown by Akron’s Avis Commack. Downs and Carter scored their first career touchdowns.
Akron (1-3) has lost 22 consecutive road games since winning 42-35 at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 18, 2008.
GEORGIA 48, VANDERBILT 3
ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray completed his first 12 passes and No. 5 Georgia (4-0, 2-0) finally got off to a good start, blowing out Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-2).
Murray hooked up with Tavarres King and Marlon Brown on touchdown throws, breaking a tie with Eric Zeier for second place in school history. The junior quarterback has 69 TDs, three behind David Greene. Murray also scored on a 1-yard sneak as the Bulldogs raced to a 27-0 lead. He finished 18 of 24 for 250 yards. Todd Gurley rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Keith Marshall also had a pair of scoring runs. Vanderbilt took its worst defeat since a 48-0 loss to Tennessee in 2003.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 30, SOUTH ALABAMA 10
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State started its season with four consecutive victories for the first time since 1999, beating South Alabama. Tyler Russell completed 13 of 27 passes for 171 yards for the Bulldogs (4-0) while LaDarius Perkins rushed for a team-high 69 yards — including a 44-yard touchdown run. Nickoe Whitley and Johnthan Banks both had long interception returns that stopped South Alabama drives.
It was the 15th career interception for Banks and third this season. The Bulldogs led 20-0 at halftime, giving up just 104 yards at that point.
South Alabama (1-3) lost its first game against an SEC opponent. C.J. Bennett completed 14 of 26 passes for 154 yards and 1 touchdown and threw 1 interception. Demetre Baker added 49 yards rushing.
TEXAS A&M 70, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 14
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Johnny Manziel threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more by halftime as Texas A&M built a big lead and coasted to a victory over South Carolina State.
Two of Manziel’s touchdown passes went to Uzoma Nwachukwu. All four of Nwachukwu’s receptions this season have been for touchdowns.
The Aggies (2-1) were up 14-7 after the first quarter before Manziel scored on runs of 39 and 20 yards to give Texas A&M a commanding lead.
Ben Malena had two rushing touchdowns in the first half and Texas A&M led 49-7 at halftime.
Dustin Harris had a 96-yard punt return for a touchdown and finished with a school and SEC record 246 punt return yards for Texas A&M.
Richard Cue threw for 189 yards and a touchdown for South Carolina State (1-3) of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Sports, Pages 33 on 09/23/2012