STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The morning after then-defending national champion LSU dropped its 2020 season opener 44-34 to Mississippi State, Çoach Ed Orgeron began working on a way to beat the Air Raid.
On Saturday he got his chance. Max Johnson passed for 280 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 28-25 victory over the late-rallying Bulldogs on Saturday.
LSU (3-1, 1-0) had only 343 yards offense and was 5 of 32 on third down but reeled off several big plays when needed.
"We say all the time, big plays build momentum," Orgeron said.
Mississippi State (2-2, 0-1) dominated the stat sheet with 486 yards offense and 12 third-down conversions, but turned the ball over twice inside the LSU 30-yard line and regularly squandered momentum-building drives.
"You just gotta know, that's Mississippi State's offense, " linebacker Damone Clark said. "All week our coaches have been saying, 'Don't bite on the cheese.' Just keep the ball in front of you, make them make the checkdown and don't let them make the big plays. I'm really proud of the way our defense fought, really proud."
Neither team established dominance early, and LSU led 7-3 at the half. But on the second play of the third quarter, the Bulldogs bit on a play-action fake and Johnson found Kayshon Boutte over the top for a 64-yard score, his second of the day.
"It was open the first time, but we handed it off," Boutte said. "The safety came down. So we ran it again, and it was open again the second time too."
Later in the quarter, the Tigers confused the MSU defense again on a similar play and Trey Palmer ran into the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown, no defender within 20 yards.
As has become their custom, the Bulldogs made a hard push in the fourth quarter. Will Rogers found Makai Polk and Austin for late touchdowns, then with just under two minutes remaining hit Jo'Quavious Marks for a 16-yard score and Malik Heath for the two-point conversion to close the gap to 28-25.
"I can't say we become more confident," MSU Coach Mike Leach said. "It's a mental deal. We take comfort in knowing that it can't get any worse, I guess. And we let ourselves play."
But the ensuing onside kick didn't go 10 yards and the Tigers were able to run out the clock. It was the second consecutive week MSU misfielded an onside kick late in the game.
"I see a team that can make a lot of plays," Leach said. "But I see a team that will take themselves out of drives because they don't have that focus."
Johnson was 17-of-27 passing with one interception and Boutte caught four balls for 85 yards.
Rogers was 47-of-62 passing for 371 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Marks rushed for 46 yards and had nine catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 63,
SOUTHERN MISS 14
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Jameson Williams opened the game with a 100-yard kickoff return, then added an 81-yard touchdown catch and another 83-yard runback in No. 1 Alabama's victory over Southern Miss.
Williams and the Crimson Tide (4-0) needed just 14 seconds to put to rest any worries of a letdown against Southern Miss (1-3) after a close win over No. 11 Florida. Bryce Young was nearly flawless in throwing for five touchdowns while completing 20 of 22 passes for 313 yards.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 62,
VANDERBILT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- JT Daniels threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns while playing only the first quarter as Georgia posted its biggest win in a series that started in 1893.
The game was effectively over when Georgia (4-0, 2-0) led 35-0 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs started three of four drives in Vandy territory. They recovered a fumble on a kickoff to set up one TD, then Christopher Smith intercepted a pass to set up a second TD less than 30 seconds later.
Georgia nearly had more points than Vandy managed yards, outgaining the Commodores 524-77.
Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-1) lost its 14th consecutive SEC game.
NO. 11 FLORIDA 38,
TENNESSEE 14
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Emory Jones had two touchdown passes to go with a career-high 144 yards rushing, leading No. 11 Florida to a victory over Tennessee and extending nearly two decades of dominance in the series.
The Gators (3-1, 1-1) won their fifth in a row and 16th in 17 years in a series that used to go a long way toward deciding the Eastern Division.
Jones completed 21 of 27 passes for 209 yards and ran 15 times, with a long of 49 yards. He became Florida's first QB to top 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing since Tim Tebow in 2009 against Florida State.
NO. 23 AUBURN 34,
GEORGIA STATE 24
AUBURN, Ala. -- Shedrick Jackson caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from T.J. Finley with 45 seconds remaining, and No. 23 Auburn rallied to beat Georgia State.
Auburn trailed Georgia State by 12 points at halftime and avoided losing to a Sun Belt team for the first time in program history.
Finley, an LSU transfer who replaced starting quarterback Bo Nix late in the third quarter, led Auburn (3-1) on a 98-yard scoring drive in the final minutes. Safety Smoke Monday sealed the victory, returning an interception 36 yards for a score on the second play of the ensuing drive.
Led by running back Tucker Gregg, Georgia State (1-3) generated 299 yards of offense and 24 points before halftime, but was unable to add to its lead in the final quarters.
KENTUCKY 16,
SOUTH CAROLINA 10
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Matt Ruffolo made three field goals to help Kentucky beat South Carolina.
Despite its three turnovers, Kentucky (4-0, 2-0) beat South Carolina (2-2, 1-1) for the seventh time in eight years, and set up a collision course toward next week's matchup at home against No. 11 Florida.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. ran for 144 yards on 26 carries for the Wildcats. Will Levis was 15-of-22 passing for 102 yards and threw an interception.
Luke Doty was 17-of-25 passing for 158 yards for South Carolina. Kevin Harris was held to just 38 yards rushing on 12 carries.
BOSTON COLLEGE 41,
MISSOURI 34, OT
BOSTON -- Denis Grosel hit Zay Flowers from 10 yards out in overtime, and Brandon Sebastian's interception sealed the victory as Boston College recovered after blowing two fourth-quarter leads to beat Missouri.
BC fans stormed the field to celebrate the win in the first-ever meeting between the schools and the Eagles' first 4-0 start since Matt Ryan led them to eight consecutive victories to start the 2007 season.
Travis Levy scored from 5-yards out to give BC a 34-31 lead with 25 seconds to play in regulation, bouncing off one defender at the 1 and scampering in. But Connor Bazelak led the Tigers (2-2) to the Eagles' 39 and Harrison Mevis barely cleared the crossbar with a 56-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
