ATHENS, Ga.  — Alabama has the look of a national championship contender, racing to a 31-point halftime lead over third-ranked Georgia on the way to a decisive 41-30 victory Saturday night.

The Bulldogs became the third member of the top four to lose on a miserable week for ranked teams, while No. 8 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) figures to move up at least three or four places to its highest spot yet under second-year coach Nick Saban.

The first half was a stunner. John Parker Wilson threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones. Mark Ingram, Glenn Cofee and Roy Upchurch ran for scores. The Alabama defense stifled the penalty plagued Bulldogs.

Georgia (4-1, 1-1) closed to 31-17 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. But that wasn’t nearly enough to stem the Tide.

Mississippi 31, No. 4 Florida 30

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Houston Nutt needed just five games to get a signature win at Mississippi.

Jevan Snead threw two touchdown passes, ran for another score and led the Rebels (3-2, 1-1)  to a stunning victory at Florida.

Snead, the former Florida recruit who backed out of his commitment when he learned the Gators were going after Tim Tebow, outplayed last year’s Heisman Trophy winner.

And he did it in The Swamp, where Florida (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) had won 21 of its last 22 games.

Snead was 9-of-20 passing for 185 yards,, including an 86-yard touchdown pass to Shay Hodge that put the Rebels ahead 31-24 with 5:26 to play.

Michigan 27, No. 9 Wisconsin 25

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Michigan celebrated its 500th game at the Big House with the first big win of the Rich Rodriguez era.

The Wolverines (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit, and when Wisconsin’s Allan Evridge misfired on a 2-point conversion pass with 13 seconds left, Michigan had sealed a victory.

No. 2 Oklahoma 35, No. 24 TCU 10

NORMAN, Okla. — Sam Bradford threw for a career-best 411 yards and four touchdowns, Manuel Johnson set a school record with 206 yards receiving and the Sooners avenged their last loss at Owen Field.

With top-ranked Southern California and three other top 10 teams losing, Oklahoma (4-0) assumed the No. 1 in the rankings for the first time since it lost to Kansas State in the 2003 Big 12 championship game.

No. 5 LSU 34, Mississippi St. 24

BATON ROUGE, La. — Charles Scott surpassed 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game and punched in two short touchdowns, and LSU remained undefeated.

The Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) turned in a feisty performance in a bid to add another surprising result to a week highlighted by several upsets. But Scott’s 27 carries for 141 yards kept LSU (4-0, 2-0) moving and the clock rolling.

No. 7 Texas 52, Arkansas 10

AUSTIN, Texas — Colt McCoy put up five touchdowns in another near-perfect start, and Texas (4-0) routed Arkansas to hand Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino an embarrassing debut in a border rivalry famous for close games.

The loss was the most lopsided in the series since a 35-point Texas victory in 1970. In the previous 10 meetings between Texas and Arkansas (2-2), the average margin of victory was fewer than nine points.

No. 12 Penn St. 38, No. 22 Illinois 24

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Derrick Williams caught a touchdown pass, ran for a TD and returned a kickoff 94 yards for another score and Penn State defeated Illinois.

Daryll Clark threw for two scores and ran for a touchdown as the Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2005.

Juice Williams connected with Arrelious Benn for touchdown catches of 33 and 54 yards, and the Illini (2-2) were able to move the ball on Penn State’s tough defense.

No. 13 South Florida 41, N.C. State 10

RALEIGH, N.C. — Matt Grothe threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, completing his first 11 passes during South Florida’s rout.

Jamar Taylor and Mike Ford added 1-yard touchdown runs, and the Big East’s only nationally ranked team had the look of a legitimate contender.

The Bulls (5-0) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, recorded two safeties, built a 31-10 halftime lead and had 354 of their 514 total yards in the first half against the Wolfpack (2-3).

No. 14 Ohio St. 34, Minnesota 21

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells rushed for 106 yards in his first game in a month and quarterback Terrelle Pryor ran for two scores and threw for another to lead the Buckeyes.

It was the first time the two had started in the same backfield.

Wells, out after injuring his right foot in the season-opener, carried 14 times and showed his old form by racing for 28 yards on his second attempt.

In his second start as a true freshman, Pryor ran for 97 yards on eight carries, scoring on runs of 33 and 1 yard. He also completed 8-of-13 passes for 70 yards.

No. 15 Auburn 14, Tennessee 12

AUBURN, Ala.— Jake Ricks recovered a fumble in the end zone and Auburn sent Tennessee to its worst start in 14 years.

The Vols (1-3, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) fell to 1-3 for the first time since 1994, the second full season for embattled coach Phillip Fulmer.

Navy 24, No. 16 Wake Forest 17

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Eric Kettani rushed for a career-high 175 yards and backup quarterback Jarod Bryant scored the decisive touchdown late in the fourth quarter to give Navy (3-2) its first win over a ranked team in 23 years.

Coming in with a nation-best plus-10 turnover ratio, the Demon Deacons (3-1) committed six turnovers in a dreadful performance a week after dominating Florida State.

No. 17 Utah 37, Weber St. 21

SALT LAKE CITY — Louie Sakoda kicked three field goals and four extra points to become the leading scorer in Utah history and the Utes welcomed back Weber State coach Ron McBride with a win.

Bryan Johnson passed for two touchdowns and Matt Asiata ran for two scores for the Utes (5-0), who avoided any hiccups against their Championship Subdivision neighbors and remained unbeaten for Thursday night’s home game against Oregon State.

Maryland 20, No. 20 Clemson 17

CLEMSON, S.C. — Chris Turner threw for a touchdown and Da’Rel Scott rushed for one to rally Maryland (4-1, 1-0 ACC) to its second straight Death Valley victory.

Houston 41, No. 23 East Carolina 24

GREENVILLE, N.C.  — Case Keenum threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns, and Houston (2-3, 1-0 Conference USA) earned its first win against a ranked opponent in a dozen years.

No. 25 Fresno State 36, UCLA 31

PASADENA, Calif. — Tom Brandstater threw for three touchdowns and Ryan Mathews ran for one score and caught another and Fresno State (3-1) outlasted UCLA.

Although they played much better than their past two games, the loss was the third in a row for the Bruins (1-3).

Sacramento St. 41, Portland St. 31

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Running back Bryan Hilliard rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Hornets. Tygue Howland threw for 394 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings (2-2, 0-1 Big Sky).

, who are 0-3 on the road this season.

Trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, the Hornets came back to score 20 unanswered points. The scoring was capped off by a 15-yard interception return for a TD by freshman defensive back Deionte Gordon in the second quarter.

The Vikings ended the first half leading 21-20 after Woods caught an 80-yard touchdown from Howland with 1:10 left in the second quarter.

Sacramento State regained the lead by scoring 14 straight points in the third quarter.

The Vikings cut the Hornets’ lead 34-31 on a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but Sac State controlled the ball on the ground, and scored on 2-yard run by Hilliard to extend its margin.