Georgia, Notre Dame and Alabama remained unbeaten — and mostly untested.
Gunner Stockton threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, and the second-ranked Bulldogs pulled away late to beat Vanderbilt 38-14 on Saturday. The Bulldogs led 21-14 at halftime but got a lucky — Luckie, really — bounce in the third quarter to help create some cushion.
Tight end Lawson Luckie grabbed a tipped pass from Stockton that was nearly intercepted and turned it into a 43-yard reception that set up a touchdown. Georgia also benefitted from a blocked field goal and a fourth-down stop that came courtesy of an overturned reception.
Meanwhile in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, CJ Carr threw four TD passes, Jonaz Walton ran for 108 yards and the third-ranked Fighting Irish handled the Tar Heels 37-26. It was Notre Dame's 15th consecutive victory — all of them by at least 10 points.
The seventh-ranked Crimson Tide were supposedly on upset alert in Starkville, Mississippi. But Alabama rolled over Kamario Taylor and No. 16 Mississippi State 56-23, sending a clear statement about the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference.
Keelon Russell threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns, Trae'shawn Brown ran for two scores and the Tide scored at least 45 points for the fifth consecutive game to start the season. It's one short of the team record set in 2018. Alabama plays at Georgia next Saturday.
The Alabama-Mississippi State matchup was expected to be a showcase for Taylor, who had been so impressive through four games. But he threw two interceptions, was sacked five times and headed to the locker room with 12 minutes to play with an injury.
No. 4 Miami (at Clemson), No. 5 Ohio State (at Iowa), No. 6 Indiana (at Rutgers) and No. 8 Florida (at Missouri) all were facing road tests later Saturday.
In the Big 12 Conference, Cincinnati will try to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2021 with a visit to Arizona, where Noah Fifita already has thrown for 11 touchdowns to increase his career total to 84, most among active FBS quarterbacks.
Since a 28-17 loss at BYU, the Wildcats have come back from early deficits of 10-0 to Northern Illinois and 14-0 at Washington State to win both games by double digits.
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Alabama defensive lineman Fatutoa Henry (14) reacts to a play against Mississippi State during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/James Pugh)
Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison (6) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) and wide receiver Micah Gilbert (14) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against North Carolina, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Georgia wide receiver Landon Roldan, left, catches a pass against Vanderbilt cornerback Jordan Matthews, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
The head of Tennessee's prison system is resigning, Gov. Bill Lee announced Saturday, the first major staff shake-up since Christa Pike's stunning failed execution left her unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital.
Frank Strada, commissioner of the Department of Correction, will step down this month, Lee said. Some of the governor's fellow Republicans and other elected officials had been urging a change in leadership.
It was the second time since May that Tennessee has not been able to execute a prisoner who was seemingly moments away from death.
The governor also announced that former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton would lead a review of what happened in Pike's death chamber. Stanton previously was named to conduct a review after Lee called off a different execution; he found in that case that Tennessee had not complied with its own lethal injection process.
Strada said in a statement that resigning was “in the best interest of Tennesseans” while Stanton's review is conducted. The state failed to execute Pike despite administering two doses of a lethal drug, pentobarbital.
“I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred,” Strada said.
Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage in 1995. She became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row.
There was no immediate response from Pike's lawyers for an update Saturday on her condition at a hospital. They had disclosed Friday that she was on a ventilator and unconscious in the hours following the execution attempt and that hospital staff were trying to clear the two doses of pentobarbital.
The shocking failure has left both sides of the death penalty debate demanding answers. Lee has ordered an independent review and halted any new executions. Strada said he believes the state “carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.”
Pike's legal team welcomed Strada's departure but said “it does nothing to help Christa now.”
“What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person,” the four-lawyer team said. “We hope the governor’s call for a full, independent review will expose the profound problems within Tennessee’s entire death penalty system.”
Pike’s attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.
In May, Tennessee stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff placed an IV into his right arm but couldn’t get a secondary IV line. The governor ordered officials to wait at least a year before trying to execute him again.
Strada took over the Correction Department in January 2023 after serving as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. In late 2024, he announced that Tennessee was changing its lethal injection protocol and would use only pentobarbital.
Four people have been executed in Tennessee since 2025, according to the Correction Department.
Court filings show that Strada's job included overseeing executions in Arizona when they resumed in 2022 following an eight-year break.
Clarence Dixon was the first that year. The medical team had trouble finding a vein to administer the lethal drugs and finally made an incision in his groin area. The process took about 25 minutes.
That same year in Arizona, medical staff preparing Frank Atwood for execution initially could not locate a vein in his right arm but inserted the IV in his right hand — at Atwood’s suggestion, said Henry Brean, an Arizona Daily Star reporter who was a witness.
Strada announced Murray Hooper's execution by lethal injection, the third in 2022. There was an unsuccessful attempt to insert an IV line in his right arm. The IV in Hooper's leg was inserted into his femoral artery.
FILE - Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada speaks to the media after the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols, Dec. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
