No. 3 Florida drubs South Carolina 44-11

NEW YORK: Florida lived up to its No.3 ranking with a 44-11 win over South Carolina in college football on Saturday, surprising a Gamecocks outfit that had appeared to be a contender in the powerful Southeastern Conference.
South Carolina gave Louisiana State almost all it could handle last week, and the No.9-ranked outfit was expected to follow that up with a good showing in The Swamp.
Instead, Loucheiz Purifoy knocked the ball out of the hands of South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw on the first play, setting the tone for a comfortable win by the Gators.
Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel threw four touchdown passes — three of them after turnovers — as the Gators made it seven wins from seven starts, matching their win total from last season.
Florida managed just 29 yards and two first downs in the first half but led 21-6 thanks to three turnovers and never looked back.
The Gators can clinch a spot in the SEC championship game by beating No. 13 Georgia next week.
It was a vital result for Florida, which is only just ahead of Oregon in the official rankings and actually No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25, which doesn’t count in the BCS, and in the coaches’ poll, which does.
The Oregon Ducks posted a comprehensive victory at Arizona State on Thursday, reaching 43 points inside 20 minutes and coasting to a 43-21 win.
Top-ranked Alabama had a 44-13 win over Tennessee, indicating the Crimson Tide may have a championship-caliber offense to complement its best-in-the-nation defense. A.J. McCarron tossed four touchdown passes and threw for a career-high 306 yards.
Kansas State, ranked fourth, trounced No.17 West Virginia 57-14. Collin Klein ran for four touchdowns and threw three TD passes while opposing quarterback Geno Smith had a poor game throwing two interceptions and passing for only 143 yars.
The No.5-ranked Notre Dame had more of a struggle, edging Brigham Young 17-14. The Fighting Irish — off to their best start in a decade with seven straight wins — relied heavily upon their running game, with Theo Riddick pounding his way for a career-high 143 yards and Cierre Wood adding 114 yards.
Louisiana State, ranked sixth, defeated No.20 Texas A&M 24-19. Jeremy Hill rushed for a career-high 127 yards and a touchdown as the Tigers recovered from a 12-0 first-half deficit.
The No. 7-ranked Ohio State trailed Purdue by eight points with 47 seconds left but escaped with a 29-22 overtime win. Backup quarterback Kenny Guiton came off the bench in relief of injured Braxton Miller to lead a touchdown drive in the final minute of regulation and Carlos Hyde scored on a run in in overtime.
Oregon State, ranked eighth, defeated Utah 21-7. The Beavers’ defense helped out when quarterback Cody Vaz struggled in the rain. The 6-0 start represents the best beginning to an Oregon State season in more than a century.
Vaz made his debut last weekend as the starter in place of injured Sean Mannion and threw for three touchdowns against BYU to earn Pac-12 player of the week honors. This time, he passed for 174 yards against the Utes. But the Beavers’ defense had an interception and a fumble recovery that led to two first-half touchdown runs by Storm Woods.
No. 10-ranked Oklahoma scored on a kickoff return and a punt return in the same game for the first time in school history as they thrashed Kansas 52-7. Landry Jones threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns.