AP photo Auburn quarterback Bo Nix (10) is knocked out of bounds by South Carolina defensive back Shilo Sanders (21) and Kingsley Enagbare (52) during the second half of the Gamecocks' 30-22 win, their first win over Auburn in 87 years.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mac Jones passed for 417 yards and four touchdowns and No. 2 Alabama’s aerial assault picked apart No. 3 Georgia’s heralded defense in the second half of a 41-24 victory Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide (4-0), with coach Nick Saban stalking the sideline after a COVID-19 scare, rallied with three touchdowns in a 10-minute span starting late in the third quarter of a battle of the Southeastern Conference’s last remaining unbeatens.

The nation’s top scoring offense ultimately got the decisive upper hand in a battle with the Bulldogs (3-1) and one of the nation’s best defenses.

Georgia had no answer for Jones and star receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, especially with Alabama’s own beleaguered defense grabbing two second-half interceptions and three overall.

Smith caught 11 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, including one in the fourth quarter that effectively put it out of reach.

Waddle caught a 90-yard touchdown pass and gained 161 yards on six catches.

Then there was some old-school ground and pound too. Harris gained 152 yards on 31 carries carries with a touchdown during that game-clinching span. He did it against the nation’s top run defense, which came in allowing 38 rushing yards and 12.3 points per game.

Stetson Bennett completed 18 of 40 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82-yarder to James Cook. But he threw three interceptions.

Alabama got a boost about seven hours before the game when the SEC cleared coach Saban to return to business of usual, determining a Wednesday COVID test was a false positive. He tested negative Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A maskless Saban was yelling at a referee after an intentional grounding call in the second quarter.

The Tide has won the last six meetings with Georgia, including a 3-0 record against Saban’s former defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. The first two came in the January 2018 national championship game and the SEC championship game the following season.

In other key college games from Saturday:

NO. 1 CLEMSON 73, GA. TECH 7

Trevor Lawrence wasn’t focused on his near-record streak of passes without an interception, just as he has tuned out speculation he could be the first pick in next year’s NFL draft.

Lawrence just had his mind on leading Clemson’s offense and having fun.

He brushed off the first interception he has thrown this season and passed for a career-high 404 yards and five touchdowns as No. 1 Clemson overwhelmed Georgia Tech. Led by Lawrence, Clemson’s 671 yards and 73 points were the most allowed by Georgia Tech in the modern era.

Lawrence completed 24 of 32 passes. All of his scoring passes came in the Tigers’ dominant first half.

Clemson led 52-7 at halftime and kept adding to the lead in the second half, even with second- and third- (and maybe fourth-) stringers on the field.

Lawrence left the game after Clemson’s first possession of the second half.

Clemson (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) allowed only 204 yards and had a dominant 29-7 advantage in first downs.

NO. 4 NOTRE DAME 12, LOUISVILLE 7

When it came time to deliver, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book stopped beating himself up and kept the No. 4 Fighting Irish unbeaten.

“I’m definitely hard on myself, but my job at the end of the day is to get the ‘W’,” said Book, whose 13-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter together with Kyren Williams’ 127 rushing yards helped Notre Dame hold off the Cardinals and avert a major upset.

Williams ran 25 times and had his third 100-yard game of the season as the Irish (4-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their 22nd straight at Notre Dame Stadium.

It came against an inspired Louisville 3-4 defense that spent most of the afternoon on the field. Notre Dame controlled the clock for 36:15 including a game-ending 14-play drive that burned the final 7:55.

NO. 11 TEXAS A&M 28, MISSISSIPPI STATE 14

Isaiah Spiller ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns and Kellen Mond threw for two scores to help the No. 11 Aggies.

Texas A&M (3-1) led 14-0 at the half and had 325 yards of total offense in the game. Ainias Smith caught five passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. Chase Lane caught two passes, including a 51-yard touchdown reception in the opening minutes of the third quarter.

NO. 13 MIAMI 31, PITTSBURGH 19

Miami avoided the post-Clemson letdown and now can set its sight on remaining in the conference championship picture.

A week after a 42-17 road loss to the top-ranked Tigers, the No. 13 Hurricanes beat Pittsburgh 31-19 on Saturday.

D’Eriq King threw four touchdowns, including two to Will Mallory, to lead the Hurricanes (4-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed in this one.

SOUTH CAROLINA 30, NO. 15 AUBURN 22

South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn was tired of hearing he didn’t have the ball skills to be a truly exceptional cornerback.

His play against No. 15 Auburn proved he did — and led the Gamecocks to a breakthrough win over the Tigers. Horn had the first two interceptions of his career and his pass break up led to a third — all which South Carolina turned into touchdowns for its first win over Auburn in 87 years.

NO.23 Va. Tech 40, BOSTON COLLEGE 14

Hendon Hooker ran for a career-high 164 yards and three touchdowns and threw for a score in No. 23 Virginia Tech’s win.

Khalil Herbert added 143 yards rushing for the Hokies (3-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). They ran for 350 yards in bouncing back from a road loss to North Carolina.

Virginia Tech scored off of four of BC’s five turnovers to pull away. The Eagles (3-2, 2-2) turned it over three times in the first half alone, with the most damaging coming when quarterback Phil Jurkovec overthrew an open Jaelen Gill deep in Virginia Tech territory. Devin Taylor intercepted the pass for the Hokies, and Hooker’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Herbert made it 17-7.

GA. SOUTHERN 41, UMASS 0

Shai Werts threw three touchdown passes and added a 4-yard touchdown run to help Georgia Southern beat Massachusetts

Werts was 11-of-16 passing for 128 yards with no interceptions and finished with 13 carries for 76 yards.

On the fifth play from scrimmage, Werts hit Malik Murray for a 47-yard touchdown catch-and-run, then added TD passes of 8 and 10 yards to Beau Johnson that gave Georgia Southern (3-1) a 21-0 lead with 9:12 left in the first half.

UMass (0-1) was limited to 191 total yards, converted just 2-of-13 third downs with four three-and-outs, and never moved past the Georgia Southern 21-yard line.

UMass announced the cancellation of its 2020 football season on Aug. 11 due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic but later reversed course and on Sept. 21 the school said it would play a limited number of games to be announced as they are scheduled and Saturday’s contest against Georgia Southern is the only one currently on the slate for the Minutemen.

FLORIDA’S MULLEN TESTS POSITIVE

Florida coach Dan Mullen, who last week wanted 90,000 fans packed inside the stadium amid a pandemic, says he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Mullen, originally from Raymond, N.H., made the announcement Saturday on Twitter, saying his initial positive result was confirmed by a second test. The 10th-ranked Gators had at least 21 players and coaches test positive earlier this week, an outbreak that prompted the Southeastern Conference to postpone Florida’s next two games.

The 48-year-old Mullen says he has experienced “mild to no symptoms.”

“I’m continuing to self-isolate from my family, who all remain healthy, and am following all the guidelines set forth by UF Health, the CDC and our public health officials,” Mullen tweeted. “I am proud of how our players, staff and campus community have navigated this unprecedented time and hope all continue to be safe.”