ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Carson Beck said “of course” he battled nerves in his first start for No. 1 Georgia. Coach Kirby Smart insisted he saw no sign Beck lacked the composure that has become his trademark even while having to patiently wait behind Stetson Bennett for his opportunity to play. Beck overcame a sluggish first half to throw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Mekhi Mews and No. 1 Georgia, the two-time defending national champion, leaned on its defense to overwhelm Tennessee-Martin 48-7 on Saturday night.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Jaxson Dart threw four touchdown passes, including three to Tre Harris in the opening four minutes as No. 22 Mississippi rolled to a 73-7 rout of Mercer on Saturday. “I felt we were really prepared coming in,” Dart said. “I really like our confidence and being able to execute what was called.”

STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Davis Brin threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns and Jalen White ran for 125 yards and a score and Georgia Southern beat The Citadel 34-0 in the season-opener for both schools Saturday. After holding The Citadel to a three-and-out on its first possession Georgia Southern marched 40 yards in 11 plays with OJ Arnold scoring from the 1. After another punt, the Eagles moved 71 yards in 11 plays with White's 2-yard run at the end for a 14-0 lead after a quarter.

ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Brohm's coaching debut at his alma mater wasn't nearly as smooth as he would've liked. That's OK. Louisville found a way to win after falling behind by 15 points at halftime. Transfer quarterback Jack Plummer rallied his new team with three touchdown passes, Dezmond Tell made a huge defensive play and the Cardinals knocked off Georgia Tech 39-34 Friday night.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Atlanta Braves haven't had much regular-season success at Dodger Stadium since 2014. They turned to local product Max Fried to change that. Fried tossed seven shutout innings in the stadium located about 15 miles from his old high school, and the Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.

KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Kennesaw State staked Division II Tusculum to the first touchdown, then Jonathan Murphy engineered 38 straight points as the Owls opened the season with a 38-7 win on Thursday night. Kennesaw State opens the season with new offensive and defensive coordinators under coach Brian Bohannon and will be an FCS independent after leaving the Atlantic Sun Conference and will officially join Conference USA in July, 2024.

ATLANTA (AP) — Gavin Pringle's 21-yard pick-6 gave Georgia State the go-ahead touchdown, Marcus Carroll ran for three scores and the Panthers held on to beat Rhode Island 42-35 in a season opener Thursday night. Carroll rushed for a career-high 184 yards on 23 carries.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Michael Hiers threw four of his five touchdown passes in the first half as Samford rolled to a 69-14 victory over Division II-member Shorter on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. had a full day: The Atlanta Braves star got married in the morning, hit a landmark grand slam and ended the night beating NL MVP rival Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hopes to postpone the honeymoon until November.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Kirby Smart shrugs off any talk about making history. Despite the Georgia coach's protestations, that storyline is impossible to ignore between the hedges. The No. 1 Bulldogs, who open the season Saturday against overmatched Tennessee-Martin, have a chance to do something that's never been accomplished in The Associated Press poll era. Three straight national championships.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's fight song begins, “There is no place like Nebraska.” When it comes to volleyball, those words never rang more true than Wednesday night. The Cornhuskers laid claim to the world record for largest attendance at a women's sporting event with 92,003 filling Memorial Stadium for their volleyball match against Omaha.

DENVER (AP) — Darius Vines pitched six strong innings to win in his major league debut and Marcell Ozuna homered for the second time in as many games as the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 on Wednesday night to complete a season sweep. Kevin Pillar and Orlando Arcia also homered for the Braves, who finished 7-0 against the Rockies for their third season sweep of Colorado. Atlanta outscored Colorado 64-20 over the season sweep.

ATLANTA (AP) — Brent Key says he and his staff studied video of at least 21 schools as he prepared for Georgia Tech's opening game against Louisville, which will bring a new coach, Jeff Brohm, and a transfer quarterback, Jack Plummer, to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday night. One bit of video from Georgia Tech's 2022 season stood out to Key before his first game as the Yellow Jackets' full-time coach — a clip of Georgia Tech's 26-21 win at Pittsburgh during his eight-game stint as interim coach.

DENVER (AP) — Marcell Ozuna hit his 30th homer, Charlie Morton threw six innings of one-run ball and the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1 on Tuesday night for their 16th win in 21 games. Major league-best Atlanta improved to 86-45, including 6-0 against the Rockies with a 57-17 run margin. Colorado, which has lost 12 of its last 13 against Atlanta, is an NL-worst 49-83, assured of its fifth straight losing season. The Rockies have lost eight of nine overall.

DENVER (AP) — Two fans ran onto the field and one made contact with Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. during the seventh inning of Monday night's game against the Colorado Rockies in Denver. One fan got his arms against Acuña during the middle of the seventh inning. Two security people quickly grabbed the fan in right field and as they tried to drag him away, a third security person approached.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — No one in college football has bigger shoes to fill than Carson Beck. His predecessor as Georgia's starting quarterback was Stetson Bennett, who guided the Bulldogs to consecutive national championships and was always at his best in the biggest games. Now, after three years spent watching mostly from the sidelines, Beck is finally getting his chance to lead the No. 1 Bulldogs.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Patrick Bailey hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the fifth inning, fellow rookie Casey Schmitt hit his first homer in 3 1/2 months, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 8-5 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. The Giants won for just the sixth time in their last 20 games to slow a slide that has dropped them out of a wild card position after they once held the top spot.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A decade later, Simone Biles is still on top. The gymnastics star won her record eighth U.S. Championship on Sunday night, 10 years after she first ascended to the top of her sport as a teenage prodigy.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The American men who had won the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay at world championships before this year are known to track fans: Tyson Gay and Maurice Greene. But some of the American men who have gone 3 for 3 in those races at the Olympics are known far beyond the shadow of any track stadium – think, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR driver Ryan Preece is “awake, alert and mobile” after his car rolled about a dozen times after a terrifying crash at Daytona International Speedway. Stewart-Haas Racing said Sunday morning that Preece “has been communicating with family and friends." He was hospitalized overnight.

Chris Buescher won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, eliminating fan favorite Chase Elliott from the playoffs and sending Bubba Wallace into the …

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped to an early four-run lead, and nearly blew it in the ninth inning. Their starting pitcher earned his first win in the majors. They even scored on infield fly rule popup. The most impressive highlight of a wild night: a kid stealing the ball from an outfielder trying to steal a home run.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Spencer Strider became the major leagues’ first 15-game winner, pitching three-hit ball over seven inning in leading the Atlanta Braves over the slumping San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Friday night. Michael Harris II had three hits and drove in three runs, helping the major league-best Braves (83-44) to their eighth win in 10 games.

ATLANTA (AP) — Mike Tomlin didn't waver in his decision to play quarterback Kenny Pickett and other Pittsburgh starters even when Atlanta coach Arthur Smith countered with his backups. “I just think it's difficult to box without sparring,” Tomlin said. Pickett and the Steelers scored an early knockout.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani already knew he had a career-altering tear in his elbow ligament when he roped a double to right in the fifth inning of the Angels' doubleheader nightcap on Wednesday. After he hustled to second base, he was greeted by Elly De La Cruz. Cincinnati's 21-year-old rookie shortstop jokingly poked at the smiling Ohtani, essentially asking the two-way superstar, “Are you real?"