ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are atop the NFC South. Yes really. Six weeks into a season of extremely low expectations, the Falcons are 3-3 and tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the division lead. Making it even more impressive, Atlanta has managed to have success while opening with a very difficult stretch of games that included the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Tennessee has moved to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football poll behind No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State. It comes after the Volunteers knocked off Alabama, one of five unbeaten teams to fall during a wild weekend. The Crimson Tide dropped three to No. 6 and swapped places with the Vols after Tennessee kicked a field goal as time expired Saturday. Alabama is out of the top five for the first time since 2019.

ATLANTA (AP) — Marcus Mariota threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another score against the NFL’s top-ranked defense, leading the Atlanta Falcons to a 28-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Mariota completed his first 13 passes for the 3-3 Falcons, finally throwing his lone incompletion on his final attempt of the day with less than 11 minutes remaining.

More than four months of dazzling baseball carried the Atlanta Braves to a fifth straight NL East title. Their hopes of repeating as World Series champion fell apart in less than a week.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer and J.T. Realmuto lined an inside-the-park home run that sent the Philadelphia Phillies bolting headfirst into the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2010 with an 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4. Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an inside-the-parker in postseason history and Bryce Harper punctuated the romp with a clinching home run that helped the Phillies take the NL Division Series 3-1 against the World Series champion Braves.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Stetson Bennett threw for 289 yards and two TDs as Georgia stamped its return to No. 1 with a 55-0 rout of Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 with a total blowout after three straight weeks of rather lackluster performances. Bennett was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 18 of 20 for 211 yards and two TDs — his first scoring passes in nearly a month.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chase McGrath made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 6 Tennessee a 52-49 victory over No. 3 Alabama on Saturday. As soon as the kick knuckle-balled through the uprights, some of the more than 100,000 fans stormed the field to celebrate the Volunteers ending a 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.

ATLANTA (AP) — There may be no better opportunity for Marcus Mariota to prove he can be more than a bridge at quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons than in this week’s matchup with San Francisco and its top-rated defense. San Francisco's defense was dominant in last week’s 37-15 win over the Carolina Panthers, another NFC South team.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies are set to play their first home playoff game since 2011. The Phillies and Atlanta Braves are tied 1-1 in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Game 3 is Friday. The Phillies send Aaron Nola to the mound. Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker has yet to name a Game 3 starter.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia Bulldogs are back atop the rankings, even though their style points are a bit lacking. They reclaimed the No. 1 spot after Alabama went down to the final play against Texas A&M. Georgia has struggled a bit against overmatched opponents, especially on offense. The 6-0 Bulldogs will be facing another team that fits that bill on Saturday, hosting 3-3 Vanderbilt in an SEC contest between the hedges.