Sunday, 3 a.m.

South Florida can take solace in the final score. It finished about as lopsided as the experts said, and the Bulls are now 3-0 on the season.

On the other hand, if you want to fret a bit, you an got back to the 21-17 score the Bulls had over Deleware State iwas just before the half.

In other words, yeah, the Bulls need to get better.

Oh, it was obvious that the Bulls' weren't going to have long-term trouble with the Hornets. Ui Ale completed a 90-yard pass to Nathan Stewart and a 20-yarder to Jalin Terzado.

The Bulls, however, scored the last 35 points of the game to win going away.

Quarter Michael Van Buren threw for 300 yards to lead the Bulls. Running back D.J. Crowther rushed for 202 yards and three scores. Receiver Joshua Porder caught eight balls for 106 yards.

The Bulls travel to Bowling Green Saturday at 4 p,m.

Florida 44, Auburn 39: In the end, Florida's new coach was just a bit beteer than Auburn's. And Florida's new quarterback was just a tad better than Auburn's.

But especially, Florida's pass rush was niles better than Auburn"s.

The Gators sacked Auburn quarterack Byrum Brown seven times in Saturday night's win.

The Gators, with new coach Jon Summerall, jumped to leads of 14-3 and 41-24. Both times, the Tigers came back to get within striking distance.

Running back Jadan Baugh ran for 162 yards for Florida. Bran threw for 271 yards and ran for 65 for Auburn.

The Gators are home next week againstOle MIss at 3:30 p.m.

Alabama 50, FSU 36: The Seminoles weren't given much of a chance against the 10th-rated Tide, but their start was impressive. Whether that is enough to take head of FSU coach Mike Norvell remains to be seen.

The Semioles got off to a 21-6 lead, and they hung in enough to lead 28-26 before Alabama ran away with the game.

FSU quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 377 yards and two scores, but he threw three interceptions. Receiver Duce Robinson caught six balls for 135 yards for FSU.

But Alabama rolled up 567 yards of total offense. Quarterback Keelon Russel threw for 320 yards and ran for 56.

FSU, 1-2, plays Central Arkansas on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Saturday, 4 a.m.

Are you ready to race? Are you ready to see if the Tampa Bay Rays can hold on or not?

The Rays lost a bit of their advantage Friday night, losing a 4-2 game to the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. The Rays' lead over the Yankees is now down to four games, ann their lead over the Red Sox is nine and a half.

The Rays have tough sledding ahead. They have two more games against Boston, four against New York and three against Philadelphia.

The Rays struggled most of Friday night. They had only five hits, and Boston scored their four runs in the first three innings.

Roman Anthony led off the game with a home run, then had a two-run single in the second.

Anthony's homer was one of a pair off of Rays' starter Ian Seymour.

The Rays drew nine walks, but they were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They left 12 men on base.

Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda drove in runs on ground outs for the Rays. They each climbed in the RBI race. Caminero is now third with 97 and Aranda sixth with 91,

Chandler Simpson fell four points behind Yonder Alvarez in the batting race at .308.

The Rays and Sox play again today at 4:10 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Freddy Peralta (9-12) is scheduled to start for the Rays against Payton Tolle (9-6).

Friday, 4 a.m.

For four months now, the standings have told you that the Tampa Bay Rays are the best team in the American League.

The number-crunchers will tell you the same.

The Rays made sure the accountants paid attention to their 10-1 victory over the Athletics Thursday. It was their 16th sweep of the season, most in the majors. The team now has a five-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees.

But those aren't the only impressive numbers.

-- Chandler Simpson now leads the AL in batting average (.311) and stolen bases (44).

-- Pitcher Drew Rasmussen has now tied teammate Nick Martinez for third in the majors with 15 wins.

-- Junior Caminero continues to lead the American League with 41 home runs.

-- Bryan Baker continues to lead the majors with 40 saves.

-- Caminero is third in the American League with 96 RBI.

-- Check out the Rays' ranks in overall hits. Diaz and Simpson are 1-2. But Caminero is fourth and Aranda sixth.

-- Rasmussen has the second-best WHIP in the league. He is third in batting average allowed.

Some pretty good numbers, right. Yet the schedule is challenging. The Rays have three games left at home against Boston, four on the road against the Yankees and three on the road against the Phillies.

The Rays burst out of a scoreless game in the fourth inning Thursday. They scored six times, and they had four of their seven hits. Simpson had a two-run single and Richie Palacios had a two-run double in the inning.

The Rays scored two more in the sixth on bases-loaded walks by Taylor Walls and Jonathan Aranda.

The Rays scored two more in the eighth on a single by Liam Hicks.

Both Hicks and Simpson had two hits for the Rays.

The Rays host the Boston Red Sox tonight at 7:10 at Tropicana Field. Ian Seymour (9-6) with start for the Rays against Ranger Saurez (7-4).