ATHENS, GEORGIA – Two out of three ain’t bad.

Georgia is certainly not complaining.

Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes, including a 25-yarder to Justin Scott-Wesley with 1:47 remaining, and the No. 9 Bulldogs rallied to beat No. 6 LSU 44-41 in a thrilling game between Southeastern Conference powerhouses Saturday.

The Bulldogs (3-1, 2-0 SEC) completed their opening-month run through a gauntlet of top teams with a victory that propelled them back into the thick of the national championship race.

“We’ve played some hard teams,” Scott-Wesley said. “It just shows we’re a great team. We can handle anything anybody throws at us.”

Georgia was only the fourth team since the BCS began in 1998 to face three top 10 teams in the first four games of a season. The Bulldogs opened with a 38-35 non-conference loss to Clemson, but came back to beat South Carolina 41-30 and now the Tigers.

“We’ve grown up a lot this past month,” Murray said. “I think everyone in the nation knows what Georgia football is about now. We’re a tough group of guys. We’re fighters.”

About 10 minutes after the game, the team ran back on the field to celebrate with their fans along the famed hedges at Sanford Stadium. Coach Mark Richt gave his wife a big kiss and hug.

Now, the Bulldogs are well-positioned to make a run for their third straight SEC East title and trip to the conference championship game.

LSU (4-1, 1-1) got a career-best 372 yards passing from former Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger in his return to Athens, and the Tigers went ahead 41-37 on Jeremy Hill’s 8-yard touchdown run with 4:14 to go.

But that was plenty of time for Murray and the high-powered Bulldogs on a day when neither defense had much success. He completed three straight passes to quickly move the Bulldogs into LSU territory, and freshman J.J. Green broke off an 18-yard run to the Tigers’ 25. Then it was Scott-Wesley, breaking wide open behind the secondary to haul in a pass and tiptoe just inside the pylon for the winning score.

No. 1 Alabama 25, Mississippi 0: In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, T.J. Yeldon rushed for 121 yards, Kenyan Drake gained 99 and a dominating defense powered Alabama to a victory over Mississippi.

Yeldon scored on a 68-yard run and Drake added a 50-yard scamper to revive a struggling running game for the Crimson Tide (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), which outgained the Rebels 434-205.

Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1) was seeking its first 4-0 start in 43 years but instead was shut out for the first time since Arkansas did it in November 1998.

No. 2 Oregon 55, California 16: In Eugene, Oregon, Marcus Mariota threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and Oregon routed California in the rain-drenched Pac-12 opener for both teams.

Bralon Addison returned two punts for touchdowns and Byron Marshall ran for 130 yards and two more scores for the Ducks (4-0, 1-0).

No. 3 Clemson 56, Wake Forest 7: In Clemson, South Carolina, Tajh Boyd became the second Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback to account for 100 career touchdowns, leading Clemson to the easy win.

No. 4 Ohio State 31, No. 23 Wisconsin 24: In Columbus, Ohio, Braxton Miller matched a career-high with four TD passes in his first game in three weeks and the Buckeyes ran the nation’s longest winning streak to 17 games by beating Wisconsin.

No. 5 Stanford 55, Washington State 17: In Seattle, Kevin Hogan picked apart Washington State, throwing for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and Stanford won its 12th straight with a rout of the Cougars.

No. 8 Florida State 48, Boston College 34: In Boston, Jameis Winston threw for four touchdowns for Florida State, including a 55-yard Hail Mary as time expired in the first half.

No. 10 Texas A&M 45, Arkansas 33: In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Johnny Manziel accounted for 320 total yards of offense and threw two touchdown passes to Mike Evans to help Texas A&M pull away.

West Virginia 30, No. 11 Oklahoma State 21: In Morgantown, West Virginia, Clint Trickett threw a TD pass in his first start at West Virginia, and Ishmael Banks returned an interception for a touchdown.

No. 12 South Carolina 28, Central Florida 25: In Orlando, Florida, Mike Davis rushed for 167 yards and three TDs as South Carolina overcame an injury to its starting quarterback, four turnovers and a halftime deficit to get the win.

No. 14 Oklahoma 35, No. 22 Notre Dame 21: In South Bend, Indiana, Blake Bell threw a 54-yard TD pass to Sterling Shepard in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma jumped to a two-touchdown lead in the opening three minutes.

No. 15 Miami 49, South Florida 21: In Tampa, Florida, Stephen Morris threw for two touchdowns before limping off with an ankle injury and Duke Johnson scored a TD in his eighth consecutive game, helping Miami roll to the win.