Ole Miss 17, No. 6 Florida 14

By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Just when it looked like Florida coach Ron Zook had quieted the skeptics in Gator Nation, Mississippi gave them something new to complain about.

Matt Grier returned the second of his two third-quarter interceptions 24 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, and Mississippi shut out the sixth-ranked Gators in the second half to win 17-14 Saturday.

The Rebels (4-1, 2-0 SEC) defeated a top-10 team for the first time since 1997, when they beat No. 8 LSU on the road. The victory also was one of their biggest ever in Oxford.

"It feels great," Grier said. "Florida is a national team. A win like this brings national attention."

The Gators (4-2, 2-1) found themselves in a defensive struggle as Rex Grossman threw four interceptions. He was 19-of-41 for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Grier's first interception came on Florida's first possession of the second half. He returned it 10 yards to the Florida 18, and three plays later, Vashon Pearson scored from 4 yards out. Eli Manning hit Jason Armstead for the 2-point conversion to cut the Gators' lead to 14-10.

Grier's clincher came when Grossman threw into double-coverage. Grier caught the pass at the Florida 24 and made a nice cutback before vaulting into the end zone to give Ole Miss its first lead, 17-14, with 7:34 left in the third quarter.

Manning was 18-for-33 for 154 yards, and for the first time in his career he didn't throw a touchdown pass as a starter. But he did become the first member of his family to beat the Gators. His brother, Peyton, was 0-4 against Florida while at Tennessee.

"He'll probably be the first one to call me," Eli said of his older brother, now the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback.

Manning's father, Archie, never played the Gators while at Ole Miss.

The Rebels' defense, which allowed 38 points and more than 400 yards to Vanderbilt two weeks ago, bottled up the Gators' big-play threats and gave up only four second-half first downs.

Florida did not have a first down in five third-quarter possessions, and Grossman went 2-for-10 for minus-2 yards.

"In the third quarter, I am not quite sure what went wrong," Grossman said. "It's a team sport, but I didn't do my part to help this team win the game."

Taylor Jacobs had five catches for 80 yards, and Earnest Graham ran for just 52 yards on 16 carries. Neither scored a touchdown or had a play longer than 20 yards.

Gators fans have worried about whether Zook would be able to maintain the success they had become accustomed to under former coach Steve Spurrier. A lopsided loss to Miami early in September gave the doubters plenty of ammunition. Florida gave its coach a big lift with a win at Tennessee, but the team took another big step back Saturday.

"Offensively, I have no concerns," Zook said. "Did we play well? No. Is it correctable? Yes. Sometimes with a new system, you have to get knocked down to get the light turned on."

The Gators contributed to their own problems with 11 penalties. An illegal-man-downfield penalty by Florida wiped out a big gain on pass from Graham to Grossman that would have given the Gators a first down at the Rebels 12 in the fourth quarter. An illegal-formation flag on the same drive led to a fourth-and-13 from the 30.

Zook decided against letting shaky kicker Matt Leach attempt a potential game-tying field goal. Instead, Grossman was sacked by Eddie Strong on the fourth down.

Leach, who is 3-for-5 on field-goal attempts on the season and has missed five extra points, had a 35-yard attempt blocked in the first half.

On the Gators' next possession, Grossman threw his final interception, a pass that floated over the head over Jacobs and into the arms of Travis Blanchard with 2:58 left.

"I feel like Rex is taking all the blame, and he shouldn't," Jacobs said. "I still believe he is the best quarterback in the country."

Florida kept the game close with a strong defensive effort against the Rebels, who had been averaging 35 points a game. The Gators' front stuffed the run and sacked Manning three times, and Ole Miss had just 191 total yards.

Grossman threw two touchdowns to Carlos Perez in the first half, but in between his intentional-grounding penalty under a heavy rush in the end zone gave Ole Miss its first points.

The postgame celebration by the Rebels' fans started a second too soon. Ole Miss tried to let the clock tick to zero without running a final fourth-down play, but officials stopped it with one second left while fans were already pouring onto the field.

It took a few moments to clear the field so Manning could run one more play, take a knee and start the party.

South Carolina 34, Mississippi State 10

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Corey Jenkins kept acting like South Carolina's leader, even after the Gamecocks victory was secure.

Jenkins, the Gamecocks' 26-year-old quarterback, sat with his arm around 20-year-old backup Dondrial Pinkins as cameras flashed and reporters moved in.

South Carolina's 34-10 win over Mississippi State on Saturday may have been over at halftime. But Jenkins wasn't through teaching the younger quarterback, who may have to face the big time as soon as next week.

"We moved the ball up and down the field today, when I was out there, when he was out there," said Jenkins, pointing to Pinkins.

Jenkins threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hart Turner and ran for a 3-yard touchdown as the Gamecocks led 21-0 in the first half. Coach Lou Holtz was pleased his offense looked flawless with Jenkins in charge.

But Jenkins missed most of the last two periods with a left ankle sprain.

"We'll just have to see," said Holtz, getting a jump on his weekly routine of worry.

Jenkins expects to start next week at Kentucky. If he doesn't, he got the message across that Pinkins could do just as well.

"It's not too big of a difference when I'm in the game and when he's in the game," Jenkins said. "We both run, we both throw, we both read. It's kind of the same guy in there."

Mississippi State defenders certainly agreed.

Linebacker T.J. Mawhinney said he didn't really see a difference between the two quarterbacks. "I didn't even know (Jenkins) went out at one point," Mawhinney said.

Maybe Mawhinney was shellshocked after Jenkins' performance the past two games with the Bulldogs.

As a little-used backup quarterback in 2001, Jenkins rushed for 75 yards and led South Carolina to its decisive field-goal drive in a 16-14 win at Mississippi State.

Jenkins didn't need any late-game surprises this time.

He had a 16-yard run as part of an 89-yard first-quarter drive that ended with Andrew Pinnock's 1-yard touchdown.

The next possession, Jenkins ran into receiver Ryan Brewer after the snap, stayed up, looked around and found wide-open tight end Hart Turner for a 26-yard touchdown.

Two series later, Jenkins stretched the ball across the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Gamecocks ahead 21-0. The touchdown was set up when safety DeAndre Eiland picked up a fumble by fullback Justin Griffith _ the first of five Bulldog turnovers _ and returned it 32 yards.

Jenkins, who was a former first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox, finished 5-of-10 passing for 103 yards and also ran for 52 yards.

"I'm always ready for Mississippi State," Jenkins said. "There was a little trash talking so they played dirty. They were grabbing ankles."

Pinkins completed 5-of-9 passes for 45 yards. He had 50 yards rushing. "With Corey's ankle problems, it felt good to step in and do what I was asked to do," he said.

It has been a disappointing season for Mississippi State, whose only win came against Division I-AA Jacksonville State. The Bulldogs' offense ranked 11th in the SEC entering the game, and their run defense ranked 100th in Division I-A.

Those problems continued at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Bulldogs went three-and-out on their first three series. They didn't get a first down until 12:24 to go before halftime. And they allowed the Gamecocks 158 yards rushing by the end of the half.

Kevin Fant threw for 194 yards, but much of that came on back-to-back completions of 27 yards to Griffith and 54 yards to Terrell Grindle that set up the Bulldogs' only touchdown.

The last blow came with 1:53 left, when the stadium's public-address announcer let the remaining crowd know that Ole Miss, Mississippi State's heated rival, had pulled off a 17-14 upset of Florida.

"We started the season where you had a chance to be better," Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill said. "Everything's got to change."

Senior linebacker Mario Haggan said a lot of coaches' jobs were on the line this season. The season "continues to go downhill," Haggan said. "We need to keep playing, keep practicing and turn it around."

No. 7 Georgia 27, No. 22 Alabama 25

By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- In the end, the smallest man on the field showed just how tough Georgia really is.

Billy Bennett kicked a 32-yard field goal with 38 seconds left as the seventh-ranked Bulldogs blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead and recovered to beat No. 22 Alabama 27-25 Saturday.

"I was just thinking that we do this in practice everyday," the 5-foot-8, 168-pound Bennett said. "I saw time running down and I thought, 'Oh goodness, this is coming down to me.'"

Thomas Davis picked off Brodie Croyle's pass on the next play from scrimmage to seal the win for Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC), the last remaining unbeaten team in the conference.

The Bulldogs are off to their first 5-0 start since 1982 and snapped a seven-game losing streak in Tuscaloosa.

"It's just a great victory," coach Mark Richt said. "I'm proud to be with a group of men that made some history here."

The Crimson Tide (4-2, 1-1 SEC) scored two touchdowns in a 63-second span midway through the fourth to take their first lead, 25-24, with 8:24 left. Croyle was stopped short on the subsequent 2-point conversion, but wasn't sure he didn't make it.

"That's the ref's opinion," the redshirt freshman said. "I had to have been pretty close."

The Bulldogs couldn't get anything going on their next possession. But the Tide couldn't get a first down either, thanks in part to a sack by David Pollack, who earlier had blocked a field goal attempt.

Damien Gary's 15-yard punt return gave Georgia the ball back at the Alabama 34 with 3:45 to play.

The Bulldogs' Musa Smith rushed six straight times for 19 yards against the SEC's top run defense, setting up Bennett's kick.

Earlier in the week, former Auburn coach and Georgia All-American Pat Dye had said the Bulldogs weren't "man enough to beat Alabama."

Instead, the Bulldogs outrushed the league's top running team 161-109, behind Smith's 21 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown. Alabama had averaged 318 yards on the ground its past three games.

"What he said helped motivate us some," Richt said of Dye's remarks. "It does help a little bit when you're tired and want to quit and your manhood's questioned."

Georgia's David Greene was picked off twice but still hit Terrance Edwards for a 37-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth to make it 24-12. He finished 15-of-27 for 224 yards.

He was victimized by an unusual interception to cap Alabama's rapid-fire comeback. First, Croyle faked the handoff to Shaud Williams, then leaped over Bruce Thornton across the goal line to cut it to 24-19 with 9:27 left. Two plays later, Fred Gibson bobbled a pass, Charlie Peprah swiped it out of the air and raced 35 yards for a touchdown.

"I stole it and just went to the house," Peprah said. "I just thought, 'We need to put them away.'"

Greene had taken charge late in the third after Smith did much of the early damage.

The sophomore completed 4 of 5 passes for 87 yards and wasn't fazed by an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. Gary caught a 17-yard pass on third-and-10 but then celebrated a bit too much while facing the Georgia fans. Greene hit Edwards down the left sideline for the touchdown on the next play.

Croyle was 16-of-29 for 197 yards with a touchdown in his second start for the injured Tyler Watts.

Tailbacks Shaud Williams and Santonio Beard ran for just 44 and 30 yards, respectively.

"We never got in rhythm offensively. And they kept us off-balance with their great running game," Alabama coach Dennis Franchione said.

The Bulldogs appeared determined early to answer the pregame questions about their toughness, running the 226-pound Smith right at the strength of Alabama's defense and taking a 14-3 lead. Smith gained 86 first-half yards against the Tide, who came in ranked seventh nationally in both rushing offense and defense.

Smith capped Georgia's opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown.

He got his second wind on the last drive, keeping the ball in the middle of the field for Bennett.

"I wish we had two Musas," Richt said. "He got a little fatigued. We had to give him some fluids, but he was man enough to come back."

No. 21 LSU 48, Louisiana-Lafayette 0

By MARY FOSTER
AP Sports Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- LSU beat Louisiana-Lafayette easily Saturday night. That's not to say they had no trouble in the game.

Matt Mauck threw three first-half touchdown passes to lead No. 21 LSU past Louisiana-Lafayette 48-0, but the Tigers may have lost running back LaBrandon Toefield for the rest of the season.

Toefield broke his left arm in the first quarter.

"We have not yet decided what we want to do," LSU coach Nick Saban said. "Probably the best way to fix it is to do surgery on it."

Saban said the decision will be made Sunday.

Toefield, who made the Southeastern Conference first-team last season, tore a ligament in his left knee in the SEC championship game and had offseason surgery. He missed spring practice, but was ready for the regular season.

LSU (4-1) allowed the overmatched Ragin' Cajuns just six first downs in the game. Louisiana-Lafayette had 17 yards rushing and 53 yards passing. The Tigers had 205 yards rushing, 154 passing.

"It's time for us to start playing some teams that are offensively potent," linebacker Bradie James said.

Louisiana-Lafayette (1-4) has been outscored 542-0 in the last 10 meetings with LSU. The last time they played was 1938.

"We won 48-0," Mauck said. "You can't be too upset. You can't be too critical."

The only time Louisiana-Lafayette reached LSU's side of the field in the first half was when they recovered a fumble on the Tigers' 44 late in the first quarter. The Cajuns fumbled it back to LSU on the next play. Nine plays later, Domanick Davis ran for a 1-yard score -- the Tigers fourth of the game and the first of the second quarter -- to make it 27-0.

"We just did not execute like we should," Lafayette quarterback Jon Van Cleave said. "We had a few protection breakdowns and a couple of drops. If you put those together, you're not going to get to move the ball very far."

Louisiana-Lafayette only got the ball beyond the 50 three times in the game.

LSU scored on its first three possessions. Mauck threw a 20-yard TD pass to Devery Henderson less than three minutes into the game. He also threw two TD passes to Michael Clayton to make it 21-0 in the first quarter.

LSU added more points on a 10-yard run by Joseph Addai and Davis scored again on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to make it 41-0 at halftime.

It is the most first-half points for LSU since the Tigers scored 42 against Akron on Sept. 27, 1997.

Mauck completed 8 of 19 passes for 138 yards. He was replaced on LSU's second possession of the third quarter by Marcus Randall, who went 2-of-4 for 16 yards.

Addai put LSU up 48-0 in the third quarter on a 34-yard run.

Davis, who played only in the first half, finished with 50 yards rushing on 15 carries and scored twice.

Addai had 98 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and 50 yards on two receptions.

Derace James blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt by LSU in the fourth quarter. Ivan Taylor recovered it for the Cajuns and returned it 32 yards to the LSU 40. But Eric Rekieta, who took over for Van Cleave in the third quarter, was sacked twice, and they were forced to punt.

Van Cleave went 6-of-20 for 46 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked four times. Rekieta completed 2 of 6 passes for 7 yards. He was sacked twice.

No. 10 Tennessee 41, Arkansas 38 (6 OT)

By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS
AP Sports Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said a lack of discipline and youthful mistakes were keeping the No. 10 Volunteers from playing their best. He had nothing to complain about Saturday night.

Jason Witten caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Casey Clausen in the sixth overtime to give Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) an exhausting 41-38 win over Arkansas.

"This is the type of game that jells a football team. I am excited about the way we played," he said. "We had the heart and the guts to take it to them."

For the Razorbacks (2-2, 0-2), who beat Mississippi 58-57 in a record-setting seven-overtime game last season, it was a heart-wrenching loss.

They pushed into the final overtime but had to settle for a 47-yard field goal by David Carlton in the sixth OT before the Vols got their last chance.

"When it went into overtime, I said, 'This is our game. We're ready,"' Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "This was bitter, bitter. There were a lot of times we outplayed them."

The teams kicked field goals in the first two overtimes and were held scoreless in the third.

Arkansas finally scored a touchdown in the next OT, on Matt Jones' run, but the Razorbacks couldn't get the 2-point conversion. Under NCAA rules, teams must go for 2 points after touchdowns starting with the third overtime.

Tennessee scored a touchdown on Clausen's 25-yard pass to Tony Brown, but the Vols also failed on the 2-point conversion.

Jabari Davis, who scored two TDs in regulation, ran from 12 yards out to start the fifth overtime. He fumbled, but the ball was recovered in the end zone by Troy Fleming. Clausen was then stopped on the conversion attempt. De'Arrius Howard scored a TD for Arkansas, whose pass attempt was intercepted by Tennessee's Julian Battle at the goal line.

Arkansas scored two touchdowns in a 4 1/2-minute span of regulation to tie the game at 17 with 3:30 to go.

The Razorbacks trailed 17-3 after Davis scored on a 58-yard touchdown run a minute into the fourth quarter. Arkansas got the ball back, drove 60 yards and scored when Howard ran 10 yards.

The Vols were pushed back, penalized and had to punt on fourth-and-17.

Standing at his own 8, Jones passed to Richard Smith at the 40, and Smith ran down the sideline untouched to the end zone for a 92-yard touchdown to tie it.

"The coaches have told us never to quit, and we were down seven at our own 8, I kept thinking about that," Jones said.

Clausen completed 19 of 28 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

Jones, who couldn't find many open receivers, ran 21 times for 66 yards. Arkansas' leading rusher, Cedric Cobbs, left the game in the third quarter with a twisted left ankle.

The Razorbacks, who have lost five straight games in Knoxville since 1992, continued to rely heavily on the run but couldn't score a touchdown until Howard's 10-yard run cut Tennessee's lead to 17-10 with 6:56 remaining.

Tennessee came into the game averaging 129.5 yards on the ground -- 10th out of 12 SEC teams -- and was determined to improve despite its leading rusher, Cedric Houston, sitting out with a torn ligament in his left thumb.

The Vols pounded away at Arkansas' defense with Davis, starting in place of Houston, carrying 25 times for 135 yards. Tennessee finished with 162 yards on 47 attempts.