Auburn 31, LSU 7

By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Auburn's offense made the big plays when it needed them most. The defense dominated up front and forced five turnovers.

In other words, Auburn did to Louisiana State what LSU had been doing to just about everyone else this season.

Ronnie Brown ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns in place of injured tailback Carnell Williams as Auburn defeated No. 10 LSU 31-7 Saturday.

Auburn's performance featured everything the Tigers (5-3, 3-2 SEC) had failed to do in their previous two games, when they gave up 68 combined points in losses to Arkansas and Florida.

"Today was just a tremendous effort by the whole team," coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We played great all four quarters, made the big plays and got some key turnovers. It was the best effort since I've been here, on both sides of the ball."

LSU's Tigers (6-2, 3-1) managed just 242 total yards. Quarterback Marcus Randall threw four interceptions -- including three in his first five passes -- and completed just 9 of 20 for 79 yards.

"We turned the ball over too many times to be successful," LSU coach Nick Saban said. "We never had good field position, and that really hurt us. "When you give that many points away and that much field position, it makes it difficult to win ballgames. There is no excuse."

Jason Campbell, making his first start of the season for Auburn since he took over for a struggling Daniel Cobb, completed 7 of 11 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 37 more against the nation's top-ranked defense.

LSU, which had won six straight and won its first three SEC games by an average of 24 points, didn't score until midway through the fourth quarter.

Randall, making his second start for the injured Matt Mauck, was constantly forced into making mistakes. Travaris Robinson set up Auburn's first touchdown with a 64-yard interception return, and Karlos Dansby set up the Tigers' last score with a 60-yard return.

LSU's Domanick Davis, the nation's leading punt returner, was limited to one return for 9 yards. He ran 14 times for just 42 yards.

"We forced them to throw the football, and we knew we needed to take (Davis) out of the game and we did," Tuberville said. "We held him to 42 yards, and I would have never believed that would happen going into today. "Our young defensive line gave them fits all day."

In the fourth quarter, Auburn fans chanted "LSWho" and the inevitable "overrated." Last season, LSU ended Auburn's SEC championship hopes in the regular-season finale.

LSU, which came in allowing 11 points and 217 yards a game, trailed 17-0 at halftime, mainly because it couldn't hold onto the ball -- starting with the first snap. Each of the four early turnovers gave Auburn the ball in LSU territory. The miscues were surprising, considering LSU went two games without committing a turnover and five without throwing an interception.

"I don't think we played like the LSU Tigers," Saban said.

Auburn quickly added to the lead in the third quarter when Campbell hit Robert Johnson on a 3-yard scoring pass to fulfill the team's second-half goal.

"We just kept saying that over and over again: 'Make sure we don't come out relaxed and lose our momentum,"' said Campbell, who set up the score with a 48-yard completion to Devin Aromashodu.

Brown, who had a 5-yard score early, ran for a 20-yard TD on third-and-goal with 11:14 left in the fourth.

"We felt like we could swap them turnover-for-score, like they did us," LSU cornerback Randall Gay said. "We just got beat in all phases."

Vanderbilt 28, Connecticut 24

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson says each week his wife asks him to put away his opponent in the first quarter so she doesn't have to worry.

Catherine Johnson had plenty to worry about Saturday.

Jay Cutler scored his second touchdown of the day with 1:14 remaining to propel Vanderbilt past Connecticut 28-24. It was Vanderbilt's first victory over a Division I-A opponent since Bobby Johnson became coach.

"I would love to (put a game away early)," Johnson said. "Today, we weren't able to do that."

The Commodores (2-6) snapped a five-game losing streak while Connecticut (2-6) dropped its third straight game.

Cutler completed 11 of 18 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 54 yards. Kwane Doster overcame two first-half fumbles and ran for 109 yards on 24 carries.

Connecticut's Terry Caulley ran for 95 yards and a pair of 8-yard touchdowns, and Dan Orlovsky was 21-for-32 for 220 yards and a touchdown.

Vanderbilt was forced to rally twice in the fourth quarter, as the Huskies took leads of 17-14 and 24-21. The Commodores were able to answer both times with touchdowns.

"We made the plays in the second half that we had to, especially in the fourth quarter," Johnson said. "In order to win, we have to put ourselves in that position more often and today we got there."

Connecticut led 24-21 and had the ball with 4:14 remaining, but Vanderbilt's defense forced the Huskies to punt from their own 5-yard line. An 11-yard punt return by Grant Brigham set up the Commodores' winning drive from the Connecticut 29-yard line.

Cutler said rallying in the fourth quarter has been a problem in several games.

"We just can't close out games," Cutler said. "Today, we got great field position. The defense did a great job down there."

With 41 seconds remaining, Jonathan Shaub sealed the game with an interception.

"The coaches always tell us we have to step up and make the big play," Shaub said. "It just happened to be me this week."

Connecticut took a 24-21 lead with 6:56 to play when Orlovsky tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Collins. The play capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive.

"We just can't seem to get over the hump sometimes," said Connecticut coach Randy Edsall. "We are getting closer and hopefully we will get one of these games in the fourth quarter."

Vanderbilt opened the second half with a 76-yard touchdown drive. Capped with a 13-yard touchdown run by Cutler, the score gave Vanderbilt its first lead of the day, 14-10.

The Huskies took a 10-7 halftime lead by taking advantage of a Vanderbilt miscue. A running-into-the-kicker penalty on Vanderbilt kept alive a Connecticut drive that ended with a 44-yard field goal by Marc Hickok with 47 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The penalty wasn't the only Vanderbilt mistake of the first half. The Commodores fumbled twice and missed a 46-yard field goal.

Arkansas 48, Mississippi 28

By DOUGLAS PILS
AP Sports Writer

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- The final score in Arkansas' victory over Mississippi was no coincidence to Pervis Osborne.

The Razorbacks defeated mistake-prone Ole Miss 48-28 on Saturday, in their first game following the arrest of co-captain Jermaine Brooks on weapons and drug charges.

Brooks, a senior defensive lineman, wore No. 48 before being suspended this week after the arrest. Still, 48 was everywhere against the Rebels.

Osborne, Jason Peters and other defensive players proudly wore the number on sweatbands wrapped tightly around their wrists and forearms.

"We told coach we were going to go out and play hard and win this one for J.B.," said Peters, who displayed his drenched sweatband on his locker room shelf. "We went out there and played for him today."

"Why do you think we scored 48 points today?," Osborne said.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said he didn't mind players using Brooks as motivation to break a two-game home losing streak. The win not only keeps the Razorbacks (4-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) in contention for a bowl bid but also for the SEC West title.

"I think it was great. I love J.B., but he just made a terrible decision," Nutt said. "They had five years with him. He never tested positive and he's been nothing but positive and a great kid. I would expect them to do that."

Arkansas' defense spent most of the game on the field despite five turnovers by Mississippi (5-3, 2-2) resulting in 24 points.

The Rebels ran 81 plays to Arkansas' 56 and Eli Manning had the second-best passing day in school history, completing 42 of 56 for 414 yards. Manning's father, Archie, still holds the school mark with 436 yards against Alabama in 1969.

However, two of his three turnovers resulted in 10 points for Arkansas in the first half.

Ole Miss missed an opportunity to tie LSU, which lost 31-7 to Auburn, for the SEC West lead. LSU (6-1, 3-1) leads Auburn (5-3, 3-2) by a half-game and Ole Miss by a game.

The Razorbacks' special teams scored twice on fumbled kickoffs by Ronald McClendon. Lerinezo Robinson returned the first McClendon fumble 8 yards to give Arkansas a 10-2 lead. Thomas Crowder recovered the second in the end zone to put the Razorbacks up 41-14 midway through the third quarter.

"After the game I felt like I was hit like a Mack truck because I felt responsible for the loss," McClendon said.

Fred Talley ran for 136 yards, his third straight 100-yard game for Arkansas.

"Our offensive line really stepped it up today," said Talley, who moved into third place in Arkansas history with 10 100-yard games. "They made great holes to run through."

Seconds before Crowder's recovery gave Arkansas, Talley broke a 63-yard run to set up a 5-yard TD by De'Arrius Howard. Howard added a 38-yard touchdown run.

Howard's first touchdown followed the Rebels' first drive of the second half -- a 12-play, 73-yard effort that netted only a 25-yard field goal by Jonathan Nichols.

Rebels went in front 2-0 when Matt Jones was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone, but Arkansas went up 10-2 with the help of two Ole Miss fumbles.

David Carlton's 29-yard field goal gave the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead following Elliott Harris' recovery of a fumble by Manning.

On the ensuing kickoff, Arkansas' Jimarr Gallon drove his helmet into McClendon at the 22. The ball sailed 10 yards backward where Robinson scooped it up and went in for the touchdown.

Nichols' 47-yard field goal left Ole Miss trailing 10-5, but Manning made another mistake in his next possession. Rolling right and pressured by Brandon Holmes, Manning forced a sideline pass that was intercepted by Jimmy Beasley.

"We gave them a lot of opportunities today," Manning said. "We didn't get off to a good start and were forced to pass the ball, but we couldn't get it going until late."

Jones followed with an option keeper from 34 yards out to give Arkansas a 17-5 lead.

Manning responded to the touchdown by leading a 10-play, 85-yard drive capped by senior tight end Justin Sawyer's first career catch -- a 12-yard touchdown pass.

Arkansas punt returner DeCori Birmingham had two returns for a combined 84 yards to set up 10 points in the final two minutes of the first half.

The first return, for 29 yards, set up a 37-yard field goal by Carlton with 1:43 left before half. The Razorbacks forced a punt with 20 seconds left in the half and Birmingham returned it 55 yards to the Ole Miss 22.

Jones hit George Wilson at the goal line for a 22-yard touchdown on the first play.

Manning padded his statistics in the fourth quarter, throwing a 20-yard touchdown to Chris Collins and scoring on a 1-yard sneak after a 47-yard completion to Collins.

No. 5 Georgia 52, Kentucky 24

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Georgia played without three of its best players on offense, and it was hard to tell the Bulldogs missed them.

David Greene and D.J. Shockley combined to throw a school-record six touchdown passes Saturday, sending the No. 5 Bulldogs to a 52-24 rout of Kentucky.

The Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) produced 529 total yards despite missing leading rusher Musa Smith, second-leading receiver Fred Gibson and offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb. All were injured last week against Vanderbilt.

"It made other guys step up and make big plays. This is the best game our offense has played," said Greene, a sophomore who improved to 7-0 as a road starter.

Georgia quarterbacks had never even thrown five touchdown passes in a game. They had thrown four touchdown passes 10 times, the last time in a 45-7 win over Northwestern State on Sept. 21.

Greene finished 16-of-32 for 251 yards and four touchdowns, and Shockley went 10-of-14 for 102 yards and two more scores.

Georgia coach Mark Richt replaced Greene with the more mobile Shockley about every third possession and the system worked without a hitch.

"It was perfect," Richt said. "I believed both players could play and they both had great performances. I'm thankful they both played well on the same day."

Terrence Edwards caught five passes for 127 yards, becoming Georgia's career leader in receptions. He also had three touchdown catches.

The Bulldogs are trying to win their first conference title since 1982, when they started 11-0 and lost to Penn State in the Sugar Bowl. They can clinch the SEC East with a win over Florida next week.

"We still haven't done anything," Richt said. "Our goal is the SEC East and it's not in our hands yet."

Kentucky (5-3, 1-3) lost to a Top 10 opponent for the 40th straight time.

Jared Lorenzen, who had thrown for a combined 905 yards in his previous two games against Georgia, started 6-of-7 but finished 13-of-27 for 208 yards.

Georgia beat Kentucky for the sixth straight time, but by the widest margin since a 40-7 win in 1992. The previous four meetings in Lexington were decided by an average of four points.

"We knew we could play with this team. We've done it the last two years, but we didn't make plays," Kentucky cornerback Derrick Tatum said. "They were rolling and we were giving them chance after chance to make plays. We couldn't stop them."

Kentucky scored first for the seventh time in eight games on Artose Pinner's 33-yard touchdown run 2:23 into the first quarter. Greene threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Damien Gary two minutes later.

Lorenzen was 4-for-4 on Kentucky's second possession, and Aaron Boone made a diving catch in the end zone to put Kentucky up 14-7. Shockley replaced Greene for Georgia's third possession, and promptly led an 80-yard touchdown drive.

Pinner, who ran for only 10 yards against Georgia last season, ran for 53 yards on Kentucky's next drive to set up Taylor Begley's 24-yard field goal.

Greene returned in the second quarter and drove the Bulldogs for their first lead. Edwards made a diving catch in the end zone with 13:34 left in the half. After a Georgia punt, Lorenzen heaved a pass to Derek Abney, who fought off Georgia cornerback DeMario Minter for a 60-yard touchdown.

Georgia retook the lead for good on Greene's 41-yard touchdown pass to Edwards 2:32 into the third quarter. It was Edwards' 182nd career reception, tying the school record set by Brice Hunter (1982-85).

Edwards set the record with a 22-yard reception on Georgia's next drive. He caught a 12-yard touchdown pass a minute later.

The Wildcats had 271 yards at halftime, but mustered only 29 yards and two first downs in the decisive third quarter.

"The only thing that changed was Georgia," Kentucky coach Guy Morriss said. "They came out and hammered us."

The Bulldogs sacked Lorenzen four times in the first three quarters after sacking him just twice in their previous two games with Kentucky.

Shockley returned midway through the third quarter and his 8-yard touchdown pass to Gary with 2:25 left in the period was Georgia's sixth TD pass. Ronnie Powell added a 1-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left in the game.

"I don't know that anything we would've done in the second half would've mattered," Morriss said. "We couldn't cover anybody. They just have the horses."

No. 19 Alabama 34, No. 16 Tennessee 14

By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS
AP Sports Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Alabama's seniors can't go to a bowl game, but they can at least say they helped end the Crimson Tide's seven-game losing streak against Tennessee.

Vols' Washington Misses Game With Injury KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee receiver Kelley Washington was kept out of Saturday night's game with No. 19 Alabama because of a head injury two weeks ago. Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said after the 34-14 loss that the decision was made Friday because only 95 percent of Washington's symptoms had cleared. "We didn't want to risk it," Fulmer said. The announcement that he would not play was made before Saturday night's game. Washington, who leads the No. 16 Volunteers with 23 catches for 443 yards, hit his head on the turf when he was tackled Oct. 12 during an 18-13 loss at Georgia. Fulmer said at the time Washington had a slight concussion but was fine. Washington practiced every day the last two weeks, showing no visible effects of a head injury and saying he hoped the coaches would find more ways for him to handle the ball. He had just three catches for 32 yards at Georgia. Washington was not included on Tennessee's medical list for the Alabama game. He did not participate in pregame warmups and ran onto the field without shoulder pads and his helmet. Washington missed the Vols' first two games because of a sprained right knee.

Santonio Beard ran for two touchdowns, and the 19th-ranked Tide took advantage of six turnovers to beat the 16th-ranked Volunteers 34-14 Saturday night.

Alabama (6-2, 3-1 SEC), banned from postseason play because of NCAA probation, hadn't beaten Tennessee (4-3, 1-3) since 1994, when former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning was a freshman. It was the Vols' worst home loss since a 31-0 defeat to Florida that same season.

"This is great for the seniors, because they always talk about winning the next time or the next year. And in our last chance, we pulled it out," said Alabama defensive end Kindal Moorehead, a senior.

All Alabama needed was its strong running game, led by Beard and Shaud Williams. Of course, the Vols helped immensely with their mistakes.

Not even the return of quarterback Casey Clausen, who missed the last game with a shoulder injury, could help Tennessee. Clausen was hurt Oct. 5 against Arkansas and returned to practice this week.

"Casey played his rear off. There were a lot of guys who played hard, but we're not disciplined and not very functional" on offense, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said.

The Vols were held to 59 yards rushing and 222 total yards, while Alabama ran for 172 yards and passed for 128.

"I told our team all week that they were better than Tennessee. They needed to come in confident," Alabama coach Dennis Franchione said. "They didn't need an out-of-body experience. They didn't need to do anything extraordinary."

Tennessee's struggles started early when Clausen fumbled a lateral to Derrick Tinsley. Alabama's Gerald Dixon recovered it and ran 66 yards down the sideline for a touchdown with 11:23 to go in the first quarter.

The Tide never trailed.

Beard scored his first touchdown with 52 seconds left before halftime, after Clausen's pass was intercepted by Charles Jones in the end zone. Alabama capped an 80-yard drive with Beard's 10-yard run.

Beard, who led Alabama in rushing with 65 yards on 16 carries, particularly enjoyed winning in his home state.

"This is for all the seniors that have been here four or five years and have never beaten the University of Tennessee," he said. "I'm from Nashville, but I've loved Alabama all my life. It feels great to come back home and beat Tennessee."

Clausen's second interception led to another Alabama score in the third quarter. Waine Bacon tipped Clausen's pass, and Ahmad Childress returned it 24 yards to the Tennessee 40.

On the third play, Brodie Croyle was being tackled and appeared to be down when he tossed the ball to Beard, who ran 18 yards to the Tennessee 8.

Fulmer argued the call, but it held up. Still, Alabama settled for Kyle Robinson's 27-yard field goal, and the Tide led just 17-7 with 8:42 left in the third quarter. Robinson added a 21-yarder at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Alabama got a break late in the third quarter when Tennessee's Gibril Wilson was called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Tide the ball at the Tennessee 2. Alabama went ahead 24-7 on the next play when Tyler Watts kept the ball and ran into the end zone.

Tennessee's offense seemed to get worse as the game went on, while the defense kept the game close.

The Vols finally sustained a scoring drive in the third quarter when Leonard Scott ran 13 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 24-14 with 1:46 left. Despite two penalties, Clausen kept the drive going with a 32-yard pass over the middle to Jonathan Wade.

Tennessee receiver Kelley Washington didn't play because of a slight concussion he received at Georgia on Oct. 12, coach Phillip Fulmer said.

Washington, who leads the Vols with 23 catches for 443 yards, showed no apparent effects of the injury and practiced every day since hitting his head on the turf when he was tackled.

Tennessee, which lost three of five fumbles in the first half, was held scoreless until Mark Jones returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown with 39 seconds left before halftime.