No. 12 Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 8

By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Alabama had a big advantage in time of possession against Vanderbilt, which only made life easier for the Crimson Tide defense.

Tyler Watts threw for 176 yards and ran for a touchdown, and the 12th-ranked Tide used a dominant defense to beat Vanderbilt 30-8 Saturday for their 18th straight victory in this series.

The Crimson Tide, the SEC's best team at playing keepaway, held the ball for more than 36 minutes and rolled up 428 yards of offense with 76 plays. The nation's fourth-best defense held the Commodores to a season-low 162 yards and forced two turnovers.

"We were efficient," Alabama coach Dennis Franchione said. "Our defense was relentless, and we were solid in the kicking game."

Alabama (7-2, 4-1 SEC), which a week earlier got its 750th victory, assured Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5) of its 20th consecutive losing season. The Tide improved to 41-2 against Vanderbilt since 1961 and has not lost to the Commodores in Nashville since 1969.

Defensive tackle Ahmad Childress said Franchione talked all week of playing mature and hard, no matter the opponent.

"I felt like we were in control all day. Vanderbilt is a good team, but we came out with the feeling that we weren't going to give up anything."

Vanderbilt started with extra defenders close to the line, trying to stop Alabama's rushing offense.

Watts responded by completing all five of his passes for 48 yards on the opening drive for 48 yards. He capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive by running up the middle for 9 yards and a 7-0 lead that gave Alabama all the momentum needed.

"We were very balanced," said Watts, who ran 14 times for 55 yards. "When you have success running and passing, it's fun to play the game."

Alabama sputtered occasionally on offense, going three-and-out twice in the first half. The Tide, which led 13-0 at halftime, also had to settle for field goals of 36, 22 and 42 yards by Kyle Robinson.

It was more than enough against Vanderbilt, which lost its 14th straight SEC game.

First-year Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said his Commodores hurt themselves with missed assignments and mental errors.

"I'll probably be saying this for years to come, but you can't help the other team. They are good enough already," he said.

Brodie Croyle added a 41-yard TD pass to Dre Fulghum in the fourth quarter. Watts was 15-of-21 passing. Croyle completed five of nine passes for 94 yards.

The Commodores entered the game with the nation's 25th-best rushing offense, averaging 205.5 yards. They managed only 46 yards of total offense in the first half and just 46 yards rushing for the game. Their seven completed passes were the fewest since October 1998, when they matched that in a loss to Texas Christian, whose coach was Franchione.

"Our defense had another good day at the office," Franchione said.

Vanderbilt's decision to defer to the second half after winning the coin toss sums up the program's luck. The Commodores went three-and-out on their first drive in the third quarter, then Greg Johnson, the nation's fifth-best punter, shanked a 29-yarder.

Alabama got the ball at its own 40 and methodically went 54 yards in 12 plays before Shaud Williams scored on a 9-yard run for a 20-0 lead midway through the third period.

Vanderbilt avoided the shutout late when Jay Cutler found Dan Stricker in the end zone for a 10-yard TD pass.

The victory was Alabama's fourth straight on the road in the SEC, something the Tide hadn't done since 1999.

Arkansas 23, Troy State 0

By DOUGLAS PILS
AP Sports Writer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Bo Mosley plays a reserve role in Arkansas' defensive secondary, but he has become a special teams star.

Mosley scored on a blocked punt return for second time this season and he capped a 23-0 victory over Troy State on Saturday with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.

As much as the Razorbacks (5-3) struggled offensively on Saturday -- just 125 yards and six first downs -- maybe the Osceola junior should start logging time on offense, too. He now has as many touchdowns as running backs Fred Talley (1) and Cedric Cobbs (2) combined.

"This feels real good," said Mosley, who also blocked a punt. "We just came out of the gate and said we weren't going to let them score on us."

While Arkansas struggled to get anything going on a cold, rainy day, the Trojans (3-7) were equally inept. The Razorbacks held Troy State to 142 yards and 14 first downs.

The Trojans were shut out for the first time in 230 games, going back to a 17-0 loss to Mississippi College on Oct. 1, 1983.

"I'm really proud of our defense," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "They came ready to play. This team hasn't been shut our in 230 games, so our defense deserves a lot of credit."

It was Arkansas' first shutout since beating Southwest Missouri State 38-0 to start the 2000 season.

The Trojans fired offensive coordinator John Shannon three weeks ago after an 11-8 loss to Mississippi State. New coordinator Mike Turk devised a plan that kept the ball for 37 minutes, but Troy State crossed the Arkansas 40 just once and that possession ended with a bad snap that squelched a 41-yard field goal attempt.

"We killed ourselves today by not scoring points," said Trojans tailback LeBarron Black, who gained just 40 yards on 16 carries a week after a 189-yard performance in a win over Florida Atlantic. "It is the same old problem with us; we just can't get it in the end zone. If we had any consistency on offense, we would be a good team."

Arkansas couldn't develop any consistency on offense either, scoring just 10 points on its own. The Razorbacks' only offensive touchdown -- a 10-yard pass from Matt Jones to George Wilson -- came four plays after a Troy State fumble at its 32.

Despite their record, the Trojans came into the game with the ninth-ranked defense in the nation, allowing 281.7 yards per game, and Saturday's effort will drop that number to 260 yards per game.

Arkansas netted just 65 yards rushing on 30 carries, its worst regular-season rushing game since being held to 19 yards in a 13-3 loss to Tennessee last year. The Razorbacks were held to 37 yards against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl last year.

"They really overloaded the line of scrimmage," Nutt said. "They brought their free safety up as well as their strong safety. There is a reason that they are the No. 9 defense in the country. You have to give them credit."

Arkansas didn't make a first down until 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. The Razorbacks wasted two first-quarter drives inside the Troy State 40 and two second-half drives starting near midfield.

Arkansas led 16-0 with 3:38 left in the game when Mosley iced the game with his third interception of the season.

"I knew he was going to take a three-step drop to try to get the first down and I just jumped and picked it off," Mosley said.

Arkansas took its 16-0 lead on David Carlton's 27-yard field goal with 9:44 left in the third quarter. The nine-play drive was the Razorbacks' longest of the day.

Troy State held the ball for 11:01 of the second quarter, but only managed 31 yards.

The Trojans fumbled a third-and-3 opportunity to let Arkansas take a two-score lead late in the second quarter. Quarterback Hansell Bearden's option pitch never made it to DeWhitt Betterson and Jeb Huckeba recovered at the Trojans 32 with 2:12 left before halftime.

Jones' touchdown pass to Wilson was set up by Fred Talley's 16-yard run. The senior tailback finished with just 20 yards rushing after gaining 559 yards in the previous three games.

The Razorbacks wasted two chances for more points in the first quarter. Arkansas was forced to punt after Mosley's blocked punt gave it the ball at the Troy State 28.

The Razorbacks also couldn't capitalize on DeCori Birmingham's 30-yard punt return to the 39. Troy State's David Philyaw intercepted Jones' overthrow of fullback Mark Pierce to end that drive.

In between the missed opportunities, Mosley gave Arkansas a 7-0 lead. Two false start penalties forced Troy State to punt from its 8. Thomas Crowder blocked Thomas Olmsted's attempt and Mosley recovered it in the end zone with 5:10 remaining in the first quarter.

"They were deep in the end zone and anytime they're that deep, we're going to try to go get it," Mosley said. "Tom Crowder and our whole punt return team did a good job of going to get it and I just fell on it."

At the time, neither team had a first down and their six drives had traveled backward 16 yards thanks to 32 yards in penalties.

Auburn 31, Mississippi 24

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- With 1:52 left, Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning could have tucked the ball away and run toward the Auburn goal line. He thought better of it.

Bad decision.

Travaris Robinson caught Manning's third interception of the second half in the end zone Saturday to seal Auburn's 31-24 victory over Ole Miss.

After being flushed from the pocket, Manning hesitated at the line of scrimmage as a gap appeared to open in the middle of the field.

"I probably should have run the ball, but I didn't," Manning said about nearing the 8-yard line. "I thought about throwing it away, but that would have brought up fourth down."

The pass was intended for Mike Espy. Robinson stepped in and grabbed the ball.

Auburn (6-3, 4-2 in the Southeastern Conference) ensured themselves of bowl eligibility with home games against Louisiana-Monroe and undefeated Georgia over the next two weeks.

"We have a lot more in sight in the next three games, two at home" Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. "When you are out of the (SEC) race, you lose momentum and work ethic. That's the main reason it's a big win."

Ole Miss (5-4, 3-3) had lost consecutive SEC road games at Alabama and Arkansas, but Saturday's loss before 60,635 was the first of the season at Vaught-Hermingway Stadium.

"We got better as a football team today. Obviously, it was not good enough to win," Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said. "We had a lot of courageous efforts out there, but we came up short again."

The Rebels rallied from deficits of 14-0 in the first half and 31-17 in the second half on Manning's strong performance.

After starting 2-of-9 for nine yards, Manning finished 26-of-43 for 284 yards, including three touchdowns to Chris Collins.

Robinson's interception was the third of the day for the Tigers, who lead the SEC with 18 picks. Carlos Rogers and Horace Willis had interceptions in the final 19 minutes that set up two Auburn touchdowns that put the Tigers ahead to stay.

Ronnie Brown had a career-best day, rushing for 224 yards on 33 carries and three touchdowns. Brown replaced Cadillac Williams, whose season ended with a broken leg against Florida.

"Ronnie Brown had a great game," Tuberville said. "I think his second and third effort gets better. To rush that much and not get a turnover, he did a great job."

Brown had scoring runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, capping Auburn drives of 92 and 71 yards.

That staked the Tigers to a 14-0 lead before Ole Miss got a field goal from Jonathan Nichols to pull within 14-3 at halftime.

Auburn had only one turnover and quarterback Jason Campbell did not throw an interception in an efficient 11 of 21 for 113 yards performance.

The Tigers trailed only once in the contest, 17-16, midway through the third quarter after Manning touchdown throws to Collins for 41 and 12 yards.

Rogers recorded his interception on the ensuing series at the Ole Miss 21-yard line and Brown scored on the next play to put Auburn.

Campbell hit Ben Obomanu for a 20-yard touchdown pass after the Willis interception for a 31-17 lead that set up the late charge by the Rebels.

"We were in the place we wanted to be in the fourth quarter," Manning said. "We had a shot to close the gap. I just didn't make the play when I needed to."

No. 25 Tennessee 18, South Carolina 10

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer thought he was taking a chance when he went for it on fourth down. Quarterback Casey Clausen knew changing the call was a sure thing.

Clausen rolled right on fourth-and-1 from the 5-yard line and dove into the end zone untouched for a touchdown that lifted No. 25 Tennessee to its 10th straight victory over South Carolina, 18-10 on Saturday.

Fulmer originally sent out kicker Alex Walls for a field goal that would have put the Volunteers (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) ahead by five. But when Clausen called timeout because of a substitution problem, he came to the sideline and asked his coach, "Are you sure you want to do this? I'll get in."

Fulmer said, "To heck with it. We're going for it and we're going to win the football game right here."

Despite a sprained left ankle, Clausen carried the ball in behind tight end Jason Witten and Tennessee moved to 65-3 in November since 1985.

South Carolina (5-4, 3-3) has lost two straight for the second time this year.

The win also revived the confidence Tennessee lost with back-to-back losses last month against Georgia and Alabama, Clausen said.

Things had gotten so bad, ex-Tennessee stars like Heath Shuler were openly questioning the team's heart. Then came this week's news that star receiver Kelley Washington was out indefinitely because of a concussion.

"Obviously, things haven't gone our way this year," said Clausen, who was 17-of-23 passing for 175 yards and one touchdown. "Wins, losses, injuries, whatever you want to call it. This was special, important for us to have a big win for guys to feel good about themselves again."

Especially, with No. 1 Miami coming to Knoxville next week.

"This is the best Tennessee has played so far," Gamecocks coach Lou Holtz said.

Tennessee cornerback Julian Battle expects the momentum from another good November start to carry over.

"We've had things going our way and we don't want that to stop," Battle said.

Clausen connected on a 3-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Feyton in the first quarter set up by Jabari Davis' career-best 62-yard run.

After South Carolina closed to 12-10 in the fourth, Clausen led a 17-play drive that put the game away.

Clausen threw a 4-yard pass to Witten for a first down to keep the drive alive. Then came Clausen's scoring run with 6:19 to go that put the Vols ahead 18-10.

South Carolina got the ball twice more but could do little with it.

Vols cornerback Jabari Greer intercepted South Carolina backup Dondrial Pinkins with 2:05 to go, and Tennessee ran out the clock. Fulmer was high-fiving assistants in the final minutes, glad to at last achieve his 100th career victory.

"It hasn't been easy the last couple of weeks with injuries, and some of our play hasn't been what we want it to be," Fulmer said. "Our football team has stuck together in the face of a lot of adversity. We just kept fighting."

Cedric Houston rushed for 108 yards, 51 on Tennessee's game-deciding drive in the final period.

Walls added field goals of 24 and 29 yards for Tennessee, which has only lost November games to Notre Dame (1990), Memphis (1996) and Arkansas (1999) in the last 17 years.

South Carolina quarterbacks Corey Jenkins and Pinkins combined to go 5-of-19 passing for 45 yards and three interceptions.

"I don't think it's just one thing," offensive coordinator Skip Holtz said. "Obviously, we have to be able to throw the ball better."

Neither team looked crisp early on. Davis ran into Clausen on the Vols' first offensive play. Clausen scrambled to find Witten to keep one drive alive, then was sacked by Moe Thompson to take Tennessee out of field-goal range.

South Carolina wasn't much better.

The Gamecocks took 14 plays -- with help from a fumbled punt by Tennessee's Mark Jones -- to get to the Vols' 8 and then settled for a field goal.

South Carolina had only 14 yards passing in the first half.

Kentucky 45, Mississippi State 24

By TIMOTHY R. BROWN
Associated Press Writer

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- It was a record-breaking night for Kentucky's Derek Abney and another lopsided loss for Mississippi State.

Abney set school records for career kick return touchdowns and punt return yardage in a season, and finished with 225 all-purpose yards in Kentucky's 45-24 win over the Bulldogs on Saturday.

Abney returned two punts for touchdowns and Artose Pinner scored on a 1-yard run -- all in the third quarter. Abney's first touchdown came on a 69-yard punt return to turn a close game into a rout for Kentucky (6-3, 2-3 SEC). The Wildcats had lost their previous three games to Mississippi State (3-5, 0-4).

The Bulldogs have been outscored 152-61 by Southeastern Conference teams, who are averaging 38 points per game against Mississippi State.

"I take it as a challenge that they kick it back to me," said Abney, who earlier this year returned a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown against Florida to become only the seventh player in NCAA history to accomplish the feat.

"I didn't think I could get four punt returns in one season," Abney said. "The looks on the punt return team's faces and ... the other team's faces are unreal."

What was unreal was how quickly the game got out of hand for Mississippi State, who led 17-16 at halftime.

With about 12 minutes left in the third quarter, Abney fielded a punt, ran right, cut back to his left down the sideline untouched for the touchdown to give Kentucky a 23-17 lead.

Pinner's TD came after Abney returned a punt 12 yards to the 50-yard line, setting up a five-play scoring drive to put Kentucky ahead 30-17. Five minutes later, Abney ran straight up the middle on a 52-yard punt return that sealed the win for Kentucky.

"He (Abney) has done that against everybody," said Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill, who emphasized that he told his punters to kick away from Abney. "He did it against Florida and he's done it against everybody they play."

"What's amazing to me is the fact that coach Sherrill emphasizes the kicking game and they kept kicking the ball to him," said Kentucky coach Guy Morriss. "They paid for it."

Pinner, the SEC's leading rusher, ran for over 100 yards for the sixth straight game, finishing with 104 yards.

Kentucky led 16-14 late in the first half before Mississippi State went up 17-16 on a 47-yard field goal by Brent Smith.

Jarious Norwood set up Smith's kick with a 30-yard run to Kentucky's 38-yard line with 25 seconds left in the half. The freshman had nine carries for 72 yards in the first half. He finished with 138 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Mississippi State quarterback Kevin Fant was only 9-of-30 with three interceptions, all of which led to Kentucky scores.

"I think this is probably the first game I've been in that everything that happened was because we gave it to them," Sherrill said. "In the first half, we were able to overcome it all, but in the second half we gave up two interceptions. You can't give people gifts."

Fant finished with 162 yards passing, including the longest TD pass in school history, a 91-yard toss to Terrell Grindle.

Grindle ran past defender Derrick Tatum down the left sideline and caught the pass from Fant, breaking the record set earlier this year by Ray Ray Bivens on an 89-yard pass against Division I-AA Jacksonville State.

Grindle's touchdown made the score 14-10. It was his second TD; the first came on a 9-yard pass from Fant with 11:27 left in the second quarter, after Kentucky had jumped to a 10-0 lead.

Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen was pressured by the Bulldogs' defense for much of the game. He threw for 141 yards and one touchdown, a 4-yarder to Aaron Boone in the first quarter.

Florida 20, No. 5 Georgia 13

By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- There was no party for Georgia on this night. That privilege belonged once again to Florida, the team that befuddles the Bulldogs like no other.

Florida's Jacobs Out With Knee Injury JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida receiver Taylor Jacobs injured his knee Saturday in a 20-13 victory over Georgia and could miss up to four weeks. Jacobs, the leading receiver this season for the Gators, appeared to get struck on the side of his right knee by a teammate as he turned to block during Florida's first possession. Coach Ron Zook said it was an injured MCL that would not require surgery. "The doctors said it could be four weeks," Zook said. "I told him he'd have two." Jacobs entered the game tied for ninth in the country with 57 receptions for 905 yards, including eight touchdowns. His backup, Matt Jackson, also went down when a pass tipped off his hands and he was struck by the knee of a Georgia player. With those two players out, Kelvin Kight and Carlos Perez stepped in and had career nights. Kight finished with nine catches for 115 yards and Perez had 12 catches for 76 yards.

On a night when the fifth-ranked Bulldogs could have clinched a title, Rex Grossman ruined those plans. The Florida quarterback threw for 339 yards Saturday to help the Gators breathe life back into their on-and-off season with a 20-13 victory.

"This was huge," Grossman said. "It couldn't have been any bigger for us."

In a season on the verge of flaming out, the Gators (6-3, 4-2 SEC) proved they didn't need Steve Spurrier to beat Georgia. Florida won the game known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for the 12th time in 13 years, this time with Ron Zook as coach.

The Bulldogs (8-1, 5-1) could have clinched the SEC East -- their first significant title since they won the conference in 1982 -- and made headway in the national-title race on a day in which three other undefeated teams lost.

Instead, they went home losers, and their fans -- cautiously optimistic in all the pregame revelry this week -- had to make the slow walk of shame out of Alltel Stadium.

Again.

"It's real unbearable," said senior tackle Jon Stinchcomb, tears streaming down his face. "For the rest of our lives, all the seniors will know they never beat Florida. It's one of our biggest rivalries, and we're all 0-4. That's a pretty tough pill to swallow."

It's made worse by the fact that Florida didn't play its best. Nor did the Gators need all of their best players to win this game against the rival Spurrier hated the most.

Leading receiver Taylor Jacobs left during the first series with an injured right knee that could keep him out four weeks. That simply opened the door for Kelvin Kight and Carlos Perez, who broke career receiving records on Grossman's 36-of-46 night.

"They were coming into the office and complaining that they didn't get opportunities," Zook said. "I'm so happy they got their opportunity and made plays they had to make."

Trailing 13-12 early in the fourth quarter, Grossman led Florida on an 89-yard touchdown drive he called the best Florida has produced this year. He capped it with a perfect 10-yard touchdown lob to Ben Troupe -- a massive junior tight end from -- where else? -- Georgia.

"This feels good," Troupe said. "I can go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas now."

Troupe's pretty touchdown catch was a welcome reprieve from a night filled with mistakes and missed opportunities for the Gators. They missed a 27-yard field goal, an extra point, turned the ball over four times and came up empty on three first-half trips inside Georgia's 20.

But Georgia matched them error for error. The Bulldogs committed three turnovers. They netted nothing on two trips inside Florida's 20 in the second half. They went 0-for-13 on third-down conversions. D.J. Shockley threw an interception that Guss Scott returned 47 yards for a touchdown.

The capper came with 2:23 left, when receiver Terrence Edwards was wide open at the Florida 30 but dropped a long pass from David Greene that landed right in his hands.

"Terrence catches that ball 10 times out of 10 in practice," cornerback Bruce Thornton said. "I know it's a disappointment to him, and it's a disappointment to all of us."

Three plays after the drop, on fourth-and-1 from the Florida 42 with 1:50 left, Greene threw high to Tony Milton, who couldn't hang on. Florida regained possession, ran about a minute off the clock, and Georgia's last possession was a desperate scramble that came up well short.

With the loss, the Bulldogs need to win their remaining SEC games -- against Ole Miss and Auburn -- to ensure the SEC East title.

"We're still trying to do things one at a time," linebacker Tony Gilbert said, "and we can still accomplish that."

But after a loss like that, they might be forced to at least confront the possibility that Gators offensive lineman Shannon Snell was right when he predicted Georgia would lose to Florida, and again somewhere down the road.

It was great bulletin-board material, and the Gators took care of the part they could control.

"Like I said earlier, and I'm not lying, they're going to lose another one, and I hope they do," Snell reiterated after the game.

Indeed, the Gators are thinking about a title, just like Georgia. If Georgia loses once more and the Gators beat Vanderbilt and South Carolina in the next two weeks, they would win the SEC East -- a notion that seemed laughable just a few weeks ago.

"It's fun, to be underdogs in a rivalry game, to come out with a victory and spoil their season and keep yourself alive," Grossman said.

Grossman surpassed the 300-yard mark for the 15th time as a Gator, tying Shane Matthews for the school record.

Kight, who entered only when Jacobs and his backup, Matt Jackson, got injured, finished with nine catches for 115 yards. Perez caught 12 passes for 76 yards.

Greene, meanwhile, didn't play well, going 11-for-29 for 141 yards, hardly the numbers of a championship quarterback. Shockley was no factor, except for the wrong-way touchdown he threw. Musa Smith ran for 100 yards, but overall the Gators dominated the line on both sides, outgaining Georgia 381-294.