Official Site of the Southeastern Conference

ALABAMA
The Crimson Tide held three practices this week and took  the weekend off. Alabama is expected to return to practice on Monday, Nov. 2, to begin preparation for its Southeastern Conference game with the LSU Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 7.  The game will be nationally televised by CBS Sports with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) from Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide dropped to No. 3 in the BCS and the polls on Sunday. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is once again up for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, and fan voting plays a key role.  Fans may vote once a day at www.coachoftheyear.com. Coach Saban won the award last year and Liberty Mutual donated $50,000 to the Nick’s Kids Fund and $20,000 to the University of Alabama for scholarships in his honor.  Earlier this week, Saban was one of 20 coaches placed on the 2009 Watch List for the Paul W. Bryant Coach of the Year Award, presented by the Greater Houston American Heart Association.  Saban won that award while at LSU in 2003.
 
 
ARKANSAS
On Homecoming evening in Fayetteville, it was Little Rock night for the Arkansas Razorbacks as central Arkansas natives Joe Adams and Broderick Green combined for four touchdowns as the Razorbacks dominated Eastern Michigan, 63-27. The win moves Arkansas to 4-4 on the season and sends EMU to 0-8. Adams returned to the lineup for the first time since his mild stroke earlier this year, and the sophomore had three catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Adams wasn't cleared to return to play until Wednesday of this week. Transfer sophomore Green turned in 131 yards in his first career start.  Green touched the ball only eight times, but took two into the endzone. Another Little Rock native, Seth Armbrust, added a late touchdown as he blocked an Eagle punt, then picked up the loose ball to score. Arkansas was sharp from the opening play as the Razorbacks hit 11 straight passes and took control with a 21-0 first quarter lead. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett had an exceptional game, with 14-of-16 comopletions for 248 yards and three toudhdowns.  The redshirt sophomore also ran for 42 yards, all off scrambles.
 

AUBURN
Auburn used a 23-point third quarter to pull out a 33-20 upset win over No. 24 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Ben Tate led the Auburn offense with 144 yards rushing as Auburn became bowl eligible with its fifth come-from-behind victory this season. Tate's 144 yards also pushed him past the 1,000-yard plateau for the season, marking the first time in his career to amass 1,000 yards in a season. The Tigers took the lead for good at the 5:23 mark in the second quarter as Chris Todd connected with Darvin Adams for a 28-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown pass was the 13th of the season for Todd while the reception was a team-leading sixth for Adams. Auburn held a three-point advantage, 10-7, at the half before erupting for 21 straight points in a six minute span, needing just six offensive plays and a defensive score to take control of the game. Kodi Burns' 14-yard pass to Tommy Trott capped a three-play, 61-yard drive while Tate's 53-yard touchdown run finished a three-play, 67-yard drive. Sandwiched between the two offensive scores was a Walter McFadden 29-yard interception returned for a touchdown on Ole Miss' lone offensive play in the sequence as Auburn went up 31-7 with 7:42 left in the third quarter. McFadden had five tackles along with his two interceptions while senior Antonio Coleman finished the day with five tackles, four going for a loss, two quarterback sacks, a forced fumble and four quarterback hurries. The win was Auburn's first over a nationally-ranked team since a 23-20 victory over Clemson in the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl. It was also Auburn's first win over a nationally ranked SEC team since a 27-17 win over fourth-ranked Florida in 2007.
 
 
FLORIDA
In front of a Halloween crowd of 84,604 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Saturday, the No. 1 Gators defeated Georgia, 41-17, in the 87th meeting between the two SEC Eastern Division rivals. Under clear and sunny skies, Gator senior quarterback Tim Tebow, a Jacksonville native, helped lead the Gators (8-0, 6-0 SEC) to victory, surpassing UGA’s Herschel Walker for sole possession of the SEC record for rushing touchdowns (50) with a minute and a half to go in the first half following a 23-yard touchdown scamper. With a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, his 51st career touchdown, Tebow moved into third place in Southeastern Conference history for the most touchdowns, rushing and receiving, ever scored, behind Walker (52) and Kevin Faulk of LSU (53). Tebow finished the day 15-of-21 with 164 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while rushing 18 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Florida defense, which tallied a season-high four interceptions in the victory, was led by senior linebacker Ryan Stamper, who also hails from Jacksonville, and redshirt junior linebacker A.J. Jones’ (Tampa, Fla.). With Jones’ interception to start the second half, the UF defense has now intercepted a pass in 19 of Florida’s last 20 games. Jones didn’t stop with one interception, but picked off another UGA senior quarterback Joe Cox pass at the end of the third quarter, his third interception in the last two games. Jones additionally tallied five tackles, including two for a loss of nine yards, and one quarterback sack. Stamper recorded his first career pick with 11:54 to go in the game, accompanying two tackles on the day.
 
 
GEORGIA
The Georgia Bulldogs return to Sanford Stadium this Saturday for a Homecoming date with Tennessee Tech. Georgia (4-4) spent most of October on the road, traveling to Tennessee twice and to Jacksonville this past Saturday. When the Bulldogs play host to the Golden Eagles (5-3) Saturday, 35 days will have passed between home games. The Bulldogs had a stretch of 42 days between home games in 2008. Speaking on his Sunday conference call with the media, Georgia coach Mark Richt said the Bulldogs have returned to work with their focus on the upcoming game with Tennessee Tech. Richt was asked about any potential lineup changes and said he and his staff evaluate everybody at every position each week. The Bulldogs are minus 15 in turnover margin and part of that has been Georgia missing out on recovering fumbles. Georgia has forced 10 fumbles and only recovered one. Georgia has 14 fumbles and lost eight of them plus have thrown 13 interceptions while the Bulldog defense has recorded five interceptions. Opponents have scored 88 points off Georgia’s 21 turnovers this season. Sixteen of those turnovers have come inside Georgia territory. In the loss to top-ranked Florida, the Gators scored 17 points off four Bulldog miscues. Saturday’s kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET, and it will be televised on a pay-per-view basis. Cable and satellite systems in both Georgia and Tennessee will be offered the telecast with an individual subscription price of $29.95. For fans in Georgia and Tennessee, the telecast will also be available on the UGA Athletics official website (www.georgiadogs.com) for $19.95.
 
KENTUCKY
Kentucky gained 189 yards on the ground versus Mississippi State to maintain their highest average rushing yards per game (186.7) since 1995. UK is 46-18 in Homecoming games since 1946. UK's defense forced an interception for the fourth straight game and picked off multiple passes for the second consecutive contest. UK converted 2-of-3 fourth down attempts in the game; the Wildcats have 12-of 16 (75 percent) this season. Kentucky has converted 22 of 27 opportunities in the red zone (81.5 percent) for 142 points (19 touchdowns, three field goals, two loss on downs and one end of half). The Wildcats play host to Eastern Kentucky on Sat. Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. The game will be a live telecast on WKYT (Lexington) and WYMT (Hazard) and also a delay telecast on the Big Blue Sports Network.
 
 
LSU
Ninth-ranked LSU amassed a season-best 455 yards of offense including 267 on the ground, as the Tigers won their 18th-straight over in-state rival Tulane on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, 42-0. LSU (7-1) scored four rushing touchdowns for the first time since its Chick-fil-A Bowl blowout win over Georgia Tech last December, while running back Charles Scott broke out with 112 yards and touchdown runs of 4 and 8 yards. The Tigers' win setup a 2:30 p.m. CST clash with the No. 2-ranked and undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. The game will be televised nationally by CBS. Tulane (2-6) was shutout for the first time in 85 games. The last time the Green Wave were held scoreless was Sept. 28, 2002, against Texas in the Louisiana Superdome, 49-0. The Tigers defense continued to smother its opponents. LSU allowed only 216 yards of total offense, including 26 yards rushing on 20 attempts. When the Green Wave entered LSU territory, cornerback Patrick Peterson intercepted a pass at the LSU 5-yard line and placekicker Ross Thevenot missed a 43-yard field goal. While the Tigers worked on their rushing game, starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw for 163 yards, completing 11-of-17 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. Touchdown passes of 19 and 13 yards went to wide receiver Brandon LaFell, who moved into second place on the school's career receiving touchdowns list with 22.
 
OLE MISS
Chris Todd passed for 212 yards, Ben Tate ran for 144 yards and Walt McFadden returned an interception for a touchdown to lift Auburn to a 33-20 win over No. 22 Ole Miss on Saturday. The Tigers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) scored 23 points in the third quarter and turned away Jevan Snead and the Rebels (5-3, 2-3) seven times on drives to midfield or beyond. Ole Miss had appeared to get back on track with two straight wins but couldn't overcome a frenzied third-quarter flurry that led to a 24-point hole. McFadden stopped the Rebels' final chance by stepping in front of Snead's pass near the Auburn goal line for his second pick in the final minutes. He also had a 29-yard return for a score in the third quarter. Ole Miss couldn't finish most of its sustained drives, but stayed alive with two big plays. Jesse Grandy answered with an 82-yard kick return to push the margin back to 17 points, then the game got even wilder. Dexter McCluster sprinted 79 yards for a touchdown to make it 31-20. Joshua Shene's point after attempt hit a teammate in the back and Demond Washington returned it all the way for two points. Ole Miss had a nice chance to pull to within a touchdown midway through the fourth. Todd lost a fumble - and 21 yards - when he appeared to try to flick the ball away while going down. The Rebels recovered at Auburn's 24, but lost 21 yards on three plays and a penalty. It was typical of Ole Miss's day of missed chances. McCluster had his second straight huge game, rushing for 186 yards on 22 carries and catching four passes for another 17 a week after racking up 260 all-purpose yards. Snead couldn't get going, completing 16 of 35 passes for 175 yards - 105 courtesy of Shay Hodge - and a touchdown and was hurt by several dropped passes.
 
 
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Anthony Dixon ran for a school-record 252 yards as Mississippi State outlasted Kentucky 31-24 in a back-and-forth battle Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium. The win was State's third in a row away from home. With the victory, MSU improved to 4-5 overall, 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky's setback dropped the Wildcats to 4-4, 1-4. Dixon really could not be stopped all night. The senior averaged 7.6 yards per carry, scoring two touchdowns, en route to his career- and school-best performance from scrimmage. His effort supplemented an impressive offensive effort from State overall, as the Bulldogs racked up a season-high 493 yards of total offense on the night - 348 on the ground. State broke scoring ice just over 10 minutes into the contest. A Kentucky turnover gave State the ball at its own 37 and the Bulldogs drove 48 yards on six plays to set up a 33-yard field goal from Derek DePasquale. MSU led 3-0 with 4:23 to go in the first period. After State was forced to punt, the Wildcats got one more chance late, converting three straight third downs to move inside the MSU 25 with less than two minutes to play. But the Bulldogs held strong, forcing a fourth-and-5 from the 16 which UK could not convert. State knelt on the ball to run out the clock and secure the win from that point. The Bulldogs will now enjoy their first and only off week of the 2009 season next week before returning home to host the highly-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Nov. 14. The game's kickoff time is expected to be announced Monday.
 
SOUTH CAROLINA
Decked out in black jerseys, Tennessee took three South Carolina fumbles and turned them into touchdowns as the Volunteers beat the No. 21 Gamecocks 31-13 Saturday night. Lane Kiffin grabbed his first win over a ranked opponent. South Carolina (6-3, 3-3) fumbled on its first two drives on a rainy night, having entered the game with only five for the season. Tennessee, hampered by turnovers early in the season, did not give the ball away for the first time this season. The Gamecocks began clicking on offense in the second half as the Vols sputtered. Stephen Garcia connected with Moe Brown on a 31-yard touchdown pass to cut the margin to 28-13 with 2:05 left in the third quarter, but it was too little too late. South Carolina outgained Tennessee on offense 365 yards to 341 and had four more first downs. Garcia completed 25 of 50 for 300 yards and an interception.
 
TENNESSEE
Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin didn't dismiss Saturday night's SEC victory over then 21st-ranked South Carolina as nothing special. Far from it. The Vols beat a top-25 opponent for the first time since the end of the 2007 season and, in the process, evened their record at 4-4 heading into November. Tennessee turned four Gamecocks turnovers into 24 points in the 31-13 victory. Still, Kiffin said after Sunday's practice that game tape revealed inconsistencies costing the team momentum, especially on one side of the football. Montario Hardesty ran for two more touchdowns and Rico McCoy forced two fumbles. Quarterback Jonathan Crompton on Saturday became the 14th quarterback in Tennessee history to eclipse 3,000 career passing yards. Crompton has 3,004 yards for his UT career, including 1,617 this season in his first full campaign as the starter. The Vols are one win from reaching 300 all-time for the month of November. Tennessee enters Saturday's Homecoming game 299-116-21 during November.
 
VANDERBILT
 Redshirt senior quarterback Mackenzi Adams came in for an injured Larry Smith for his first action since Vanderbilt's homecoming against Georgia. He finished the day 12-for-22 passing with 152 yards. Freshman running back Warren Norman entered the game leading the SEC in kickoff return yards with 668 kickoff return yards. He now has 852 kickoff return yards on the season, setting the new Vanderbilt record over DJ Moore's 823 yards last season. He scored on an 80-yard return in the first half, giving him three kickoff return TDs on the season. That mark ties Willie Gault (1980) for most in a single season in SEC history. Redshirt sophomore tight end Ryan van Rensburg received his first career start against the Yellow Jackets. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Larry Smith was effective before his injury, going 2-for-2 for 27 yards and a touchdown, and a 35-yard rush that caused his pulled hamstring. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Chris Marve led the defense with a career-high 18 tackles. Senior linebacker Brent Trice followed with 12. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Adam Smotherman had a career-high six tackles.