ALABAMA Alabama senior nose guard Terrence Cody blocked two field goals in the fourth quarter, including a potential game-winning kick as time expired, as the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide held on for a 12-10 win over SEC rival Tennessee Saturday afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Cody blocked UT kicker Jeremy Lincoln’s game-winning field attempt as time expired to lift the Tide to its eighth win of the season. Cody also rejected another Lincoln field goal attempt with 10:33 left in the game. Alabama senior kicker Leigh Tiffin accounted for all 12 points as he connected on field goals of 38, 50, 22 and 49 yards. After an open date this Saturday, Alabama returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Crimson Tide hosts the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
ARKANSAS The combination of a slow start by the Razorbacks and a career-day from Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster and quarterback Jevan Snead resulted in a 30-17 defeat for the University of Arkansas at the hands of the Rebels in Southeastern Conference football. The loss moved Arkansas to 3-4 on the season, 1-4 in the SEC West while Ole Miss goes to 5-2 and evens its league record at 2-2. The Razorbacks were led by Greg Childs with 83 yards on receptions and Michael Smith with 35 yards rushing. Ryan Mallett went 12 of 34 for 254 yards in the air. Last week, Arkansas took No. 1 Florida to the final seconds on the road, but this week found themselves in a hole early in the game. Arkansas made a comeback from an early 17-point deficit, trimming the Ole Miss lead to seven twice. But a pair of time consuming drives by Ole Miss in the late second half robbed the Razorbacks of the time needed to rally. Injuries hurt the Razorback secondary as Ramon Broadway left midway through the first half and Rudell Crim was assisted off the field just before halftime. AUBURN No. 9 LSU was too much for Auburn in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, as they defeated the Tigers 31-10 before a crowd of 92,654 at noisy Tiger Stadium. Three turnovers and penalties plagued Auburn in the first half, and while the offense struggled against what Head Coach Gene Chizik called "one of the best defenses in the country," Auburn fought to the end--scoring its only touchdown on the last play of the game. Auburn's offense finished with a total of 193 yards--with 151 of them coming in the second half. Ben Tate again led Auburn with 67 yards on 18 carries, while Mario Fannin added 56 yards on just six carries. The Tigers fought to the end as back-up quarterback Neil Caudle led Auburn on an 8-play, 59-yard scoring drive. Caudle found freshman tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen on a 1-yard scoring toss with :03 remaining to make the score 31-10. Auburn's defense was led by freshman linebacker Eltoro Freeman, who had 12 tackles, including a sack and 2 tackles-for-loss, in just his fourth career start. Antonio Coleman praised the play of the young linebacker. Auburn returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday to host the Rebels at 11:21 a.m. CT. The SEC Network will televise the game.
FLORIDA Top-ranked University of Florida went into Starkville on Saturday night and came away with their first win at Mississippi State since 1985, as they held on for a 29-19 win and improved to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs moved to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play. Florida owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 games, and has now won nine straight SEC road games, dating back to the 2007 season. UF improved to 7-0 for the first time since the 1996 season and went 3-0 against SEC West teams for the first time since 1998. Senior quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.) led UF with 127 yards passing and 88 yards on the ground, including a 26-yard touchdown run that tied Hershel Walker’s SEC record of 49 rushing touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore running back Chris Rainey (Lakeland, Fla.) added 90 yards on the ground and one touchdown and also blocked a punt for the Gators. The Florida defense stepped up once again and limited the Mississippi State offense to two field goals and 237 yards. They held the Bulldogs without a third-down conversion until midway through the fourth quarter and intercepted quarterback Tyson Lee three times. The Gators also held Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon to a season-low 53 yards rushing after entering the game averaging 116 yards on the ground.
GEORGIA The Georgia Bulldogs return to practice Sunday night and continue preparations for their upcoming clash with top-ranked Florida in Jacksonville. It will mark the fourth time in school history that the Bulldogs face the nation’s No. 1 ranked team and the third consecutive time it will be the Gators. In the 1977 Sugar Bowl, top-ranked Pittsburgh beat No. 5 Georgia 27-3. In 1985, No. 17 Georgia stunned No. 1 Florida 24-3 in Jacksonville. Then in 1996, No. 1 Florida beat unranked Georgia 47-7 in Jacksonville. Georgia (4-3, 3-2 SEC) had an open date this past Saturday while Florida (7-0, 5-0 SEC) registered a hard-fought 29-19 road win over Mississippi State. It was their first win in Starkville since 1985. Florida has the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 games. Georgia coach Mark Richt said he watched Florida’s latest win and knows it will be a challenge Saturday.
KENTUCKY All-around offensive threat Randall Cobb scored two touchdowns, including a 73-yard punt return, to lead Kentucky to a 36-13 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night. Cobb also ran for 41 yards and a touchdown and had 27 receiving yards. The Wildcats (4-3) were still without starting quarterback Mike Hartline and used Cobb, Morgan Newton and Will Fidler at quarterback. The Warhawks (4-3) had their opportunities, but scored just two touchdowns to show for five drives that got inside the Kentucky 20-yard line. ?Kentucky has won 17 consecutive non-conference games, tying the school-record streak previously set from 1954-60. Kentucky's 28 first half points were the most since scoring 28 points in the opening half vs. Florida Atlantic, Sept. 29, 2007.
LSU Coming off its best performance of the 2009 season, the LSU football team moved up one spot to No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25, it was announced Sunday. LSU remained No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series rankings. LSU put together a complete performance, holding the SEC's second-best offense to 193 yards while rolling past rival Auburn, 31-10, in front of 92,654 at Tiger Stadium. LSU (6-1, 4-1 SEC) became bowl eligible for the 10th-straight season and bounced back from its first Saturday night loss in Tiger Stadium in 33 games two weeks ago against No. 1 Florida, 13-3. The Tigers have won three-straight over Auburn for the first time since 1935-37. Auburn (5-3, 2-3 SEC) lost its third-straight game, as the Tigers were held 271.9 yards below their season average. Coming off the bye week, LSU starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson was efficient under center. The sophomore completed 21-of-31 passes for a career-best 242 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 15-yard run in the first quarter, while his only mistake was a fumble into the Auburn endzone in the second quarter. At least three of Jefferson's passes down the field were dropped by open receivers.
OLE MISS Dexter McCluster set career highs in rushing and receiving, and Jevan Snead threw for a career-high 332 yards to lead Ole Miss to a 30-17 victory over Arkansas on Saturday. Rebels coach Houston Nutt beat his former team for the second straight year. Ole Miss (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) jumped ahead 17-0 and controlled the line of scrimmage throughout. The Rebels could have won by more if not for three turnovers. Arkansas (3-4, 1-4) pulled to 24-17 in the third quarter when Carlton Salters caught a tipped pass for a 58-yard touchdown, but the Razorbacks couldn't finish the rally and Ole Miss added two field goals in the fourth. Nutt coached Arkansas for 10 seasons before leaving late in 2007. The Rebels immediately hired him. McCluster plays a variety of roles for Ole Miss, but he hadn't been much of a factor this season. That changed right away against Arkansas. He touched the ball on about half the Rebels' first-quarter plays and had already run for a career-high 108 yards by halftime. In the second half, he caught a screen pass, eluded the first line of defense and went 64 yards for a touchdown and a 24-10 lead. He finished with 123 yards rushing and 137 receiving.
MISSISSIPPI STATE Mississippi State's bid to knock off Florida for the fifth-consecutive time at Scott Field came up short Saturday night as the top-ranked Gators defeated the Bulldogs 29-19 in front of a record crowd of 57,178. However, the score wasn't at all indicative of just how close this SEC showdown on ESPN actually was. In fact, with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter, a 31-yard field goal by Derek Pasquale tied the game at 13-apiece. From that point, though, the defending national champions scored 16 unanswered points to take control of the game. And that run started with 5:15 left to play when Florida (7-0, 5-0) regained the lead for good on a 27-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis. Then in the fourth, the Gators extended their advantage to 22-13 on an 8-yard scamper by Chris Rainey. But if there was any hope remaining for the Bulldogs (3-5, 1-3), it was thwarted at the 8:25 mark of the final frame when Dustin Doe picked off a Tyson Lee pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Still, the Bulldogs maintained their fight, especially true freshman safety Johnthan Banks. With 3:51 left on the clock, he intercepted Tim Tebow, and returned it 20 yards to the end zone to cut the Gators' lead to 29-19. For Banks, it was his second pick-six of the night, the first time in school history that has happened. His first came with 27 seconds left in the opening half that covered 100 yards to make it 13-10 Florida. The two interceptions matched Tebow's total for the entire season, and the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner finished the night 12-of-22 passing for 127 yards.
SOUTH CAROLINA The University of South Carolina football team is ranked 21st in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY/Coaches' polls released today. The Gamecocks moved up two spots in both major polls following their hard-fought 14-10 win over Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are 6-2 on the season, 3-2 in the SEC and tied with Georgia for second in the SEC East behind top-ranked Florida. South Carolina will travel to Knoxville to take on SEC Eastern Division rival Tennessee (3-4, 1-3 SEC) on Saturday, October 31. Game time is set for 7:45 p.m. ET and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN. Stephen Garcia threw two touchdown passes and No. 23 South Carolina ended Vanderbilt's two-game series win streak - barely - with a 14-10 victory Saturday night. The Gamecocks (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) played as flat as they did the past two years against Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-5). Only thanks to Garcia and his young receivers, this time it didn't cost them the win. Garcia connected with freshman Alshon Jeffery on a 43-yard TD pass with 12:51 remaining for the winning score. Earlier, freshman D.L. Moore caught a 35-yard touchdown from Garcia.
TENNESSEE Tennessee calls it "boom-boom." A kick goes into the line of scrimmage, and it's time to scoop and score. Twice on Saturday afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Vols were on the field for a boom-boom play. "We just weren't on the scoop-and-score end of it," kicker Daniel Lincoln said. But Lincoln, who had a pair of field goals blocked by Alabama's massive nose guard Terrence Cody in the second half, wasn't on the excuses end of his performance in a 12-10 loss to No. 1 Alabama. He didn't take the bait when asked about a gamey quadriceps muscle in his right leg, one that he reinjured before the game. He didn't point fingers at his protection even after Cody got his fingers on two kicks. As he's done before, Lincoln faced the music and took the blame, even if it wasn't entirely his to shoulder. "It hurts," he said. "It hurts me personally. It hurts this team. I'm proud of my teammates. I'm proud to be a part of this organization, this program that put us in this position to come down to Tuscaloosa and play the game we played. But yeah, it hurts." The same could be said for that quadriceps muscle, which Lincoln said felt about 90 percent before he tweaked it again during pregame warm-ups.
VANDERBILT Warren Norman had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Vanderbilt carried a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter, but could not hold on as South Carolina used a 99-yard touchdown drive to defeat the Commodores 14-10 Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. Alshon Jeffery's 43-yard fourth-quarter touchdown catch provided the Gamecocks (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) the winning margin over Vanderbilt and broke a two-game losing streak to the Commodores (2-6, 0-5). Jeffery finished with eight catches for 161 yards, the second time in three games he surpassed the 100-yard mark. His effort was necessary with senior wideout Moe Brown still recovering from a concussion suffered on a hit in the loss at Alabama last week. Jeffery's catch capped a 99-yard drive that got started on Tori Gurley's one-armed, 43-yard catch from South Carolina's 1. The Commodores got the ball one last time with 4 minutes left and drove to South Carolina's 25. However, quarterback Larry Smith was called for intentional grounding on 3rd down, then did not get close to the necessary yardage on fourth-and-32. The Commodores haven't scored more than 10 points in an SEC game yet.