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SEC roundup
Game of the Week
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No. 4 Florida 23, No. 2 Tennessee 21 |
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Florida waited a long, bitter year to prove it was better than Tennessee. Thanks to a defensive end who couldn't be stopped and a quarterback who wouldn't quit, the Gators just did make their case … and now become zeroed in as a key team to watch in the race to the Sugar Bowl and national championship.
Doug Johnson threw for 338 yards and two scores -- barely enough to overcome his three interceptions -- and Alex Brown had five sacks lift the Gators over the defending national champions.
Florida (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) snapped Tennessee's 14-game winning streak, while the Gators won their 30th straight home game. Just like last year, Florida tried to give this one away, turning the ball over five times … but this time, Tennessee couldn't take it.
After the victory, Spurrier jogged to midfield, pumping his fist in the air, celebrating a win the Gators had practically taken for granted until last year. |
Other SEC action
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Louisiana Tech 29, No. 18 Alabama 28 |
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For the second time in three years, Louisiana Tech bumped off the Crimson Tide, this time using a miraculous touchdown pass on the last play of the game.
It was fourth-and-26 with 2 seconds remaining and Bama holding a 28-22 lead, yet backup quarterback Brian Stallworth found Sean Cangelosi for a 28-yard scoring pass. Adding to the drama, Tech's star quarterback Tim Rattay was being off the field when the winning play occurred. Rattay completed 27 of 50 passes for 368 yards.
For the Tide, it was just the latest in a series of reasons for Crimson-colored faces in Alabama, even though Shawn Alexander accounted for three touchdowns for the third game in a row, in a 263-yard all-purpose night. Problem is, the Tide has little else. |
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Vanderbilt 37, Ole Miss 34 |
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Chris Zolman hit Elliott Carson for an 8-yard touchdown pass in overtime as Vandy overcame a 14-0 deficit to score its first Southeastern Conference road victory in five years.
Ole Miss (2-1, 0-1 SEC) scored first in overtime on Les Binkley's 34-yard field goal. Vanderbilt (2-1, 1-1) responded with a touchdown six plays later. Vanderbilt lost 3 yards on its first play, but Zolman hit Carson for 13 yards and a first down. With Vandy facing third-and-goal, Zolman caught Ole Miss coming on a blitz and dumped a screen pass to Carson for the game-winner.
Zolman finished 22-of-39 for 344 yards and two touchdowns. He was just 5-of-13 for 68 yards with two interceptions at halftime, when the Commodores trailed 17-7. The Commodores' last SEC road victory was 24-6 at Kentucky in 1994. For third-year coach Woody Widenhofer, it was only his second victory in 18 SEC games. |
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Auburn 41, LSU 7 |
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Ben Leard threw three touchdown passes and engineered four other scores as Auburn scored one of the most improbable victories of the day. Auburn, a 9-point underdog, gave coach Tommy Tuberville his third straight victory, but this one was far more impressive and complete than shaky triumphs over Appalachian State and Idaho.
It was supposed to be LSU's defense, especially the seasoned secondary, that would dominate this game against the rebuilding Auburn team … but the visiting Tigers from the Plains outgained LSU 426-342, averaging almost 6 yards per play. LSU is 2-1. |
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Kentucky 44, Indiana 35 |
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Who needs Tim Couch? Dusty Bonner passed for 304 yards and five touchdowns boosted the Wildcats (2-1). Antwaan Randle El accounted for four touchdowns for Indiana (1-2), but was intercepted three times, including twice in the closing minutes. Bonner, who was redshirted last year while Couch led the Wildcats to a bowl game, was 24-for-31; he already has 12 touchdown passes in three games. |
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Mississippi St. 29, Oklahoma St. 11 |
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Freshman Dontae Walker rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs (3-0) beat the Cowboys (1-2), in a game marred by 12 turnovers -- six by each team -- and 195 yards in penalties. Walker's 54-yard TD run at the start of the second quarter came one play after Ashley Cooper recovered a fumble by Cowboys quarterback Ben Bowling. That fumble was the first play after the Bulldogs fumbled away a punt return. |
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East Carolina 21, South Carolina 3 |
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Lou Holtz's team continues to play tough defense and virtually no offense, with just one touchdown in three games -- all losses.
ECU QB David Garrard threw for one TD and ran for another as the Pirates (3-0) added a win over the SEC's Gamecocks to the ones they picked up against a couple of other BCS conference teams -- West Virginia out of the Big East and Duke out of the ACC. Kevin Monroe opened the scoring for ECU, returning a fumble 2 yards for a first quarter TD. |
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No. 15 Arkansas 44, Louisiana-Monroe 6 |
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Clint Stoerner completed 10 of 18 passes for 193 yards as Arkansas (2-0) opened the season with two straight wins for only the third time this decade. The Razorbacks won their first eight games last season before losses to Tennessee and Mississippi State kept them out of the Southeastern Conference championship game. |
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