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SEC Roundup
SEC Game of the Week
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No. 4 Tennessee 38, No. 24 Notre Dame 14 |
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Tee Martin threw for three touchdowns and ran for one and Travis Henry gained 132 yards and scored once to lead Tennessee. The Volunteers (7-1), aware that No. 2 Penn State had lost earlier in the day, took advantage of the opportunity to move up in the polls with big plays and a tenacious defense, ending a four-game winning streak for the Irish (5-4).
Martin's 43-yard heave to Leonard Scott in the back of the end zone and Henry's 40-yard run up the middle in the third quarter gave the Vols a 31-7 lead. That was too much even for the Irish, who had come from behind to win three of their last four games. |
Other SEC action
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No. 12 Alabama 23, LSU 17 |
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Tyler Watts threw two touchdown passes and the Tide stopped LSU at the 1-yard line on the final play to beat the Tigers. With 10 seconds left and LSU on the 1, quarterback Josh Booty took the snap in the shotgun, rolled right and tried to run the ball into the end zone. He leaped at the 3-yard line, but was stopped short in a collision with Reggie Myles and Marvin Constant.
The win was a final tuneup for Alabama (7-2, 5-1 SEC), which plays undefeated Mississippi State next week. The winner should lock up the SEC West title and earn a spot in the league's title game. Alabama will be without Constant, who sustained an apparent torn knee ligament on the last play of the LSU game. Alabama defensive tackle Kenny Smith suffered the same injury earlier in the series, defensive end Canary Knight broke his ankle in the first half and safety Tony Dixon separated his shoulder in the first quarter. Constant, Smith and Knight are all expected to undergo surgery on Monday and miss the rest of the season. |
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No. 5 Florida 13, Vanderbilt 6 |
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The Gators got outside help in their quest for the national title … but they responded with a performance that made such a goal seem laughable. Florida's victory over Vanderbilt was rife with gaffes, as the Gators offense continues to sputter along. Still, the win kept the Gators (8-1, 6-1 SEC) in line for the SEC title game and will likely move them up another notch in the Associated Press rankings, thanks to No. 2 Penn State's surprising loss to Minnesota.
Vanderbilt (5-4, 2-4), though, had the ball at the Gators 19-yard line trailing by seven with less than a minute left. The Gators held and escaped against a team they had learned to take for granted over the years. Doug Johnson completed just 14 of 24 passes for 143 yards and came to the sideline for a number of all-too-familiar confrontations with frustrated coach Steve Spurrier. Vanderbilt recorded five sacks and forced a pair of Johnson fumbles … so Spurrier again turned to a ground game that offered decent results: Earnest Graham came off the bench to rush for 124 yards on 16 carries. |
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No. 8 Mississippi St. 23, Kentucky 22 |
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Given a second chance, Scott Westerfield kept Mississippi State undefeated Thursday night. Four minutes after missing a 46-yard field-goal attempt, he kicked a 45-yarder with five seconds remaining to keep the Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SEC) rolling into next week's SEC West showdown at Alabama.
The Bulldogs -- off to their best start ever -- outdid even themselves on defense. Entering the game, they led the nation by allowing just 202 yards a game, and they held visiting Kentucky to just 176 yards -- 226 yards below their SEC-leading average. Kentucky quarterback Dusty Bonner was sacked four times for 25 yards in losses, and although he completed 28 passes, they were good for only 189 yards. The Wildcats (5-4, 3-3) managed a net minus-13 yards on the ground for the evening.
Mississippi State's offense wasn't a lot better, but when starting QB Wayne Madkin left the game win an injury, Matt Wyatt came in to complete 10 of 14 passes for 63 yards to set up the two field-goal attempts late in the game. |
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No. 23 Mississippi 38, Arkansas 16 |
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Deuce McAllister had another all-around game, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards and rushing for 125 yards and two more touchdowns as Ole Miss continued to surge in the SEC. McAllister had a career-high 317 all-purpose yards, his third straight game with more than 250, as Ole Miss (7-2, 4-2 SEC) avenged a 34-0 loss from a year ago and virtually eliminated the Razorbacks (5-3, 2-3) from the SEC West race.
On the opening play of the game, McAllister took the kick at the goal line, made several cuts, got a key block at the 35 and outraced a lone defender the rest of the way to put Ole Miss ahead for good. In addition to his 125 yards rushing on 21 carries, McAllister had two more kickoff returns for 58 yards and caught two passes for 34 yards. |
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Auburn 28, Central Florida 10 |
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Jeff Klein's 16-yard scoring pass to Reggie Worthy late in the fourth quarter touched off a 97-second, three-touchdown blitz as Auburn snapped a five-game losing streak. The Tigers (4-5) trailed 14-10 before Klein's pass to Worthy on third-and-goal capped a 15-play, 70-yard drive with 3:41 left. That drive consumed 6:38. Then Central Florida (3-6) turned the ball over on downs deep in its own territory rather than give the ball back with three minutes to go, and Auburn quickly scored … and then the Tigers scored on an interception return on the following play. |
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