Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
ALABAMA: The top-ranked Crimson Tide put together another outstanding all-
around effort, dominating Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, 44-13. A.J.
McCarron had a career day in completing 17-of-22 passes for 306 yards with
four touchdowns and no interceptions, and he continues to build his school-
record of pass attempts without a pick at 239 and counting. Amari Cooper was
on the receiving end of two of McCarron's scoring strikes and finished with
seven catches for 162 yards, the most receiving yards ever by an Alabama
freshman. The run game could not be stopped either with 233 yards, led by 129
yards and two scores from T.J. Yeldon, marking his second consecutive 100-yard
game. The Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC) defense picked off UT signal-caller Tyler
Bray twice and held the potent Volunteers offense under 300 total yards. It
has now forced 20 turnovers on the season and has converted them into 15 TDs.
The Tide return home this week to face off with No. 13 Mississippi State in a
battle of unbeaten SEC squads.
ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks (3-4, 2-2 SEC) were idle this past week after
notching back-to-back wins for the first time this season. They will try for
their third straight this Saturday when they host the Rebels of Ole Miss.
AUBURN: The Tigers' nightmarish start continued as they fell to Vanderbilt,
17-13, for their fourth straight defeat. The offense was dreadful once again,
tallying a mere 212 total yards while making just 13 first downs. The
lackluster quarterback play continued for Auburn (1-6, 0-5 SEC), as Clint
Moseley completed 14-of-20 passes for just 98 yards and he was sacked four
times. Tre Mason was the lone bright spot on the offensive side of the ball
for AU, carrying the ball 16 times for 85 yards and the team's lone touchdown.
Despite allowing 382 total yards, the defense put together a decent
performance by forcing three turnovers. Cassanova McKinzy recorded a career-
high 12 tackles and he also added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Auburn will try once again for that elusive first conference win this Saturday
when it hosts No. 22 Texas A&M.
FLORIDA: The third-ranked Gators showed that they are the team to beat in the
SEC Eastern Division as they posted a convincing 44-11 win over South Carolina
in Gainesville on Saturday. Remarkably, they finished with fewer total yards
than did the Gamecocks (183 to 191), but they were able to take advantage of
great field position by forcing three turnovers deep in South Carolina
territory. Jeff Driskel was just 11-of-16 passing for 93 yards, but he made
the most of that production with four touchdown tosses, including two to
Jordan Reed (four receptions, 44 yards). The UF ground attack averaged less
than two yards per carry, but Matt Jones and Omarius Hines each found the end
zone. The Gators defense has yet to allow a touchdown in three conference home
games this season. Florida (7-0, 6-0 SEC) is 7-0 for the sixth time in school
history, and it has the opportunity to clinch a berth in the SEC title tilt
with a win over Georgia in Jacksonville this Saturday.
GEORGIA: Behind a record-setting night from quarterback Aaron Murray, the
Bulldogs were able to hold off Kentucky, 29-24. The signal-caller completed
30-of-38 passes for a career-high 427 yards while tossing four touchdowns,
which gives him a school-record 75 passing touchdowns for his career. He also
set a program-record in completion percentage in a game (with at least 30
completions), connecting on 79 percent of his throws. Tavarres King caught a
career-high nine passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns for his fifth-career
100-yard game. Malcolm Mitchell also had a career day receiving with nine
receptions for 103 yards. Todd Gurley paced an underwhelming rushing attack
with 12 carries for 47 yards. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) will try to stay alive in
the SEC Eastern Division this week when it tangles with No. 3 Florida in
Jacksonville.
KENTUCKY: The Wildcats gave it their all at home against No. 13 Georgia, even
holding a lead late in the second quarter, but they could not hang on as they
ultimately fell in a 29-24 final. Kentucky (1-7, 0-5 SEC) made the most of its
329 yards of total offense by scoring on all four of its trips to the red
zone, including three touchdowns. Morgan Newton had a hand in two of the
scores, completing a four-yard scoring strike to Aaron Boyd in the first
quarter (his only completion of the game on six attempts), and rushing one in
from two yards out in the second quarter. Jonathan George (12 carries, 87
yards) and Raymond Sanders (18 carries, 72 yards, TD) led a promising UK
rushing attack. Jalen Whitlow had just four incompletions (9-of-13), but
tallied only 86 passing yards and no scores. The defense was torched by Aaron
Murray and the Bulldogs for more than 500 total yards. Kentucky will try once
again for its first conference win of the season this Saturday at Missouri.
LSU: The Tigers got off to a sluggish start, trailing 12-0 midway through the
second quarter against Texas A&M, but they rallied in time to post a 24-19
road victory. The defense surrendered more than 400 yards of offense to the
Aggies, but made the difference in the game with five turnovers (three
interceptions, two fumble recoveries), and LSU (7-1, 3-1 SEC) has now won 41
of 45 games (and 25 straight) under head coach Les Miles when winning the
turnover battle. Jeremy Hill carried the ball 18 times for 127 yards and a
touchdown, with more than 100 yards coming after halftime. Michael Ford (11
carries, 78 yards, TD) was also very effective in the run game. It was a
struggle all afternoon for Zach Mettenberger (11-of-29, 97 yards), but he
played a turnover-free game and tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Kadron
Boone late in the second quarter to give the Tigers the lead. LSU heads into
its bye next week on a high note and will have an extra week to prepare for
a showdown with No. 1 Alabama in Baton Rouge on Nov. 3.
MISSISSIPPI STATE: The Bulldogs played sluggishly in the first half against
Middle Tennessee, but they managed to flip the switch after halftime in
scoring 35 unanswered points to come away with a 45-3 win to remain unbeaten.
Mississippi State (7-0) churned out 231 rushing yards, led by 125 yards and a
touchdown from LaDarius Perkins. The running back now has four consecutive
100-yard games and he is one of only two backs in the FBS with at least one
rushing TD in every game this season. (Adam Muema of San Diego State being the
other). Tyler Russell was nearly perfect yet again, completing 17-of-21 passes
for 191 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Chris Smith (seven
catches, 66 yards). Russell now has 15 passing scores against only one
interception. With a third-quarter pick, All-American Johnthan Banks tied the
school-record with his 16th career interceptions, which also ties him with NC
State's David Amerson for most among active players. MSU's nine-game win
streak is the third-longest in the nation, but moving to double digits will be
difficult as it heads to Tuscaloosa to take on top-ranked Alabama this
Saturday.
MISSOURI: The Tigers (3-4, 0-4 SEC) were idle this past weekend, and they will
attempt to snap a two-game losing streak this Saturday at home versus
Kentucky.
OLE MISS: The Rebels (4-3, 1-2 SEC) enjoyed their bye week after they snapped
their 16-game conference losing streak against Auburn on Oct. 13. They will
travel to Little Rock this Saturday to tangle with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks committed three costly turnovers in the first
half that resulted in 21 points for Florida, as they eventually fell on the
road to the nation's third-ranked team, 44-11. Connor Shaw was inefficient
under center, completing just 9-of-20 passes for 72 yards while being sacked
twice. Dylan Thompson also saw plenty of action, but did not perform any
better (8-of-20, 83 yards, INT, two sacks). The USC run game was also stifled,
netting a mere 36 yards on 26 carries. An injured Marcus Lattimore suited up
despite seeing no time in practice last week, but he carried the ball just
three times for 13 yards. The Gamecocks defense actually played better than
the final score would lead you to believe, holding Florida to 183 yards of
total offense, but the offense often left the Gators with short fields and
they were able to capitalize, scoring touchdowns on 6-of-7 trips to the red
zone. South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 SEC) will try to halt its two-game skid at home
this Saturday against Tennessee.
TENNESSEE: Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time in nearly a
month, the Volunteers were picked apart by the nation's No. 1 team, falling to
Alabama in a 44-13 final. The UT defense was torched by Crimson Tide
quarterback A.J. McCarron for four touchdown passes, the most the team has
allowed in a game since November of 2007. The usually-potent Volunteers
offense could barely get anything going against the suffocating 'Bama defense,
amassing just 282 total yards. Tyler Bray had one of the worst performances of
his career, completing 13-of-27 passes for 184 yards and two interceptions. It
was the first time since Oct. 8, 2011 that he failed to throw a touchdown pass
in a game. Justin Hunter had four catches for a team-high 70 yards, and Marlin
Lane found success both running the football (15 carries, 55 yards) as well as
catching it (five receptions, 48 yards). Tennessee (3-4, 0-4 SEC) is still
without a conference win, and the Vols are in for another tough one as they
play at South Carolina this Saturday.
TEXAS A&M: The Aggies held a 12-0 lead early in their bout with nationally-
ranked LSU, but they were bitten by five turnovers as they ultimately fell,
24-19. Freshman Johnny Manziel was busy in the passing game, completing 29-
of-56 passes for 276 yards, but he went without a touchdown pass and threw
three interceptions. Manziel, the SEC's leading rusher heading into the game,
was also held to 27 yards on 17 carries. Despite Manziel's slow day on the
ground, Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2 SEC) found some success rushing the ball with Ben
Malena (12 carries, 82 yards, TD) and Christine Michael (eight carries, 27
yards, TD). The pass defense was solid, holding Zach Mettenberger to 11
completions for a mere 97 yards, but the unit was suspect on the ground,
allowing 219 yards and two scores. A&M failed to come up with a turnover. The
Aggies will try to shake off the tough defeat this week when it goes on the
road to face a struggling Auburn squad.
VANDERBILT: Zac Stacy became the all-time leading rusher in Vanderbilt
history, as he helped push the Commodores past Auburn on Saturday, 17-13.
Stacy shined on the record-setting day, gaining 169 yards on 27 carries,
including the go-ahead, two-yard touchdown run midway through the third
quarter. The running back, who also broke the single-season rushing record
last season (1,193 yards), now has 2,670 yards for his career. Jordan Rodgers
completed 15-of-25 passes for 173 yards, with the majority of that production
going to Chris Boyd (six receptions, 77 yards). The defense held the Tigers to
just 212 total yards, and Chase Garnham recorded a team-high nine tackles,
which included three sacks. Vanderbilt (3-4, 2-3 SEC) managed to win despite
committing three turnovers on the day. The Commodores step out of conference
and try to move to .500 on the year as they play host to FBS newcomer
Massachusetts this Saturday.
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