Southeastern Conference News And Notes
Monday, October 6, 2008
Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - ALABAMA: Glen Coffee ran for a career-high 218 yards and Alabama's only offensive touchdown, as the second-ranked Crimson Tide pulled out a hard- fought 17-14 victory over Kentucky on Saturday. John Parker Wilson wasn't much of a factor, hitting 7-of-17 passes for 106 yards and an interception for Alabama, which improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. Julio Jones caught three balls for 52 yards, while Mark Ingram rushed for 66 yards on 11 carries. The Crimson Tide's rushing defense was once again stingy, holding the Wildcats to a mere 35 yards on the ground. Alabama is one of two teams in the SEC that will be idle this weekend.ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks were simply no match for Florida this past weekend, and the Gators rolled to a 38-7 victory in Fayetteville. Casey Dick completed 24-of-38 passes for 220 yards with one interception for the Razorbacks, who have lost three straight games since opening the campaign with back-to-back victories over weak non-conference opponents. Michael Smith accumulated 133 yards rushing, 43 yards through the air on six grabs and scored Arkansas' lone touchdown. Joe Adams caught five passes for 68 yards in the setback for the Razorbacks, who travel to Auburn this weekend. AUBURN: The Tigers played hard against Vanderbilt over the weekend, but the surprising Commodores thrilled the home crowd with a 14-13 victory. The loss snapped a 13-game win streak for Auburn over Vandy. Chris Todd went 8-of-16 for 70 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Ben Tate logged 27 carries for 108 yards for the Tigers. They jumped out to an early 13-0 lead but were shut out in the second half. The Tigers are now 4-2 overall, including 2-2 in conference. Auburn will host Arkansas this Saturday. FLORIDA: Tim Tebow threw two touchdowns and Jeffrey Demps ran for a pair to lead the Gators to a 38-7 thrashing of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Tebow completed 17-of-26 passes for 217 yards with one interception for Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC), which was coming off a painful loss to Ole Miss. Chris Rainey rushed for 103 yards and one score on 10 carries, while Demps gained 103 yards on the ground as well. Louis Murphy led all Gator receivers with 70 yards on five receptions. Florida has now won seven of its eight all-time meetings with Arkansas. In what will likely be the best game of the college football weekend, the Gators host the LSU Tigers on Saturday. GEORGIA: The Bulldogs, who were idle this past weekend, were blitzed by Alabama two weeks ago, as the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 31-0 lead. Although Georgia did put forth a tremendous effort to get back in the game, the result of the tilt was a 41-30 loss. Matthew Stafford threw for 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Georgia, which saw an 11-game win streak come to an end. The Bulldogs also became the third team in the top-four to lose during that upset- riddled weekend, joining top-ranked USC and No. 4 Florida. Alabama leads the all-time series, 36-25-4, and halted a three-game losing streak to Georgia. This coming weekend, the Bulldogs will play host to Tennessee. KENTUCKY: The Wildcats put forth a tremendous effort on Saturday against second-ranked Alabama, but the result was a 17-14 defeat. Mike Hartline struggled under center for Kentucky, which suffered its first loss of the season. Hartline connected on just 20-of-42 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble, which was returned for a touchdown. Dicky Lyons hauled in six balls for 63 yards and a score for the Wildcats, who led the nation in scoring defense (5.5 ppg) entering the contest. Kentucky remains winless against the Tide in 21 meetings in Alabama. Next up for the Wildcats is a clash with South Carolina in Lexington this weekend. LSU: Charles Scott rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, as the Tigers came away with a 34-24 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in SEC play two weeks ago. Jarrett Lee hit 18-of-27 passes for 261 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for LSU, which is now a perfect 4-0 overall, including 2-0 in league play. Brandon LaFell hauled in a game-high seven receptions for 100 yards for the Tigers, who topped Auburn last week. LSU quarterback Andrew Hatch did not play, as he is still recovering from a concussion suffered in last week's game against Auburn. LSU had a chance to rest this past weekend, and the Tigers will return to action on Saturday for a much-anticipated road clash with Florida. MISSISSIPPI STATE: The Bulldogs put up a fight against LSU two weeks ago in Baton Rouge, but lost in a 34-24 final. Tyson Lee got the start under center for MSU and put forth a strong effort. He threw for 175 yards, connecting on 17-of-26 throws with a touchdown. Anthony Dixon and Christian Ducre each scored rushing touchdowns for Mississippi State, which had registered just nine combined points in back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Auburn. Sylvester Croom's Bulldogs are just 1-4 overall and have lost both of their conference games to date. MSU was one of three SEC teams with an open date last weekend, and the club will return to action on Saturday against Vanderbilt. OLE MISS: The Rebels played hard for head coach Houston Nutt on Saturday, but they fell to South Carolina by a 31-24 final. Jevan Snead threw for 243 yards and a touchdown for Ole Miss, which fell to an even 3-3 overall and 1-2 in conference. The Rebels won a close game over Florida in a shocker two weeks ago, but they simply couldn't slow down the passing game of South Carolina. Considering that the Gamecocks averaged 10.2 yards per pass attempt, it isn't surprising that the Rebels lost the game. Ole Miss is one of two SEC teams with an open date this weekend. SOUTH CAROLINA: Chris Smelley threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Gamecocks to a 31-24 victory over Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday. Jason Barnes made seven catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns for South Carolina, which picked up its first SEC victory and improved to 4-2 overall. As a team, the Gamecocks only managed 2.2 yards per carry on the ground, but they made up for it with big plays in the passing game. Smelley averaged a hefty 10.2 yards per attempt. The Gamecocks will take on Kentucky in Lexington this coming weekend, and while three different quarterbacks have seen significant time under center this season, it appears that Smelley has earned a chance to lead the team against the Wildcats. TENNESSEE: The disappointing Volunteers barely squeaked by Northern Illinois on Saturday by a 13-9 final in Knoxville. A 52-yard touchdown pass from Nick Stephens to Denarius Moore in the third quarter proved to be the difference. Stephens finished the night 10-of-17 for 156 yards and the one score for the Vols (2-3), as they snapped a two-game slide. Tennessee controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes in the final period, yet the squad finished the night a mere 3-of-13 on third down and ran a total of just 50 plays en route to 225 yards of offense. The Vols will certainly have their hands full on Saturday, as they are slated to take on Georgia in Athens. VANDERBILT: The mission was clear for Vanderbilt. If the Commodores could find a way to beat Auburn on Saturday, they would earn some well-deserved national respect and continue to rise in the national polls. Vandy did just that, as it posted a 14-13 victory to improve to 3-0 in SEC play for the first time since 1950. Give plenty of credit to Mackenzi Adams, who came off the bench to throw for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Adams replaced started Chris Nickson, who aggravated a shoulder injury. The Commodores came into the clash ranked in the Top-25 for the first time since 1984, and they are now 5-0 for the first time since 1943. The Commodores will take on Mississippi State this weekend on the road.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.








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