| Florida swamped South Carolina, forcing four turnovers and holding the Gamecocks to 191 total yards. Gators DB Josh Evans gets a sack here on QB Dylan Thompson. (US Presswire) |
SEC scoreboard
Vanderbilt 17, Auburn 13: Vanderbilt RB Zac Stacy became the school's all-time leading rusher, but a fumble from the senior gave Auburn a chance to stay in the game late. Auburn (1-6, 0-5 SEC) wasn't able to capitalize on the opportunity, and lost its fifth conference game of the season. Vanderbilt is 3-4, 2-3 SEC. Stacy finished with 169 yards and a touchdown. Auburn was led by RB Tre Mason, who fhad 16 carries for 85 yards and a TD. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 6 LSU 24, No. 20 Texas A&M 19: QB Johnny Manziel finally ran out of magic for Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2 SEC). The freshman had 276 yards passing, but he accounted for four turnovers and only had 27 yards rushing -- a low output for the SEC's leading rusher. LSU (7-1, 3-1 SEC) leaned on RBs Jeremy Hill and Michael Ford, who combined for 29 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 3 Florida 44, No. 9 South Carolina 11: The Gators (7-0, 6-0 SEC) capitalized on four turnovers and took firm control of the SEC East. Working on short fields, QB Jeff Driskel threw for four touchdowns on just 93 yards, as Florida sent the Gamecocks (6-2, 4-2) to their second straight loss. Florida's swarming defense held South Carolina to 36 yards on 26 carries (1.4 ypc). Florida can clinch a berth in the SEC Championship Game by beating Georgia next week. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 13 Georgia 29, Kentucky 24: Aaron Murray threw for 427 yards and four TDs and the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) held on over a surprisingly game Wildcats (1-7, 0-5). Tavarres King and Malcolm Mitchell had nine catches apiece for Georgia, which plays Florida next week in Jacksonville. Raymond Sanders ran for 72 yards and a score for Kentucky, which has given up at least 29 points in each of its six straight losses. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 1 Alabama 44, Tennessee 13: No. 1 Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC) came to Knoxville and walked out with an easy 44-13 win over the Vols (3-4, 0-4 SEC). Nobody was too surprised. What was surprising was how easy Alabama moved the ball in the passing game. QB AJ McCarron had a career-high 306 yards and tied his career high of four TD passes. WR Amari Cooper set an Alabama freshman record with 162 receiving yards and added two touchdowns. Alabama outgained the Vols 539 to 282 in total yards. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 15 Mississippi State 45, Middle Tennessee State 3: Tyler Russell threw three touchdown passes, two to Chris Smith, and LaDarius Perkins ran for 125 yards and a score as the Bulldogs (7-0, 3-0 SEC) stayed perfect ahead of their Oct. 27 showdown in Tuscaloosa. It was only 10-3 at half before Mississippi State scored three third-quarter touchdowns. CB J<player idref= Johnthan Banks made his 16th career interception, tying the school record set by Walt Harris.
Play of the day: LSU WR Kadron Boone made a spectacular, diving 29-yard touchdown grab to put LSU up 14-12 over Texas A&M with 11 seconds left in the first half. It was a spark for an offense that had only completed four passes up to that point.
He said what? Auburn coach Gene Chizik on his team not finishing well against Vanderbilt: "It is all about winning the fourth quarter, and it is all about winning the game. It is disappointing that we haven’t closed the door on it."
RapidReports defensive star of the day: Vanderbilt MLB Chase Garnham. Garnham had nine tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks in the Commodores' 17-13 win. The young Auburn OL had no answer when he blitzed.
Runner-up: Florida CB Loucheiz Purifoy. He laid out South Carolina QB Connor Shaw on the first play from scrimmage, and Lerentee McCray recovered at the Gamecocks' 2-yard line. Driskel hit Jordan Reed for a TD on third down, starting the onslaught. Purifoy's hit set the tone for a dominant defensive performance.
2nd runner-up: Alabama LB C.J. Mosley. He picked off Tennessee's Tyler Bray in the second quarter, setting up a T.J. Yeldon TD run that made it 13-3 Crimson Tide. Alabama intercepted Bray twice and held him to 13-of-27 passing for 184 yards and no TDs.
RapidReports offensive star of the day: LSU RB Hill. He did it again. The Tigers' freshman back didn't start, but just like he did against South Carolina last week, he took over the game in the second half, finishing with 18 carries for 127 yards, including a crucial 47-yard TD run that put the Tigers up two scores late. Once a fourth-string RB, he has 251 rushing yards in the past two weeks.
Runner-up: Alabama's McCarron. He tied his career-high with four TD passes and extended his school-record streak to 249 straight passes thrown without an INT. He's completed at least 73 percent of his throws in three straight games.
2nd Runner-up: Florida's Driskel. He continued his efficient play, throwing four TD passes and only misfiring on five throws (11 of 16). For the season Driskel has accounted for 12 TDs (four rushing) with one interception.
His seat is getting uncomfortable: Chizik. We might just keep him in this spot every week until he gets a win. The Tigers fell to 1-6 with their loss at Vanderbilt. It won't get any easier with games against Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama still to come.
A possible spot on the bench for: Texas A&M K Taylor Bertolet. It's tough to say that about a kicker who hit a 50-yard FG, but he also had two misses and one missed extra point. Those seven points loomed large in the Aggies' 24-19 loss to LSU.
Why you should care about these stat lines:
1. Florida had three scoring drives of 29 yards or fewer in the first half against South Carolina: South Carolina miscues made life easy for the Gators' offense in the first half. Florida had scoring drives of 1, 2 and 29 yards to lead 21-6 at halftime.
2. Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel had four turnovers against LSU: His storied season hit some bumps against a stingy LSU defense. He threw three interceptions and fumbled in the 24-19 loss. So much for his rising Heisman candidacy.
3. LSU QB Zach Mettenberger had 11 completions against Texas A&M: The ground game was enough to get the Tigers past the Aggies, but LSU will need more balance with big games against Mississippi State and Alabama coming up.
Key number: 12. That's how many presidents have been in office since Auburn last started 1-6 (1952). If you were wondering, Harry Truman was in office at that point.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from SEC bloggers Daniel Lewis and Larry Hartstein, follow @CBSSportsSEC.