Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Vicksburg Post
B3
college football
Southern trips Alabama barbecues Razorbacks Texas up Alcorn State, 14-7 By The Associated Press
No. 3 Alabama turned the showdown with the Southeastern Conference’s No. 1 offense into a showcase for the top defense. And the Crimson Tide’s special teams. Trent Richardson, too, of course. Richardson rushed for 120 yards and caught a 61-yard touchdown pass and the Tide defense pretty much unplugged No. 14 Arkansas’ normally high-powered passing game in a 38-14 win on Saturday. The Tide (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) scored on special teams, defense and using the old-fashioned power run to emphatically win a game that the Razorbacks (3-1, 0-1) hoped would stamp them as legitimate contenders in the SEC. Instead, the league’s top defense thoroughly overpowered Tyler Wilson and the No. 1 offense. “Well, we set out to establish that we were going against the best offense in the SEC and a lot of people were labeling us as the best defense in the SEC,” Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower said. “So we wanted to go out and show people what we were capable of with all cylinders turning.” The result looked a lot like the Tide’s 2009 national championship defense. Alabama had 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. The downside: Linebacker C.J. Mosley sustained an elbow injury, and Saban said he is questionable for next weekend’s game at No. 15 Florida. Tide quarterback AJ McCarron also came up big in his first SEC start. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Marquis Maze scored on an 83-yard punt return and DeQuan Menzie returned an interception 25 yards for another score. McCarron, also the holder, hooked up with tight end Michael Williams for a 37-yard touchdown on a fake field goal.
From staff, wire reports Riko Smalls passed for one touchdown and ran for another to lead Texas Southern past Alcorn State 14-7 on Saturday. Smalls connected with Kirk Fitzhugh for a 7-yard score in the second quarter and ran 16 yards for a TD in the third quarter for Texas Southern (2-1, 1-1 SWAC). The Tigers’ defense did the rest, holding Alcorn State (1-3, 1-3) to nine first downs and just 132 yards of total offense. The Braves’ only touchdown came when Terrance Lewis returned a punt 84 yards for a score with 6:40 to play
Alabama State 21, Jackson State 14 Casey Therriault threw six interceptions and Alabama State, despite gaining just 227 yards, beat Jackson State for a second straight year, dish-
The associated press
Alabama running back Eddie Lacy stiff-arms Arkansas cornerback Greg Gatson for a first down run during the first half Saturday.
South Carolina 21, Vanderbilt 3 Marcus Lattimore scored two touchdowns and had 150 total yards from scrimmage to lead No. 12 South Carolina to a win over Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) won on defense, holding the Commodores (3-1, 1-1) to 77 yards. South Carolina is 4-0 for the first time in coach Steve Spurrier’s seven years with the team. But it was frustrating for the coach. Quarterback Stephen Garcia threw four interceptions.
Florida (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) scored three touchdowns in a 4:31 span during the first quarter, taking advantage of two turnovers by Kentucky (2-2, 0-1). Trey Burton had a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Gators up 21-0. Demps had an 84-yard touchdown run, Florida’s longest since Emmitt Smith’s 96 yarder against Mississippi State in 1988. Chris Raney added 105 yards, and John Brantley was 8 for 14 for 115 yards and a score. Kentucky’s lone touchdown came after an interception thrown by backup Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel.
Florida 48, Kentucky 10 Auburn 30, FAU 14 Jeff Demps ran 10 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns as No. 15 Florida routed Kentucky for the Gators’ 25th straight win in the series.
Interceptions by Jermaine Whitehead and Neiko Thorpe led to third-quarter scores that helped Auburn stamp out a Florida Atlantic upset bid.
With the defending national champion Tigers (3-1) leading by just four points, Whitehead stepped in front of a Graham Wilbert pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown and a 17-6 Auburn lead 1:26 into the second half. After Onterio McCalebb took a Barrett Trotter screen pass 51 yards for a touchdown several minutes later, Thorpe intercepted another Wilbert pass and returned it 46 yards to the 19 of Florida Atlantic (0-3) midway through the third quarter, setting up Cody Parkey’s 31-yard field goal. Auburn’s offense managed only 315 yards. The Owls’ first touchdown this season came midway through the fourth quarter, a 12-yard screen from Wilbert to Alfred Morris, but they managed only two Vinny Zaccario field goals against Auburn’s first-team defense.
Cowboys survive late Aggie charge By The Associated Press The first big game on the season in the Big 12 went to Oklahoma State, with Brandon Weeden leading the Cowboys from behind at Texas A&M. Weeden threw for a schoolrecord 438 yards and two scores as No. 7 Oklahoma State rallied for a 30-29 win over the Aggies on Saturday. Oklahoma State won its fourth straight in the series with Texas A&M, a series that is likely to be put on hold when the Aggies’ move to the SEC is complete. The Cowboys also won their seventh overall on the road in the first top 10 matchup at Kyle Field since 1975.
Okla. 38, Missouri 28 Landry Jones threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns to Ryan Broyles, leading topranked Oklahoma back from a rare home deficit to beat Missouri. With two starting receivers out of the lineup, Broyles had to play up to his usual AllAmerican standard without proven sidekicks. Kenny Stills, who caught the go-ahead touchdown in a win at thenNo. 5 Florida State last week, was out with a head injury and Trey Franks is suspended indefinitely. The Tigers (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) pounced early to take a 14-3 first-quarter lead, breaking a streak of 20 straight home games in which Oklahoma (3-0, 1-0) never trailed. It didn’t last long, though.
Wisc. 59, S. Dakota 10 Nick Toon had a careerhigh 155 yards receiving and
ing the Tigers a hurtful blow in its hopes of winning a black national championship. The Tigers committed seven turnovers and have 17 in the last three games and 19 for the season.
Louisiana College 52, Miss. College 17 Louisiana College (3-0, 1-0 American South Conference) scored 38 unanswered points over the first three quarters on their way to a win over Mississippi College (2-2, 1-1 ASC).
Delta St. 34, Henderson St. 31 Third-ranked Delta State (4-1) capped off a four-game road trip over the last month with a win over Henderson State. Quarterback Micah Davis completed 24-of-34 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown for DSU.
Ole Miss Continued from Page B1. grind out the road victory. Malcolm Mitchell caught three passes for 93 yards to help the Bulldogs gain 475 total yards. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead by midway through the second quarter and took a 24-13 lead into halftime. Georgia kicker Blair Walsh missed three field goals in the second half, but the Ole Miss offense could never capitalize. Ole Miss (1-3, 0-2) has lost 10 of its past 11 SEC games. Georgia dominated early, with the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Crowell gashing the Ole Miss defense on the ground for several big gains. Murray’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Orson Charles gave the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 6:01 in the second quarter. “The first half was great offensively,” Murray said. “We didn’t make mistakes
and we were efficient ... You could tell today that we’ve made some big strides since week one.” But the Rebels responded with an unexpected flurry that briefly made things interesting. After a reverse handoff, Randall Mackey hit a wide-open Donte Moncrief for a 38-yard touchdown to pull within 17-7. Then Ole Miss immediately recovered an onside kick and the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd of 58,042 finally had something to cheer about. The momentum was short lived — Mackey threw an interception three plays later. “I thought our defense came out in the second half and played a dominant game,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “The defense finished this game extremely well.”
USM
Continued from Page B1. So did the Golden Eagles, at the most unlikely of times. On fourth-and-15 from their 8 in the second quarter, trailing 13-7, Hrapmann, the punter, rolled right in the end zone as if he was going to do a rugby kick, saw green and took off. He gained 31 yards and a first down, keeping alive a 14-play, 87-yard drive that featured two third-down conversions and a short pass that Balentine took 20 yards for a touchdown. An exchange of punts found the Cavaliers starting at their own 1, and coach Mike London sent Watford in at quarterback. Three plays netted 2 yards, and Jimmy Howell’s punt set the Golden
Eagles up at the Virginia 35. A 23-yard connection from Davis to Lampley highlighted the 8-play drive, and Davis found Bolden with no one near him on third-and-goal from the 3 for the TD. The Cavaliers scored on consecutive drives to go ahead 13-7. Rocco scored the first touchdown on a 6-yard keeper, and after the defense held, he led the team on a 69-yard drive in six plays. Perry Jones had a 20-yard run in the drive, a 15-yard personal foul helped too, and redshirt freshman Kevin Parks scored from the 9, running over defenders near the goal line.
MSU The associated press
Clemson wide receiver Martavis Bryant makes a 33-yard reception over Florida State defenders Lamarcus Joyner (20) and Mike Harris (1) Saturday. two touchdowns in No. 6 Wisconsin’s final tune-up for Nebraska at Camp Randall next week. Wisconsin (4-0) recovered from a slow start to take control of the game with a 21-point outburst in the final six minutes of the second quarter.
Va. Tech 30, Marshall 10 Illinois 23, W. Mich. 20
Clemson 35, Fla. St. 30
TCU 55, Portland St. 13
Tajh Boyd threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as No. 21 Clemson opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a victory. Boyd threw for 344 yards for the Tigers, who reached 4-0 for the first time since 2007. Freshman Sammy Watkins had two of Boyd’s scoring passes for 24 and 62 yards as Clemson beat the No. 11 Seminoles (2-2, 0-1) for the fifth straight time in Death Valley.
No. 20 TCU scored three touchdowns in a span of 1:18 just before halftime and Waymon James ran 65 yards for a score on the first play of the second half as the Horned Frogs won easily.
David Wilson rushed for 132 yards, Josh Oglesby scored two touchdowns and No. 13 Virginia Tech won its final tuneup before opening Atlantic Coast Conference play against Clemson.
Mich. 28, San Diego St. 7 Denard Robinson ran for a season-high 200 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Wolverines past No. 22 Michigan coach Brady Hoke’s former team.
Troy Pollard ran for a careerhigh 133 yards and Derek Dimke kicked three field goals as No. 24 Illinois survived. The Illini trailed at the half 13-10 and the game was tied 20-20 with less than nine minutes to play. Booing Illini fans recalled a 23-17 loss to the Broncos (2-2) the last time the teams met in 2008.
Ga. Tech 35, N. Carolina 28 Tevin Washington threw a long touchdown pass and ran for two scores, including a 5-yarder that gave No. 25 Georgia Tech a 4-0 start. The Tar Heels (3-1, 1-1 ACC) fought back from a 28-14 deficit, tying the game on freshman Giovani Bernard’s 55-yard run with 7:22 left.
Continued from Page B1. freshman, finished 29-of40 for 228 yards, but he was sacked three times and picked off twice. “He played real well, just made a few mistakes down the stretch,” La. Tech coach Sonny Dykes said. “Which most young players do. What he did do, he played well enough for us to win it at the end of the game.” Neither team ever gained a sizeable lead in regulation. Mississippi State struck first on Chad Bumphis’s
82-yard punt return for a touchdown, but Tech responded with 10 unanswered points to take the lead. But midway through the second quarter, Vick Ballard broke free on a fourth-andone and scampered for an 11-yard touchdown run, putting MSU back on top. Derek DePasquale hit a 36-yard field goal in the closing minutes of the half to put MSU up 17-10 at the break.