Editor’s Note (Rankings are Associated Press and were as of Saturday)
No. 12 Tennessee 24, No. 17 Florida, 10
Florida was going to go into the half with a 3-0 lead in front of an electric crowd at The Swamp – or so they thought. That was until Volunteers quarterback Casey Clausen found converted quarterback James Banks for a 48-yard Hail Mary touchdown to end the first half.
From that point on it was downhill for the Gators, one of the youngest teams in the SEC.
Jabari Davis had two touchdown runs for Tennessee, who has jumped up to No. 8 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
Florida’s quarterback tandem of sophomore Ingle Martin and freshman Chris Leak combined to go 25-of-44, but each threw an interception. Leak though was 9-of-12. The senior Clausen led Tennessee to a win in hostile territory, going 12-of-23 for 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
No. 14 Arkansas, 31, North Texas, 7
Arkansas beat up on North Texas in its final tuneup for conference play. Running back Cedric Cobbs continued his sizzling start to the season, rushing 20 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Matt Jones was 6-of-8 for 67 yards and a touchdown in limited action.
The competition picks up for the Hogs next week as they travel to Tuscaloosa and face an embarrassed Alabama Crimson Tide squad.
Northern Illinois 19, No. 21 Alabama 16
Northern Illinois is becoming good at playing the role of David. The Huskies slayed their second Goliath of the season, taking down Alabama in Tuscaloosa. NIU had previously beaten a Top 15 team in Maryland earlier in the season, but that was at home.
Crimson Tide running back Shaud Williams, who called the loss embarrassing, rushed for 96 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown. Williams was overshadowed by NIU star Michael “The Burner” Turner, who rushed for a game high 156 yards on 27 carries.
No. 20 TCU, 30, Vandy, 14
Conference USA continues to beat up on the SEC. After Mississippi State losses to Tulane and Houston (more on that in a second), Vanderbilt goes on the road and gets beat by two plus touchdowns to a TCU team that was not even playing its top quarterback, who was out due to an injury.
Vandy signal caller Jay Cutler threw for 250 yards, but tossed two interceptions and the Commodores rushed for just 2.8 yards per carry.
Kentucky 34, Indiana 17
Indiana could not take down the Battleship, Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Lorenzen was an efficient 9-of-18 for 141, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
If Kentucky is to avoid going 0-2 in the SEC after a conference-opening loss to Bama on the road, it must beat Florida at home Saturday.
South Carolina 42, UAB 10
South Carolina put up a 14-spot in the first, second and fourth quarters to blow out Conference USA foe UAB. The Gamecock offense got clicking putting up 405 total yards.
USC quarterback Dondrial Pinkins was 13-of-19 for 199 yards with an interception. Running back Demetrius Summers had 19 carries for 146 yards and three touchdowns. The Gamecocks will face Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. next week.
Houston 42, Mississippi State 35
The good news: quarterback Kevin Fant threw for 360 yards. The bad news: Fant threw 5 interceptions and the Bulldogs were down by 28-0 at one point in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs defense, which continues to struggle, gave up over 500 yards of total offense to the Cougars. State will host LSU next week and it could get ugly, but also be a trap game for the high-flying Tigers.