Two-point gamble pays off for Tigers
MISSOURI 24, FLORIDA 23, OT
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak heard boos from the home fans as he trotted to the sideline after fruitless drives Saturday. It was nothing but cheers after he lofted a two- point conversion pass to Daniel Parker Jr. to lift the Tigers to a 24-23 overtime victory over Florida.
“I’m proud of Connor,” Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “He takes a lot of criticism, he takes a lot of boos, but when we needed him, he stepped up.”
The Tigers (6-5, 3-4) drew within a point on Tyler Badie’s 13-yard touchdown run, and Drinkwitz elected to go for 2 rather than send the game to a second overtime with an extra-point kick.
Last week, Drinkwitz benched Bazelak for the last drive of a victory over South Carolina after he threw his second interception. Missouri fans sounded eager to see backup Brady Cook throughout Saturday’s game, but Drinkwitz stuck with Bazelak. The play-action action pass was designed to go to Badie in the right flat, but when he was covered and so was the second option, Bazelak turned to his left and released the pass to Parker just before getting hit.
Bazelak completed 15 of 26 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Badie rushed 27 times for 146 yards.
“He showed a lot of grit and passion for the game,” Badie said of Bazelak. “He came out victorious, too. The last play, the ball was in his hand and he delivered for our team.”
Florida (5-6, 2-6) got the ball first in overtime, and Emory Jones caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Trent Whittemore on a trick play to give the Gators a brief lead. Jones completed 20 of 32 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown.
“That’s our seventh straight loss in one-possession games,” Florida Coach Dan Mullen said. “That’s on us as coaches to create the mental toughness for the guys to make sure we have the right guys in the right position to make a play when the game’s on the line.”
NO. 1 GEORGIA 56, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 7
ATHENS, Ga. — Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and Georgia’s defense was again dominant against Charleston Southern.
Davis, a leader of Georgia’s top-ranked defense, scored on a 1-yard plunge out of the Bulldogs’ jumbo package in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown.
Davis had previously played in the jumbo package as a blocker, but fans roared in anticipation when the 6-foot-6, 340-pound tackle shifted to the backfield. Davis was stopped on his first run from the 2. Fans again cheered when he was given a second carry and scored from the 1.
Georgia (11-0) was as dominant as expected against Charleston Southern (4-6). The Buccaneers fell to 0-25 against FBS teams.
NO. 12 MISSISSIPPI 31, VANDERBILT 17
OXFORD, Miss. — Matt Corral threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns in his home finale and No. 10 Mississippi (9-2, 5-2) beat Vanderbilt (2-9, 0-7).
Ole Miss never trailed, with Corral throwing an 8-yard scoring pass to Jerrion Ealy in the opening minutes en route to a 24-9 halftime lead.
Corral completed 27 of 36 passes, including a 10-yard touchdown strike to Dontario Drummond early in the second quarter. The Rebels led 31-9 in the fourth quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run by Henry Parrish Jr.
NO. 16 TEXAS A&M 52, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 3
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for three touchdowns before halftime, and Texas A&M routed Prairie View A&M.
Texas A&M (8-3) easily bounced back from a loss at Ole Miss. Prairie View (7-3), an FCS school that plays in the SWAC, just couldn’t keep up with the Aggies.
Texas A&M led 38-0 after a dominant first half by Achane and Spiller. It also limited Prairie View to 2 yards passing before the break.
NO. 25 MISSISSIPPI STATE 55, TENNESSEE STATE 10
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Will Rogers threw for 391 yards and tossed five touchdown passes as Mississippi State routed Tennessee State.
The sophomore quarterback came off a six-touchdown, no-interception performance last week against Auburn to break Dak Prescott’s single-season school records for passing touchdowns and passing yards in the first quarter.
Rogers completed three touchdown passes of 30 yards or more and threw for 300 yards or more for an FBS-best ninth consecutive game.
Austin Williams caught three scoring passes for Mississippi State (7-4), while Makai Polk and Malik Heath had a touchdown grab apiece. Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson each rushed for a touchdown for the Bulldogs.
SO. CAROLINA 21, AUBURN 17
COLUMBIA, S.C. — ZaQuandre White was South Carolina’s leading rusher with 99 yards and top receiver with 69 yards as the Gamecocks became bowl eligible the traditional way for the first time in three seasons with a victory over Auburn.
For the second week in a row, the Tigers dominated early and jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but saw it evaporate as their defense suddenly lost its edge.
White had just three yards rushing at that point. But the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5) scored touchdowns on their next two drives with White running for 37 yards and popping uncovered out of the backfield for a 28-yard TD on a 4th-and-3 that turned the momentum of the game around.
South Carolina’s third starting quarterback of the season Jason Brown went 10-of-15 passing for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns, overcoming a bad throw that was easily picked off in the end zone in the first quarter.
Auburn (6-5, 3-4) lost its third game in a row even though Tank Bigsby ran for a season best 164 yards on 22 carries.
LSU 27, LA.-MONROE 14
BATON ROUGE — Freshman Malik Nabers had a career-high 143 yards receiving and a touchdown as LSU defeated Louisiana-Monroe.
Snapping a three-game losing streak, the Tigers (5-6) continued to struggle to develop any sort of rhythm offensively, scoring only 17 points well into the third quarter against the nation’s 115th-ranked scoring defense in ULM (4-7).
After forcing a ULM punt on its opening possession, sophomore Max Johnson connected with Nabers on passes of 7and 48 yards on a five-play, 64 yard drive that culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run by Johnson to make it a 7-0 LSU advantage.
TENNESSEE 60, SOUTH ALABAMA 14
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Hendon Hooker threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Tennessee to a victory over South Alabama.
The nonconference win gives the Volunteers (6-5) bowl eligibility in Coach Josh Heupel’s first season. The Jaguars (5-6) have one more try to reach that level under first-year Coach Kane Wommack.
Hooker connected on 17 of 20 passes, with touchdowns going to Cedric Tillman (27 yards) and Princeton Fant (24). Jabari Small rushed for 73 yards and two TDs.
Tennessee’s offense generated 275 yards and 16 first downs in the first half, but it was Velus Jones’ 96-yard kickoff return with just over a minute before intermission that highlighted the 35-7 half.