Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
NO. 1 GEORGIA
falls to No. 10 Auburn 40-17.
NO. 10 AUBURN 40, NO. 1 GEORGIA 17
AUBURN, Ala. — Kerryon Johnson ran for 167 yards and caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham and No. 10 Auburn smothered No. 1 Georgia’s running game in a 40-17 victory Saturday.
The Tigers (8-2, 6-1 SEC) remained in Western Division and potentially playoff contention after snapping a three-year losing streak to one of their top rivals. The Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1) came in with the top spot in the playoff rankings and could get a rematch if Auburn can beat No. 2 Alabama in two weeks.
The first go-around wasn’t pretty for Georgia. Auburn held Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and the SEC’s top ground game to 46 yards, 233 below their season average.
“This was a huge win for us,” Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn said. “They seized the moment.”
Johnson ran 32 times and caught two passes for 66 yards. Stidham threw for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns, all of 30-plus yards. He also ran for a 7-yard score.
Georgia special teams blunders helped set up three Auburn touchdowns, including a roughing the penalty flag in the first half. The Bulldogs fumbled away a punt return and had a 15-yard personal foul penalty in the third quarter when Auburn pulled away with two touchdowns.
“What made it so lopsided was the uncharacteristic penalties,” Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said.
Ryan Davis returned a punt 26 yards into Georgia territory, with the flag pushing Auburn even closer to the goal line. Then Davis took a screen pass 32 yards for a touchdown to make it 30-7. Darius Slayton made a 42yard scoring grab earlier.
The Bulldogs added a touchdown in the final minutes. Chubb gained just 27 yards on 11 carries with a 1-yard touchdown on the opening drive. Michel ran nine times for 21 yards.
Jake Fromm was 13-of-28 passing for 184 yards and a late touchdown pass.
“They just whipped us up front,” Smart said. “Bottom line, we couldn’t move it.”
SOUTH CAROLINA 28, FLORIDA 20
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jake Bentley threw for 249 yards and ran for two touchdowns to lead South Carolina to a victory over Florida.
The Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3) had their best game of the season, gaining 469 yards, and needed that offense to overcome Bentley’s three interceptions and a fumbled punt.
But a Florida team in disarray with a fired coach and no victories since September couldn’t take advantage of the help. The Gators (3-6, 3-5) will finish with a losing SEC record for only the third time since 1992.
A.J. Turner ran 22 times for 136 yards and Mon Denson rushed for the first two touchdowns of his career as South Carolina will finish second in the SEC East. They have just one title and fourth second-place finishes in 25 years in the league.
MISSISSIPPI 50, LA.- LAFAYETTE 22
OXFORD, Miss. — Jordan Ta’amu threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as Mississippi scored on its opening five possessions to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette.
Ta’amu, in his third career start after replacing an injured Shea Patterson, finished 28 of 36 for 418 yards, opening with 9 consecutive completions. Ta’amu added scoring runs of 1 and 8 yards as the Rebels (5-5) raced to an insurmountable 35-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Lafayette (4-5) scored on a 31-yard run by Raymond Calais during the first half surge by the Rebels. Reserve quarterback Jordan Davis added fourth quarter scoring runs of 10 and 31 yards.
A.J. Brown had 14 receptions for 185 yards, including touchdown catches of 31 and 27 yards. DaMarkus Lodge opened the early surge with a 37-yard touchdown reception. Jordan Wilkins and Eric Swinney added scoring runs of 8 and 10 yards, respectively.
The Rebels finished with 641 yards of total offense, 441 in the first half. Louisiana finished with no turnovers and 427 yards of total offense.
KENTUCKY 44, VANDERBILT 21
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Benny Snell rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns and Sihiem King added two rushing TDs, leading Kentucky to a victory at Vanderbilt.
Kentucky (7-3, 4-3) improved its bowl stock while keeping Vanderbilt (4-6, 0-6) winless in the conference standings.
Snell, who entered the game as the SEC’s leading rusher, became the ninth player in school history to reach 2,000 career yards. The 5-foot-11, 223-pound sophomore also became the first Kentucky player to rush for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
Kentucky’s Austin MacGinnis kicked three field goals and the Wildcats rambled for 428 yards in total offense.
Kyle Shurmur threw 4 interceptions and 1 TD, and was sacked 5 times. He is tied for second with Jay Cutler (21) for most single-season TD passes in Vanderbilt history.
Ralph Webb rushed for 70 yards and one TD for the Commodores. The senior passed Florida’s Emmitt Smith in career yards and moved into the top 10 in SEC rushing history.