Missouri 52, Connecticut 12
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jake Bentley ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead South Carolina to a 34-27 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday that assured the Southeastern Conference's East Division race would go on at least one more week.
Bentley was 19-of-29 for 174 yards and ran six times for 47 yards, including his first scores rushing in his college career for the Gamecocks (6-2, 4-2).
Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5) had two players ejected for targeting, including linebacker Charles Wright — the team's sack leader — on a hit on Bentley just after he released the ball.
"I saw a young man tackle a quarterback," Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. "We've got to get that right."
Bentley, who took advantage of open field in front of him for several big runs, said he is used to taking shots. "Anytime a quarterback runs it's like a little minnow with a pool of sharks," the sophomore said.
The Commodores finished with 10 penalties for 100 yards. The final one might have been the most costly. A holding penalty by tight end Sam Dobbs stalled a potential game-tying drive and Kyle Shurmur overthrew Caleb Scott on fourth-and-2 with just over a minute to go.
Shurmur threw for a season-best 333 yards and four touchdowns.
A.J. Turner ran 15 times for 121 yards and was the first Gamecock 100-yard rusher this season.
South Carolina kept itself in the SEC East race with the win. If the Gamecocks beat No.2 Georgia next week, they will be only one game behind the Bulldogs and own the tiebreaker.
Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp plans nothing special this week to emphasize the stakes.
"Our guys know it's an important game. They understand what is standing in front of them and me telling them is not going to make any difference," Muschamp said.
Kentucky 29, Tennessee 26
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Stephen Johnson ran for an 11-yard touchdown with 33 seconds remaining and hit Benny Snell with the 2-point conversion pass, Snell rushed for three touchdowns and Kentucky rallied past Tennessee for its first win over the Volunteers since 2011.
The Wildcats (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) overcame four lost fumbles and a sluggish second half before responding with a final TD drive behind Snell, who rushed for 180 yards on 27 carries. The sophomore's short run for first down at the Tennessee 11 set up Johnson's keeper two plays later, as the quarterback rolled right before being hit and somersaulted into the end zone for a 27-26 lead.
Johnson then took a double-reverse handoff and found Snell near the goal line for the needed cushion as Kentucky dealt Tennessee (3-5, 0-5) its fourth straight loss. The Wildcats' win was just their second in 33 series meetings.
"How many times have we been on the wrong end of that (outcome) for 33, 34 years?" Kentucky coach Mark Stoops asked afterward. "There have been many times when we've played some good football and came up on the wrong end. It's really nice to be on that other end, to just hang in there."
Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano completed a 48-yard Hail Mary pass to Jeff George that fell three yards short of the end zone as time expired.
Freshman Ty Chandler rushed for career bests of 120 yards and two second-quarter touchdowns to end Tennessee's offensive drought at 15 quarters. Brent Cimaglia kicked four field goals but missed two, leaving the Volunteers winless in SEC play.
STORRS, Conn. — Drew Lock threw for 377 yards and five touchdowns and Missouri routed Connecticut, winning back-to-back games for the first time since the start of the 2015 season.
Lock, who played just under three quarters, picked apart the nation's worst pass defense, finishing with a career high 31 completions on 37 attempts.
"We're talking about our outside guys being able to run by anybody," Lock said. "And then being able to take the hitches all night made my job a lot easier, because you get 6 or 7 on those, miss a tackle and you get a first down on those as well. That just allowed us to get in our shots a little more."
The Tigers (3-5) gave up a safety after an errant snap on the opening drive, then scored on their next five possessions to lead 31-5 at halftime.
Lock completed 14 of 15 passes in the first quarter, three of them for touchdowns, including two to freshman tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.
He also hit J'Mon Moore for two scores and hooked up with Johnathon Johnson for a 72-yard catch and run in the third quarter.
The Tigers had 583 yards of offense, 408 through the air.