No. 19 Mississippi stops Auburn 27-19
AUBURN, Ala. — Laquon Treadwell caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and No. 19 Mississippi kept its Southeastern Conference title hopes alive with a 27-19 victory Saturday over Auburn.
The Rebels (7-2, 4-1 SEC) made two straight defensive stands after grabbing the lead. Chad Kelly hit Treadwell in the end zone with just over 10 minutes left and the league’s leading receiver held onto it going down even with cornerback Carlton Davis draped all over him.
Treadwell’s 2014 season ended with a serious leg injury on a pivotal catch and fumble late in a loss to Auburn.
This time the Tigers couldn’t punch it into the end zone after a first down from the 3. Auburn drove across midfield again before failing to convert on fourth down and Ole Miss ran out most of the clock.
Auburn (4-4, 1-4) dropped its second straight after losing to Arkansas in four overtimes.
Treadwell said earlier in the week he wanted to make the Tigers feel some of his pain, and he did. Treadwell had seven catches for 114 yards and completed a 21-yard pass to set up Gary Wunderlich’s third quarter field goal to snap a 10-10 halftime tie.
The Rebels still control their own destiny in the SEC West. They’re the only team to beat No. 7 Alabama and still play No. 4 LSU; those two teams play next weekend.
The league’s leading offense put up big numbers again.
Kelly completed 33 of 51 passes for 381 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions while also making plays on runs.
Jaylen Walton ran for 78 yards on 20 carries against the league’s worst defense. He also had 47 yards on three catches.
A gimpy Sean White was 12 of 28 for 258 yards for Auburn, including the first touchdown pass of his career and an interception.
Auburn had announced before kickoff that White’s status was a gametime decision because of an undisclosed injury that kept him out of practice most of the week. He wore a brace on his left knee and was limping at times.
The Rebels milked off all but the final 8 seconds before giving Auburn the ball one last time. Strongarmed former starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson was hit as he threw and his Hail Mary attempt fell to the ground well shy of the end zone.
Texas A&M 35, South Carolina
28: Highly touted true freshman quarterback Kyler Murray ran for 156 yards and threw for 223 more in his first start for Texas A&M, and the Aggies ended a two-game slide with a 35-28 win over South Carolina on Saturday.
Tra Carson added 122 yards rushing and a touchdown and Donovan Wilson had a 60-yard interception return for the Aggies (6-2, 3-2 SEC).
Brandon Wilds ran for 128 yards and two scores for the Gamecocks (3-5, 1-5).
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin re-opened the competition for the starting quarterback job this week, and Murray was named the starter Friday. Murray completed 20 of 28 passes with a touchdown, and ran 20 times with the go-ahead score on a 1-yard keeper on fourth down after the game had been tied three times.
Less than 2 minutes later, Wilson’s pick-six put the Aggies up 35-21. Arkansas 63, UT Martin 28: Alex Collins ran for a career-high five touchdowns and Brandon Allen threw for 265 yards to help Arkansas overcome shoddy defense in a 63-28 win over FCS foe Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.
Collins finished with 173 yards on 16 carries, while his five rushing touchdowns in a single game ties for second most in program history. Allen was sharp in three quarters of work, completing 14 of 19 passes and throwing two touchdown passes as the Razorbacks (4-4) racked up 591 yards of offense in their final nonconference outing of the season.
The outcome was never in doubt after Arkansas built a 21-0 lead, but the Razorbacks’ defense struggled mightily as UT Martin gouged the Hogs for 519 yards of offense, including 263 in the first half. UT Martin quarterback Jarod Neal threw for 380 yards against a pass defense ranked No. 100 in the nation, but the Skyhawks couldn’t catch up after early interceptions by Arkansas’ Rohan Gaines and Brooks Ellis. Tennessee 52, Kentucky 21: Joshua Dobbs accounted for four touchdowns and Tennessee scored on both a kickoff return and punt return Saturday in a 52-21 rout of Kentucky that continued the Volunteers’ domination of this annual series.
Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC) has won 30 of its last 31 meetings with Kentucky (4-4, 2-4). The Wildcats’ lone victory during that stretch was a 10-7 decision in 2011.
Dobbs was 16 of 26 for 233 yards with one interception and two touchdown passes, including a 75-yard pass to Josh Malone that put Tennessee ahead for good late in the second quarter. He also rushed for 51 yards and two scores.
Evan Berry scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and Cam Sutton reached the end zone on an 84-yard punt return in the third quarter. Berry has three touchdowns on kickoff returns this year to tie Willie Gault’s 35-year-old school single-season record.