Gamecocks could be without Connor Shaw vs. Gators

Speaking with the media Sunday afternoon, head coach Steve Spurrier confirmed again that Connor Shaw suffered a concussion in 44-28 the loss to Arkansas Saturday and his availability for the Florida game Saturday is uncertain. Shaw, along with a fellow-concussed teammate DeVonte Holloman, will not practice early in the week and their statuses will be determined later, perhaps by midweek.

“They will be sort of tested during the week and a decision will be made Wednesday or Thursday, something like that,” Spurrier said. “They (medical staff) don’t want, I don’t think, either one of them to practice Monday and Tuesday. They check them as they go through the week and just go from there.”

If Shaw is not cleared by the school’s medical staff and is unable to play, redshirt freshman Dylan Thompson would get the nod. This season, Thompson has attempted two passes, completing both for 17 yards in an Oct. 8 win over Kentucky.

LSU beats Bama in battle of field goals, 9-6 in OT

No. 1 LSU gained the inside track to the BCS title game, beating No. 2 Alabama 9-6 on Drew Alleman’s 25-yard field goal in overtime after a fierce defensive struggle in which neither team reached the end zone Saturday night. The Crimson Tide missed four field goals, including Cade Foster’s 52-yard attempt after Alabama got the ball first in the extra period. LSU appeared to win the game on Michael Ford’s run around left end after taking a pitch, but he stepped out of bounds at the 7. After two plays gained nothing, LSU (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) sent on Alleman to attempt his third field goal of the game on third down. Alabama (8-1, 5-1) tried to freeze him by calling timeout, but he calmly knocked it through to set off a wild celebration by the visiting team.

The crowd of more than 100,000 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, most of them dressed in crimson, sat in stunned silence as LSU celebrated its victory in only the 23rd regular-season matchup between the top two teams in The Associated Press rankings.

LSU still must win its last three regular-season games: No. 8 Arkansas is the toughest test, and then would have to get through the SEC championship game. But the Tigers are the clear favorite after winning another huge game away from home, emerging with the victory in a matchup between the two teams generally considered the best in the land.

And what if the BCS formula pits LSU against Alabama again in the national championship game?

“I’d be honored to face that team again,” Tigers coach Les Miles said.

Mississippi State routs Tennessee-Martin 55-17

Vick Ballard rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns to lead Mississippi State to a 55-17 victory over Tennessee-Martin on Saturday night. The Bulldogs (5-4), who never trailed, posted 570 yards of total offense in the game and averaged 8.3 yards per play.

Tennessee-Martin (5-4) racked up 454 yards offense, but struggled on third down against Mississippi State’s stiff scoring defense. Ballard rushed only 11 times and averaged 9.2 yards a carry. The game was Ballard’s fourth 100-yard outing of the season, and his first multi-touchdown performance since the Bulldogs’ season opener against Memphis. Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen again used both starter Tyler Russell and senior Chris Relf at quarterback, and both had success. Russell completed 9 of 18 passes for 183 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Relf finished 5 of 6 for 61 yards and threw two touchdowns. Arceto Clark caught 5 passes for 96 yards and a career-high two touchdowns, while Chad Bumphis caught four passes for 89 yards and touchdown. The Skyhawks opened the game with a deep drive into Bulldogs territory, but kicker Cody Sandlin missed a 33-yard field goal attempt. Then Mississippi State marched 80 yards in 13 plays and Ballard scampered in for a 5-yard touchdown, the Bulldogs’ first on an opening drive this season, and from there it was all Mississippi State. Jonathan Banks returned a Tennessee-Martin punt 65 yards for a touchdown on the next possession. Then Russell threw a 78-yard strike to Bumphis to end the first quarter. Relf hit Clark for a 27-yard score with 4:11 remaining in the first half, and Mississippi State led 28-3 at the break. In the second half, Ballard broke a 54-yard run for a touchdown early in the third quarter, and Nick Griffin and Dylan Favre both added rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Running back Kenny Jones scored both Skyhawks touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Mississippi native Justin McNair had a game-high 122 yards rushing on 27 carries for Tennessee-Martin, and quarterback Derek Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 167 yards and one score.

Arkansas holds off South Carolina for 44-28 win

Tyler Wilson threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns as No. 8 Arkansas held on for a 44-28 win over No. 10 South Carolina on Saturday. Jarius Wright added four catches for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Dennis Johnson had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Razorbacks, who won their fifth straight. Arkansas (8-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) outgained the Gamecocks (7-2, 5-2) 435-207, but a pair of missed field goals and key dropped passes kept the Razorbacks from securing the win until late. The Razorbacks led 24-14 at halftime, but South Carolina pulled within 30-28 early in the fourth quarter on a touchdown run by quarterback Connor Shaw. Arkansas answered with a pair of late touchdown runs by Ronnie Wingo and Broderick Green to pull away and keep their hopes alive for a return trip to a BCS bowl game.

Shaw, playing in his third game since former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia was dismissed from the team, struggled throughout against a Razorbacks defense that had five sacks. The sophomore was finally knocked out of the game late after Arkansas’ Jake Bequette sacked him for the third time. The Gamecocks had scored 14 points in each of their last two games, both wins, and they continued to struggle offensively against the Razorbacks— gaining only 49 yards on 25 plays at halftime. Despite the troubles, South Carolina stayed within striking distance thanks to big plays and Arkansas’ own offensive woes. Devin Taylor had a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown to give the Gamecocks a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter, and Shaw had a pair of second-half touchdown runs. Shaw led South Carolina with 24 yards rushing on 14 carries. Freshman running back Brandon Wilds, who had 137 yards last week in his first start following a season-ending injury to Marcus Lattimore, was held to 21 yards on 10 carries.

Arkansas moved the ball consistently against the SEC’s third-best defense, but it continually bogged down near the goal line. The Razorbacks were held to five field goal attempts, but kicker Zach Hocker missed a pair in the first half. His second miss was with 4 seconds remaining in the half, and it followed a dropped pass in the end zone by Arkansas’ Cobi Hamilton. Still, after trailing 14-10, the normally slow-starting Razorbacks likely weren’t complaining too much about the 24-14 halftime lead. They had been outscored 87-59 in the first half of their last four games, all wins. Wilson answered Taylor’s interception return with a 68-yard touchdown pass to Wright on Arkansas’ first play following the South Carolina score to go up 17-14. The junior quarterback later found Wright again for a 16-yard touchdown before halftime.

It was the second time the Razorbacks answered an Gamecocks’ score on the first play. The first came when Johnson followed Wild’s first-quarter touchdown run with his kickoff return. It was Johnson’s third kickoff return for a touchdown of his career, his first since the opening game of the 2009 season against Missouri State.

by K. Voight

Murray leads No. 18 UGa to 63-16 victory vs NMST and Destiny

Even without his top three tailbacks, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray still had plenty of weapons to help the Bulldogs score. “We’ve been doing that all year,” he said. “Our coaches are doing a great job of spreading the ball around and making sure defenses stay fair and conscious that anybody can catch the ball at any given time.” Murray threw five second-quarter touchdown passes, former walk-on receiver Brandon Harton ran for 98 yards and No. 18 Georgia won its seventh straight game by cruising past New Mexico State 63-16 on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (7-2) turned to Harton this week after Isaiah Crowell and Carlton Thomas were suspended one game for failing a drug test. Georgia was also without top reserve tailback Richard Samuel, who will miss the next month after undergoing ankle surgery. But with Murray running the offense, Georgia had little reason for concern against New Mexico State (3-6). Murray, who played only the first half, completed 18 of 23 passes for 238 yards, five TDs and no interceptions.

The Bulldogs hadn’t scored 63 points since beating Northeast Louisiana in 1994, seven seasons before Mark Richt’s first year as head coach. Georgia’s 627 yards of total offense was its most since the ’93 game against Southern Mississippi. Nine Bulldogs scored a touchdown.

“It’s gratifying to see that many guys who don’t normally have an opportunity to get in the game,” Richt said. “We got to spread it around, so some of them scored for the first time in their career, and that had to be a lot of fun for them.”

Coming off a 24-20 win over Florida, the Bulldogs used the game as a tuneup for next week’s home matchup with Southeastern Conference rival Auburn. After facing the Tigers next Saturday, Georgia will close the regular season by hosting Kentucky on Nov. 19 and visiting Georgia Tech on Nov. 26.

Victories over Auburn and Kentucky, combined with a conference loss by South Carolina, would give Georgia the SEC East title. The 10th-ranked Gamecocks visited No. 8 Arkansas Saturday night and lost.

“They did what I asked them to do, what our coaches asked them to do,” Richt said. “And now we get an opportunity to relax a little bit, enjoy the rest of the day and watch the big ballgame tonight and hope Arkansas wins.”

by G. Henry

Tennessee tops Middle Tennessee 24-0 at homecoming

Tauren Poole ran for two touchdowns as Tennessee beat Middle Tennessee 24-0 on Saturday night. After a month of struggling to produce on offense in four consecutive losses to Southeastern Conference teams, Tennessee (4-5) found some rhythm from some young Vols on homecoming night. The Vols are 26-2 in homecoming games since 1984 and have only lost 12 regular-season games played in November or December since 1990. Freshman Justin Worley’s second start was much smoother than his first. After throwing for just 105 yards in a loss to South Carolina, Worley nearly had that doubled at halftime and finished 23 of 32 for 291 yards and a touchdown. He got his first career touchdown after a drive that saw him hit Rajion Neal on an 18-yard pass and Da’Rick Rogers on a 13-yard toss. On first down, Worley threw 47 yards down the middle of the field to hit Rogers as he fell backward into the end zone to give Tennessee a 14-0 lead with 2:24 to go in the first quarter. Rogers caught the ball nine times for 137 yards and one score.

Middle Tennessee (2-6) went three and out on its next possession. The Vols turned to redshirt freshman Jaron Toney, who had his first career carry on the previous drive, to move the ball on the ground. Toney chipped away the yards, and Poole got his second touchdown on the night on a 7-yard run to make it 21-0. Toney had 52 yards on 19 carries to lead the five tailbacks. With starter Michael Palardy and backup Chip Rhome both sidelined with previously unannounced leg injuries, the Vols also fielded a new placekicker in redshirt freshman Derrick Brodus. Brodus, a walk-on who was an all-state soccer player at nearby Alcoa High School, connected on a 21-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired. The Blue Raiders struggled to pick up first downs before halftime, and Logan Kilgore threw an interception to Austin Johnson, who returned it 22 yards to the MTSU 7. Poole ran the ball three straight times, the last a 1-yard touchdown with 9:05 left in the first quarter. Though Kilgore had entered the game averaging 267 yards passing and having had 14 touchdowns over the past five games, Rick Stockstill sent backup Jeff Murphy in early in the second quarter. Murphy didn’t fare much better in the first half and threw an interception of his own to Eric Gordon, whose 17-yard return helped set up Tennessee’s field goal just before halftime.

Murphy led the Blue Raiders on a 52-yard drive on their first possession of the second half, but the drive stalled on downs when Murphy’s pass on fourth-and-5 at the Vols 15 fell incomplete after the closest receiver tripped and fell. Murphy finished 14 of 21 for 108 yards and an interception that set up Brodus’ field goal.

Tennessee outgained Middle Tennessee 411 yards to 230 and picked up nine more first downs.

The first-half offensive production was a relief for the Vols, who hadn’t won since an Oct. 1 victory against Buffalo and hadn’t even had a touchdown for 10 quarters. Worley’s touchdown pass broke a streak of 128 passes by Tennessee quarterbacks without a scoring strike, dating to the third quarter of the Buffalo game. But the Vols seemed to regress in the second half and didn’t score again. After picking up 261 yards and 14 first downs in the first half, they had 150 yards and eight first downs after halftime and twice turned the ball over on downs in the red zone.

by Beth Rucker

New QB Smith leads Kentucky past Mississippi 30-13

Maxwell Smith threw for 283 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter as Kentucky beat Mississippi 30-13 on Saturday for the Wildcats’ first Southeastern Conference win in nearly a year. Smith, a freshman, was forced to start because of an injury Morgan Newton sustained last Saturday against Mississippi State, and he was steady in his first career start. He had 128 yards passing at halftime, but Kentucky couldn’t quite reach the red zone. The Wildcats had four drives in the first half that ended between the Ole Miss 30-yard line and the 50; one ended in a 48-yard field goal, one ended in a missed field goal and two ended in punts. But Kentucky offensive coordinator Randy Sanders opened up the playbook in the second half to the deep passes. Smith’s 38-yard touchdown pass to La’Rod King gave the Wildcats (4-5, 1-4) a 16-13 lead with 12:22 left. That pass marked the latest Kentucky had held a lead in any SEC game since a 38-20 win over Vanderbilt on Nov. 13, 2010. After forcing the Rebels (2-7, 0-6) into two punts, Smith put the game out of reach with a 56-yard pass to King that set up an 8-yard touchdown throw to Gene McCaskill. Ole Miss held an early 6-0 lead after getting into the red zone twice but coming away with field goals both times. The Rebels finished with 195 rushing yards but were consistently pinned back in their own territory by Kentucky punter Ryan Tydlacka.

CoShik Williams had 111 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Wildcats.

Florida beats Vanderbilt 26-21

Florida needed a huge performance from Jeff Demps to beat Vanderbilt and end a four-game losing streak. Demps ran for a career-high 158 yards and two touchdowns, shouldering the load because of Chris Rainey’s ankle injury, and the Gators held off the Commodores 26-21 on Saturday. The Gators now have won 21 in a row against Vanderbilt, extending their dominance in a series that has been one-sided since 1989. Florida (5-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) led 17-0 at halftime and could have been up more had it not been for a missed field goal and a fumble at the goal line. But Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-5) scored on consecutive drives in the second half, cutting the lead to 20-14, and had a chance to move ahead. Florida took advantage of two penalties to keep a drive alive, and Demps went untouched for a 52-yard score with 2:13 remaining. Jordan Rodgers’ touchdown pass to Chris Boyd in the closing minutes made it 26-21, but Florida’s Jordan Reed recovered an onside kick to seal the victory. Rodgers, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, carved up Florida’s secondary. He completed 19 of 28 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score. Vandy’s Jordan Matthews caught nine passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Demps was a one-man highlight reel for the Gators. He scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter, but saved his best play for last. He juked Kenny Ladler on a third-and-1 play and went the distance. Florida’s John Brantley was 16 of 24 passing for 173 yards, but he injured his right shoulder late in the fourth. Jacoby Brissett replaced him and finished out the game. Florida, the most penalized team in the nation, was flagged three times for 17 yards. Vanderbilt was flagged 12 times for 106 yards. The last two were really crucial. The Gators lined up to go for it on a fourth-and-1 play from their own 15-yard line. Trey Burton lined up under center, barked out cadences and got Rob Lohr to jump off sides. Three plays later, Brissett rolled right and threw a pass up for grabs near the sideline. Sean Richardson was flagged for pass interference on the play, moving the chains and keeping the drive alive. Demps did the rest.

Florida won for the first time Sept. 24. The Gators, facing four consecutive ranked teams for the first time in school history, dropped games to Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia.

SEC Football Online sportbook preview LSU vs Alabama

The LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide will both be trying to pick up a win on Saturday when they battle at Bryant-Denny Stadium.Oddsmakers currently have the Crimson Tide listed as 4½-point favorites versus the Tigers, while the game's total is sitting at 40½.LSU won its last outing, a 45-10 result against Auburn on October 22. LSU covered in that game as a 21-point favorite, while the 55 combined points took the game OVER the total.Alabama was a 37-6 winner in their most recent outing at home against Tennessee. They covered the 30–point spread as favorites, while the total score (43) made winners of UNDER bettors.Current streak:
LSU has won 8 straight games.
Alabama has won 8 straight games.
Team records:
LSU: 8-0 SU, 6-2 ATS
Alabama: 8-0 SU, 7-1 ATS
LSU most recently:
When playing in November are 5-5
When playing on grass are 9-1
After outgaining opponent are 8-2
When playing within the conference are 8-2

Gamecocks expect to have leading tackler vs. Hogs

Linebacker Antonio Allen suffered a neck injury during practice Tuesday and has not practiced the past two days. However, defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said following the Thursday prep session that he expects Allen to be a go against the Hogs.

“He’s ok,” Johnson said in quotes distributed by the team. He’s got a strained neck that’s bothering him. It’s got a spasm in it. So they’re going to put some heat treatment on it. We’re counting on him. He’s obviously played very well this year and it would be a tremendous loss (if he couldn’t play), but that’s just part of football.

“If he’s not there, someone is going to have to step up and get the job done. I’m concerned he didn’t have a full week of practice. He should be ready to roll on Saturday.”

The senior leads the Gamecocks in tackles with 64 and is tied for the team lead in interceptions with three. He’s also third on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss.

Junior Damario Jeffery is listed behind Allen on the Gamecocks’ most recent depth chart.

Auburn releases documents on Newton investigation

Auburn this Friday, released documents relating to the NCAA’s investigation into how Newton came to land in The Plains. The documents shed additional light on the role Kenny Rogers, a former Mississippi State football player, played as the admitted middle man in Cecil Newton‘s pay-to-play scheme, as well as other schools that were questioned by the NCAA in connection to the case.

Here are some of the highlights of the more illuminating aspects of the probe contained in the documents released today:

• As had previously been reported, Newton was briefly declared ineligible before the Georgia game last Nov. 13, but was quickly reinstated. Newton was also declared ineligible prior to the conference title game Dec. 4 against South Carolina. On Nov. 30, the Birmingham News writes, “the NCAA’s Academics Affairs and Membership Committee determined Rogers “acted as Newton’s athletics agent” and ruled Cam Newton ineligible.” As was the case two weeks earlier, Auburn quickly petitioned the NCAA for Newton’s reinstatement, which was granted after the school once again argued that neither they nor the quarterback were aware of the pay-for-play scheme concocted by Cecil Newton.
• During a period that ran from March of 2009 through January of 2010 — the rough timeline of Newton’s recruitment by other schools — the NCAA found that Rogers and Cecil Newton had communicated a total of 275 times via either phone or text.
• The NCAA believed that Rogers told Bill Bell, a former MSU player and current booster, that Cam Newton would commit to Oklahoma – following a visit to Tennessee — if no payment was made to Cecil Newton by the Bulldogs. That payment has been reported to be anywhere between $120,000 and $180,000 for MSU, $200,000 for other schools. Investigators also believe that Rogers told Bell, in order to get Newton to Starkville, the booster “just had to make it happen“, presumably referring to the payment requested by the player’s father.
• In addition to Auburn and Mississippi State, documents reveal that the NCAA spoke to Kansas State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arizona during the course of their investigation.
• At least one of the documents released today was an email between disgraced former UNC assistant coach John Blake and Rogers. Blake involuntarily resigned from Butch Davis‘ staff early last season due to NCAA issues unrelated to the Newton investigation. The NCAA also found that Rogers had been in contact with three unnamed Oklahoma assistant coaches.

By way of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Kentucky to go with Smith at QB against Ole Miss

As of Tuesday, Smith had been getting practically all the first-team snaps in practice and the team announced Thursday that Smith would indeed be getting the nod this weekend against Ole Miss.

“We have put a little bit more in for him,” Joker Phillips said. “We are going to try to help him a little bit also with some of the calls and looking to us and all of those things we have done in the past with our check system. We will be able to give him more because we will be able to help him more.”

Phillips added that Newton likely wouldn’t be ready to go this weekend, although he didn’t definitively rule it out, so if something were to happen to Smith, Bookie Cobbins would be the backup quarterback with Newton ready in an emergency situation.

LSU tight end on Bama linebackers: ‘they’re slow’

Two days before the much-anticipated Nov. 5 game between LSU and Alabama, we have some bulletin board material for Alabama’s top-ranked defense.

Third on the team with 12 catches and a touchdown, Tigers tight end Deangelo Peterson said this week that he provides a mismatch against the Tide’s linebackers and secondary — one that he feels will give LSU the edge this Saturday.

“I think I can play a big role because I feel like their linebackers can’t guard me one-on-one, and I don’t think their safeties can either,” Peterson said. “If the ball comes my way, I’ll make an opportunity with it.

“They’re slow. They’re big. I don’t think they can run with me. I feel like I can get open against their linebackers.”

Playboy's Girls of the SEC

The SEC is the hottest conference in America today–in more ways than one. SEC teams have won the B.C.S. National Football Championship the past five seasons, with Auburn bringing it home in 2010. South Carolina won the College World Series the past two years. Alabama is the reigning women’s gymnastics national champion, while Florida is number one in men’s track and field and women’s tennis. Where else would Playboy’s team of photographers go to shoot our annual collegiate special? To the Southeast, where the only things more smoking than the tailgate barbecues are the coeds.
View the 10 photo preview gallery

Georgia's Richt defends timing of suspensions

“My response is that we’ve always been, we’ve always had the utmost integrity in everything we do,” the UGA head coach said during his Wednesday teleconference. “We have policies in place in our athletic association that we follow to the T. That’s the case here and it’s been the case since I’ve been at Georgia.

“We all know that we do our business the way it should be done and we do it with integrity. So people who make comments who don’t know probably shouldn’t, quite frankly, because they don’t know and I’d be able to prove 100 percent they’re wrong. But I’m not going to spend the time doing that.

“The bottom line is we have rules and we follow them to the T and we have the utmost integrity in how we go about our business. That’s how we’ve built this program since the day I got here and we’re not going to change for any reason.”

Samuel ruled out for Georgia against New Mexico State

One of the impact players for Georiga in last weekend’s win over Florida was running back Richard Samuel. Samuel shared time with freshman running back Isaiah Crowell during the game, but ended up taking a bulk of the carries when Crowell was sidelined for part of the second half with a shin contusion.

Samuel rushed for the Bulldogs’ only score on the ground and kept the Georgia offense on the field to run out the clock at the end of the game. Coincidentally, it was on one of the final plays of the game when Samuel rushed for a game-deciding first down that the running back injured his ankle and had to limp off the field.

Georgia running backs suspended

According to an official school release, running backs Carlton Thomas, freshman Isaiah Crowell (pictured), and Ken Malcome have all been suspended for this Saturday’s game against New Mexico State for violation of team rules.

“We have certain standards in all that we do and their actions do not reflect the Georgia way,” said coach Mark Richt. “They will serve their suspensions, learn a lesson and I’m sure be better men for it.”

But a source has told Radi Nabulsi of Dawgnation that the suspensions were a result of a failed drug test.

“The three players were disciplined for failing a drug test that was administered last week before Georgia’s 24-20 victory over Southeastern Conference archrival Florida in Jacksonville.

“The source had no knowledge of when the test results were known.”

The suspensions absolutely crush Georgia’s backfield depth, even if it is against the Aggies of NMSU. Richard Samuel has already been ruled out for the game after hurting his ankle in the win against Florida last weekend. Samuel was moved back to running back from linebacker earlier this year because of depth issues at the position.

Thomas was previously suspended for UGA’s season-opener against Boise State for violation of team rules.

Arkansas’ Wade suspended against South Carolina

The SEC announced today that Wade would be suspended for this Saturday’s game against South Carolina, and coach Bobby Petrino issued the following, wordy statement:

“We have addressed the matter and will comply with the league’s decision.”