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Gators Chomp ‘Cocks, Tide Rolls, Trojans Avenge Loss
Published by MoonDog on November 17, 2008
Florida Humiliates South Carolina
Percy Harvin ran for a 167 yards and two touchdowns, Tim Tebow accounted for three scores and No. 4 Florida annihilated No. 25 South Carolina 56-6 Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, the worst loss in Steve Spurrier’s playing or coaching career.
Florida's Percy Harvin Scores one of his two TDs Against South Carolina
The Gators (9-1, 7-1 SEC) scored 21 points in the first quarter in a span of 2:15 off three consecutive turnovers by South Carolina.
By the time the Gamecocks knew what hit them, Florida added another score early in the second quarter when Tebow hooked up with Deonte Thompson for a 46-yard touchdown pass that pushed the Gators’ lead to 28-0 with 11:17 left before half.
Florida ended any hopes of a South Carolina second half comeback when Harvin scored on the Gators first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, racing 80 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Since the Gators lost to Ole Miss on September 27, they’ve won six straight, with three of those wins coming against ranked opponents. Florida has outscored their opponents 299-63 in those six games.
Florida kept pace with the other one-loss teams vying for a shot at a berth in the BCS national championship game. The Gators have two regular season games remaining against The Citadel next week and Florida State on November 29.
The Gators have already earned a berth in the SEC championship against Alabama on December 6 in Atlanta.
South Carolina (7-4, 4-4) has a bye week before they take on in-state rival Clemson on November 29.
Alabama Gets Ugly Win Over Mississippi State
Alabama found themselves down for the second straight week, trailing 7-5 against Mississippi State early in the second quarter. But Gilbert Arenas and the Crimson Tide defense kept the Bulldogs at bay and Alabama overcame an ugly start to defeat Mississippi State 32-7.
Alabama's Mark Ingram dives in for a TD Against Mississippi State
Arenas ran back a punt 80 yards for a touchdown and set up a score with another long return. Kareem Jackson also contributed to the Tide’s special teams exceptional play, blocking a punt in the end zone for a safety to give Alabama an early 2-0 lead.
The Crimson Tide (11-0, 7-0 SEC) took the lead for good when quarterback John Parker Wilson sneaked in from 1-yard out to put Alabama up 12-7 with 4:47 left before halftime.
Alabama took control early in the third quarter when Arenas returned a Bulldogs’ punt 80 yards to give the Tide a 19-7 lead with 12:14 remaining.
From there, Alabama’s defense held the Bulldogs in check, limited Mississippi State to only 35 yards rushing and 167 total yards for the game.
The Bulldogs fell to 3-7, 1-5 in SEC play just one year removed from winning eight games and earning a Liberty Bowl victory over Central Florida.
The Tide will have a bye week before they face in-state rival Auburn on November 29 to close out their regular season.
The No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide needs to win against Auburn and Florida on December 6 in the SEC championship game to earn a berth in the BCS national championship game.
Southern California Dominates Second Half to Win Against Stanford
Last year Stanford upset USC 24-23 and helped keep the Trojans from having a shot at the BCS national title. This year, at least for a half, Stanford looked like they might pull off another upset against the Trojans.
USC WR Ronald Johnson runs past Stanford Defenders
Unfortunately for the Cardinal, the second half didn’t go anywhere near as well as the first. With the score tied 17-17 at halftime, USC used a dominate second half performance to run away from Stanford 45-23 Saturday night in Palo Alto.
Stafon Johnson ran for two touchdowns and C.J. Gable also scored twice to help No. 6 USC avenge last season’s loss.
The Trojans (9-1, 7-1 Pac-10) controlled both lines of scrimmage in the second half and kept the Cardinal out of the end zone until the final play of the game.
USC ran for 282 yards against Stanford (5-6, 4-4) and kept their slim BCS national title hopes alive with the win. The Trojans have remaining games against Notre Dame on November 29 and cross-town rival UCLA on December 6.
Even if the Trojans win out, they may not win the Pac-10 Conference title. Oregon State, the team that defeated USC on September 25, controls their destiny. If the Beavers win out against Arizona next week and Oregon on November 29, they’ll win the Pac-10’s berth in the Rose Bowl.
As difficult as it is to imagine, USC could finish 11-1 and not earn a berth in any BCS bowl game. With Alabama and Florida from the SEC, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12, the Big East champion, the ACC champion and possibly Boise State and Utah all vying for BCS bowl bids, the Trojans may get locked out of a BCS bowl appearance.
Texas Keeps Big 12, BCS Title Hopes Alive
Colt McCoy completed 24-of-34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns as the Texas Longhorns kept pace in the Big 12 South race with a convincing 35-7 win over Kansas Saturday afternoon in Lawrence.
Texas RB Foswhitt Whittaker runs around Kansas DE Maxwell Onyegbule
The Longhorns (10-1, 6-1 Big 12) got a strong defensive performance from their front seven, hounding Jayhawks quarterback Todd Reesing all day and limiting the high-powered Kansas offense to 305 total yards.
McCoy accounted for another touchdown when he ran for a 4-yard score with 44 seconds remaining before halftime to put Texas ahead 14-0. McCoy finished with 78 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Texas kept pace with idle Oklahoma and Texas Tech in the Big 12 South race and remained in the hunt for a berth in the Big 12 championship game and BCS national championship game.
The Longhorns have a bye week before facing in-state rival Texas A&M on November 27. If Oklahoma defeats Texas Tech this Saturday, the November 30 BCS standings will determine which team from the Big 12 South will play against Missouri in the Big 12 conference championship game on December 6.
LSU Overcomes Huge Deficit to Defeat Troy
In what may have turned out to be the biggest upset of the season, Troy led the LSU Tigers 31-10 at the start of the fourth quarter Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
But the Tigers manufactured the biggest comeback in school history, outscoring Troy 30-0 in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 40-31 win over the Trojans.
LSU’s biggest comeback had been from 21 points down at Ole Miss in 1977. The Tigers looked as if they were still feeling the effects of last week’s overtime loss to Alabama for three quarters when they found themselves down 31-3.
LSU started the comeback late in the third when Jordan Jefferson scored on a 3-yard run to cut the Trojans’ lead to 31-10 with 1:26 left in the quarter. The Tigers then went on a spree in the final 13 minutes of the game, scoring four touchdowns and kicking a field goal to erase Troy’s big lead.
Vanderbilt Defeats Kentucky; Bowl Eligible for the First Time in 26 Years
Quarterback Chris Nickson passed for 155 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards to lead Vanderbilt to a 31-24 victory over Kentucky Saturday night in Lexington and earned their first opportunity at a bowl bid since 1982.
Vanderbilt's D.J. Moore Hauls in one of his two TD Receptions Against Kentucky
The Commodores (6-4, 3-4 SEC) built a 24-7 halftime lead and held on in the second half when Kentucky closed the gap to 31-24 with 8:22 left in the game. Vanderbilt held the Wildcats to 241 yards and dominated the time of possession, keeping the ball for 39:18.
Vandy’s D.J. Moore was the star of the game, scoring two touchdowns on his first two career receptions and also grabbed two interceptions, the last one with 2:07 left in the game to seal the Commodores win.
Vanderbilt’s last bowl appearance came 26 years ago in the Hall of Fame Bowl, a game they lost to Air Force 36-28. The Commodores have been on the verge of bowl eligibility in two of the past three seasons but came up short by one victory.
Kentucky (6-5, 2-5) is already bowl eligible and has a bye week before closing out their regular season against Tennessee on November 29.
Vanderbilt can improve their bowl placement with wins in their last two games against Tennessee on November 22 and Wake Forest on November 29.
Top Six in BCS Standings Remain the Same
There was no shakeup in the latest BCS standings released Sunday. Alabama remained No. 1, with Texas Tech holding down the No. 2 position. Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and USC rounded out the top six.
To view all of the latest polls and BCS standings, click here.
My Personal Top 5 For the Week:
1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
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Football Fanatics on Mon, 17th Nov 2008 16:04
Gator fans are praying Alabama remains undefeated until the SEC Championship game.
My Sports Rumors - The Goon Squad on Mon, 17th Nov 2008 20:17
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