SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP : Florida Moves Closer to SEC Title by Upsetting Tennessee, 35-18

Tenth-ranked Florida settled one score by beating No. 4 Tennessee, 35-18, Saturday night at Gainesville, Fla.

Now it will chase a loftier goal--the Southeastern Conference championship.

Shane Matthews passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns and the Gators, 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the SEC, forced five turnovers and blocked a punt for the key conference victory.

Errict Rhett scored on runs of three and four yards as Florida took control of the race for the SEC championship. Tennessee fell to 4-1 and 2-1.

The Volunteers have won the SEC title the past two years, although they finished behind Florida in the 1990 standings. However, the Gators were on NCAA probation last season and ineligible for the title.

“We’re more than halfway (there), but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Gator Coach Steve Spurrier said. “We know we’re leading, but we know some other Florida teams were leading, too.”

The Gators, who must still play at Auburn Nov. 2, have never won an SEC title.

Florida scored twice after fumbles by Tennessee’s Andy Kelly. The Gators also intercepted three passes intended for Carl Pickens, the Volunteers’ explosive wide receiver.

Pickens finished with seven receptions for 145 yards, but Florida kept him out of the end zone. Kelly overthrew him late in the fourth quarter and Larry Kennedy returned the Gators’ final interception 44 yards for a touchdown.

“Our mistakes were important in the outcome of the game--not to take anything away from Florida,” Tennessee Coach Johnny Majors said. “They have a very good football team.”

Matthews, a junior who passed for a season-low 119 yards against Tennessee last year, threw an interception and was sacked for a safety on Florida’s first two possessions, then had his way against the Volunteers’ defense the rest of the night.

Kelly completed 33 of 56 passes for 392 yards, but his five-yard pass to Cory Fleming was Tennessee’s only touchdown. John Becksvoort kicked three field goals (43, 23 and 23 yards) and Chuck Smith sacked Matthews for a safety.

Tennessee, the SEC’s top offense, outgained Florida 440 yards to 360. However, the Volunteers gained only 48 yards rushing in 28 attempts.

No. 22 Georgia 37, No. 23 Mississippi 17--Senior Larry Ware carried 15 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a victory over Ole Miss Saturday in a Southeastern Conference game at Oxford, Miss.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1) rolled up 328 yards rushing and 544 yards overall, the most against Ole Miss this season. It was the first time in 23 games that Georgia rushed for more than 300 yards, the last being 300 against Vanderbilt in 1989.

Mississippi (5-2, 1-2), which managed only 289 yards of offense, got two touchdowns from sophomore running back Marvin Courtney. It was the first time in four weeks the Rebels were held under 400 yards.

On his first carry of the game, Ware ran 49 yards to the Ole Miss one, breaking three tackles along the way. Two plays later, he took a pitch around left end for his first touchdown of the season and a 7-0 Georgia lead.

Ware put the game out of reach late in the third quarter when he burst through the middle for a 60-yard touchdown run. He again broke three tackles, including spinning away from Rebel linebacker Kevin Ingram at the 20, to put the Bulldogs ahead, 27-17.

Hearst added 99 yards in 12 carries for the Bulldogs. And freshman quarterback Eric Zeier, in his first collegiate start, completed 18 of 30 passes for 216 yards, and scored on a one-yard keeper in the fourth quarter.

Georgia, which knocked off Clemson, 27-12, last week, broke a two-game losing streak to Ole Miss.

It was also the Rebels’ biggest loss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since the Bulldogs won 36-11 in 1983.

No. 24 Auburn 24, Vanderbilt 22--Jim Von Wyl, who missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt with four minutes left, made a 27-yarder with 1:27 to play, allowing the Tigers to escape with a victory at Nashville, Tenn.

Von Wyl’s kick kept Auburn (4-2, 2-1) from losing its third game in a row.

The loss was the fourth in a row for Vanderbilt (1-5, 0-3), which drove to the Auburn 38 in the final seconds but had a 55-yard field goal attempt by Jeff Owen fade wide left.

Von Wyl’s kick allowed the Tigers, who led 21-10 at the half, to overcome a pair of third-quarter touchdown runs of seven and nine yards by Commodore quarterback Marcus Wilson.

No. 19 Alabama 62, Tulane 0--The Crimson Tide rolled up 572 yards at Tuscaloosa, Ala., in a tuneup for next Saturday’s showdown with No. 4 Tennessee at Birmingham, Ala.

Freshman David Palmer scored three touchdowns, two on passes and one on a 69-yard punt return, Siran Stacy ran for one touchdown and passed for another, and Tommy Johnson finished things off by running 92 yards with an interception.

Alabama (5-1) has won its last three games by a combined score of 163-24 over Vanderbilt, Tennessee Chattanooga and Tulane.

Against Tulane, the Crimson Tide rolled up 572 yards in total offense and got points the first six times it handled the ball, despite losing 70 yards on eight penalties.

Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 6--Quarterback Sleepy Robinson ran for one touchdown, passed for a second and rushed for 134 yards to lead the Bulldogs in an SEC game at Starkville, Miss.

Robinson, in his first outing since injuring an ankle against Tennessee on Sept. 21, gained 64 yards in four carries in the first quarter and completed 10 of 16 passes for 165 yards.

The victory gave first-year Coach Jackie Sherrill his first SEC win and improved the Bulldogs to 4-2. Kentucky dropped to 2-3 and 0-2.

Louisiana State 70, Arkansas State 14--Vincent Fuller ran for two touchdowns and caught a pass for another and Louisiana State (2-3) returned three interceptions for touchdowns at Baton Rogue, La.

Arkansas State, which moved up to Division I-A this year, is 0-7.