Tennessee Gets It Together Late and Wins, 30-22

The big play is the norm for Peyton Manning, with his truckload of records. Not so for second-string linebacker Eric Brown, a senior who has never started a game.

Manning’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Nash put No. 5 Tennessee ahead to stay and Brown blocked a punt to set up a touchdown in the final minutes as the fifth-ranked Volunteers defeated Arkansas, 30-22, Saturday night at Little Rock, Ark.

Nash got a couple of steps on Marcus Campbell and caught Manning’s pass in stride for a 23-22 lead with 11:33 left. The score came four plays after Arkansas, 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference, had taken a 22-17 lead by putting together an 81-yard drive.

“It was the difference in the ball game,” Manning said. “We said, ‘Let’s go after their cornerback and make him pay.’ ”

Tennessee (8-1, 5-1) needs to defeat Kentucky and Vanderbilt to win the SEC’s Eastern Division.

No. 12 Florida 48, South Carolina 21--The Gators tuned up for Saturday’s showdown with Florida State by defeating the Gamecocks at Columbia, S.C.

Fred Taylor ran for three second-half touchdowns and Mike Moten returned a fumble 23 yards for a score, sparking the Gators (8-2, 6-2).

Taylor broke a 14-14 deadlock with a 12-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left in the third quarter, then added scoring runs of 13 and 44 yards in the four quarter on the way to a 170-yard game.

Florida threw for only 196 yards against the Gamecocks (5-5, 3-3), as quarterbacks Noah Brindise and Doug Johnson combined to complete only nine of 20 passes.

No. 17 Mississippi State 32, Alabama 20--The Bulldogs took their turn taking advantage of a depleted and discouraged Crimson Tide, winning at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

James Johnson ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns of 83 and 41 yards to help keep Mississippi State (7-2, 4-2) in the hunt for an SEC Western Division title and left Alabama (4-6, 2-5) winless at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first time ever.

Mississippi State won consecutive games against Alabama for the first time since 1954-55 and are a half-game behind Auburn in the Western Division.

Alabama is assured of its first losing season since 1984. A loss next week against Auburn would give the Crimson Tide its worst record since going 2-7-1 in 1957, the year before Bear Bryant arrived.

Johnson averaged 8.6 yards in 23 carries and the Bulldogs netted 347 rushing yards. It was the most given up by Alabama since Notre Dame had 348 in 1987.

Mississippi 41, Tulane 24--Stewart Patridge passed for two touchdowns and ran for one to lead the Rebels to a victory over the Green Wave in a nonconference game at New Orleans.

The Rebels (6-3) won their second consecutive game and became eligible for a bowl game. The Green Wave (6-4) had a two-game winning streak end.

Kentucky 21, Vanderbilt 10--The Wildcats beat the SEC’s top-rated defense at its own, using turnovers to defeat the Commodores at Nashville.

With quarterback Tim Couch having his worst game this season, Kentucky intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles for its first SEC road victory.

Kentucky (5-5, 2-5) led only 14-10 in the third quarter when Jeff Snedeger intercepted Damian Allen’s pass at the Wildcat 45. Two possessions later, Lee Wesley forced Jimmy Williams to fumble in Kentucky territory, and Tremayne Martin recovered with 8:12 left.

Vanderbilt (3-7, 0-7) had its conference losing streak extended to 17.