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Tennessee Smacks No. 12 Georgia

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The Associated Press

Published: October 7, 2007

Updated: 10/07/2007 12:44 am

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee reminded Georgia who owns Neyland Stadium.
Arian Foster rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns, Lucas Taylor made the most of his very short time as a quarterback and Tennessee put an emphatic end to No. 12 Georgia's winning streak in Knoxville with a 35-14 victory Saturday.

It was Georgia's worst loss since the 2003 Southeastern Conference championship, a 34-13 loss to LSU, and Coach Mark Richt's first loss at Tennessee. The Bulldogs had won their last three games at Neyland.

It also was the most points allowed this year by Georgia (4-2, 2-2).

Tennessee (3-2, 1-1) began this year with high hopes, only to find itself struggling after a tough loss to California and a rout by Florida. The running game was patchy and the defense wasn't much better, and the grumbling about Coach Phil Fulmer had already started.

Montario Hardesty rushed for 68 yards and a score, and Erik Ainge was 17 of 22 for 165 yards. Taylor threw for a TD on his second career pass, and added six catches.

AUBURN 35, VANDERBILT 7: Ben Tate rushed for 96 yards, Brad Lester ran for 77 yards and two TDs in his season debut following a suspension, and host Auburn beat Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2) for its third consecutive victory.

The Tigers (4-2, 2-1), fresh from a road upset against No. 9 Florida, scored TDs on four of their first five possessions and were up 28-0 at halftime behind a revolving door of tailbacks and the efficient passing of Brandon Cox.

Lester had been out since the Cotton Bowl because of an academics-related suspension, but the slashing back provided an immediate boost to Auburn's offense.

Tate had just nine carries while Lester had 13. Mario Fannin gained 54 yards on 11 carries and had three catches for 26 yards.

ALABAMA 30, HOUSTON 24: John Parker Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, but it took a big defensive play by Simeon Castille for Alabama to put away visiting Houston on the final play.

Faced with criticism from fans after the Crimson Tide lost to Georgia and Florida State, Wilson responded with a pair of 23-yard touchdown passes to Nikita Stover and Mike McCoy and a 1-yard sneak to give Alabama (4-2) a 23-0 lead after one quarter.

Houston's unorthodox no-huddle offense finally broke through, and the Cougars (2-3) found themselves with a chance to tie the game on the final play. Facing fourth-and-3, Case Keenum scrambled away from pressure and threw a rainbow into a crowd on the left side of the end zone. Castille came down with the ball to preserve the win and was mobbed by teammates.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 30, UAB 13: Anthony Dixon, who lost his starting job during the week, rushed for 152 yards and three second-half TDs as host Mississippi State beat Alabama-Birmingham (1-4).

The win gives the Bulldogs (4-2) four victories in a season for the first time since 2000.

Freshman Wes Carroll led Mississippi State on its decisive TD drives after being lifted for Michael Henig in the first quarter. Carroll started the game for Henig, who was playing with a broken throwing hand.

MISSISSIPPI 24, LA. TECH 0: Seth Adams threw two TDs and the struggling Ole Miss defense notched the Rebels' first shutout since 2003 in a win against visiting Louisiana Tech.

Ole Miss (2-4), which came in allowing 33 points per game, snapped a four-game skid while holding the Bulldogs (1-4) to 301 yards.

The offense had been carrying the Rebels much of the season, but against Louisiana Tech the defense helped Ole Miss overcome three Adams interceptions and a season-low 232 total yards.

ARKANSAS 34, CHATTANOOGA 15: Felix Jones rushed for 141 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and Darren McFadden ran for 122 yards as host Arkansas (3-2) pulled away for a sloppy win against Chattanooga (1-4).

Jones ran for a 59-yard touchdown in the third quarter, providing the biggest highlight on a night when McFadden lost two fumbles. McFadden, last year's Heisman Trophy runner-up, rushed for 122 yards but fell short in his attempt to become the Razorbacks' career leader. Ben Cowins still holds that mark with 3,570 yards rushing, 31 more than McFadden.

McFadden has rushed for 100 yards all five games this season and 17 times in his career. That's one school record he did set - Cowins did it 16 times from 1975-78.

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