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OT Win Puts Tennessee In East Division Driver's Seat

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The Associated Press

Published: October 28, 2007

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - All those complaining about Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer will have to quiet down for a while. The Volunteers are in position to play for a conference title again.

Daniel Lincoln kicked a game-tying 48-yard field goal with five seconds left, then provided the only points in overtime, and Tennessee recovered after blowing a big lead to beat No. 15 South Carolina 27-24 Saturday night.

The victory, coupled with No. 20 Georgia's victory against ninth-ranked Florida earlier Saturday, puts the Volunteers (5-3, 3-2) atop the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division. The Vols are tied with Georgia but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Bulldogs earlier this month.

Lincoln got two chances to force overtime. He hooked a 43-yarder wide left, but a false start penalty on the Vols gave him another chance. This time, Lincoln sent the 48-yarder through to tie the game at 24.
Steve Spurrier came in with his Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3) in charge of the East and needing to win out to become the first SEC team other than Tennessee, Florida or Georgia to win the division title.

But Ryan Succop, who gave South Carolina its only lead of the game at 24-21 with 1:24 left with his own 49-yard field goal, was wide right on a 40-yarder on fourth-and-8.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 31, KENTUCKY 14: Wesley Carroll threw for two TDs and visiting Mississippi State (5-4, 2-3) forced a season-high six turnovers in the second half, upsetting No. 14 Kentucky (6-3, 2-3).

Kentucky has lost two straight since knocking off then-No. 1 LSU in triple OT. A loss to Florida last week dashed the Wildcats' national championship hopes, and the homecoming loss to the Bulldogs likely knocks them out of the SEC title race, too.

Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson was sacked three times and threw three interceptions.

Carroll, a freshman, threw for 152 yards and doubled his career TD total. Christian Ducre rushed for a career-high 119 yards, and his 34-yard TD run in the fourth quarter was the Bulldogs' longest running play of the year.

AUBURN 17, MISSISSIPPI 3: Brandon Cox threw a 34-yard scoring pass to Rod Smith in the final minutes and Brad Lester rushed for a career-high 96 yards, helping No. 23 Auburn (6-3, 4-2) hold on for a win against visiting Mississippi (2-7, 0-6) and avoid another down-to-the-wire finish.

Patrick Lee set up the drive with an interception in the end zone for the Tigers, who were coming off a last-second loss at No. 3 LSU.

Smith finished with a career-high 111 yards on eight catches. Lester had 23 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

VANDERBILT 24, MIAMI (OHIO) 13: Vanderbilt's defense allowed just three points and 86 yards in the second half to lead the host Commodores (5-3) past Miami of Ohio (4-5).

It was the second straight strong second-half showing by Vandy's defense, ranked No. 19 nationally. Last week, the Commodores blanked South Carolina in the second half en route to a 17-6 win.

With a short reception in the first quarter, Vanderbilt wide receiver Earl Bennett became the Southeastern Conference career receiving leader.

Bennett's 7-yard catch, his second of the day, gave him 209 for his career, passing former Kentucky receiver Craig Yeast for first place. He finished the game with eight catches for 85 yards.

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