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LSU Rallies Past Troy

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 16, 2008

Updated: 11/16/2008 12:33 am

BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU roared back from 28 points down to beat Troy, completing the biggest comeback in school history when Charles Scott scored with 4:50 left to put 19th-ranked LSU ahead for good in a 40-31 win Saturday night.

Troy went up 31-3 midway through the third quarter, but LSU (7-3) answered with a touchdown and then ran off 30 points in the fourth quarter to avoid an embarrassing loss.

LSU had touchdowns on three consecutive possessions to cut Troy's lead to 31-24 with 10:33 left.

The go-ahead score was set up when a punt bounced off the leg of Troy's Jorrick Calvin and the Tigers recovered at the Trojans' 16. Scott scored four plays later after about two-thirds of the fans had left by the end of the third quarter.

NO. 1 ALABAMA 32,

MISSISSIPPI STATE 7

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Former Robinson High standout Javier Arenas ran back a punt 80 yards for one touchdown and set up a score with another long return, helping No. 1 Alabama roll to a win over Mississippi State.

The Crimson Tide (11-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) didn't need a dominant offensive performance to turn back a team that had given 'Bama fits the past two years.

Kareem Jackson blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety and Leigh Tiffin kicked three field goals to help keep Alabama on track for a perfect regular season leading up to a showdown with No. 3 Florida in the SEC championship game.
Mississippi State (3-7, 1-5) had won the past two meetings with Coach Sylvester Croom's alma matter.

NO. 13 GEORGIA 17

AUBURN 13

AUBURN, Ala. - Knowshon Moreno rushed for 134 yards and caught a pass for a touchdown as No. 13 Georgia held off upset-minded Auburn.

The Bulldogs (9-2, 6-2) went ahead for good with 8:24 to play on a 17-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to A.J. Green and then stopped two late Auburn drives to seal the win.

The final chance for Auburn (5-6, 2-5) came on a fourth-and-1 play from its 14 when quarterback Kodi Burns overthrew Ben Tate in the end zone with a second remaining.

Stafford completed 15 of 24 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

VANDERBILT 31

KENTUCKY 24

LEXINGTON, Ky. - D.J. Moore scored touchdowns on his first two career receptions and added two critical interceptions, and Vanderbilt beat Kentucky to gain bowl eligibility for the first time in 26 years.

Twice in the past three seasons, the Commodores (6-4, 4-3) could have ended their postseason drought by simply beating a Kentucky team that had long joined them at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings. They failed on both attempts.

The Wildcats (6-5, 2-5) therefore were perhaps an appropriate victim for the Commodores' fourth SEC win - a total they last reached in their Hall of Fame Bowl season of 1982, their previous postseason appearance.

MISSISSIPPI 59,

LOUISIANA-MONROE 0

OXFORD, Miss. - Jevan Sneed threw three touchdowns and added two rushing scores as Mississippi became bowl eligible for the first time since 2003 with a win over Louisiana-Monroe.

The Rebels (6-4) built a 38-0 halftime lead after scoring on six of seven possessions. The first half offensive outburst was the most productive since a 40-0 halftime lead against Memphis in 1980.

Sneed was 6 of 12 for 170 yards and rushed three times for 11 yards to account for five touchdowns. Cordera Eason added 107 yards in 14 carries as the Rebels finished with 520 yards, 341 in the first half, in total offense.

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