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No. 3 Georgia Eases Past Arizona St.

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2008

TEMPE, Ariz. - Knowshon Moreno rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, A.J. Green caught eight passes for 159 yards and a score, and No. 3 Georgia scored a decisive 27-10 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night.

Making a rare regular-season trip out of the Southeast, the Bulldogs (4-0) came to the desert with an attitude. They had opened the season atop The Associated Press Top 25 but twice slipped a spot after victories.

On a 99-degree night in the desert, they hoped to make a statement in a nationally televised game against the defending Pac-10 co-champions.

The statement: These Dawgs can defend.

Georgia had allowed 15.0 points per game, tied for 27th nationally. The Bulldogs were even better against the Sun Devils.

The Sun Devils finished with 4 yards rushing on 19 carries. It was Arizona State's lowest rushing total since they netted minus-2 against California on Nov. 9, 2002.

For the Sun Devils, who lost to UNLV one week earlier, it was another crushing loss in the national spotlight. They fell to 2-11 against ranked teams in Sun Devil Stadium since 2000, and 3-23 overall against the Top 25 during the same span.

Georgia sacked Rudy Carpenter four times and harried him on countless other plays. He finished 23-of-36 for 208 yards and a touchdown.

ALABAMA 49, ARKANSAS 14

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Twice Casey Dick was where no quarterback wants to be - the last man back after throwing an interception.

Twice he lunged at the Alabama player with the ball, and twice he missed completely.

Robinson High graduate Javier Arenas and Justin Woodall scored on those long returns, and the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide opened Southeastern Conference play with a rout of Arkansas.

"All week, Coach was talking about coming out firing and hitting them in the mouth quick," Arenas said. "I think we did that. It seemed like they knew we were here to play a little football from the get-go."

Alabama (4-0) led 35-7 at halftime, and six of the Crimson Tide's seven touchdowns covered at least 25 yards. After Mark Ingram scored on a 1-yard run, Glen Coffee made it 14-0 for Alabama on what appeared to be a basic run up the middle from deep in Crimson Tide territory. Coffee found a hole and was in the clear, outrunning the Razorbacks for an 87-yard touchdown.

VANDERBILT 23,

MISSISSIPPI 17

OXFORD, Miss. - Ryan Hamilton tied a school record with three interceptions, scored a touchdown on an interception return and saved a score with a goal-line tackle to help Vanderbilt beat Mississippi.

The Commodores intercepted four of Jevan Snead's passes to put themselves in position to be ranked for the first time since 1984 by surviving an early and odd Rebels scoring flurry. Vanderbilt was one spot out of the Top 25 entering the week and is 4-0 for just the fourth time since World War II.

But the Commodores (2-0 SEC) needed a pair of goal-line stands and a final interception as time expired to win.

The Rebels (2-2, 0-1) appeared as if they might run away early after forcing a fumble deep in Vanderbilt territory with a 10-0 lead. But Hamilton stepped in front of Snead's pass and returned it 79 yards for a score.

SOUTH CAROLINA 23,

WOFFORD 13

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Chris Smelley was 23 of 33 for 204 yards as South Carolina struggled before putting away Wofford.

Playing a Football Championship Subdivision team was not the answer for South Carolina's offensive woes. The Gamecocks (2-2) managed just two touchdowns, and the crowd booed Coach Steve Spurrier offense twice in the second half when it settled for field goals.

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