TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Amari Cooper caught two touchdown passes from AJ McCarron and Christion Jones returned a kickoff 99 yards for another score, leading No. 1 Alabama to a 33-14 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 SEC) trailed briefly 7-6 for the first time in regulation since last year’s Tennessee game, a span of nine-plus games. The Rebels (3-2, 0-1) put up a fight against a team that had been beating opponents by nearly 37 points on average, but still lost their ninth consecutive SEC opener.
McCarron completed 22 of 30 passes for 180 yards and Eddie Lacy gained much of his 82 yards in the fourth quarter when Alabama put it away with Jeremy Shelley’s third and fourth field goals.
The Tide’s defense bailed out an offense that sputtered at times with three interceptions.
Alabama totalled 305 yards against a defense that gave up 66 points and 676 yards to Texas two weeks ago. The Rebels gained 218 yards in a game that was largely controlled by the defenses on a day when SEC teams like Texas A&M and Georgia rolled up 50-plus points.
Lacy had 12 carries for 43 yards through three quarters. Cooper had eight catches for 84 yards.
McCarron broke Brodie Croyle’s school mark of 190 consecutive passes without an interception. He finished with 206 in a row.
Bo Wallace was 15 of 26 passing for 123 yards for Ole Miss and was intercepted twice. Jeff Scott was limited to 49 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown.
Scott cut inside for a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter for a 7-6 lead. That ended the Tide’s streak at 603 minutes, 46 seconds dating to a 3-0 first-quarter deficit against the Volunteers last season.
It was fleeting. Jones raced untouched for a touchdown after grabbing the ball on a high bounce at the goal line and Alabama scored two more touchdowns before halftime to surge to a 27-7 lead.
It was Alabama’s first kick return for a touchdown since Trent Richardson did it against Duke on Sept. 18, 2010.
Then, Dee Milliner intercepted a pass that Wallace threw right to him. Three plays later, McCarron hit the play making freshman Cooper for a 16-yard touchdown pass. It was ruled incomplete, but a review overturned the call after replays showed he had possession with a foot in bounds and the ball stretched just across the goal line.
Cooper reached over Frank Crawford into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown catch. Both his scores were on third down plays.
Ole Miss didn’t score again until Randall Mackey’s 12-yardtouchdown run with 6:35 left in the third quarter trimmed the deficit to 27-14. The Rebels converted two fourth-down plays on the drive, on a Scott run and catch.
The Rebels had one final chance to stay in the game. They inched across midfield midway through the fourth but had to punt and Alabama ran most of the clock down with a ground game mostly held in check before getting another field goal.
NO. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA 38, KENTUCKY 17
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Marcus Lattimore ran for two touchdowns and Connor Shaw passed for another in the second half as No. 6 South Carolina scored 31 consecutive points for a victory against Kentucky.
Shaw was 15 of 18 for 148 yards as the Gamecocks (5-0, 3-0) moved into a tie with Florida and Georgia atop the East Division, with the Bulldogs coming to Columbia, S.C., next week.
Lattimore rushed for 120 yards on 23 carries and Kenny Miles added a 17-yard scoring run for South Carolina, which trailed Kentucky (1-4, 0-2) 17-7 after a ragged first half.
The Gamecocks scored on five of their next six possessions thanks to Shaw, who hit Damiere Byrd with a 30-yard touchdown pass before Miles’ touchdown put them ahead to stay.
Kentucky freshman Jalen Whitlow was 12 of 23 for 114 yards in relief of Maxwell Smith, who was knocked out on the first series with an ankle injury.
Smith was tackled low by Byron Jerideau. His cleats appeared to be caught in the turf and he immediately grabbed his left ankle, lying on the field for several moments before heading to the bench.
Trainers taped the ankle and he tried to walk on it before heading to the locker room for X-rays.
That again forced Whitlow into an emergency situation but the difference this time was the freshman’s week-long preparation.
Whitlow’s passing and running got the Wildcats a 10-7 lead, connecting with Legree twice for 26 yards followed by two runs covering the final 12, including an 8-yard scoring scramble.
NO. 3 LSU 38, TOWSON 22
BATON ROUGE - Zach Mettenberger and the LSU offense are still searching for consistency as the Tigers enter one of the toughest stretches on their schedule.
Mettenberger connected with Odell Beckham Jr. five times for 128 yards and two touchdowns, but No. 3 LSU was unable to eliminate nagging offensive sloppiness in a victory over over matched but feisty Towson.
Mettenberger’s scoring strikes to Beckham went for 53 and 27 yards, and LSU’s quarterback finished 15 of 26 for 238 yards passing. Still, Mettenberger was sacked four times, missed some open receivers and a fumble he gave up - one of three LSU turnovers - led to the first of two touchdown runs by Towson’s Terrance West.
West’s first touchdown run gave Towson, an FCS team, a 9-7 lead in the second quarter before LSU responded with 24 consecutive points.
J.C. Copeland, LSU’s powerful 272-pound fullback, scored his third touchdown of the season on a 1-yard run, but was hurt in the fourth quarter and did not put any weight on his left leg as he was helped off the field.
LSU fumbled five times in all but recovered two of them. Mettenberger’s fumble was his third in two games. Michael Ford’s fumble in the third quarter stalled a likely scoring drive on the Towson 13. Kenny Hilliard’s fumble set up Towson’s opening points on a field goal.
Ford still had a solid game overall, rushing 11 times for 76 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown run. Receiver Russell Shepard had his best play on a designed run, bursting through the line and speeding down the sideline for a career-long 78-yard scoring run that he finished by diving to the pylon.
Sports, Pages 32 on 09/30/2012