Volunteers look to continue roll

Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd has run for 365 yards and two touchdowns this season for the Volunteers, who are looking to continue its winning momentum after snapping an 11-game losing streak to Florida last week.
Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd has run for 365 yards and two touchdowns this season for the Volunteers, who are looking to continue its winning momentum after snapping an 11-game losing streak to Florida last week.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Tennessee has a chance to take control of the SEC East on the first Saturday of October.

The No. 11 Volunteers already knocked off one of the leading contenders in the division race, ending more than a decade of misery against Florida with a rousing second-half comeback.

Now, they'll get a shot at No. 25 Georgia between the hedges.

If Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) can prevail against the No. 25 Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1), the Vols will not only be atop the standings but hold a tiebreaker edge over the two teams most likely to derail their hopes of reaching the league championship game for the first time since 2007.

Since the SEC went to divisional play in 1992, Tennessee has swept Florida and Georgia only three times. It's been a dozen long years since the Vols last pulled it off, a gloomy era in which they went through three coaching changes, endured 11 consecutive losses to the Gators, and only managed a 4-7 mark against the Bulldogs.

But coach Butch Jones and the guys in orange sent a clear signal last week that things have changed on Rocky Top. After falling behind Florida 21-3 at halftime, Tennessee ripped off five touchdowns in the second half for a 38-31 victory over its longtime nemesis.

"It was definitely an emotional win," safety Todd Kelly Jr. said. "It also took a lot of passion, but we realize you don't win a season out of one game. It takes a lot of games to put it all together."

Georgia is in a bit of desperation mode after a dismal performance at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs trailed by 31 at halftime and 45 in the third quarter before putting up two meaningless touchdowns that did nothing to ease to sting of a crushing 45-14 defeat .

Close calls against the Nicholls and Missouri raised doubts about Georgia. Total domination by Ole Miss on both sides of the line ended the honeymoon for first-year coach Kirby Smart.

"We've got to show improvement at pretty much every position," Smart said.

Missouri at LSU

Orgeron gets first taste

BATON ROUGE -- Ed Orgeron is encouraging everyone associated with LSU to forget the recent past and let go of the frustration that led to the firing of arguably the most successful football coach in school history.

"We're excited to start Week 1 of our new season," Orgeron, who is now LSU's interim coach , said this week as he prepared the Tigers to host Missouri tonight.

The game is the first for LSU since last weekend's firing of popular but polarizing coach Les Miles , who won 114 games in 11-plus seasons in Baton Rouge, not to mention the 2007 national title. A pair of early season setbacks this fall -- both characterized by stagnation on offense and unproductive quarterback play -- hastened the end of the Miles era.

LSU (2-2, 1-1 SEC) had entered the season ranked fifth nationally , largely because the squad featured a slew of returning starters headlined by a Heisman Trophy candidate in running back Leonard Fournette. But after last Saturday's 18-13 loss at Auburn, LSU fell out of the AP Top 25 .

LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva wasn't ready to give up on this season. He figured the best coach to save it might be Orgeron, who went 6-2 in his last interim gig with USC.

Orgeron also offers continuity, having been a defensive line coach at LSU since last season, and the recruiting coordinator for most of the past year.

"I would expect our team to come out and play very emotional and play with a lot of energy," Orgeron said. "If you've been to our practice the last couple days, guys are having fun."

Sports on 10/01/2016

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