SEC
TENNESSEE 30, NO. 21 AUBURN 24
AUBURN, Ala. -- In the sixth game of Jeremy Pruitt's tenure as Tennessee coach, the Volunteers have a victory that shows a clear sign of progress.
Jarrett Guarantano passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns and Tennessee snapped an 11-game SEC losing streak with a 30-24 victory against No. 21 Auburn on Saturday.
The Volunteers (3-3, 1-2) forced three turnovers from Auburn's lackluster offense, intercepting Jarrett Stidham twice and getting a strip sack that resulted in a touchdown by Alontae Taylor.
Tennessee rallied in the second half to beat Auburn for the first time since 1999, breaking a six-game skid and defeated an SEC West team for the first time since 2010 against Mississippi, a streak of 15 losses.
"We're used to being down, as you guys know," Guarantano said. "So we weren't focused on the scoreboard at all. That's one of the things that Coach was saying pregame -- don't worry about the scoreboard, let's be the most physical team out there and let's just go play ball."
The Tigers (4-3, 1-3) are off to their worst SEC start since also going 1-3 in 2015.
Stidham's first pick led to a 42-yard touchdown pass from Guarantano to Ty Chandler to tie the game at 10 in the second quarter.
Guarantano got rolling from there. The sophomore spread the ball around, completing passes to eight different Volunteers, six of which finished with a double-digit average.
"I think (Guarantano) did a really good job today of him having an effect on his teammates," Tennessee Coach Jeremy Pruitt said. "We had some guys today that I think played their best football."
Jauan Jennings capped a 12-play, 86-yard drive in the third quarter with a 25-yard touchdown catch to give Tennessee its first lead at 20-17 late in the third quarter.
Two plays later, Stidham was sacked and fumbled at his own 15. After several failed attempts to secure the loose ball, Taylor recovered in the end zone.
Stidham, who finished 28 of 45 for 322 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with his 3 turnovers, returned on the next drive to echoing boos inside Jordan-Hare.
"I'm very disappointed in our performance," Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn said. "I'm disappointed for our players. I'm disappointed for our fans. I'm not happy."
Auburn scored with under a minute remaining on a touchdown pass to Seth Williams, but was unable to recover the onside kick.
The Vols' offense entered the game ranked No. 94 nationally in third-down conversions, but Guarantano dissected the Tigers' secondary on those downs with 11-of-14 passing for 188 yards and a score. The Vols converted 10 of 19 tries on third down.
Guarantano's 328 yards are the most for Tennessee since the last time they won a conference game in 2016 against Missouri.
Stidham was 28 of 45 for 322 yards, but his three turnovers proved costly as he continued his recent struggles.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 39, MISSOURI 10
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tua Tagovailoa passed for 265 yards and three touchdowns before leaving with an injury in No. 1 Alabama’s victory over Missouri. The Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0 SEC) shrugged off another would-be challenger in the league, but got a scare when the star quarterback went down after sliding at the end of a run in the third quarter. Playing with a sprained right knee, Tagovailoa went to the medical tent on the sideline. He was joined by his parents, and Jalen Hurts led the Tide the rest of the way with a big lead over the Tigers (3-3, 0-3). Tagovailoa was 12-of-22 passing. Hurts was 7 of 8 for 115 yards.
NO. 14 FLORIDA 37, VANDERBILT 27
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jordan Scarlett ran 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, and No. 14 Florida rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Vanderbilt in a game marred by a near brawl, with both head coaches yelling as each team spilled onto the field.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was on hand for a first-hand view of the incident.
An official held back Florida coach Dan Mullen as he yelled at Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason, who was near the Gators' sideline after checking on the Commodore defender whose helmet was knocked off by a hit by linebacker James Houston IV. Both teams spilled onto the field, drawing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
The penalty cost the Gators their leading tackler, with Vosean Joseph ejected for his second such penalty of the first half. Two people escorted an emotional Joseph off the field.
Mullen and Mason hugged each other at midfield after the game.
That overshadowed the Gators (6-1, 4-1 SEC) scoring 24 consecutive points after Vanderbilt jumped out to a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
NO. 22 TEXAS A&M 26, SOUTH CAROLINA 23
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Kellen Mond threw for 353 yards and freshman Seth Small had four field goals, including the go-ahead kick in the fourth quarter, to lift No. 22 Texas A&M to a victory over South Carolina.
The Aggies (5-2, 3-1 SEC) won their third consecutive this season and moved to 5-0 against the Gamecocks (3-3, 2-3) since joining the league in 2012.
Mond also had a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jace Sternberger in the second quarter and, when Small hit a 32-yard field goal on the Aggies' first drive of the second half to go up 16-0, it looked like more than enough to put away the Gamecocks, who managed just 102 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes.
That's when Jake Bentley, returning after missing last week's victory over Missouri with a knee injury, led a pair of third-quarter TD drives -- and the two-point conversions both times.
Bentley had a 22-yard scoring pass to Shi Smith to start the comeback, then hit Chavis Dawkins for a 33-yard touchdown throw off a flea flicker.
Sports on 10/14/2018