Southeastern Roundup : South Carolina Surprises Georgia

Statistically, it was not one of South Carolina’s better efforts, but the 24-20 victory over No. 23 Georgia Saturday at Athens, Ga., might have been its best as a team, said Gamecock quarterback Todd Ellis.

Ellis climaxed the come-from-behind victory by throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Carl Platt late in the third quarter, snapping a 17-17 tie.

The Gamecocks (3-1-1) turned a pair of third-quarter turnovers by Georgia into 10 points to overcome a 17-14 halftime deficit in a game played in a steady drizzle. Georgia is 2-1.

“We have had better games statistically, but this has to rank as one of the great team victories since I’ve been here,� said Ellis, a senior.

Ellis completed 11 of 16 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, but he also lost 41 yards on eight sacks as the Gamecocks managed only 233 yards on offense.

Said Georgia Coach Ray Goff, in his first loss as a head coach since replacing retired Vince Dooley: “We said all along we’re not a great football team.�

Alabama 20, Vanderbilt 14--The Crimson Tide came out throwing through a steady rain, but a 20-0 lead put Coach Bill Curry in a conservative mood.

The result: No. 13 Alabama barely hung on for a Southeastern Conference victory over the Commodores at Nashville, Tenn.

Alabama (3-0) packed in its offensive trickery after a 39-yard field goal by Philip Doyle with 10:03 remaining in the third quarter increased its lead to 20-0.

That’s when the Commodores (1-2) began to rally behind quarterback John Gromos.

“The problems we had offensively stemmed from our going conservative in our play calling too early,� Curry said. “And when you’re going against a quarterback like Gromos, you’re never sure of the outcome.�

Gromos had career highs of 30 completions, 62 attempts and 324 passing yards as he brought the Commodores back with touchdown passes of seven and 25 yards to Corey Harris in the fourth quarter.

The Commodores’ final chance for victory wound up in the hands of Tide cornerback John Mangum, who halted a frantic Vanderbilt drive with a pass interception at the 16-yard line with 13 seconds remaining.

Florida 21, Mississippi St. 0--Kyle Morris threw three touchdown passes and the Gators’ defense held the Bulldogs to 122 yards in an SEC game at Tampa.

The victory was the third in a row for Florida, 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, since a season-opening loss to Mississippi.

The game, played before a crowd of 68,189 in Tampa Stadium, was actually Mississippi State’s home game, but the Bulldogs agreed to move it from Starkville, Miss., for a guarantee of $500,000 and a percentage of ticket sales above 43,750.

The loss was the second in a row for Mississippi State (2-2 and 1-2) after a promising start.

Louisiana State 57, Ohio U. 6--Tommy Hodson threw four touchdown passes and Tony Moss had seven receptions for 123 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tigers at Baton Rogue, La.

Hodson’s scoring passes went for 15 yards to Moss, 31 yards to Ronnie Halliburton, two yards to Moss on the final play of the second quarter and 14 yards to Moss with 4:55 left in the third quarter.

Moss also caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Todd Kinchen on an end-around in the second quarter.

LSU is 1-2, Ohio 0-5.

Hodson became LSU’s all-time leader in passing yardage, finishing the game with 7,004 yards to break the school record of 6,921, set by Jeff Wickersham in 1982-85.