Call upsets Vols fans as Rebels roll
Ole Miss captured their first win in Knoxville since 1983 as they held off Tennessee, 31-26.
The game was only part of the story as the contest was held up for 20 minutes during the final 58 seconds because of the actions of Volunteer fans who pelted the field with trash as they disagreed with a spot call on a fourth-down play. Rebel quarterback Matt Corral passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns, but he also ran the ball for 195 yards on 30 carries. This week, No. 12 Ole Miss will play host to LSU (4-3, 2-2) at 2:30 p.m. News out of Baton Rogue this week was former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron and LSU have mutually agreed to part ways after the season.
Alabama rebounded from their upset loss to Texas A&M as they rolled over Mississippi State, 49-9, in Starkville. The Alabama defense, led by Will Anderson, sacked Will Rogers seven times and forced the Bulldogs into three turnovers to lead the Crimson Tide defense. State (3-3, 1-2) will travel to Vanderbilt (2-5, 0-3) this Saturday.
In other SEC action, No. 1 Georgia rolled over No. 15 Kentucky, 30-13, while No. 19 Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, and No. 17 Texas A&M were also winners. The SEC has an abbreviated schedule this week with only five games on the agenda. Besides State and Ole Miss playing, Tennessee will go to Alabama, South Carolina will play at A&M and Arkansas will host in-state foe Pine-Bluff.
UAB scored four times in the second quarter as USM fell to the Blazers, 34-0. The Golden Eagles (1-6, 0-3) gained only 107 yards of offense and was forced to punt nine times. For the third time this season, USM lost a quarterback to injury as Jake Lange went out with an ankle injury and was replaced by another true freshman quarterback in Tee Webb. The Golden Eagles also used running back Chandler Pittman at the position. USM has a much-needed open date this week before heading to Middle Tennessee on October 30.
SWAC
Western Division leader Alcorn (4-2, 3-0) downed Mississippi Valley, 24-12, to remain undefeated in conference play. Jackson State (5-1, 3-0) is leading the Eastern Division as the Tigers rolled over Alabama State, 28-7, in front of a happy Homecoming crowd of 53,000 in Jackson. The JSU defense led by Keonte Hampton limited Alabama State to only 157 yards and eight first downs. This week, Alcorn hits the road to Texas Southern while Valley (2-4, 1-2) hosts Florida A&M and JSU entertains Bethune-Cookman.
Small College
Mississippi College, (3-3, 2-2) downed Shorter, 20-7, and Belhaven (4-2, 3-2) blasted Sul Ross State, 44-0, this past Saturday. Delta State (2-5, 0-4) fell for the fifth straight game, losing, 42-34, in a two-overtime battle with North Greenville while Millsaps (1-5, 1-2) lost to Trinity, 46-0. This weekend, MC visits Valdosta State, DSU heads to West Alabama, Belhaven is at Howard Payne and Millsaps hosts Centre College.
JUCO
The top-ranked junior college team in the country Jones (7-0, 4-0) won the 91st “Cat Fight” as they eased past Pearl River, 28-22. No. 5 East Mississippi (7-0, 5-0) walloped Coahoma, 52-6, to wrap up first place in the North Division. Other winners were Co-Lin, Delta, Hinds and Itawamba. The feature game this Thursday night will be Jones hosting Gulf Coast (5-2, 3-1).
Dale McKee is a Waynesboro resident who has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. Listen to Dale’s Brouhaha Sports Show with Marshall Wood on Tuesday and Friday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. To listen online go to wabo105.com and click listen live. This week’s guest is former Southern Mississippi quarterback Lee Roberts.