SEC ROUNDUP: Leonard Fournette helps LSU run past South Carolina

BATON ROUGE, La. — Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette raced 87 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the second half, shredding the South Carolina defense for 158 yards on 20 carries in three quarters, to lift No. 7 LSU to a 45-24 victory over the Gamecocks Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

The game, which was originally scheduled as a South Carolina home game but shifted to Baton Rouge on Wednesday because of record flooding in the South Carolina midlands, showcased LSU’s relentless running attack before a crowd of only 42,058.

LSU amassed 396 rushing yards on 54 carries, including 209 on 17 carries in the third quarter in which the Tigers scored touchdowns on drives of 90, 80 and 75 yards. LSU scored touchdowns on four consecutive second-half possessions to take a 45-24 lead with 13:15 left.

With 1,022 yards during the Tigers’ 5-0 start, Fournette eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark faster than any back in LSU history. The previous record was held by Charles Alexander, who did it in seven games in 1977.

When Fournette limped off the field early in the third quarter with an apparently minor injury, freshman running back Derrius Guice took over and had several dazzling runs en route to 164 yards on 17 carries.

LSU exhibited rare offensive balance, with sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris completing 18 of 28 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns, including a 62-yard connection with wide receiver Travin Dural on a pass that glanced off the hands of tight end DeSean Smith.

South Carolina stayed in range with two second-half scoring passes by quarterback Perry Orth — 36 yards to tight end Jerell Adams and 43 yards to wide receiver Pharoh Cooper — but couldn’t get closer than 14.

LSU dominated play from scrimmage in the first half, outgaining the Gamecocks 238-122, but the Tigers led only 17-10 at halftime.

The equalizer for South Carolina was freshman cornerback Rashad Fenton’s 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 7:27 left in the second quarter, which cut the LSU lead from 14-3 to 14-10. Fenton took the short kickoff from LSU’s backup kicker, Cameron Gamble, and raced through a wide hole on the left side, scoring untouched.

No. 14 Ole Miss 52, New Mexico State 3

Mississippi entered its annual homecoming game as a 45-point favorite over winless New Mexico State. The No. 14 Rebels left Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with a big win under their belts.

It was a better result than last week when the Rebels suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Florida Gators in The Swamp.

Head coach Hugh Freeze focused his team during the week after a subpar showing against the Gators. The Aggies were one of the lowest-rated teams in the FBS ranks, allowing 61 points to the Gators in the season opener and 182 points to their opponents in the first four weeks.

Mississippi State 45, Troy 17

Mississippi State scored a pair of touchdowns in the opening 1 minute, 44 seconds and never looked back in routing visiting Troy in Starkville, Miss.

Backup quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who came in for the ailing Dak Prescott in the second quarter, completed 6-of-7 passes for 141 yards and two TDs and ran for 29 yards and another score for the Bulldogs (4-2), who bounced back from last week’s 30-17 loss to Texas A&M to open a three-game homestand on a positive note. Prescott, who was regarded as questionable in battling a stomach virus, started and completed 3 of 6 passes for 74 yards and a TD — a 59-yard strike to wide receiver Fred Ross on the Bulldogs’ second play from scrimmage — before departing.

Backup quarterback Dontreal Pruitt finished 12 of 17 for 90 yards and ran for 56 yards and a score for the Trojans (1-4), who fell to 2-20 against current SEC members. Pruitt finished the game for Brandon Silvers who was knocked out of the contest with a first-quarter head injury.

No. 11 Florida 21, Missouri 3

No. 11 Florida scored touchdowns on two of its first three drives.

That was all the Gators (6-0, 3-0) would need in a victory over Missouri (4-2, 1-2) in SEC play. For good measure, Florida’s defense added the final points of the night on a 40-yard touchdown return by Jalen Tabor after an interception of Missouri quarterback Drew Lock.

Those points came with 6:25 left in the third quarter, extending a two-possession lead to three in a game that felt over much earlier. Florida’s defense stymied Missouri’s offense all night, forcing the Tigers to go 1-14 on third downs and 0-1 on fourth.

Lock, starting his second game for the Tigers in place of suspended starter Maty Mauk, completed 16 of 39 passes for 151 yards and two interceptions. Florida held Missouri’s offense to 235 total yards on 61 plays and made the Tigers one-dimensional.

At one point, Missouri had attempted 33 pass plays to just 14 designed runs. The Gators’ defense – second in the SEC in sacks entering Saturday – was credited with three sacks, but hurried Lock five more times and hit him often throughout the game.

After torching Mississippi for four touchdowns a week ago, Florida quarterback Will Grier proved to be more game manager than game changer against a Missouri defense that sacked him five times. Grier completed 20 of 33 attempts for 208 yards,

Florida’s offense leaned heavily on running back Kelvin Taylor, who carried the ball 27 times for 99 yards and both of Florida’s two offensive touchdowns, each coming on 1-yard runs in the first quarter.

After steamrolling then third-ranked Ole Miss a week ago, Florida’s offense came out clicking against Missouri.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier led Florida to touchdowns on two of its first three drives of the game, both drives ending in scoring runs by Taylor. The drives went 75 and 82 yards, respectively, to help cap a first-half in which the Gators held the ball for 19:31.

Grier completed 15 of 22 passes in the first half for 154 yards. However, with Missouri set to punt the ball back to Florida with just under two minutes left before halftime, Florida coach Jim McElwain elected not to call a timeout and allowed 40 seconds to run off the clock. The Gators’ ensuring drive began with 1:16 left and ended on a 20-yard pass from Grier to DeMarcus Robinson to Missouri’s 17 as time expired.

Missouri’s lone points came on a 21-yard field goal on its opening drive, one that stalled at Florida’s 3-yard line. The Gators’ defense took advantage of Lock and a porous offensive line, sacking him twice and hurrying him three more times.