SEC FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: Ole Miss hangs on to beat Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. — Junior quarterback Chad Kelly passed for 381 yards and two touchdowns as No. 19 Ole Miss snapped a five-game slide at Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 27-19 victory over Auburn on Saturday.

Kelly, who was 33-of-51 passing, connected with wide receivers Laquon Treadwell and Derrick Jones for scores as the Rebels (7-2, 4-1 SEC) snapped a two-game losing streak on the road and won for only the second time in the last seven overall meetings.

Treadwell recorded 114 yards on seven receptions, running back Akeem Judd ran for a score and running back Jaylen Walton totaled 78 yards on the ground.

Freshman quarterback Sean White battled through a knee injury and was 11 of 27 for 244 yards with a touchdown and interception for the Tigers (4-4, 1-4), who must win two of their final four games to qualify for a bowl game. Wide receiver Ricardo Lewis caught four passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.

Auburn took a 10-3 lead in the second quarter when White connected with Lewis for a 47-yard touchdown pass before Ole Miss tied it with 3:59 left in the period on Judd’s 25-yard TD run to make 10-10 at the half.

The Rebels took a 20-13 lead on Kelly’s 45-yard pass to Jones with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter and Auburn closed to within 20-19 in the fourth quarter on a pair of Daniel Carlson field goals. Ole Miss responded with Treadwell’s over-the-shoulder 21-yard touchdown catch which capped a 75-yard drive and put the Rebels ahead 27-19 with 10:13 to play.

Auburn decided to go for it on fourth-and-8 at the Ole Miss 47-yard line with 3:11 remaining, but White’s long pass was incomplete. The Tigers had one more chance with three seconds left, but backup quarterback Jeremy Johnson’s Hail Mary toss from the Auburn 48 was incomplete.

Texas A&M 35, South Carolina 28

Texas A&M true freshman quarterback Kyler Murray accounted for 379 yards in his first career start as the Aggies snapped a two-game skid by holding off South Carolina 35-28 Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Murray ran for a team-high 156 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and he completed 20 of 28 passes for 223 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. The five-star recruit won a three-way practice competition last week and replaced sophomore Kyle Allen, who had started 12 consecutive games, dating to last season.

A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC) came up with a defensive stand after South Carolina took over at its 20 with 1:28 left. Safety Donovan Wilson, who earlier returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown, intercepted quarterback Perry Orth on fourth-and-13 to seal the victory.

South Carolina (3-5, 1-5) fell to 1-1 under interim head coach Shawn Elliott.

Murray gave A&M a 28-21 lead when he kept around left end on an option play on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 with 5:58 to go in the third quarter. Wilson stepped in front of slant pass and returned it for a score on the ensuing possession.

South Carolina responded with a 75-yard drive, capped by a 33-yard run by running back Brandon Wilds, who kept the ball on a fake reverse. Wilds rushed 17 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

The Texas A&M defense held the Gamecocks scoreless on their three fourth-quarter possessions.

Arkansas 63, Tennessee-Martin 28

Arkansas running back Alex Collins rushed for five touchdowns and topped 3,000 career yards as the Razorbacks prepped for the final month of SEC play with a 63-28 victory over lower-division Tennessee-Martin on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

Collins rushed 16 times for 173 yards, his last carry being a 63-yard touchdown burst. He went through the middle of the line untouched, made one cut to his right and out-ran everyone into the end zone.

Collins, a junior, has 3,086 career rushing yards, including 960 this season as he nears his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. He scored the first three touchdowns of Saturday’s game against the Skyhawks of the Football Champion Subdivision.

Arkansas (4-4) still has work to do to get bowl eligible, playing at Ole Miss and LSU in the next two weeks before finishing at home against Mississippi State and Missouri.

UT Martin (5-3) rolled up 519 yards and was within 35-21 early in the third quarter.

Brandon Allen completed 14 of 19 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. UT Martin quarterback Jarod Neal was 30 of 43 for 380 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Arkansas scored touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions, taking advantage of short fields because of an interception, a bad Skyhawks’ punt and a 33-yard punt return from wide receiver Jared Cornelius. Those touchdown drives covered 12, 28 and 12 yards.