SEC FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: Arkansas takes down TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas — Austin Allen’s 5-yard touchdown run in double overtime gave Arkansas a 41-38 upset win over No. 15 TCU on Saturday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Allen and the Razorbacks responded from what could have been a deflating fourth quarter with game-tying drive with just 1:03 left in regulation before beating their former Southwest Conference rivals in the second extra session.

The junior quarterback powered the ball on third down despite being initially hit at the 3-yard line. Allen also threw for three touchdowns and 223 yards.

Arkansas’ final push ruined a Kenny Hill-KaVontae Turpin inspired rally by TCU in the fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs (1-1) roared back from a 20-7 deficit with three unanswered touchdowns to lead 28-20 with 2:05 remaining.

Allen followed by leading a furious drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher. That duo would reconnect on the two-point conversion, but it was a reverse option pass from Hatcher to Allen that tied the game.

Turpin nearly won it for TCU on the ensuing kickoff by taking it 64 yards. The Frogs set up for a 28-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in regulation, but the kick by Ryan Graf was blocked by Arkansas’ Dan Skipper.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime.

Hill finished 36-of-56 passing for 377 yards and an interception. Turpin caught seven passes for 126 yards.

Rawleigh Williams had 146 yards rushing on 28 carries for the Razorbacks.

TCU was hoping to turn the tables on an old rivalry that went dormant for a quarter century. Arkansas traditionally held the upper hand when the two programs were in the SWC.

The Razorbacks (1-1) put themselves in position to spring the shocker by taking advantage of TCU mistakes early and being the more physical team for three quarters.

The Razorbacks took advantage of turnovers in the first half to thwart a potential TCU scoring drive and get points on the board.

Arkansas linebacker Brooks Ellis delivered the big change in momentum with a 47-yard interception return of Hill in the second quarter. The pick-six gave the Hogs the 13-0 lead they took into the locker room.

TCU’s best chance to score in the opening half died inside the Arkansas’ 10-yard line on receiver Deante Gray’s lost fumble.

Arkansas kicker Cole Hedlund had field goals of 38 and 27 yards in the first half.

TCU held a 222-142 advantage in total yards at the break. The Razorbacks did keep the ball for 17:30 to the Frogs’ 12:30.

No. 17 Tennessee 45, Virginia Tech 24

In front of a record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway, 17th-ranked Tennessee got its motors running after a slow start in the Battle of Bristol.

Quarterback Joshua Dobbs set the school’s career rushing record at his position, compiling 106 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries Saturday night in the Volunteers’ victory over sloppy Virginia Tech.

Dobbs, who also threw for 91 yards and three scores on 10-of-19 accuracy, broke Jimmy Streater’s old mark of 1,374 yards with a 31-yard run midway through the third quarter. That set up his 23-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Kamara which made it 31-14 with 7:04 left in the period.

Dobbs tacked on a 27-yard scoring run with 6:45 left for a 38-17 advantage and teammate John Kelly’s 4-yard run 13 seconds later — after the Hokies’ fifth lost fumble on a bad shotgun snap — finished the scoring.

Virginia Tech (1-1), which coughed up four fumbles in its season opener with Liberty, also mixed in eight penalties for 101 yards. Most of the errors occurred after it raced to a two-touchdown lead during a dominant first quarter.

Travon McMillian collected 127 yards on 14 carries for the Hokies, while Jalen Hurd gained 99 yards on 22 rushes for Tennessee (2-0). Teammate Micah Abernathy set a school record by recovering three fumbles.

Virginia Tech controlled the first quarter, initiating the scoring with 4:32 left on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jerod Evans to Sam Rogers, capping an eight-play, 62-yard drive. The two hooked up for the key play, a 30-yard pass over the middle to start the march.

After a three-and-out, the Hokies made it 14-0 with 2:48 left in the quarter when McMillian raced 69 yards off left tackle, taking advantage of a good seal block and poor run fits by Tennessee. At that point, the Hokies was outgaining the Volunteers 193-6.

But Virginia Tech fumbled the ball away on the second quarter’s first play, with Evans botching a handoff on a jet sweep, and Abernathy recovered at its 5. Tennessee cashed in right away as Dobbs hit Jauan Jennings on a fade pattern 17 seconds into the quarter.

The Vols tied it with 9:42 left in the half as Dobbs found Josh Malone for a 38-yard touchdown pass, with Malone boxing out cornerback Greg Stroman for his second long scoring catch in as many games.

Aaron Medley’s 34-yard field goal gave Tennessee its first lead with 5:30 remaining, and Dobbs capped a 24-point quarter with a 5-yard run on a designed quarterback draw 39 seconds before the half.

No. 19 Mississippi 38, Wofford 13

Chad Kelly threw three touchdown passes and Ole Miss regrouped after a draining loss to Florida State with a win over Wofford at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Markell Pack, D.K Metcalf and Quincy Adeboyejo each caught a touchdown pass from Kelly in a dominating first half by the Rebels.

Wofford quarterback Brad Butler scored on a 17-yard run early in the fourth quarter that trimmed the Ole Miss lead to 31-10. But the Rebels answered with an eight-play drive, capped by a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jacob Pellerin to A.J. Hunt.

No. 20 Texas A&M 67, Prairie View 0

Trevor Knight accounted for four touchdowns and Texas A&M cruised past Prairie View A&M.

The senior quarterback threw for three scores and ran for another while piling up 422 yards of total offense. Knight has seven touchdowns on his ledger through two games.

Unlike last week’s 31-24 overtime win over then-No. 16 UCLA, the Aggies (2-0) had no trouble with the FCS Panthers (1-1) in the first meeting ever between the system schools located 50 miles apart.

No. 21 LSU 34, Jacksonville State 13

Derrius Guice played in place of injured All-America running back Leonard Fournette and ran for 155 yards and a touchdown as No. 21 LSU defeated Jacksonville State in a non-conference game in Tiger Stadium.

Guice, a sophomore who had just one 100-yard game previously, became the focal point of the offense as Fournette rested a sore ankle that he sprained in preseason camp three weeks ago and aggravated in a 16-14 loss to Wisconsin on Sept. 3.

The LSU offense didn’t come to life, though, until Danny Etling made his Tigers debut and replaced struggling Brandon Harris at quarterback at the start of the second quarter. The junior transfer from Purdue led a 70-yard touchdown drive on his first possession, triggering touchdowns on four consecutive LSU possessions as the Tigers took control with a 27-10 halftime lead.

Etling, who completed 6 of 14 passes for 100 yards with a touchdown and an interception, ran 2 yards for a touchdown that gave LSU a 34-10 lead after three quarters.

Florida 44, Kentucky 7

Florida’s defense forced four turnovers, quarterback Luke Del Rio threw four touchdown passes and the Gators beat Kentucky for the 30th time in a row, winning 45-7 in Gainesville, Fla.

The 30 consecutive victories mark the longest current streak in the country for teams that play annually. The Wildcats (0-2 overall, 0-1 SEC) haven’t won in Gainesville since 1979.

Florida (2-0, 1-0) led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, getting a 78-yard score on a deep pass to receiver Antonio Callaway near the end of the period. Del Rio, a sophomore transfer from Oregon State making his second career start, completed 19 of 32 passes for 320 yards, with one interception.

Vanderbilt 47, Middle Tennessee State 24

Ralph Webb and an opportunistic defense and special teams carried Vanderbilt to a win over Middle Tennessee State at Vanderbilt Stadium.

The junior rushed 29 times for a career-high 211 yards, becoming the first Vanderbilt player to top 200 yards since Frank Mordica’s 321 in 1978.

The Blue Raiders lent Vanderbilt a hand with three turnovers and nine penalties for 92 yards.

Missouri 61, Eastern Michigan 21

Drew Lock completed five touchdown passes to lead Missouri to its first victory under new coach Barry Odom with a rout of visiting Eastern Michigan in a non-conference game.

Lock completed 24 of 37 passes for 450 yards with no interceptions. All of his touchdown passes were to different receivers. Three of them – Ray Wingo, Johnathon Johnson and Emanuel Hall – each had at least 90 yards receiving. Wingo had three catches for 125 yards, Johnson five for 115 and Hall three for 90.

Running back Ian Eriksen gained 90 yards on 23 carries to lead the Eagles, who fell to 1-1.

Missouri (1-1) never trailed after taking its opening drive for a touchdown.

Mississippi State 27, South Carolina 14

Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 195 yards, and Mississippi State bounced back from an opening loss with a win over South Carolina at Davis Wade Stadium.

Mississippi State wide receiver Fred Ross caught a touchdown pass and threw for one on a trick play to fuel a big first half for the Bulldogs, who were upset by South Alabama last week. They took out any leftover frustrations on the Gamecocks, jumping out to a 24-0 halftime lead.

Fitzgerald threw touchdown passes to Ross and Jordan Thomas in the first half. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 178 yards and led the Bulldogs (1-1) to their first win over South Carolina since 1999.

Ross took a handoff on a jet sweep but pulled up and hit Donald Gray in the end zone for his touchdown pass coming early in the second quarter.

Quarterback Percy Orth started for South Carolina, but backup Brandon McIlwain produced the Gamecocks’ best drives. McIllwain threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Turner and another to K.C. Crosby on a fourth-and-1 that cut the Mississippi State lead to 27-14 with 2:37 to play.

But South Carolina never got any closer and lost for the first time under new coach Will Muschamp.