No. 2 Alabama scored five touchdowns on five straight possessions in the first half on its way to a 45-0 Senior Day victory over Chattanooga in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Alabama defense held the Mocs to 84 total yards, forcing three turnovers and allowing only one first down after halftime.
Alabama punted on its first and last possessions of the first half, but scored five straight touchdowns on the possessions in between.
Running back Trent Richardson got the scoring started with a 2-yard run capping an 11-play drive that included nine running plays. After the Mocs went three and out, Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy hooked up with receiver Julio Jones on a deep pass for 44 yards on the first play of the drive. On the next play from the 25, running back Mark Ingram bulldozed through would-be tacklers to score for a 14-0 Alabama lead.
On Chattanooga’s next play from scrimmage, linebacker Cory Reamer made his first career interception, snaring wide receiver Jare Gault’s reverse pass to give Alabama the ball at the Mocs’ 31-yard line. Four plays later, McElroy hooked up with Jones for a 19-yard scoring play for a 21-0 lead.
Two plays into the second quarter, Javier Arenas returned a Chattanooga punt 66 yards for a touchdown, his seventh career punt return touchdown, a new SEC record.
After Alabama forced a fourth-down turnover, Alabama scored quickly. On the fourth play, Ingram broke free for a 40-yard touchdown. That ended the sophomore’s day with Ingram finishing with 102 yards and two scores on 11 carries.
Arenas’ fourth-down interception late in the second quarter assured the Crimson Tide of a 35-0 lead. Chattanooga posed its first scoring threat on its next drive, but on fourth-and-six at the Alabama 22, Arenas intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards to keep the shutout intact as Alabama took a 35-0 lead into halftime.
After the intermission, Justin Woodall’s interception set up Leigh Tiffin’s 41-yard field goal, his 10th straight and 25th thiseason. It also gave him a school record-tying 78 field goals. Senior Roy Upchurch ended the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run and finished with 70 yards on 17 carries.
With its defense stoked, Alabama allowed only 17 yards and one first down in the second half. The defense put big pressure on quarterback B.J. Coleman (7-of-25, 36 yards, 2 interceptions) and got help from a ball-control offense. On one drive, Alabama ran 19 plays (16 rushes) and ate 10:14 of the clock.
Alabama makes the ride over to the Plains Friday to play Auburn in a 2:30 p.m. ET game televised by CBS.
Mississippi 25, No. 8 Louisiana State 23: Time ran out on the Tigers before they could attempt a short, potential game-winning field goal and Dexter McCluster and Ole Miss survived a frantic final minute in Oxford, Miss.
After LSU pulled within two points on Jordan Jefferson’s touchdown pass to Rueben Randle with 1:17 left, the Tigers failed to convert the tying 2-point conversion on a fade pass into the corner of the end zone.
But LSU wasn’t done. Brandon LaFell recovered the ensuing kick at the LSU 42 and got his team into Ole Miss territory with a 26-yard reception that included two broken tackles and 20 yards after the catch.
But Ole Miss sacked Jefferson for a 9-yard loss, then snuffed out a screen pass and left the Tigers with fourth-and-26 from the Ole Miss 48 with 9 seconds left after a timeout.
The Tigers should have had a lot more time. They wasted about 17 seconds before calling a timeout after the third-down play.
Following the timeout, Jefferson hit Toliver on a 43-yard in traffic pass down the right side to the 6 and the team rushed down the field. There appeared to be confusion among the chain gang and it took several seconds for the first-down marker to be placed.
LSU did not send out its field goal team and was not completely lined up when the referee signaled for the clock to start and Jefferson had no options as the time expired before he could spike the ball.
The win likely gives Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3) second place in the SEC West with a game left to play, and an edge over LSU (8-3, 4-3) when bowl invitations are handed out.
Before the craziness at the end, McCluster was the story. He ran for 148 yards and passed for a touchdown, a 27-yarder to wide-open Shay Hodge for the first completion of his career midway through the fourth quarter.
Arkansas 42, Mississippi State 21: Ryan Mallett guided the Razorbacks to another offensive explosion, throwing for a school record-tying five touchdowns at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Arkansas improved to 7-4 overall and 3-4 the SEC West Division. The loss ended Mississippi State’s bowl chances by dropping Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs to 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the SEC West.
Mallett, a sophomore transfer from Michigan, became the first Razorback to throw for 3,000 yards. After only 11 games at Arkansas, Mallett now owns or shares 12 records. Freshman Cobi Hamilton caught a pair of 50-yard plus touchdown passes and finished with 131 receiving yards.
MSU running back Anthony Dixon finished with 24 carries for 176 yards and a touchdown.
Tennessee 31, Vanderbilt 16: The Volunteers beat in-state rival Vanderbilt on Senior Night playing with a third-string middle linebacker, a walk-on outside linebacker and using walk-on placekicker Devin Mathis. The victory at Neyland Stadium made the Volunteers (6-5, 3-4 SEC East) bowl eligible.
After missing the postseason last year, the battered Volunteers (6-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) became bowl eligible with the victory. Vanderbilt closed out the season at 2-10 overall and 0-8 in the SEC East.
The Commodores had a chance to tie the game before halftime but stalled on fourth-and-2 at the Tennessee 38 with 51 seconds left. Instead, Tennessee drove for a quick touchdown to go up 24-10. Vandy’s Steven Stone was called for a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty, and Jonathan Crompton was perfect on four pass attempts. His 16-yard TD pass to Luke Stocker capped the 30-second drive.
Crompton finished 20 for 34 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Montario Hardesty ran for a career-high 171 yards and a touchdown.
Vandy’s Warren Norman had 73 yards rushing and 61 yards on kickoff returns. Norman’s 1,923 all-purpose yards broke Herschel Walker’s SEC freshman record of 1,805. He also became the Commodores’ single-season leader for all-purpose yards.
Tennessee finished its senior day in style when senior defensive tackle Wes Brown, who has played with injured knees for the past two seasons, intercepted a pass and ran 25 yards for a touchdown with 3 seconds left, carrying Norman on his back for the last 5.
Kentucky 34, Georgia 27: At Athens, Ga., Kentucky scored 14 points off four Georgia second-half turnovers and rallied for its first win in Athens in 32 years. Kentucky (7-4, 3-4 SEC East) rallied from a 20-6 halftime deficit.
Kentucky’s Randall Cobb had scoring runs following Georgia turnovers at the Bulldogs’ 14- and 8-yard lines. Joe Cox threw three touchdown passes, but had a screen pass intercepted by Kentucky defensive tackle Shane McCord to set up Cobb’s go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run with 9:55 remaining.
Washaun Ealey’s fumble on a pitch from Cox at the Kentucky 1 stopped the Bulldogs from tying the game with 2:21 remaining. Linebacker Danny Trevathan recovered the fumble for Kentucky.
Georgia (6-5, 4-4) had one more chance, but Cox was picked off by Sam Maxwell with 1:52 left.
STANDINGS/SCHEDULES
GAMES INVOLVING BCS TOP 25 TEAMS
This week’s games for teams in the Bowl Championship Series Week 5 rankings:
1. Florida (11-0) beat FIU Saturday, 62-3.
2. Alabama (11-0) beat Chattanooga Saturday, 45-0.
3. Texas (11-0) beat Kansas Saturday, 51-20.
4. Texas Christian (11-0) beat Wyoming Saturday, 45-10.
5. Cincinnati (10-0) is idle.
6. Boise State (11-0) at Utah State Friday, 52-21.
7. Georgia Tech (10-1) is idle.
8. Louisiana State (8-3) lost at Mississippi Saturday, 25-23.
9. Pittsburgh (9-1) is idle.
10. Ohio State (10-2) beat Michigan Saturday, 21-10.
11. Oregon (9-2) beat Arizona Saturday, 44-41 2OT.
12. Oklahoma State (9-2) beat Colorado Thursday, 31-28.
13. Iowa (10-2) beat Minnesota Saturday, 12-0.
14. Penn State (10-2) beat Michigan State Saturday, 42-14.
15. Virginia Tech (8-3) beat North Carolina State Saturday, 38-10.
16. Wisconsin (8-3) lost to Northwestern Saturday, 33-31.
17. Stanford (7-4) lost to No. 25 California Saturday, 34-28.
18. Southern California (7-3) is idle.
19. Oregon State (8-3) beat Washington State Saturday, 42-10.
20. Miami (Fla.) (8-3) beat Duke Saturday, 34-16.
21. Utah (9-2) beat San Diego State Saturday, 38-7.
22. Brigham Young (9-2) beat Air Force Saturday, 38-21.
23. Clemson (8-3) beat Virginia Saturday, 34-21.
24. Houston (9-2) beat Memphis Saturday, 55-14.
25. California (8-3) beat No. 17 Stanford Saturday, 34-28.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=8
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 1 Florida 62, FIU 3
No. 2 Alabama 45, Chattanooga 0
Mississippi 25, No. 8 Louisiana State 23
Arkansas 42, Mississippi State 21
Tennessee 31, Kentucky 16
Kentucky 34, Georgia 27
Friday, Nov. 27
Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Saturday, Nov. 28
Florida State at Florida, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Clemson at South Carolina, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Mississippi at Mississippi State, 12:21 p.m. (SEC Network, ESPN360.com)
Arkansas at Louisiana State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Tennessee at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Georgia at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Saturday, Dec. 5
SEC Championship at Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Alabama vs. Florida, 4 p.m. (CBS)
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
For the latest standings, click below:
http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=1&year=2009
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 15 Virginia Tech 38, North Carolina State 10
No. 20 Miami, Fla. 34, Duke 16
No. 23 Clemson 34, Virginia 21
Florida State 29, Maryland 26
North Carolina 31, Boston College 13
Saturday, Nov. 28
Clemson at South Carolina, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Wake Forest at Duke, 12 p.m. (RAYCOM)
North Carolina at North Carolina State, 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
Florida State at Florida, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Miami (Fla.) at South Florida, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Boston College at Maryland, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Virginia Tech at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Georgia at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN2)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game at Tampa, Fla.
Georgia Tech vs. Clemson, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
BIG EAST CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=10&year=2009
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
South Florida 34, Louisville 22
Connecticut 33, Notre Dame 30, 2OT
Syracuse 31, Rutgers 13
Friday, Nov. 27
Illinois at Cincinnati, 12 p.m. (ABC)
Pittsburgh at West Virginia, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Rutgers at Louisville, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 28
Syracuse at Connecticut, 12 p.m. (Big East Network)
Miami (Fla.) at South Florida, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 12 p.m. (ABC)
West Virginia at Rutgers, 12 p.m.
South Florida at Connecticut, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
BIG TEN CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=5
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 10 Ohio State 21, Michigan 10
No. 13 Iowa 12, Minnesota 0
Northwestern 33, No. 16 Wisconsin 31
No. 14 Penn State 42, Michigan State 14
Purdue 38, Indiana 21
Friday, Nov. 27
Illinois at Cincinnati, 12 p.m. (ABC)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Fresno State at Illinois, 12:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Wisconsin at Hawaii, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
BIG 12 CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=4
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 19
No. 12 Oklahoma State 31, Colorado 28
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 3 Texas 51, Kansas 20
Nebraska 17, Kansas State 3
Texas Tech 41, Oklahoma 13
Missouri 34, Iowa State 24
Texas A&M 38, Baylor 3
Thursday, Nov. 26
Texas at Texas A&M, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Nov. 27
Nebraska at Colorado, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Saturday, Nov. 28
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma, 12:30 p.m. (FSN)
Kansas vs. Missouri at Kansas City, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Baylor vs. Texas Tech at Arlington, Texas, 6 p.m. (FSN)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game
At Arlington, Texas
Texas vs. Nebraska, 8 p.m. (ABC)
CONFERENCE USA
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SCHEDULE
Sunday, Nov. 15
East Carolina 44, Tulsa 17
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 24 Houston 55, Memphis 14
UCF 49, Tulane 0
East Carolina 37, UAB 21
Rice 30, UTEP 29
Marshall 34, Southern Methodist 31
Southern Mississippi 44, Tulsa 34
Friday, Nov. 27
Memphis at Tulsa, 3:30 p.m. (CBS College Sports)
Saturday, Nov. 28
Southern Mississippi at East Carolina, 12:30 p.m. (CBS College Sports)
UCF at UAB, 1:30 p.m.
Tulane at Southern Methodist, 3 p.m.
Marshall at UTEP, 3 p.m.
Rice at Houston, 8 p.m. (CSS)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Conference USA Championship Game
East Champion vs. West Champion at site of team with best regular-season record in conference play
INDEPENDENTS
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=18
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
Connecticut 33, Notre Dame 30, 2OT
Army 17, North Texas 13
Saturday, Nov. 28
Notre Dame at Stanford, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Navy at Hawaii, 10:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, Dec. 12
Army vs. Navy at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa., 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=15
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Nov. 18
Buffalo 42, Miami (Ohio) 17
Central Michigan 35, Ball State 3
Friday, Nov. 20
Bowling Green 36, Akron 20
Toledo 47, Eastern Michigan 21
Saturday, Nov. 21
Temple 47, Kent State 13
Ohio 38, Northern Illinois 31
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Ball State at Western Michigan, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Friday, Nov. 27
Temple at Ohio, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Northern Illinois at Central Michigan, 1 p.m. (ESPN360.com)
Toledo at Bowling Green, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Eastern Michigan at Akron, 2 p.m.
Buffalo at Kent State, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday,Dec. 4
Marathon MAC Championship Game at Ford Field, Detroit
East Champion vs. West Champion, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=17
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 4 Texas Christian 45, Wyoming 10
No. 22 Brigham Young 38, Air Force 21
No. 21 Utah 38, San Diego State 7
New Mexico 29, Colorado State 27
Friday, Nov. 27
Wyoming at Colorado State, 2 p.m. (The Mountain)
Saturday, Nov. 28
New Mexico at Texas Christian, 1 p.m. (The Mountain)
Utah at Brigham Young, 5 p.m. (CBS College Sports)
San Diego State at UNLV, 9 p.m. (The Mountain)
PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=9
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 19 Oregon State 42, Washington State 10
UCLA 23, Arizona State 13
No. 25 California 34, No. 17 Stanford 28
No. 11 Oregon 44, Arizona 41, 2OT
Saturday, Nov. 28
Arizona at Arizona State, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Washington at Washington State, 6:30 p.m. (FSN Northwest)
Notre Dame at Stanford, 8 p.m. (ABC)
UCLA at Southern California, 10 p.m. (FSN)
Thursday, Dec. 3
Oregon State at Oregon, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Arizona at Southern California, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
California at Washington, 6:30 p.m. (FSN Northwest/CSN California)
SUN BELT CONFERENCE
For the latest standings, CLICK BELOW:
http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=37
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
No. 1 Florida 62, FIU 3
Troy 47, Florida Atlantic 21
Army 17, North Texas 13
Middle Tennessee State 38, Arkansas State 14
Louisiana-Lafayette 21, Louisiana-Monroe 17
Saturday, Nov. 28
North Texas at Arkansas State, 3 p.m.
Western Kentucky at Florida Atlantic, 3 p.m.
Middle Tennessee at Louisiana-Monroe, 4:30 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)
Troy at Louisiana-Lafayette, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 3
Arkansas State at Western Kentucky, 6 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Florida Atlantic at Florida International, 7 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)
WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=16
SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 20
No. 6 Boise State 52, Utah State 21
Saturday, Nov. 21
Fresno State 30, Louisiana Tech 28
Hawaii 17, San Jose State 10, OT
Nevada 63, New Mexico State 20
Friday, Nov. 27
Nevada at Boise State, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 28
Utah State at Idaho, 5 p.m. (PPV)
Navy at Hawaii, 10:30 p.m. (ESNPU)
New Mexico State at San Jose State, 8 p.m. (PPV)
Saturday, Dec. 5
Fresno State at Illinois, 12:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m. (ERT)
New Mexico State at Boise State, 3 p.m. (KTVB-TV)
Wisconsin at Hawaii, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=24
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
Florida A&M 42, Bethune-Cookman 6
Delaware State 30, Howard 20
Morgan State 16, Hampton 13
Norfolk State 28, Winston-Salem 21
South Carolina State 28, North Carolina A&T 10
PIONEER LEAGUE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=28
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
Butler 20, Drake 17
Jacksonville 34, Campbell 14
Dayton 27, Marist 16
Morehead State 29, Valparaiso 6
Southern Utah 37, San Diego 32
IVY LEAGUE
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http://espn.go.com/ncf/conferences/standings?confId=22
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 21
Harvard 14, Yale 10
Princeton 23, Dartmouth 11
Columbia 28, Brown 14
Pennsylvania 34, Cornell 0
COLLEGE POLLS
BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RANKINGS
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ASSOCIATED PRESS (Media)
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USA TODAY (American Football Coaches Association)
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http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/2
HARRIS INTERACTIVE (BCS)
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http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/5
LEGENDS POLL (Retired football coaches)
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http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/6