COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Southeast Roundup : Crimson Tide Knocks LSU Out of First, 22-10

Alabama Coach Bill Curry said his team is probably not as good as it looked Saturday night--except perhaps for running back Bobby Humphrey.

Humphrey, who ran for 177 yards and a game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter, helped carry the 13th-ranked Crimson Tide to a 22-10 victory over fifth-ranked Louisiana State in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rouge, La.

“There was magic on the sidelines tonight,” Curry said. “The offense was pulling for the defense, and the defense was pulling for the offense. It’s the kind of stuff that causes you to go beyond yourself.”

Humphrey, who had 35 carries, said the only magic he saw was the big people up front.

“The offensive line played a great game. They really opened up the holes,” he said.

Alabama outgained LSU 272 yards to 155 on the ground and 354-313 overall. The Crimson Tide defense forced five turnovers, and the offense only gave the ball up once.

“We made too many mistakes to succeed against a good football team,” said LSU Coach Mike Archer, who saw his team fall out of the SEC lead with its first loss of the season.

LSU’s defeat put Auburn into the SEC lead. Auburn, ranked sixth before a nonconference loss to Florida State earlier in the day, is undefeated in the SEC at 3-0-1, with a tie against Tennessee. LSU is 7-1-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC.

Alabama is 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the SEC.

With LSU starter Tom Hodson hobbled by a knee injury and unable to practice all week, Mickey Guidry started at quarterback and played into the middle of the final quarter. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 115 yards.

Hodson relieved Guidry with seven minutes left, but his first pass was intercepted by Gene Jelks, setting up a 30-yard drive that led to Humphrey’s 10-yard touchdown run. Hodson’s final pass was intercepted in the end zone by cornerback John Mangum.

Vanderbilt 38, Kentucky 29--Quarterback Eric Jones passed for 4 touchdowns and compiled 345 yards of total offense to lead the Commodores to an upset victory over the Wildcats at Nashville, Tenn.

Jones completed 19 of 30 passes for 244 yards and ran for 101 yards as the Commodores snapped an 11-game losing streak within the conference. Kentucky’s Mark Higgs led all rushers with 133 yards in 16 carries.

Trailing, 29-28, Jones led a 72-yard, 14-play drive to set up Everett Crawford’s game-winning touchdown with 11:31 remaining. Carl Parker, who had 8 catches for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, caught an 18-yarder from Jones to set up Crawford’s 1-yard plunge.

Vanderbilt controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes and amassed 521 yards in total offense to Kentucky’s 334 yards.

The Commodores, 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC, last won a conference game when they beat Kentucky, 31-24, in 1985. The loss dropped the Wildcats to 5-4 overall and 1-3 in the SEC.

Tennessee 41, Louisville 10--Freshman quarterback Sterling Henton scored on a 16-yard run and threw a 9-yard touchdown pass in his first collegiate start as the 19th-ranked Volunteers (6-2-1) defeated the Cardinals (3-6-1) in a nonconference game at Knoxville, Tenn.

Freshman tailback Reggie Cobb, who rushed for 127 yards in 20 carries, and junior running back Keith Davis each scored twice for the Volunteers, who improved to 6-2-1, while the Cardinals fell to 3-6-1.

Henton completed 12 of 18 passes for 149 yards.

Cobb rushed for 127 yards in 20 carries, while dived over from the one for a first-quarter touchdown that was set up by an interception by Andre Creamer. He also scored from the three in the second quarter.

Tulane 30, Mississippi St. 19--Terrence Jones threw for 219 yards and a touchdown at Starkville, Miss., as the Green Wave moved within a victory of its first winning season since 1981.

Tulane (5-4) built a 24-16 halftime lead and then capitalized on a fourth-quarter pass interception for an insurance touchdown against Mississippi State, now 3-6 after its fourth straight loss.