COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Southeast Roundup : Hodson Is Sharp as LSU Tops Vols

It was billed as a battle of two of the top quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference, but Tommy Hodson of ninth-ranked Louisiana State turned it into no contest.

Hodson passed for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns in a light rain as the Tigers overpowered Tennessee, 34-9, Saturday at Knoxville, Tenn.

“Our offensive line did a great job,” Hodson said after his fifth straight game without being sacked. “They didn’t blitz much and we did a good job of plugging it when they did.”

Hodson’s efficiency with the LSU offense and a strong LSU defense kept Tennessee’s Jeff Francis from getting the Vols’ attack going. Francis completed only 4 of 12 passes for 71 yards, 1 for a touchdown.

“LSU showed us the best defense we’ve seen this year,” Francis said. “It’s frustrating not to play like I wanted to play.”

Hodson, who completed a school record-tying 12 passes in a row at the start of the game, hit Alvin Lee for 2 touchdowns on passes of 27 and 3 yards and also threw 5 yards to Eddie Fuller for another.

LSU, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC, extended its regular-season winning streak on the road to 14 games and ended an 0-9-1 jinx with its first victory at Knoxville.

Tennessee (0-3) is off to its worst start since the Volunteers dropped their first four games of the 1962 season. It was the second SEC setback for the Vols.

The Vols, who crossed midfield only once in the first half, avoided a shutout with a touchdown and field goal in less than 2 minutes late in the third quarter.

Hodson, a junior, completed 21 of 31 passes.

Georgia 42, Mississippi St. 35--Tailback Tim Worley ran for 4 touchdowns, including a go-ahead score with 17 seconds to play, as No. 7 Georgia escaped Starkville, Miss., with a Southeastern Conference victory.

Trailing 14-7 after Mississippi State touchdowns on consecutive possessions, Georgia reeled off 21 straight points to lead, 35-21, with 8:40 to play before Mississippi State, a 14-point underdog, tied it 35-35 on the passing of Tony Shell, who finished with 4 touchdown passes.

Georgia, 3-0 overall, improved to 2-0 in the SEC. Mississippi State fell to 1-2 and 0-2.

Worley, who rushed for 162 yards in 21 carries, rambled 26 yards on a third-down play for the winning touchdown as Georgia was trying to set up a field-goal attempt.

Worley also scored on runs of 7, 13 and 16 yards and his 30-yard burst to the Mississippi State 3 early in the fourth quarter set up a touchdown that gave the Bulldogs a 35-21 lead.

Shell, playing in his first college game, threw 25 and 16 yards to Jerry Bouldin for touchdowns in a little over four minutes and Mississippi State was even with 3:15 to play.

Auburn 56, Kansas 7--Reggie Slack passed for 290 yards and 4 touchdowns the No. 6 Tigers romped at Auburn, Ala.

Slack, a junior, did all of his damage in the first half, completing 12 of 16 passes. He spent nearly all of the final two quarters on the sidelines as Auburn Coach Pat Dye emptied his bench.

The defending Southeastern Conference champions improved to 2-0, while Kansas of the Big Eight fell to 0-2.

Florida 58, Indiana St. 0--Florida freshman Kyle Morris threw for 299 yards, including touchdown pass plays of 77 and 43 yards, as the Gators scored on 9 of their first 10 possessions at Gainesville,Fla.

The shutout was the second in three games for Florida (3-0). The Gators didn’t allow Indiana State (1-1) to cross midfield until the fourth quarter.