SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP : Hollingsworth Has Big Day as Alabama Defeats Vols, 47-30

Gary Hollingsworth was waiting for the kind of day he had Saturday.

“The situation was just right,” Hollingsworth said after helping 10th-ranked Alabama defeat No. 6 Tennessee, 47-30, in a Southeastern Conference game at Birmingham, Ala.

“I knew we had the capability, if we put everything together, to have a day like this.”

Hollingsworth’s day included passing for 379 yards and three touchdowns in leading a 562-yard attack.

Siran Stacy was another star for the Crimson Tide, scoring four touchdowns, rushing for 125 yards in 33 carries and catching nine passes for 158 yards.

It was the eighth victory in a row for the Crimson Tide, 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC. Tennessee (5-1 and 2-1) had won 10 straight.

Hollingsworth completed a school-record 32 passes in 46 attempts as the Tide took the inside track to the SEC crown in the showdown between the league’s only unbeaten teams.

Stacy capped the scoring on a 15-yard run with 28 seconds left in the game.

“It was another example of a game where our guys just kept on doing the things that they had to do to win,” Alabama Coach Bill Curry said.

Alabama never trailed in registering its fourth victory in a row in the series, taking the lead on its first possession when Hollingsworth hit Kevin Turner on a four-yard scoring pass.

Hollingsworth’s other touchdown pass plays covered 75 yards to Stacy on a shovel pass behind the line of scrimmage and 11 yards to Lamonde Russell.

Stacy also scored on runs of five and six yards and Philip Doyle added field goals of 22 and 19 yards.

“There is no question who the better team was today,” Tennessee Coach Johnny Majors said. “Alabama jumped on us quickly and their defense played with confidence and experience. They moved the ball on us better than expected.”

Kentucky 27, LSU 21--Alfred Rawls raced 73 yards for a touchdown with three minutes remaining as the Wildcats turned back a late Louisiana State rally to post an SEC victory at Lexington, Ky.

Rawls, who also had a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, finished with career-high 192 yards in 19 carries as Kentucky (4-2 and 1-2) handed LSU (1-5 and 0-3) its third consecutive setback.

LSU, which had trailed 21-0 after Ken Willis kicked a 31-yard field goal with 7:27 left in the third quarter, but a furious charge behind quarterback Tommy Hodson fell short.

Georgia 35, Vanderbilt 16--Rodney Hampton rushed for 167 yards and scored three touchdowns and Greg Talley passed for two more scores to lead the Bulldogs to an SEC victory at Nashville, Tenn.

The Bulldogs (3-3 and 2-2) broke open a 14-10 game with three touchdowns in the third quarter to forge a 35-16 lead.

Vanderbilt (1-5 and 0-4) had pulled within 14-10 on a 37-yard field goal by Johnny Clark with 13:18 left in the third quarter before the Bulldogs took charge.

Hampton, who showed no ill effects from recent arthroscopic knee surgery, rushed for 127 yards in the first half.

Mississippi 32, Tulane 28--John Darnell hit Rich Gebbia with a 24-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left to give Ole Miss the victory at New Orleans.

Mississippi is 5-2. Tulane is 2-5.

Darnell marched Mississippi 80 yards in 1:06 to win the game.

Tulane’s Deron Smith had taken his team 73 yards to a score on a 10-yard touchdown pass to James Toney with 1:10 left in the game.

Mississippi scored three times in the final 9:26 and Tulane scored once.

Mississippi State 35, Memphis State 10--Tailback William Prince ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and new-look Bulldogs dominated the Tigers for a non-conference win at Starkville, Miss.

Prince, a sophomore making his first college start, ran nine and five yards for first half touchdowns and Mississippi State led 28-0 in the third quarter before the Tigers got on the scoreboard.

The victory lifted Mississippi State to 4-2, while Memphis State, which had a two-game winning streak, fell to 2-5.