SOUTHEASTERN ROUNDUP : Palmer’s Return Sparks Alabama, 13-0

The two Ds are back together for Alabama: defense and David Palmer.

It’s a good thing, too, because the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide displayed little offense in a 13-0 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Birmingham, Ala.

Palmer, returning from a three-game suspension because of two drunk-driving arrests, broke open a tight game midway through the fourth quarter with a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“It’s been a while since David has played,” said Alabama Coach Gene Stallings, who reinstated Palmer late last week. “He made a nice play and I was glad to see it for him. Of course, I didn’t mind the points.”

Especially when the Crimson Tide (4-0) was struggling so much on offense that the crowd at Legion Field was booing.

Those boos turned to chants of “Deuce” when Palmer, who wears No. 2, took a punt at his 37, weaved through a group of would-be tacklers and down the right sideline for a touchdown with 8:18 left.

“It felt good to finally be back and be able to contribute,” said Palmer, who also caught three passes for 22 yards.

Other than Palmer’s big play and Michael Proctor’s two field goals in the first half, it was all defense for both teams.

Alabama, which won its 14th consecutive game, came in ranked in the top five nationally in every defensive category and did nothing to hurt its standing.

Louisiana Tech dropped to 2-2.

No. 8 Tennessee 40, Cincinnati 0--The Volunteers made Coach Johnny Majors’ return a successful one at Knoxville, Tenn.

Majors, who missed the first three games while recovering from heart bypass surgery, wore a headset and coached the team from the press box. Philip Fulmer, the interim coach during Majors’ absence, ran things on the sideline.

“It’s just different,” Majors said. “Sitting in the press box you’re sitting in a chair. You’ve got a much better view and can see a few more things developing. It certainly is not home to me and hasn’t been for 25 years, but I’d rather do that than sit at home coaching it on television.”

Heath Shuler accounted for two touchdowns and Shawn Summers returned a punt 77 yards for another for Tennessee (4-0).

The Bearcats (0-3) missed one field goal, had another blocked, gave up the long punt punt return, fumbled a punt that led to another Vol score, and sent a center snap flying 40 yards through the end zone for a safety.

No. 18 Georgia 37, Mississippi 11--Eric Zeier passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns before sitting out the fourth quarter at Athens, Ga.

The Bulldogs, 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference, made Ole Miss pay for two fourth-down gambles that failed. They turned the first into a field goal at the end of the first half and the second into a 63-yard scoring pass to Garrison Hearst to cap a 90-yard drive.

“We just took what they gave us,” Zeier said. “Our offensive line did a job, our receivers caught the ball well and we had good success throwing the ball.

“They were going to take the run away from us, so we knew we’d have to pass the ball.”

The Rebels (2-2 and 1-2) scored a touchdown with 17 seconds remaining in the game on a 1-yard run by Jeremy Veasley.

“I was disappointed that we gave up those points at the end of the game,” Georgia Coach Ray Goff said. “I thought our defense played well the whole game and did some nice things, but it put a little bit of a damper on things for us to give up those points at the end.”

Auburn 16, Southern Mississippi 8--Scott Etheridge kicked three field goals and Reid McMilion ran for a touchdown as the Tigers capitalized on mistakes for the win at Auburn, Ala.

Auburn (3-1) broke a two-game home losing streak against the Golden Eagles (2-2).

Etheridge converted attempts of 37, 48, and 22 yards. He missed from 37 yards in the second quarter.

McMilion’s score came at 2:27 of the second quarter, following Calvin Jackson’s interception of Tommy Waters’ pass. McMilion stumbled briefly at the line and regained his footing for a 28-yard touchdown.

Kentucky 13, South Carolina 9--Terry Samuels scored on a two-yard run and Doug Pelfrey kicked two field goals at Lexington, Ky., as the Wildcats ended a 10-game SEC losing streak.

Samuels went off right tackle for the touchdown with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter to give Kentucky (3-1, 1-1) a 10-6 lead. The 13-play, 63-yard drive was aided by a pass interference call that put Kentucky on the South Carolina 11.

Kentucky hadn’t won in the SEC since defeating Vanderbilt, 28-21, on Nov. 10, 1990.

South Carolina (0-4, 0-2), which has lost a school-record eight straight games, was playing its first game in the SEC. The Gamecocks had a chance to win when nose guard Cedric Bembery recovered Pookie Jones’ fumble at the Kentucky 43 with 7:24 left.

But after a four-yard gain, the Gamecocks were called for a 10-yard penalty for an illegal block that put the ball on the 49. Three plays later, Marty Simpson shanked a punt out of bounds at the 38 that Kentucky turned into its final scoring drive.

The game, played in light rainfall in the second half, was dominated by the defenses. South Carolina amassed only 215 total yards to Kentucky’s 203.

Colorado State 17, Louisiana State 14--Quarterback Anthony Hill ran two yards on fourth and goal with 50 seconds left to give previously winless Colorado State the victory at Baton Rouge, La.

Hill moved the Rams (1-4) 83 yards in 11 plays to the winning touchdown, a drive that consumed 6 1/2 minutes.

LSU is 1-3.