SOUTHEASTERN ROUNDUP : Hall Makes Big Plays to Lift Alabama, 36-25

Lemanski Hall returned a blocked kick 60 yards for a touchdown as 12th-ranked Alabama prevailed, 36-25, over Mississippi State at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The victory came one week after the Crimson Tide’s 31-game unbeaten string ended.

Alabama, 8-1-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, struggled against the Bulldogs (2-6-2, 1-5-1), who led through much of the first half and were still close when Hall made the first of three big defensive plays.

With the Bulldogs set up for a game-tying field goal. Darrell Blackburn blocked Tom Burke’s kick, Hall picked up the ball and outran two Bulldog players down the left sideline to put Alabama ahead, 26-17, with 34 seconds to play in the third quarter.

On Mississippi State’s next possession, Hall intercepted a tipped pass at the Bulldog 26 to set up Michael Proctor’s third field goal, a 30-yarder with 11:05 remaining. Hall sealed the victory when he intercepted another pass late in the game.

Receiver David Palmer started at quarterback for Alabama and had his only pass intercepted, leading to the Bulldogs’ first touchdown. That was about the only thing he did wrong all day, returning to his regular position to catch eight passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.

Jay Barker, who had sat out the last two games because of an injured shoulder, returned to the lineup after Palmer’s errant pass and completed 12 of 23 passes for 221 yards.

No. 8 Florida 37, South Carolina 26--Danny Wuerffel passed for 333 passing yards and Errict Rhett ran for 120 to help the Gators rally from a 17-point first-half deficit at Columbia, S.C.

Wuerffel passed for two touchdowns and ran for one in the second quarter and Rhett, the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher, put the Gators (8-1, 6-1) ahead to stay in the final quarter with two touchdowns.

South Carolina (4-6, 2-6) led, 26-23, before Rhett scored on an eight-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Rhett has rushed for 4,001 yards, 73 more than Emmitt Smith’s former school record.

Mississippi 44, Northern Illinois 0--Lawrence Adams threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the Rebels (5-5) limited the nation’s leading rusher to 59 yards at Oxford, Miss. LeShon Johnson of Northern Illinois (4-7) needed only 83 yards to become the fourth player in Division I-A history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, but fell 24 short despite carrying 30 times in the final game of the season for the Huskies (4-7).

Arkansas 24, Tulsa 11--Marius Johnson, who spent a month playing himself out of the doghouse and into the starting lineup, rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns at Fayetteville, Ark.

Johnson, who fumbled against Tennessee on Oct. 9 and didn’t touch the ball again until the fourth quarter last week, carried on 13 of Arkansas’ first 15 plays, including the first nine plays of the Razorbacks’ first touchdown drive.

Kentucky 6, East Carolina 3--Backup kicker Nicky Nickels booted a 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds to play at Lexington, Ky., as Kentucky (6-4) ensured its first winning season since 1989 and kept alive its bowl hopes.

Vanderbilt 41, Navy 7--Redshirt freshman quarterback Ronnie Gordon rushed for two touchdowns and Vanderbilt (4-5) took advantage of 10 turnovers by Navy (4-5) at Nashville, Tenn.