SOUTHEASTERN ROUNDUP : Dean Passes for 7 Touchdowns as Florida Opens Impressively

Terry Dean showed why there is no quarterback controversy at Florida, tying an NCAA record with seven touchdown passes in the first half Saturday night to lead the top-ranked Gators to a 70-21 season-opening rout of New Mexico State at Gainesville, Fla.

The fifth-year senior, who considered transferring when he lost his job to Danny Wuerffel last September, passed for touchdowns on seven of Florida’s first eight possessions. Coach Steve Spurrier called on third-stringer Eric Kresser to lead the last scoring drive of a 56-point half.

Jack Jackson caught four touchdown passes and Ike Hilliard, Aubrey Hill and Sorola Palmer one each from Dean, who tied the NCAA record for touchdown passes in a half set by Dennis Shaw of San Diego State against New Mexico State in 1969.

Dean, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 271 yards with no interceptions, broke his Southeastern Conference record of six set against Southwestern Louisiana last season.

“He’s got a chance to be the best quarterback I ever coached,” Spurrier said, “and he played like it tonight.”

Kresser completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Hilliard on the only drive he directed in the first half. Wuerffel, who began his sophomore season as a backup despite passing for 2,230 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, played most of the second half.

No. 11 Alabama 42, Tennessee Chattanooga 13--Sherman Williams rushed for a career-high 153 yards and two touchdowns as the Crimson Tide piled up 343 yards rushing at Birmingham, Ala.

The Crimson Tide defense, which is supposed to rival Alabama’s great unit of two years ago, didn’t live up to expectations, giving up a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to the Division I-AA Moccasins.

But Alabama reached the end zone on its first three possessions and seemed able to move the ball at will against the Moccasins, whose defense was the worst in the Southern Conference last season, giving up more than 34 points a game.

Williams started last season with five consecutive 100-yard games, including a 148-yard performance against Arkansas. But injuries slowed him the rest of the season, even though he still finished as Alabama’s leading rusher with 738 yards.

Georgia 24, South Carolina 21--Eric Zeier completed 31 of 51 passes for 485 yards and three touchdowns to lead Georgia at Columbia, S.C.

Two of Zeier’s touchdown passes went to Hason Graham, who both times got behind cornerback Corey Bell and raced up the left sideline to the end zone. One play covered 77 yards, the other 63.

Kentucky 20, Louisville 14--Antonio O’Ferral had a 64-yard touchdown pass and a four-yard touchdown run to lead Kentucky at Lexington, Ky., in the first game between the intrastate rivals in 70 years.

O’Ferral, a backup last season, came in when Jeff Speedy suffered a separated shoulder midway through the second quarter. O’Ferral completed four of 10 passes for 79 yards and ran for five yards in 11 carries.

Kentucky was bolstered by the running of senior fullback Damon Hood, who carried 13 times for a career-high 108 yards.

Arkansas 34, Southern Methodist 14--Quarterback Barry Lunney Jr., named the starter hours before kickoff, passed for two touchdowns to J.J. Meadors and tailback Oscar Malone ran for 151 yards in 19 carries to lead the Razorbacks at Little Rock, Ark.

Lunney’s 79-yard scoring pass to Meadors midway through the fourth quarter put Arkansas up by 14 points. Until then, the Mustangs had remained close behind the play of Ramon Flanigan. On the second-down pass, Lunney faked into the line and calmly waited for Meadors to run by the secondary inside the SMU 45. Lunney completed 10 of 12 passes for 203 yards and also ran for 61 yards.

Vanderbilt 35, Wake Forest 14--Ronnie Gordon ran for two touchdowns and passed 36 yards for Vanderbilt’s first touchdown through the air since 1992 at Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt, the only Division I-A team not to throw a touchdown pass last season, broke the drought in the fourth quarter as Gordon hit Cliff Deese on a screen pass.

Vandy’s last touchdown pass was an 88-yard completion to Clarence Sevillian in the final game of the 1992 season against Tennessee.

Mississippi State 17, Memphis 6--Michael Davis rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs at Memphis, Tenn.

Davis scored on runs of seven and two yards and teammate Tim Rogers added a 43-yard field goal.

Larry Patterson scored the only touchdown for Memphis, going over from a yard out midway through the final quarter.

Mississippi State had 223 yards to Memphis’ 195. Memphis’ leading rusher was reserve wide receiver Andre Woods, who gained 30 yards on two reverses.