Auburn Is No Match for Florida

Danny Wuerffel passed for 346 yards and three touchdowns and the Florida defense answered a challenge with utter dominance, leading the No. 1 Gators to a 51-10 victory over the 16th-ranked Tigers on Saturday at Gainesville, Fla.

The victory avenged a 36-33 loss to Auburn at Florida Field in 1994, when Florida was also ranked No. 1.

The Gators (7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference) had 625 yards of offense. Elijah Williams (116 yards in 16 carries) and Fred Taylor (110 in 14) gained more then 100 yards for the second week in a row.

It was the most points scored on Auburn (5-2, 3-2) since it lost, 55-0, to Alabama in 1948.

The Florida defense, getting a little incentive from Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig, held the Tigers to 173 yards.

Craig, who set a school record with 394 yards passing against Mississippi State last week, had said there was “no doubt in my mind” Auburn could beat the Gators again, adding that “Florida’s defense hasn’t been tested.”

He was seven for 28 with two interceptions and was sacked seven times. But he defended his comments.

“Any time you say anything about Florida, they take it the wrong way,” he said. “They don’t think a team that comes down here has a chance to win. If we get a chance to play them again, I’ll be just as confident.”

That could take some doing. The Tigers are two losses behind Alabama in the SEC West Division race. Florida has only three unranked teams left on its way of a Nov. 30 showdown against No. 3 Florida State.

No. 7 Alabama 37, Mississippi 0--Freddie Kitchens threw touchdown passes of 10 and 60 yards to Michael Vaughn and the Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0) rolled at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Ole Miss (3-3, 1-1) failed to solve the Tide’s Dennis Riddle, who rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown in 31 carries.

Alabama had 489 yards and its fifth-ranked defense bounced back from allowing North Carolina State 418 yards last week to limit Ole Miss to 158 yards in recording its second shutout of the season.

Alabama faces No. 6 Tennessee next Saturday.

No. 17 Louisiana State 41, Kentucky 14--Kevin Faulk gained 265 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns as LSU (5-1, 3-1) rolled over Kentucky (1-6, 0-4) at Baton Rogue, La.

Faulk rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries He also caught a pass for 24 yards, returned two punts for 48 yards and two kickoffs for 55 yards.

Georgia 13, Vanderbilt 2--Robert Edwards accounted for all 20 yards on a five-play scoring drive, capping it off with a nine-yard touchdown run, as the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-2) recorded an SEC victory over the Commodores (1-5, 0-4) at Athens, Ga. The drive was set up by a Vanderbilt fumble on the first play of the second half.

South Carolina 23, Arkansas 17--Duce Staley, the SEC’s top rusher, had only 17 yards in the first half but finished with 105 in a mistake-riddled game to help the Gamecocks (4-3) beat the Razorbacks (2-4) at Columbia, S.C.