Carter Lifts Georgia Over Louisiana State

Freshman Quincy Carter played an almost flawless game, completing 27 of 34 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night as No. 12 Georgia defeated No. 6 Louisiana State, 28-27, at Baton Rouge, La.

Carter quieted the huge Tiger Stadium crowd by leading Georgia, 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference, to touchdowns on its first three possessions and 436 total yards.

Carter, a 21-year-old former Chicago Cub farmhand making only his fourth start, completed his first 15 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown before his first incompletion--a pass caught out of bounds by Thad Parker with 1:44 to play in the half. Carter also rushed for 41 yards and caught a pass for 36 yards.

Georgia needed a big offensive game after its defense allowed LSU (3-1, 1-1) to score three first-half touchdowns.

The Bulldogs went back ahead, 28-21, on Carter’s 17-yard pass to Tony Small with 8:16 left in the third quarter. LSU cut Georgia’s lead on field goals of 34 and 41 yards by Christian Chauvin.

No. 8 Florida 16, Alabama 10--The Gators had no problem rolling up yardage, but their inability to score touchdowns forced them to sweat out the final moments at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Travis McGriff caught nine passes for 213 yards and a touchdown, but Florida (4-1, 2-1) couldn’t relax until Tony George’s interception stopped Alabama’s last possession with 19 seconds left.

Despite nearly doubling Alabama (2-2, 1-2) in total yardage, 467-240, the Gators struggled because they couldn’t capitalize when they got deep in Crimson Tide territory.

No. 3 Tennessee 17, Auburn 9--Shaun Ellis returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown and the Volunteers (4-0, 2-0) used three Tiger turnovers to hang on at Auburn, Ala.

Tennessee took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, then almost squandered it as Auburn (1-3, 1-2) shut down the Volunteers.

No. 22 Arkansas 27, Kentucky 20--David Barrett turned Tim Couch’s first mistake into a 62-yard interception return and Clint Stoerner passed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Razorbacks (4-0, 2-0) rallied at Little Rock, Ark.

Kentucky (3-2, 0-2) led early in the third quarter, 20-7, but Couch telegraphed a pass that Barrett intercepted. Barrett’s return set up Stoerner’s 13-yard pass to Anthony Lucas, which tied the score at 20-20 in the opening minute of the final quarter.

Mississippi 30, South Carolina 28--Deuce McAllister scored on a five-yard run with 2:48 left and the Rebels (4-1) held on after the Gamecocks (1-4) missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt at Oxford, Miss.

Texas Christian 19, Vanderbilt 16--LaDainian Tomlinson’s four-yard touchdown run in the second overtime period lifted the Horned Frogs (3-1) over the Commodores (0-4) at Forth Worth, Texas.