Florida’s Duo Too Much For Kentucky

One Tim Couch is not as good as two Florida quarterbacks.

Doug Johnson threw for five touchdowns and Jesse Palmer added two more as the No. 9 Gators (3-1, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference) defeated No. 25 Kentucky, 51-35, on Saturday at Gainesville, Fla.

Couch broke Kentucky’s record for career passing yards and was the master of the big play with touchdown passes of 74 and a school-record 97 yards to Craig Yeast. But two fourth-quarter interceptions killed any chance of the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1) defeating a top 10 team for the first time in 21 years.

Johnson and Palmer alternated throughout the game, and both were successful. Johnson was 13 for 23 for 270 yards, while Palmer was nine for 14 for 182 yards.

No. 4 Tennessee 42, Houston 7--Tee Martin threw four touchdown passes and Jamal Lewis rushed for 135 yards and scored twice to lead the Volunteers to a nonconference victory at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee (3-0) was sloppy a week after its big victory over Florida, with 11 penalties and two turnovers, but had enough to beat the Cougars (0-4) in the first meeting between the teams since 1965.

Martin completed 14 of 19 passes for 234 yards with an interception, surpassing his passing output from the first two games combined.

No. 6 LSU 53, Idaho 20--Kevin Faulk scored four touchdowns and set a school record for all-purpose yardage to lead the Tigers (3-0) over the Vandals (2-2) in a nonconference game at Baton Rouge, La.

Faulk, who was pulled in the third quarter, had 268 all-purpose yards--178 rushing, 50 receiving and 40 in returns--to set an LSU record and move into third place in SEC history with 5,397. In passing the 5,326 yards accumulated by LSU’s Dalton Hilliard in 1982-85, Faulk trails only Georgia’s Herschel Walker (5,749) and Auburn’s James Brooks (5,596).

Arkansas 42, No. 22 Alabama 6--Clint Stoerner threw three touchdown passes, two to Michael Snowden, and the Razorback defense smothered running back Shaun Alexander and the Crimson Tide (2-1, 1-1) at Fayetteville, Ark.

Stoerner’s second scoring pass gave Arkansas (3-0, 1-0) a 14-6 lead with 27 seconds left in the half. His throw to an uncovered Snowden was good for 36 yards and a 21-6 lead with less than six minutes left in the third quarter.

Mississippi 48, Southern Methodist 41--Romaro Miller threw a last-minute, 44-yard touchdown pass to Grant Heard to cap a 22-point Mississippi comeback, but Deuce McAllister scored on a four-yard run in overtime as the Rebels defeated the Mustangs in a nonconference game at Dallas.

The Rebels (3-1) were sloppy for 3 1/2 quarters, and it cost them as the Mustangs (0-4) scored after three fumble recoveries and an interception to go ahead, 41-19, with 9:45 left.

Mississippi State 38, South Carolina 0--Kevin Prentiss returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and James Johnson rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (3-1, 2-0) to a blowout of the Gamecocks (1-3, 0-2) at Columbia, S.C.