Georgia Utilizes Force of Pollack

On a team loaded with offensive stars, Georgia Coach Mark Richt knew who won this game.

“One of my first observations is that David Pollack is a warrior,” Richt said.

No one who watched the sophomore defensive end dominate South Carolina on Saturday would argue.

Pollack recovered a fumble near Georgia’s goal line in the second quarter and then had a strange interception return for a touchdown in the fourth as the ninth-ranked Bulldogs held on to defeat South Carolina, 13-7, Saturday at Columbia, S.C.

“I don’t know how it happened,” Pollack said.

Neither does South Carolina quarterback Corey Jenkins. He was looking for an open Andrea Gause after dropping into the end zone. Pollack swarmed over Jenkins but did not appear to get much of the ball.

“When I hit it,” Pollack said, “I noticed it kind of stuck to my hand.”

Pollack recovered a fumble by Andrew Pinnock in the second quarter on Georgia’s three-yard line after Tony Gilbert knocked the ball away with his helmet.

In the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams, Georgia (2-0) ended a two-game losing streak to the Gamecocks (1-2), who have lost two in a row under Coach Lou Holtz for the first time in two years.

Georgia’s defense rose up one last time with South Carolina driving in the final moments. Pinnock, the Gamecocks’ goal-line specialist with 22 career touchdowns, had Jenkins’ pitch bounce off his chest with 12 seconds left. Thomas Davis recovered and Georgia ran out the clock.

The impact of Tropical Storm Hanna delayed the game for 52 minutes.

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No. 12 Florida 34, Ohio 6--In a game put on the schedule to build confidence and maybe break some records, the Gators (2-1) did neither in a victory over the Bobcats (0-3) at Gainesville, Fla.

Led by two touchdowns from Earnest Graham, Florida didn’t put supposedly overmatched Ohio away until early in the fourth quarter of this waterlogged game that was delayed for 46 minutes because of a severe thunderstorm.

The victory wasn’t secure until Graham took a pitch from Rex Grossman on an option play and scored a 40-yard touchdown for a 28-6 lead with 13 minutes left.

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No. 25 Louisiana State 33, Miami (Ohio) 7--Matt Mauck threw three touchdown passes as the Tigers (2-1) easily defeated the RedHawks (1-2) at Baton Rouge, La.

LSU was dominant on the ground as running back LaBrandon Toefield rushed for 111 yards in 17 carries, as LSU outgained the RedHawks. 207-29, on the ground.

Domanick Davis had 51 yards rushing, 35 yards receiving and 116 yards on five punt returns.

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Arkansas 42, South Florida 3--The quarterback duo of Matt Jones and Tarvaris Jackson completed 17 of 23 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Razorbacks (2-0) to a rout over the Bulls (1-2) at Little Rock, Ark.

Arkansas capitalized on mistakes for a 21-0 first-quarter lead. In the second quarter, Jackson and Jones led the Razorbacks on drives of 94 and 92 yards for a 35-0 halftime lead.

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Alabama 33, North Texas 7--Tyler Watts passed for 161 yards and ran for 64, and four Alabama players ran for touchdowns to lead the Crimson Tide (2-1) over the Mean Green (1-2) at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama’s defense bottled up North Texas most of the game, holding the Mean Green to 50 yards rushing and 91 yards passing. Cornelius Wortham led the Tide’s defense with nine tackles, six of them solo.

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Auburn 31, Vanderbilt 6--Carnell Williams ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns and the Tigers (2-1, 1-0) returned two fumbles for scores in a victory over the Commodores (1-2, 0-1) at Auburn, Ala.

Williams ran for a 65-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to help Auburn win its 10th consecutive SEC opener and 11th in a row over Vanderbilt.

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Mississippi State 51, Jacksonville State 13--Kevin Fant threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns--including the longest in school history, an 89-yarder to Ray Ray Bivines--to lead the Bulldogs (1-1) to a victory over the Division I-AA Gamecocks (1-1) at Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State’s Terrell Grindle had three catches for 118 yards, a career best. Bivines finished with two catches for 109 yards.