Shockley Hurt, but Georgia Wins

With D.J. Shockley, Georgia’s senior quarterback, watching the second half from the bench, the No. 4 Bulldogs hardly had the look of a championship contender.

Little-used Joe Tereshinski took over for Shockley and the Bulldogs survived against Arkansas, defeating the Razorbacks, 23-20, on Saturday at Athens, Ga.

Indications are that Shockley suffered a sprained left knee, but he’s doubtful for the annual “Cocktail Party” game against rival Florida next Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.

“We’re expecting to get him back this season,” Bulldog Coach Mark Richt said. “We just don’t know when.”

So, Tereshinski will spend the week preparing for his first career start against a team the Bulldogs have beaten only twice in the last 15 meetings.

“We can still accomplish our goals. We will accomplish our goals,” nose tackle Ray Gant vowed. “No one man makes the Georgia Bulldogs.”

But the Bulldogs, 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference, struggled after Shockley went down with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half. They finished with only 217 yards -- less than half of their SEC-leading average of 454 -- despite facing a defense that ranked 11th in the conference at 424 yards a game.

After Tereshinski came in, Georgia basically turned the game over to its defense and special teams.

The Bulldogs didn’t take any chances in the red zone, settling for three field goals by Brandon Coutu.

Tim Jennings made a leaping interception only four plays after Shockley was hurt, leading to a touchdown that gave Georgia a 14-0 lead.

Tyson Browning had a 52-yard kickoff return that set up a field goal. Coutu’s final field goal came after Peyton Hillis fumbled a punt, with Mike Gilliam recovering for the Bulldogs at the Arkansas 19.

Tereshinski did just enough to keep the Bulldogs on course for a spot in the SEC championship game. They would probably clinch the Eastern Division title with a victory over the Gators.

“When your number is called, you’ve got to be ready,” said Tereshinski, who completed five of nine passes for 91 yards. “I think I’m ready.”

The Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4) managed to keep things close, largely because of Darren McFadden. He ran for 190 yards.

No. 7 Louisiana State 20, No. 16 Auburn 17 -- John Vaughn’s 39-yard field goal in overtime hit the left upright, giving the Tigers the victory at Baton Rouge, La.

Last season, Auburn defeated LSU, 10-9, on Courtney Taylor’s touchdown with 1:14 remaining. Vaughn initially missed the extra point, but a penalty gave him a second chance.

In this season’s rematch, he missed five field goals, including a 49-yarder in the final seconds of regulation that would have won it.

“About three of the kicks tonight, when I hit them I thought they were good. I got a little unlucky and they went right or left,” Vaughn said.

“The last one tonight, I thought I hit it pretty good and when I looked up I knew I was probably going to need a little bit of luck right there.”

Auburn (5-2, 3-1) had won 13 in a row against SEC opponents, one short of a school record.

Auburn took a 17-14 lead with 4:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. Brandon Cox capped a 13-play, 87-yard drive with a five-yard scoring pass to Anthony Mix on fourth down.

But LSU (5-1, 4-1), which also missed two field goals, tied it on Chris Jackson’s 44-yarder with 1:40 to play.

Auburn’s Kenny Irons rushed for a career-high 218 yards, the most given up by LSU since Alabama’s Shaun Alexander had 291 in 1996. He appeared to put Auburn in good position to win with a 19-yard run to the LSU 36 with 27.5 seconds remaining in the fourth. But Cox completed a pass inbounds to Taylor, and Auburn was out of timeouts.

Auburn spiked the ball with 6.8 seconds remaining, and Vaughn missed, forcing the overtime.

No. 9 Notre Dame 49, Brigham Young 23 -- Brady Quinn threw for 467 yards and a school-record six touchdowns, four to Maurice Stovall, and the Fighting Irish (5-2) ended a four-game home losing streak at South Bend, Ind.

Quinn broke the mark of five touchdown passes he set in an overtime loss against Michigan State this season. He completed 25 of 30 passes in the first half for a team-record 287 yards, and finished 32 of 41.

It was the first home win for Charlie Weis, who was the first Irish coach to lose his first two home games since Frank E. Hering in 1896.

Stovall, the first Irish receiver with four touchdown catches in a game, caught a career-high 14 passes for 207 yards. Jeff Samardzija had 10 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Stovall and Samardzija became the first Irish receivers to each have more than 10 catches in the same game.

“Brady and Mo put up some crazy numbers,” said Samardzija. “I just caught a couple of balls, but those two were going crazy. They were scoring touchdowns left and right.”

No. 11 Florida State 55, Duke 24 -- Drew Weatherford threw two touchdown passes and backup Xavier Lee added two of his own at Durham, N.C., to help the Seminoles (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounce back from a loss at Virginia. Duke fell to 1-7 and 0-5.

No. 21 Texas Christian 48, Air Force 10 -- Jeff Ballard threw for 302 yards and two scores to help the Horned Frogs (7-1, 5-0 Mountain West Conference) to victory over the Falcons (3-5, 2-4) at Air Force Academy, Colo.

North Carolina 7, No. 23 Virginia 5 -- Ronnie McGill ran for 118 yards and Cedrick Holt had a key interception late to cap a stellar defensive effort and help the Tar Heels (3-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to victory at Chapel Hill, N.C. The Cavaliers (4-3, 2-3) had only 199 total yards.

No. 24 Fresno State 40, Idaho 10 -- Joe Fernandez returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown and Jaron Fairman returned a blocked punt for another score to lift the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference) to victory at Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is 1-6 and 1-3.