SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP : Florida Extends Alabama’s Streak, 17-13

Will White looked into the eyes of Alabama quarterback Gary Hollingsworth, and what he saw there helped No. 24 Florida extend Alabama’s longest losing streak in 34 years.

White intercepted three Hollingsworth passes and Richard Fain covered a blocked punt for the winning touchdown as Florida defeated the Crimson Tide, 17-13, Saturday in a Southeastern Conference game at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

It was Alabama’s fourth consecutive loss, and its second this season under new coach Gene Stallings. Hollingsworth also had three passes intercepted in Alabama’s 24-21 loss to Southern Mississippi.

“All week long we studied how Hollingsworth looks at his receivers before he throws,” White said. “He holds it really long, and by reading his eyes and knowing where the receiver was, I made the picks.”

Jimmy Spencer blocked an Alabama punt on the second play of the final quarter, and Fain recovered in the end zone to give Florida a 17-10 lead.

Florida (2-0), overcoming a 10-point deficit, gave its new coach, Steve Spurrier, his first SEC victory.

Stallings said he thought the Crimson Tide played much better than a week ago, “but the bottom line is we still lost the game.”

Florida sophomore quarterback Shane Matthews completed 21 of 37 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown--a six-yarder to Terrence Barber that came after Alabama had taken a 10-0 lead on Hollingsworth’s 15-yard pass to Craig Sanderson and Philip Doyle’s 41-yard field goal.

No. 2 Auburn 24, Mississippi 10--The Tigers produced 367 yards of offense, but couldn’t put away Ole Miss until Dennis Wallace returned an intercepted pass 36 yards for a touchdown with 24 seconds left in a SEC opener at Jackson, Miss.

Auburn (2-0) trailed, 10-9, in the third quarter when freshman quarterback Stan White led the Tigers on a 59-yard scoring drive.

James Joseph gained 35 yards in three carries during the drive that ended when White connected with Greg Taylor on a 26-yard scoring play with 8:52 left in the quarter.

The Tigers added a two-point conversion for a 17-10 lead.

Mississippi drove to the Auburn 11 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining, but an illegal procedure call and a 16-yard sack by Walter Tate led to a failed 46-yard field-goal attempt.

Ole Miss (1-1) had two other late possessions, the first ending on downs and the other when Wallace made the clinching interception.

“We knew they had the tools and ability to come back,” White said. “They did and they fought hard.”

Joseph led Auburn’s rushing attack with 119 yards in 22 carries.

White completed 16 of 31 passes for 208 yards.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good chance to be a decent team before it’s over,” said Auburn Coach Pat Dye, whose team limited Mississippi to 114 yards.

Auburn, after its fourth straight SEC title, led 9-0 after the first two series of the game before a crowd of 41,500.

Led by White’s passing, the Tigers rolled 62 yards in eight plays after the kickoff. White completed three of four passes for 38 yards and Joseph ran the final five yards for the touchdown.

Mississippi’s first three plays from scrimmage lost 13 yards and on fourth down Charles Childers’ punt was batted out of the end zone by Bennie Pierce for a safety.

Mississippi got rolling late in the second quarter behind No. 2 quarterback Tom Luke, who drove the Rebels to the Auburn six but then was taken out after suffering a concussion.

Three plays later, Russ Shows threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Camp Roberts to complete the 75-yard drive.

LSU 35, Miami (Ohio) 7--Harvey Williams tied a school record by running for four touchdowns as the Tigers routed the Redskins at Baton Rogue, La.

The LSU record was set in 1977 by Charles Alexander against Oregon and also tied in 1984 by Dalton Hilliard against Kentucky.

LSU is 2-0; Miami 0-3.

Williams’ touchdowns were from five yards and four yards in the second quarter, and from four yards and three yards in the third.

Second-string quarterback Chad Loup got LSU’s other touchdown on a run from three yards out in the fourth quarter.

No. 7 Tennessee 56, Texas El Paso 0--The Volunteers limited outmanned UTEP to 148 total yards, including just 45 in 32 rushing attempts, in breezing to a victory at Knoxville, Tenn.

UTEP’s Mike Perez was sacked five times and finished with minus 31 yards rushing. He completed 12 of 27 passes for 103 yards.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee offense ground out 510 yards. Thirteen players carried the ball at least once as Tennessee quit passing early in the second half and Johnny Majors cleared his bench.