THE BIG STORY

Brandon Cox has earned back his job as Auburn’s starting quarterback, thanks to his strong play in relief of freshman starter Kodi Burns on Saturday in the Tigers’ 55-20 win over New Mexico State.

“Brandon will be our starter,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. “He played too good, and hopefully got a few of the cobwebs out. He knows more of the offense. He gives us a better chance to win.”

Cox completed 13 of 19 passes for 135 yards against New Mexico State. Most importantly, he didn’t throw an interception after tossing picks in his first two passes against Mississippi State.

Burns, who started against New Mexico State but was pulled when New Mexico State jammed the box and limited Burns’ effectiveness, has no problem going back to the bench.

“The coaches felt like they needed to give Brandon another chance to go out there and prove what he could do, and he got the job done,” Burns said. “I’ve said many times that this is his team. He’s a senior.”

“I got letters sent here. I had a stack of them when I got here Friday. I got e-mails. My mom’s gotten phone calls, messages and everything,” he said. “I’d say 95 percent of them were supportive. All the coaches, all the players, everybody showed their support and came and talked to me. Throughout the week, every single coach came up to me and talked to me about how they supported me and they knew I’d be back out there. And after the game, every single one of them came over and said, ‘We told you so.’”

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

Bad one week against Vandy. Good one week against Arkansas. Bad one week against Georgia. Alabama’s up-and-down passing attack is driving Alabama Coach Nick Saban crazy. Saban revived earlier criticism of Alabama’s passing offense after Saturday’s 26-23 overtime loss to Georgia, saying “We’ve got too many good skill guys here not to have a good passing game. Sometimes it was a little bit protection. Sometimes we missed a few throws. Sometimes we didn’t throw it to the right guy, and sometimes they did a pretty good job of getting us covered.” Quarterback John Parker Wilson finished 17-of-35 for 185 yards. While he didn’t throw an interception, he also didn’t throw a touchdown or top 200 yards for the third time in four contests this season.

ARKANSAS

Leading Kentucky 13-7 early in the second quarter, Arkansas coach Houston Nutt made a decision that brought boos from the Reynolds Razorback Stadium crowd. Arkansas faced fourth-and-9 at the Kentucky 35, three plays after getting the ball on a Kentucky fumble. True freshman Alex Tejada has more than enough leg to get a 53-yard field goal over the crossbar of the goal posts. But Nutt didn’t want to chance a miss. “The way things were going, I didn’t want to give (Kentucky) that field position,” Nutt said. “I have a lot of confidence in Alex, but I thought at that particular time, I really wanted to pin them down deep in their own territory. I know that from the 32- or 33-yard-line there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s three (points). No doubt.” Arkansas ended up not pinning Kentucky deep in its own territory, as Jeremy Davis’ punt went into the end zone for a touchback.

AUBURN

Saturday’s Auburn-Florida game will be televised by ESPN at 7 p.m., the SEC announced Sunday. CBS had placed a six-day hold on the game, but the network opted instead to televise the Alabama-Florida State game in its afternoon time slot. The game will mark the fourth time in five games this season that Auburn has played at night. . .Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said linebacker Tray Blackmon (ankle) was probable for Saturday’s game, but Blackmon seemed more optimistic, putting his status at “90 to 95 percent.” Linebacker Merrill Johnson said he now has a full range of motion in his injured shoulder, but must work on regaining lost strength. He is doubtful for Saturday. Defensive back Mike McNeil (knee) was to undergo an MRI.

FLORIDA

Florida coach Urban Meyer really doesn’t want to see quarterback Tim Tebow carry the ball 27 times like he did in Saturday’s 30-24 win over Ole Miss. “I’m very concerned,” Meyer said Sunday. “Object No. 1 is to win the game, but we’ve got to take care of our players, too.” Tebow finished with 27 carries for 166 yards to go along with completing 20-of-34 passes for 261 yards. He had two touchdowns rushing and passing. Meyer said many of Tebow’s runs were not by design, adding that the Rebels’ defense necessitated the sophomore quarterback to tuck the ball and take off on numerous occasions. Meyer added that the Ole Miss defensive gameplan was set up in part to take away Florida’s deep ball, instead forcing underneath throws. And Meyer said Tebow often tried to overmuscle some of his shorter pass attempts. That is not something Meyer is worried about, adding that Tebow overstrided on a few throws and let his feet become unsettled when looking for his second receiving options - things that will be worked on in practice this week. The busiest Gator offensive player aside from Tebow against the Rebels was sophomore Percy Harvin, who caught 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. No other UF receiver had more than two catches. Meyer said each week there is a “get it to Percy” plan, but added Tebow missed Jarred Fayson open twice and would like to see the touches spread out more in the future.
“We got a little conservative,” Meyer said.

GEORGIA

Georgia’s Mikey Henderson, all 5-foot-10 and 157 pounds of him, caught a 25-yard pass in the end zone on the first play of overtime to beat Alabama 26-23 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. “It was incredible. I love that dogpile, but I couldn’t breathe,” Henderson said. “I’m the littlest guy out there and to have all those guys on top of me, it hurt, man it hurt.” Henderson had three receptions for 39 yards and the overtime score. He also returned three punts for 39 yards, including a 22-yarder. “I didn’t care who we threw to, I just wanted somebody to make a play,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “John Eason made the call to No. 27. He’d had a great game and he came through in the clutch.” Henderson is in his first season as a starter at wide receiver after being a special teams standout earlier in his career. He finished Saturday’s game with 11 catches for 113 yards this season. The game winner was his first touchdown catch of the season.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson broke the NCAA record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception in the second quarter against Arkansas. The old record was held by Fresno State’s Trent Dilfer, who threw 271 straight passes without a pick in 1993. Woodson came into the game with a Southeastern Conference-record 257 straight passes without an interception, and he went 21-for-39 for 265 yards with two TDs and no picks last night. “It’s a big honor to have your name there, but nothing’s possible without my teammates,” Woodson said. Woodson also tied Babe Parilli for career touchdown passes with 50. . .Trevard Lindley’s 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown was Kentucky’s first since Otis Grigsby did it against Vanderbilt on Nov. 16, 2002. Lindley said it was his first touchdown since high school, and he capped it off by diving into the end zone. When asked if he did it to avoid a defender or to pick up style points, he said, “Both.”. . .Linebacker Wesley Woodyard was credited with 17 tackles vs. Arkansas, making him the first UK player in 15 years to reach 300 tackles for his career.

LSU

LSU’s defense is so good, it took Steve Spurrier’s playbook away on Saturday. Spurrier’s South Carolina team faced a fourth-and-goal from the Tigers’ 6-yard line while trailing 28-7 midway in the fourth quarter. Spurrier, also known as Coach Superior for his offensive mastermind that routinely took Florida to Southeastern Conference championships and a national championship in the 1990s, did not go for it. “I didn’t know what to call,” Spurrier said. That rarely happens. The Gamecocks settled for a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Succop and ended up falling 28-16 after scoring a meaningless touchdown with 1:41 to go. “We didn’t have a play we thought we could score with,” Spurrier said. “Didn’t have a run.” LSU had defensive backs all over the end zone on South Carolina’s two previous plays. “They were flooding the end zone,” Spurrier said. “When they zone up like that, usually you try to run.” Then he remembered defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who finished the game with eight tackles and a sack, and defensive tackle Marlon Favorite, who had six tackles, and defensive end Kirston Pittman, who had six tackles and helped stop a fourth and one in the third quarter at the South Carolina 30. “We couldn’t budge those guys,” Spurrier said. “They were too big and too strong up front for us.” He was right. South Carolina finished with 17 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Through four games this season, LSU has allowed 107 yards rushing on 118 carries.

OLE MISS

Ole Miss quarterback Seth Adams showed few signs of problems with his sprained right shoulder against Florida. The senior, who missed most of the week with an injury he suffered at Vanderbilt, completed 18 of 31 passes for 302 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. It was the second time in four games he has gone over the 300-yard mark, showing more proof of Ole Miss’ vastly improved passing attack. “He’s a gamer,” Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said. “He has the intestinal fortitude you look for. … He had a smile on his face out there.” Adams led the Rebels on two scoring drives in the third quarter, which helped Ole Miss cut into Florida’s 27-6 lead. The second - a 77-yard bomb to receiver Mike Wallace - once again showed off an arm that was supposed to be his weakness. “That was a chance to take a shot and (offensive coordinator Dan Werner) made a good play call,” Adams said. “I knew as soon as he called it I felt good about it.”

MISS. STATE

For the third straight game, Mississippi State set the tone for a win with a first-quarter interception return for a touchdown. De’Mon Glanton picked off a pass from Gardner-Webb quarterback Devin Campbell and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. For three consecutive games, the Bulldogs have returned an interception for a touchdown on their opponent’s opening offensive drive. Mississippi State has won all three games. In a 38-17 win at Tulane Sept. 8, it was Gabe O’Neal. In a 19-14 win at Auburn Sept. 15, it was Derek Pegues. “We strive to put points on the board every week,” Glanton said.

SOUTH CAROLINA

LSU racked up 290 rushing yards and averaged nearly 6 yards per carry in its 28-16 victory at Tiger Stadium over South Carolina. The rushing yards were the most surrendered by the Gamecocks since Wofford ran for 290 last season in Columbia. USC entered the game ranked last in the SEC in rushing defense and did nothing to help that statistic. Through four games, opponents have rushed for an average of 216.5 yards against the Gamecocks. Defensive end Eric Norwood said teams will continue to run against USC until the Gamecocks prove they can stop it. “That’s what we want them to do because we’re going to get better at it,” Norwood said. “You probably couldn’t tell this week, but we’re going to strap it up and get better.” The Tigers had three players with at least 59 rushing yards, including backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux (eight carries for 59). Norwood said the Gamecocks were prepared for Perrilloux, but overpursued. “It’s up to us,” Norwood said. “We’ve got the speed to play with anybody.”

TENNESSEE

For the fifth time in its last eight games, UT allowed an opposing ballcarrier to rush for more than 100 yards. Saturday it was Indians tailback Reggie Arnold, who picked up 130 yards on 16 carries. Arkansas State’s two tailbacks rushed for 167 yards total and averaged nearly 8.4 yards a carry. Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis said, “If I’m quoted, I want this to be said: I’m excited about the way our football team is playing from an effort standpoint. We’re not playing as smart as we need to play, a lot of that goes back to coaching. We got to do a better job. We got to set up situations better in practice to make sure they understand, and that’s where we’ve got to improve. And we’ve got to improve.
“We’re not anywhere near where we need to be, other than we’re getting great effort from our players.”

VANDERBILT

Last week’s open date gave Vandy coach Bobby Johnson time to look at Eastern Michigan, which plays in Nashville on Sunday. “We got a chance to look at them last week,” Johnson said of the Eagles, who defeated NCAA Division I FCS competitor Howard 38-15 Saturday, for their second straight win after opening with back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and Ball State. “We got a chance to get out on the road recruiting and we… had a little more physical practice than we normally do on Sunday,” Johnson said. “We feel like we’re a little ahead of the game.” Eastern Michigan, a member of the Mid-American Conference, is the typical Midwestern college football team from a size standpoint, according to Johnson.
“They’ve got some physical defensive linemen,” he said. “They’re big guys but very mobile. They’re a typical MAC type of team. They’ll give us a good test.”(Offensively) they spread you out, run zone option and all those kinds of things. One mental error and you’re in trouble against their offense. They certainly got our attention, scoring 38 (Saturday).”