THE BIG STORY

It was Nov. 7, 1959, when LSU last played a game as the No. 1-ranked football team in the Associated Press poll. The Tigers (5-0) will play No. 9 Florida (4-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium as the No. 1 team.

LSU jumped over USC (4-0) Sunday with 33 first-place votes to 32 in the media poll for a total of 1,593 points to 1,591 despite USC beating Washington 27-24 Saturday night. LSU trailed 40-point underdog Tulane 9-7 in the second quarter Saturday after an 11 a.m. kickoff but woke up for a 34-9 win.

“This tells you that the voters didn’t get up early in the morning to watch our game,” LSU coach Les Miles said with a smile Sunday afternoon. “I think they kind of slept in and got caught up on the score later in the day.”

Miles said USC should have remained No. 1, and it did in the USA Today coaches poll and in the Harris poll. Those two are used in the Bowl Championship Series formula that will decide who plays in the BCS national championship game on Jan. 7 in the Louisiana Superdome. USC is the first No. 1 team to win and still drop from the AP poll since Nov. 3, 2002 when No. 1 Miami dropped after beating Rutgers, and No. 2 Oklahoma moved up after a win over No. 13 Colorado.

“We played poorly,” Miles said. “We can’t afford to play like that anymore for any length of time whether it’s a half or what. I think SC is a dynamic team and under-represented right now. They should be first probably.”

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson was 28-for-53 passing for 240 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 21-14 loss to Florida State, but more than half of that came against a prevent defense in the final period. None of the Tide’s tailbacks topped 36 rushing yards, and Alabama took only three first downs into intermission. “We couldn’t run, we couldn’t throw, we couldn’t make a first down,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “You saw it. I saw it. It wasn’t very good.” Saban admired the Seminoles’ defense, calling it the best college unit he has seen “in a while.” Saban said he didn’t think Wilson’s performance was an issue. “We need to evaluate the situation when we watch the film,” Saban said. “I don’t think it’s fair to sit here and blame the quarterback, and I’m not sure that was the issue.”

ARKANSAS

Sophomore running back Michael Smith returned to team activities Sunday. Smith was suspended by Arkansas coach Houston Nutt after being arrested last Sunday on felony charges of forgery and theft by receiving a stolen credit card. Nutt said Smith, previously Arkansas’ third-string back, would lift and run Sunday. He said Smith still had duties to fulfill with Arkansas student life director Rodger Hunter before returning to practice this week. He said he wasn’t sure yet if Smith would be available for Saturday’s game against Chattanooga. “He’ll probably start practicing (this week),” Nutt said. “We may even go scout team with him a little bit, maybe a day or two. We’ll go one day at a time. I think it probably hurt him pretty good missing a game like (North Texas). It’s a pretty good lesson, where, ‘You’re not there? OK, somebody else (Brandon Barnett) will go for 100 yards.’”

AUBURN

Auburn true freshman placekicker Wes Byrum kicked a 43-yard game-winning field goal twice in the Tigers’ 20-17 upset victory over No. 4 Florida in The Swamp. As Byrum was lining up for the field goal with three seconds showing on the clock, Florida coach Urban Meyer stood next to the referee, waiting for the last possible moment to call the Gators’ final timeout. As he did, the center snapped the ball, it was put in place, and Byrum kicked the ball through the uprights. A brief Auburn celebration was halted when it was announced the timeout was called prior to the kick. As he lined up the second time, Byrum said he felt even better. “I was a little bit more confident (for the second kick) because I had just hit it,” he said. And while the second kick didn’t travel as far as the first, it was more toward the center. And, like the first one, it was good. “I figured I was going to have to kick another one,” Byrum said. “When I looked up (on the second kick), I saw it in the middle and I started celebrating.”

FLORIDA
Florida’s offense, held to a season-low 312 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s loss to Auburn, needs to have offensive coordinator Dan Mullen healthy all week. Mullen underwent an emergency procedure to remove his appendix in the early hours of Saturday morning, Florida coach Urban Meyer said Sunday. Mullen complained of pain in his side at the team dinner Friday evening and was taken to the hospital and run through a CAT scan. Megan Mullen, Dan’s wife, said in a telephone interview Sunday that her husband eschewed the normal post-appendectomy medications and worked only on Tylenol all day. He participated in a 3 p.m. quarterbacks’ meeting at the team hotel before resting in his office for a couple of hours. He hit the field to run pregame drills before getting a ride to the coaches’ box, where he called the game. Mullen spent Sunday in the office, working past dark on reviewing the Auburn tape and preparing for the top-ranked Tigers. “He’s a tough guy,” Meyer said.

GEORGIA

The Bulldogs jumped from 16 to 11 in the USA Today coaches’ poll and from 15 to 12 in the Harris Poll after Saturday’s 45-17 win over Ole Miss. Georgia coach Mark Richt reiterated that safety Reshad Jones was kept on the bench when Johnson was injured because defensive coordinator Willie Martinez “wanted him to give a little more effort in practice.” Richt wanted to dispel speculation on the Internet that coaches are down on Jones. “We think he’s a very talented guy whose got tremendous upside and we want him to be the special player that he’s going to be,” Richt said. . .Georgia’s 328 rushing yards Saturday was its most since 1991. Much of the credit should go to Brown and Knowshon Moreno for making great runs, Richt said. “I don’t know if our line blocked for 300 and some yards, but I’d say (fullback Brannan) Southerland blocked really well and the tight ends did decently well.”. . .Georgia won SEC games in back-to-back weeks for the first time since October 2005. …

KENTUCKY

Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson saw his NCAA record streak of consecutive passes without an interception end at 325 in the third quarter Saturday in UK’s 45-17 win over Florida Atlantic. On UK’s first drive of the second half, Woodson lofted a passed toward the end zone intended for fullback John Conner. The ball hung in the air, and Florida Atlantic cornerback Tavious Polo got a read on it and jumped in the air to grab the pick at the FAU 2. “It was a foolish throw,” UK coach Rich Brooks said. “He threw off his back foot. But we won’t have everybody talking about it anymore. Now he can start another one.” The interception was Polo’s NCAA-leading seventh of the year. The pick also ended a streak of 21 consecutive scores in the red zone for the Cats and was the first time this season that they failed to score on the opening drive of the second half. UK is now 23-for-24 in the red zone this season. Woodson didn’t seem to take the end of the streak too hard. “I know a lot of people talk about it, but the streak never really entered my mind,” Woodson said. “The guy made a great play. After I threw the pick, I just came over to the sideline and got ready for our next possession. I’m just glad it happened in this game and not another game.” With five TD passes, Woodson moved past Babe Parilli into third place on UK’s career list. Woodson now has 55, five ahead of Parilli.

LSU

Matt Flynn acknowledged the obvious following Saturday’s uneven performance in a 34-9 win against Tulane at the Louisiana Superdome. LSU’s starting quarterback isn’t 100 percent back from a high right ankle sprain. “No,” the fifth-year senior said curtly when asked if he’s operating without limitations. Asked to expand on that answer and rate the level at which he’s playing on a percentage basis, Flynn declined, just saying, “Close.” That, however, appears debatable since he suffered the injury three weeks ago during the second half of the Virginia Tech game. And the numbers suggest Flynn is limited far more than anyone is letting on with the program. For instance: After sitting out the Middle Tennessee game, Flynn returned for last week’s 28-16 win over South Carolina at Tiger Stadium and completed just 8-of-19 passes for a career-low 70 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Those struggles were magnified in the first half against Tulane. Until completing 4-of-7 passes for 53 yards and driving LSU to the go-ahead field goal just before halftime, Flynn hit on only four of his first 11 passes and was sacked four times. At that point — including the second half against South Carolina — Flynn was mired in four mediocre quarters of football, having completed just 6-of-16 passes for 99 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He had rushed nine times for minus-22 yards. “We all talked at halftime, and as an offense, we told Matt we’re behind him,” said LSU’s sophomore receiver Brandon LaFell. “It’s just, Matt’s not hurt — he’s just a little timid on the ankle. The thing is, we know what Matt can do. There’s no guesswork involved with him. It just takes time coming back from an injury like that.”

OLE MISS

Ole Miss entered Saturday’s 45=17 loss to Georgia as one of the SEC’s worst defenses and lived up to the billing. The Bulldogs rushed for 328 yards and piled up 472 in total offense. It was the fourth time in five games Ole Miss has allowed more than 450 yards. “I wish I had something to tell you that’s interesting,” defensive coordinator John Thompson said. “We got our tails kicked. We’ve got to stand up and go back to work. We’ve got some guys that aren’t going to take it and are going to keep fighting it. Those that don’t, we’ll see about that.” Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said the Rebels must find a way to fix the problems, but getting answers won’t be easy. After the Vanderbilt loss on Sept. 15, Ole Miss said it was going to go “back to basics.” But the basics haven’t worked. “I know our scheme is good,” Orgeron said. “I like our scheme. I’m involved in it. I know exactly what we’re doing. We just have to do it right and when we get there, we have to make plays. If the guys can’t make the plays, then we’ve got to recruit some guys that can make them.”

MISS. STATE

Shane Beamer spent the last three years coaching at Mississippi State. On Saturday afternoon, Beamer called the punt block that beat his former team. South Carolina trailed Mississippi State 21-17 well into the third quarter when Eric Norwood blew past the Mississippi State punt snapper and blocked Blake McAdams’ punt. The Gamecocks scored on the next play en route to a 38-21 victory. “Scheme-wise, from being over there three years, we thought we had a chance to get one,” Beamer told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. “But they’ve got good coaches, too. They changed what they had been doing. . .We wanted to get Eric (Norwood) one-on-one with their snapper, and we did. He beat the snapper and made a huge play in the game.” Norwood said the blocked punt was a called stunt, in which he loops around the center. “It was wide open,” he said. “We thought it might be.” Norwood was awarded a well-deserved game ball for making the biggest play in the game.

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina might still be searching for a No. 2 receiver, but Kenny McKinley left little doubt Saturday as to who is No. 1. McKinley caught four passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns in the Gamecocks’ 38-21 win against Mississippi State. McKinley had three catches of 20 yards or longer and has now scored a touchdown in three consecutive games. Some questioned how McKinley would do as the go-to receiver after Sidney Rice left early for the NFL. The 6-foot, 177-pound junior has responded by leading or tying for the team lead in receptions every game. McKinley found the soft middle in the Bulldogs’ cover-2 zone. His first score was a 20-yarder on a drag route when he reversed directions after catching the ball. He added a 27-yard touchdown on a post pattern and later turned a short slant into a career-long, 48-yard gain to set up a Mike Davis touchdown run. McKinley, who has caught at least one pass in 26 consecutive games, said he was pleased with his yards after the catch. “I consider myself a playmaker,” he said. “That’s what I try to thrive on is those ‘YAC’ yards.”

TENNESSEE
True freshman Brent Vinson will start at cornerback on Saturday against Georgia. Vinson had four tackles and his first career interception last week against Arkansas State, rotating with junior college transfer DeAngelo Willingham at cornerback opposite sophomore Marsalous Johnson. . .Punter Britton Colquitt could resume kickoff duties against Georgia, assuming his quadriceps muscle passes the test this week in practice. Colquitt, who leads the SEC with an average punt of 44.2 yards in three games, initially injured the quadriceps while warming up before UT’s final full scrimmage of preseason camp. Backup punter Chad Cunningham and place kicker Daniel Lincoln have kicked off, but neither has the leg Colquitt does.

VANDERBILT

With nine receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown against Eastern Michigsn, Vanderbilt wide receiver Earl Bennett has 198 career catches and moved into a fourth-place tie on the SEC all-time reception list. He is two catches shy of Vanderbilt’s all-time record (200), which is held by Keith Edwards. He’s in third place all-time among Commodores with 19 touchdown catches.