Quick Kicks

Heisman watch

Facing the toughest defense, but worst team in the SEC, Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning helped the Vols defeat Vanderbilt 17-10, clinching a spot in the SEC championship game. The winner will go to an Alliance bowl. Manning completed 12 of 27 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, the first TD he has thrown in the past three years against Vanderbilt.

Other leading contenders are record-setting Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf, versatile Charles Woodson of Michigan and standout wide receiver Randy Moss of Marshall. All three had Saturday off.

Mackovic gets the ax…

And it’s not the prize for winning some rivalry game.

John Mackovic’s rocky six-year tenure as coach at Texas, in which he posted a record of 41-28-2, ended Saturday when he was fired and reassigned within the school’s athletic department.

Mackovic’s run, marked by big victories but even bigger losses, ended one day after the Longhorns lost 27-16 at Texas A&M and finished 4-7 - tying the school’s worst record in the last 41 years.

Like Mackovic, Arkansas coach Danny Ford has been fired not long after an excellent season.

Ford led the Razorbacks to the 1995 SEC championship game, but consecutive 4-7 seasons since led to his departure.

In five years at Arkansas, Ford produced a 26-30-1 record after winning 76 percent of his games in his previous job at Clemson.

Golden Egg or rotten eggs?

During warmups about 40 minutes before Mississippi and Mississippi State played for the Golden Egg at Starkville, Miss., a brawl broke out between the teams.

The fight, which included some heavy slugging and a couple of flying helmets, had to be broken up by coaches and security personnel, including Mississippi Highway Patrol officers.

Stars and stats

Mike Bobo, Georgia, was 30 of 39 for 415 yards and four TDs as the Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech 27-24.

Aaron Brooks, Virginia, was 23 of 34 for 390 yards and four TDs in the Cavaliers’ 34-20 win over Virginia Tech.

Jamal Lewis, Tennessee, gained 196 yards on 37 carries in the Vols’ victory over Vanderbilt.

Sedrick Irvin, Michigan State, rushed for 238 yards and three TDs on 28 carries and teammate Marc Renaud rushed 21 times for 203 yards and one TD in the Spartans’ 49-14 rout of Penn State.

Multiplicity

On Friday, Nebraska’s Scott Frost became the 12th Division I-A quarterback to gain 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing in a season. With the Big 12 championship game remaining against Texas A&M, he has 1,016 yards rushing and 1,036 passing.

Hines Ward, a senior receiver for Georgia, did not attempt a pass Saturday. The stat has some meaning because Ward was within 82 passing yards of becoming the first Division I-A player to accumulate 1,000 career yards in three categories: rushing, passing and receiving.

Ward, who has played receiver, quarterback and running back during his four years at Georgia, has totals of 1,965 receiving yards and 1,063 rushing yards.

, DataTimes