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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bulldogs muzzled


Georgia's Sean Bailey reacts after the final play of Tennessee's upset victory in Athens, Ga.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

Erik Ainge bounced back, and so did the Tennessee Volunteers.

Coming off a dismal performance the previous week, Ainge threw a pair of touchdown passes to lead No. 17 Tennessee to a 19-14 upset of third-ranked Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga.

The Vols, 12 1/2 -point underdogs, prevented Georgia from taking control of the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division. They built a quick 10-0 lead and held off the Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1) at the end.

Tennessee (4-1, 2-1) was coming off a 34-10 loss to Auburn at home. Playing their first road game of the season with a freshman quarterback, the Vols ended Georgia’s 17-game winning streak at Sanford Stadium – the second-longest in school history.

Next for Georgia: Vanderbilt

Next for Tennessee: at Mississippi

(6) Auburn 52, La. Tech 7

Jason Campbell passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns, including a school-record 87-yarder to Silas Daniels, leading the Tigers (6-0) past the Bulldogs (3-3) in Auburn, Ala.

The Tigers are 6-0 for the first time since the 1997 season, with only one game decided by under 24 points.

Louisiana Tech’s Ryan Moats, the nation’s No. 2 rusher, limped off the field in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle and didn’t return. Moats finished with no yards on three carries after coming in averaging 185.6 per game for the Bulldogs.

Next for Auburn: Arkansas

(8) Florida St. 17, Syracuse 13

Leon Washington rushed for a career-high 164 yards and scored on runs of 21 and 45 yards in the second half, as the Seminoles (4-1) survived a major scare with a win over the Orangemen (3-3) in Syracuse, N.Y.

Syracuse wasted two brilliant plays by safety Diamond Ferri. He put the Orange in terrific scoring position twice – with a fumble return and an interception – and they failed to score both times.

Syracuse closed to 17-13 on a 39-yard field goal by Collin Barber with 10 minutes left and drove to the Florida State 30 in the final minute. But linebacker Sam McGrew intercepted Perry Patterson’s pass with 5 seconds left to end it.

Next for Florida State: Virginia

(9) Purdue 20, Penn St. 13

Taylor Stubblefield caught a 40-yard touchdown pass and became the Big Ten’s career receptions leader as the Boilermakers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) held on to beat the Nittany Lions (2-4, 0-3) in State College, Pa.

Stubblefield’s 40-yard sprint down the left sideline on the first possession of the second half put the Boilermakers up 17-10. After that, it was all Purdue could do to hold on to the lead.

Stubblefield had seven catches for 63 yards, giving him 271 career catches, including a 3-yarder to break the record. Fellow Boilermaker John Sandeford set the previous record of 266 last year.

Purdue’s Kyle Orton completed 24 of 35 for 275 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown. He was sacked three times, as many times as he’d been sacked all year.

Next for Purdue: Wisconsin

(24) LSU 24, (12) Florida 21

Marcus Randall may have saved LSU’s season.

Randall came off the bench and threw two touchdown passes, including a 10-yarder with 27 seconds to play, to help the Tigers (4-2, 2-2 SEC) upset the Gators (3-2, 2-2) in Gainesville, Fla.

The Tigers, the defending Bowl Championship Series national champions, already have been eliminated from the national title picture. But they still could repeat as Southeastern Conference champs. They certainly showed anything is possible against the Gators.

Not only did LSU rebound from an embarrassing 45-16 loss at Georgia last week, it also overcame a 21-7 deficit, three turnovers and the loss of starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell against Florida.

Next for Florida: Middle Tennessee State

Next for LSU: bye

(14) Michigan 27, (13) Minnesota 24

Tyler Ecker caught a short pass from Chad Henne over the middle, eluded two tackles and lumbered down the sideline for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:57 left to give the Wolverines (5-1, 3-0 Big Ten) a victory over the Golden Gophers (5-1, 2-1) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Minnesota led 24-17 early in the fourth quarter – after scoring 17 straight points – before losing another heartbreaker against Michigan.

Garrett Rivas’ 29-yard field goal with 9:36 left pulled Michigan to 24-20 and started the comeback.

The Wolverines forced the Gophers to punt on their next two possessions to set up the winning drive.

Next for Minnesota: at Michigan State

Next for Michigan: at Illinois

(15) Wisconsin 24, (18) Ohio St. 13

The Badgers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) throttled Ohio State’s offense, and Anthony Davis slashed for 168 yards and a touchdown to lead the way to a victory over the Buckeyes (3-2, 0-2) in Columbus, Ohio.

It was Wisconsin’s third straight win on Ohio State’s home turf, the first time a visitor has done that since Illinois won four in a row from 1988-94. The Badgers had never before won even twice in a row at Ohio State in the series dating to 1913.

The loss ended Ohio State’s 18-game home winning streak.

Next for Wisconsin: at Purdue

Next for Ohio State: at Iowa

(22) Oklahoma St. 42, Colorado 14

Vernand Morency ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns and Donovan Woods threw for three more scores, lifting the Cowboys (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) to an easy victory over the Buffaloes (3-2, 0-2) in Boulder, Colo.

Oklahoma State established its powerful running game early, blowing the Buffaloes back on Morency’s 58-yard touchdown run on its third play. Morency added a 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, eclipsing 100 yards for the seventh straight regular season game.

Woods bounced back from a bad interception in the first quarter – just the second turnover in five games for the Cowboys – with 58-yard touchdown pass to Prentis Elliott on the final play of the first half.

Woods also had a 20-yard touchdown pass to Luke Frazier to put the Cowboys up 28-0 in the third quarter, and added a 53-yarder in the fourth when no one covered D’Juan Woods on a third down.

Next for Oklahoma State: Texas A&M

Georgia Tech 20, (23) Maryland 7

The Yellow Jackets (3-2, 2-2 ACC) ended Maryland’s 13-game home winning streak in stunning fashion, blanking the Terrapins (3-2, 1-1) through three quarters in a victory in College Park, Md.

Reggie Ball threw for 197 yards and a touchdown to help Georgia Tech snap a two-game losing streak. It’s been an erratic season for Georgia Tech, which has also defeated then-No. 18 Clemson but lost to lowly North Carolina.

Next for Maryland: North Carolina State

Mississippi 31, (25) South Carolina 28

Ethan Flatt found Bill Flowers in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 1:05 left to give the Rebels (3-3, 2-1 SEC) a victory over the Gamecocks (4-2, 2-2) in Columbia, S.C.

South Carolina managed to get the ball down to the Ole Miss 31 with 30 seconds to go. But after Syvelle Newton spiked the ball, Corey Mills sacked him on second down, then the Rebels broke up two passes in the end zone.

Next for South Carolina: at Kentucky