Top 25: Vols move on to SEC title game

Sorry, Georgia, resilient Tennessee is back on top in the SEC East.

The Volunteers stuffed a scrambling Andre Woodson on a 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth overtime to secure a 52-50 victory Saturday against Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., and a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game.

No. 19 Tennessee’s 23rd straight win over the Wildcats handed the Volunteers (9-3, 6-2) the division title and a shot at LSU in next week’s SEC title game.

Tennessee and Georgia finished tied atop the East, but the Volunteers earned the title thanks to their 35-14 win over the Bulldogs on Oct. 6.

Erik Ainge threw for a career-high 397 yards and seven touchdowns and running back Arian Foster had 216 total yards for the Volunteers.

Woodson matched Ainge throw for throw, throwing for 430 yards and six touchdowns, but the Wildcats (7-5, 3-5) let a chance to beat the Vols for the first time since 1984 get away.

(4) West Virginia 66, (20) Connecticut 21: At Morgantown, W. Va., Pat White rushed for 186 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers (10-1, 5-1 Big East) to a win over the Huskies (9-3, 5-2), clinching the Big East championship and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

With one more win next week against Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers might be headed to the biggest BCS game of all – the championship game Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

(6) Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 17: At Atlanta, Matthew Stafford ran for one touchdown and threw for another, Thomas Brown rushed for 130 yards, and the Bulldogs (10-2) seemed to catch every break in stretching their winning streak to seven in a row over the Yellow Jackets (7-5).

Georgia closed the regular season as hot as anyone in the country, winning six straight. Even though the Bulldogs won’t get to play for their conference title, they are definitely in line for a BCS bowl invitation.

(8) Virginia Tech 33, (16) Virginia 21: At Charlottesville, Va., Sean Glennon threw for 260 yards and the other half of Virginia Tech’s quarterback rotation, Tyrod Taylor, ran for two touchdowns, as the Hokies (10-2, 7-1 ACC) earned a spot in the ACC championship game with a win over the Cavaliers (9-3, 6-2).

The Hokies (10-2, 7-1 ACC) also got a season-high 147 yards rushing from Branden Ore and six catches for 147 yards and a touchdown from Eddie Royal. They won their fourth straight in the series and earned a rematch with No. 15 Boston College in next Saturday’s conference title game in Jacksonville, Fla.

(10) Oklahoma 49, Oklahoma State 17: At Norman, Okla., Allen Patrick returned to form just in time for the postseason, running for a career-best 202 yards and two touchdowns as the Sooners (10-2, 6-2 Big 12) wrapped up a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a win over the Cowboys (6-6, 4-4).

Patrick, who had four 100-yard rushing games after Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone last season, passed the century mark for the first time since September and also caught a touchdown pass in easily his best game of the season.

(12) Florida 45, Florida State 12: At Gainesville, Fla., Tim Tebow led the Gators (9-3) to touchdowns on four of their first five possessions, staking them to a big lead that eased the pressure on a young defense, which has struggled much of the year, as Florida defeated the Seminoles (7-5).

Percy Harvin did his part, too. After missing the last two games because of migraine headaches, Harvin returned and ran 16 times for 157 yards.

(15) Boston College 28, Miami 14: At Boston, the Eagles (10-2, 6-2 ACC) ended a 15-game losing streak against the Hurricanes (5-7, 2-6) – and didn’t even need Doug Flutie to do it.

Matt Ryan threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns to send the Eagles into the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with their first victory over Miami since the 1984 “Hail Flutie” pass.

(21) Clemson 23, South Carolina 21: At Columbia, S.C., Mark Buchholz hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tigers (9-3) a victory over the Gamecocks (6-6) and hand coach Steve Spurrier the longest losing streak of his college career, five games.

Buchholz, who starred on the Tigers soccer team this fall, had missed two earlier field-goal attempts. But he nailed the one that counted most and his teammates leaped in celebration at Williams-Brice Stadium.

(23) BYU 17, Utah 10: At Provo, Utah, Harvey Unga ran 11 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds left as the Cougars (9-2, 7-0 MWC) rallied to beat the Utes (8-4, 5-3) and clinch a second consecutive Mountain West title.

The Cougars converted on fourth-and-18 with 1:05 remaining on a 49-yard pass from Max Hall to Austin Collie to keep the final drive going.

(24) Cincinnati 52, Syracuse 31: At Syracuse, N.Y., Ben Mauk threw for a career-high 431 yards and four touchdowns, three to Marcus Barnett, and the Bearcats (9-3, 4-3 Big East) beat the Orange (2-10, 1-6).

The victory gave the Bearcats their first nine-win season since the 1953 team went 9-1 and more than likely assured them of finishing the regular season ranked for the first time in school history.

The loss gave Syracuse its second 10-loss season in Greg Robinson’s three years as head coach.

(25) Auburn 17, Alabama 10: At Auburn, Ala., Brandon Cox scored on a 1-yard sneak with 3:50 left and the Tigers (8-4, 5-3 SEC) played stingy defense in a win over the Crimson Tide (6-6, 4-4).

Alabama lost its final four games but is one of 10 SEC teams vying for a bowl spot.

Auburn recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock after Brad Lester gained 12 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Crimson Tide 30. It was the sixth straight win for Auburn over Alabama.