NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Damien Harris ran for a career-high 151 yards and three touchdowns, Bo Scarbrough added two TDs and top-ranked Alabama routed Vanderbilt 59-0 Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Alabama (4-0) now has won 19 straight over the SEC East. Better yet, the Crimson Tide hasn't lost to Vanderbilt since 1984 or in Nashville since 1969. Both streaks were assured at the end of the first quarter with Alabama up 21-0 after the second of Harris' TDs.
Vanderbilt (3-1) came in as one of the five remaining undefeated teams in the SEC with the nation's stingiest defense in points, total yards and against the pass. The Commodores had allowed just 13 points combined through three games, yet they proved no match against Alabama's dominating ground game.
Harris topped his season's best by the end of the first quarter and needed only 12 carries for his big day, thanks to a 61-yarder in the first quarter . Scarbrough ran 11 times for 79 yards more with TD runs of 6 and 2 yards. Brian Robinson added a 17-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for a 59-0 lead.
The Crimson Tide simply smothered Vanderbilt, allowing just 49 yards in the first half to Alabama's 48 offensive plays. Alabama finished with a 677-78 edge in total offense.
Alabama got linebackers Rashaan Evans and Anfernee Jennings back after they missed the last two games with injuries. Jennings forced a fumble recovered by Da'Shawn Hand for the second turnover by the Tide defense in the first quarter. Ronnie Harrison intercepted a tipped pass that ended Vanderbilt's opening drive.
Tennessee 17,
Massachusetts 13
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-John Kelly rushed for 101 yards with a touchdown and Tennessee's defense recorded seven sacks on Saturday as the Volunteers staggered to a 17-13 victory over 27 -point underdog Massachusetts.
Tennessee (3-1) was trying to bounce back from a 26-20 loss at No. 20 Florida in which the Vols allowed a tiebreaking 63-yard touchdown pass as time expired. Tennessee coach Butch Jones' staff was roasted all week for everything from Tennessee's red-zone play calling to its defensive strategy on the game's final play.
The Vols' performance against UMass (0-5) won't quiet that criticism. Tennessee struggled to put away a winless team that played the entire game without star tight end Adam Breneman and most of the second half without starting quarterback Andrew Ford due to injuries.
"We needed to get win No. 3 and we got win No. 3," Jones said. "At the end of the day, it's all about getting the victory, but (that was) just flat-out unacceptable. The performance is unacceptable. We'll get back to work tonight and correct it and correct our deficiencies."
Tennessee was held scoreless for the game's first 25-plus minutes and final 22 minutes. The sluggish performance and the summer-like conditions resulted in a sterile atmosphere at Neyland Stadium. Although the announced attendance was 95,324, there appeared to be approximately 30,000 or so fewer fans than in the fourth quarter as UMass attempted to rally.
UMass threatened to take the lead with less than 10 minutes left when Andy Isabella's 42-yard run put the Minutemen at the Tennessee 38. But the Minutemen went backward from there-thanks in part to a Jonathan Kongbo sack-and punted on fourth-and-16 at the 44.
The Minutemen's next drive stalled after UMass got as far as Tennessee's 45. Tennessee clinched the victory when UMass lost the ball on downs at its own 17 with 22 seconds left.
"I'm proud of the way they played," UMass coach Mark Whipple said. "We wanted to get it to a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, and we did. We just couldn't make the play that we needed to, to get us over the top."
Both teams used their backup quarterbacks for much of the second half. UMass' Ross Comis took over for the injured Ford late in the third quarter and went the rest of the way. Tennessee's Jarrett Guarantano replaced Quinten Dormady late in the third quarter, but Dormady returned after the Vols failed to move the ball on Guarantano's three series.
The Vols finally broke a scoreless tie on Kelly's 12-yard touchdown run around the left end with 4:33 left in the half. The touchdown was set up by Dormady's 66-yard completion to Brandon Johnson, who had seven catches for 123 yards to set career highs in both categories.
UMass responded with Comis' 5-yard touchdown keeper around the left end, capping a series helped along by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Jones that gave the Minutemen first-and-goal. Tennessee remained ahead 7-6 only because Michael Schreiner missed the ensuing extra-point attempt.
Tennessee extended the lead to 14-6 when Dormady found Tyler Byrd alone in the back left corner of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left until halftime. Aaron Medley added a 40-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.
UMass cut the lead to 17-13 late in the third period on Ford's 13-yard pass to Sadiq Palmer.
South Carolina 17,
Louisiana Tech 16
COLUMBIA, S.C.-Parker White kicked a 31-yard field goal with four seconds left to give South Carolina a 17-16 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
White danced around the field after his winning kick, waving to the crowd. It made sense for the freshman because it was the first field goal he has made in five tries.
The Gamecocks (3-1) trailed 13-0 before a wild fourth quarter that saw South Carolina take a 14-13 lead and Louisiana Tech (2-2) answer with a 10-play,
84-yard drive that ended with what appeared to be the game winning 25-yard field goal by Jonathan Barnes with 55 seconds
left.
But Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley scrambled for 21 yards on third-and-10 and threw a 31-yard pass into three Bulldogs defenders that Bryan Edwards somehow caught with 7 seconds to go.
Bentley was 22-of-34 for 295 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Ty'Son Williams ran 13 times for 95 yards after getting no carries for South Carolina in last week's loss to
Kentucky.
J'Mar Smith was 23-of-33 for 281 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Louisiana Tech. Teddy Veal caught 10 passes for 110 yards.