College Football Scores: SEC Week 4

It was not supposed to be a close game, but it was.

The beleaguered Auburn Tigers gave No. 2 ranked LSU a scare on Saturday. Auburn, a 20-point underdog, led at half time and maintained the lead until near the end of the third quarter when LSU went up 12-10 after a field goal. With time running out in the game, Auburn got the ball back and tried to move within field goal range for the winning score, but the LSU defense stiffened and preserved the Tigers’ scant two-point lead.

Glenn Guilbeau of USA Today wrote, “The Tigers, sloppy on offense and drawing personal fouls throughout the night, scored all of three points over the final three quarters, but they held up for a nervous victory against inspired Auburn in the Southeastern Conference opener for LSU.”

Up next: Auburn (1-3) has a bye week and LSU (4-0) hosts Towson.

Other SEC scores from the fourth week of the 2012 college football season include:

No. 5 Georgia 38, Vanderbilt 3 – Aaron Murray was 18 of 24 for 250 yards as the Dawgs dominated the Commodores in Athens. As Ryan Black of the Red and Black wrote, “This game seemed over about as soon as the ball was kicked off.”  He added, “Combined with four quarters of a near-shutout showing from the defense, and the Bulldogs were never threatened in a 48-3 laugher.” Next week: Georgia (4-0) hosts Tennessee (3-1) while Vanderbilt (1-3) has a bye week.

Kentucky 0, No. 14 Florida 38 – The Gators (4-0) cruised to an easy victory Saturday prompting The Bleacher Report’s Luke Pashke to opine, the “dominant Gators should strike fear in the SEC East.”  Pashke wrote, “Week in and week out, Florida has looked extremely impressive and this week was no different. The Gators hosted a below average Kentucky team today but dominated the game they were supposed to, winning 38-0, and sending a message to the rest of the SEC East.” Florida has a bye next week before heading into a tough four-game stretch that includes LSU, South Carolina and Georgia. The Wildcats (1-3) head to South Carolina. 

Ole Miss 39, Tulane 0 – The Rebels (3-1) shut out Tulane 39-0 Saturday in what Yahoo Sports described as an effort at redemption after last week’s huge loss to Texas. ''It was huge,'' head coach Hugh Freeze told Yahoo Sports. ''We needed some confidence there. I thought our confidence was shaken a bit last week and obviously, we're still young at a lot of spots and we're fixing to get into a great stretch of football teams.” That stretch of great teams includes top ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa next week.

Missouri 10, No. 7 South Carolina 31 – The Gamecocks improved to 4-0 after an impressive performance by Connor Shaw. Shaw completed 20 straight passes and threw for a total of 252 yards against a Missouri team that remains winless against SEC opponents in its inaugural year in the league. “Missouri (2-2, 0-2) struggled against a Gamecocks defense that has given up three touchdowns all year. The Tigers had a season-low 254 yards,” the Shreveport Times reported. Missouri travels to Central Florida next week while South Carolina continues SEC play against Kentucky in Lexington. 

Rutgers 35, Arkansas 26 – Things just keep getting worse for the Razorbacks (1-3). Tyler Wilson racked up 419 yards passing for Arkansas, but it wasn’t enough to keep Rutgers (4-0) at bay. “Arkansas led the SEC in total offense and scoring last season, but the Scarlet Knights held it to four straight three-and-outs at one point in the first half,” NBC News reported. Arkansas travels to College Station next week to take on new SEC opponent Texas A&M.

Florida Atlantic 7, No. 1 Alabama 40 – The Crimson Tide improved to 4-0 and held Florida Atlantic to six first downs and only 110 yards of total offense during Saturday’s 40-7 victory. Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron went 15 of 25 for 228 yards before the bench started playing in the second half. SB Nation reports Florida Atlantic made it 40-7 with 3:37 left in the game, calling the touchdown “the lone bright spot in a miserable day for the Owl offense.” Next week, Alabama hosts Ole Miss. 

S.C. State 14, Texas A&M 70 – Talk about a blowout. The Aggies crushed South Carolina State Saturday at Kyle Field. Highlights of the game according to the Killeen Daily Herald: “A&M junior running back Ben Malena ran for 88 yards and two scores on 11 carries; Dustin Harris set a Texas A&M and SEC record with 246 punt return yards, including a 96-yard touchdown, and Deshazor Everett scored a defensive touchdown on a 22-yard interception return.” Texas A&M (2-1) welcomes the Razorbacks to town next week. 

Akron 26, Tennessee 47 – Akron kept the game close for longer than Volunteer fans would’ve liked, but Tennessee poured it on in the end to take a 47-26 win. “The first half was extremely close, as the teams were tied at 7, 10, 13, 20 and 23 all in the first 30 minutes,” SB Nation reported. Tennessee (3-1) travels to Athens next week to take on the undefeated Bulldogs. 

South Alabama 10, Mississippi State 30 – “The Mississippi State Bulldogs used 356 yards of total offense to win their 14th straight game against a non-conference opponent with a 30-10 victory over South Alabama,” Yahoo sports reported. The Bulldogs (4-0) have the week off next week and return to play Oct. 6 at Kentucky.

Did you watch any of this week's games? How did you favorite team do? Let us know in the comments.

You might also be interested in reading:

• College Football Scores: SEC Week 1
• College Football Scores: SEC Week 2
• College Football Scores: SEC Week 3