AUBURN, Ala. - Georgia Tech intercepted Brandon Cox four times in the second half to end Auburn's 15-game win streak 23-14 on Saturday.
The nation's third-longest win streak ended a few hours after Southern Cal reached 23 and a day after Utah reached 17. And it came two years after the Yellow Jackets sent the Tigers to 0-2 with a 17-3 victory. Auburn managed 40 yards rushing in that game and just 50 this time, the fewest since then.
The Tigers self-destructed late, compounding Cox's third interception with a personal foul and 15-yard face mask midway through the fourth. Joe Anoai struck Cox's arm just as he was throwing, and KaMichael Hall snagged the wobbly pass deep in Georgia Tech territory.
Auburn was near field-goal range when Cox threw two of his interceptions, and another set up a 21-yard field goal with 10:16 left.
Trailing 17-14, the Tigers got no points out of two long drives in the third quarter, with one drive ending on downs and another on an interception by Dawan Landry.
No.3 Tennessee 17, UAB 10
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Volunteers struggled throughout and weren't assured of a win until Darrell Hackney's fourth-down pass sailed over Lance Rhodes in the end zone with less than four minutes left.
"I'm not taking away from the fact that we got a win, but it's hard to feel great about it because I thought we'd play better than we did on both sides," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "If we don't play better, we're going to struggle, especially the next couple of weeks."
The "next couple of weeks" is games at Florida and LSU.
Erik Ainge, who won the Tennessee starting quarterback job over senior Rick Clausen, threw an early touchdown but was intercepted twice. He finished 5-of-14 for 57 yards. Clausen was 17-of-24 for 217 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
After Ainge's second interception, UAB drove 86 yards, capped Reggie Lindsey 27-yard catch with 7:50 left in the game to make it 17-10.
Three plays later, UAB got it back on Brandon Register's second interception. Hackney completed four consecutive passes, capped by an 11-yarder to Jhun Cook to the Vols 9. But after Trey Chaney lost 3 yards to make it third and 7, Hackney threw two incompletions.
No.13 Georgia 48, No.18 Boise State 13
ATHENS, Ga. - D.J. Shockley and Georgia's defense gave Boise State a jarring lesson in big-time football.
Finally starting as a senior, Shockley threw five touchdowns and ran for one. Meanwhile, Jared Zabransky and the Broncos were overwhelmed by Georgia, which had no trouble replacing David Pollack, Thomas Davis and Odell Thurman, defensive stars now in the NFL.
Shockley took over at quarterback after backing up David Greene the past three years. He had big shoes to fill. Greene, after all, was the winningest quarterback in Division I-A history.
The Bulldogs didn't miss a beat with Shockley, who tied Greene's school record for touchdown passes in a game (in less than three quarters).
Shockley completed 16 of 24 passes for 289 yards despite four drops. He also rushed five times for a team-high 85 yards even though a 23-yarder was brought back because of an illegal block.
Contrast those numbers with the ones put up by Zabransky: four interceptions and two fumbles before he was benched just before halftime.
As Boise State coach Dan Hawkins ran off the field at halftime, he was asked by a television reporter why he took out Zabransky. "Did you watch the first half?" Hawkins said, managing a bit of a smile.
Shockley had a 40-yard touchdown to Kenneth Harris, 20-yarder to Danny Ware and 56-yarder to Martrez Milner before hooking up with Sean Bailey on two scores of 31 and 5 yards. Shockley also scored from 14 yards.
The Broncos had lost only three times in their previous 42 games and were ranked entering a season for the first time since moving up to I-A in 1996.
Linebacker Tony Taylor picked off Zabransky's first pass, and Dannell Ellerbe, Tra Battle and Greg Blue also had interceptions in the first half. ALABAMA 26, MIDDLE TENN. 7: Brodie Croyle threw for 210 yards and a touchdown and Tim Castille ran for two scores for the host Crimson Tide.
Croyle overthrew several receivers early and had a first-half interception, and running back Kenneth Darby gained 16 yards in the first half. But on the first possession of the second half, Darby ran five times for 55 yards and Croyle threw a 13-yard score to Tyrone Prothro.
ARKANSAS 49, MISSOURI ST. 17: Peyton Hillis ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns for the host Razorbacks, whose 483 rushing yards were the most since 501 against Air Force in 1975.
MISS. ST. 38, MURRAY ST. 6: Omarr Conner tied a school record with four touchdown passes, two to freshman Keon Humphries, for the host Bulldogs.
