KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The knock on Georgia was its easy schedule, and D.J. Shockley never starting against a Top 10 team.
The undefeated No. 5 Bulldogs took care of all that and stayed on course for a trip to the league championship game with a 27-14 win over No. 8 Tennessee Saturday.
Shockley overcame an interception and fumble and helped alleviated any fear Georgia fans had about his ability to replace four-year starter David Greene.
"I think this was a game that really put people out there to show that these guys can play a quality opponent and win a game and do it on the road," said Shockley, who was 16-of-27 for 207 yards and ran 11 times for 51 yards.
The Bulldogs won for the third straight time in Neyland Stadium and took advantage of Florida's loss last weekend to Alabama to control the East standings.
Georgia has a favorable schedule. Its most difficult remaining league games are against Florida this month and at home against Auburn in November.
"We control our destiny still. That's where you want to be," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.
An erratic season continued for the Volunteers, and their offense showed more ineptness with two costly fumbles and an interception. They also had 12 penalties for 78 yards.
Tennessee came into the game with the SEC's top rush defense, but the Bulldogs defense was better. The Vols were held to 48 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs had 405 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Rick Clausen, hampered by a sore left Achilles' tendon, could not pull off the kind of rally he led Sept. 26 at LSU, but coach Phillip Fulmer didn't let backup Erik Ainge play. Clausen was 21-of-36 for 310 yards and had two turnovers in the first half.
Tennessee's defense took a major blow before halftime when cornerback Jason Allen, the Vols' leading tackler, was rolled over by Georgia's 6-foot-7 Justin Pope. Allen had to be carted off, and team officials said he hurt his left hip and was taken to a hospital.
Georgia's starting middle linebacker, Tony Taylor, left in the first half with an elbow injury. He was third on the team in tackles.
No. 11 LSU 34, Vanderbilt 6
NASHVILLE - LSU had its first "normal" week in a season disrupted because of hurricanes, and wound up with a game that was anything but regular until the final quarter, leading only 9-6 late in the third quarter.
JaMarcus Russell threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns and Joseph Addai ran for 102 yards and a TD, keeping the Commodores from their best start since 1950. Vanderbilt had not started 5-1 or 3-0 in the SEC since 1950. A victory would have kept the league's perennial cellar-dweller in a tie atop the East.
The Tigers limited the league's second-best offense to 138 yards, sacked Jay Cutler four times, intercepted him twice and knocked him down early and often. Vanderbilt had been averaging 442.6 yards.
SOUTH CAROLINA 44, UK 16: Quarterback Blake Mitchell threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, giving Steve Spurrier his first SEC win with the host Gamecocks. After losses to Alabama and Auburn by a combined 85-21, Spurrier was in unfamiliar territory - 0-3 to start SEC play. "I didn't look at it that way," Spurrier said of his first SEC victory. "I looked at it as a team that we should've beat."
ARKANSAS 44, LA.-MONROE 15: Darren McFadden rushed for 125 yards and Felix Jones added 102, helping host Arkansas snap a three-game losing streak. McFadden and Jones each scored twice, becoming the first Arkansas freshmen to run for 100 yards in the same game. Arkansas earned its first win of the season against a Division I-A team - its season-opening victory was against I-AA Missouri State.
MISSISSIPPI 27, CITADEL 7: Mississippi's nagging three-game losing streak is history, thanks to quarterback Micheal Spurlock, who threw for one touchdown and ran for another, even with a broken middle finger on his left, nonthrowing, hand. The host Rebels led 10-7 in the third quarter before scoring the final 17 points on three straight drives.
