College Football around Alabama: Third Saturday in October

The Third Saturday in October proved very fruitful for teams around the Yellowhammer State as top ranked Alabama extended their dominance over the Tennessee Volunteers with a 58-21 victory in Knoxville.

Elsewhere around the state, Auburn halted a two-game slide at Ole Miss while UAB picked up a crucial Conference USA victory against North Texas and Samford Bulldogs notched a big road win at Furman.

Auburn Rebounds in Oxford

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Coming off sluggish performances in losses to Mississippi State and Tennessee, the Auburn Tigers got off the mat with a 31-16 win at Ole Miss.

The Ole Miss offense moved the ball up and down the field but could never find a way to finish drives with touchdowns. The Rebels scored on all four red zone opportunities but managed only one touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

On their first drive of the game, Ole Miss advanced the football to the Auburn 23-yard line but saw Luke Logan's field goal attempt blocked by Auburn's Marlon Davidson.

Following the block, the Tigers drove 77 yards with Jarrett Stidham finding Jatarvious Whitlow for a three-yard scoring toss for an early 7-0 lead.

The two teams traded field goals the rest of the first half as Logan knocked two field goals home for Ole Miss and Andres Carlson added a 28-yard field goal to put Auburn ahead 10-6 at halftime.

Auburn exploded in the third quarter for 21 points with Malik Miller scoring two touchdowns on the ground and Anthony Schwartz recovering a Whitlow fumble in the end zone.

For the game, Whitlow gained 170 yards on 19 carries while Auburn netted 269 rushing yards as a team.

The Tigers have the week off before facing Texas A&M to begin November.

UAB's Historic Start to 2018

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Bill Clark's UAB Blazers became bowl eligible with a 29-21 comeback win over North Texas.

The Blazers trailed 21-10 at halftime but outscored the Eagles 19-0 in the final two quarters of play. UAB defensive tackle Garrett Marino set the tone for the second half by sacking North Texas signal caller Mason Fine in the end zone for a safety.

On the following drive, the Blazers drove 63 yards on eight plays as Spencer Brown scored the first of his two second half touchdowns from three yards out to pull UAB to a 21-19 deficit.

After a three-and-out for North Texas, Brown gave the Blazers their first lead at 26-21 with another three-yard scoring run.

With 2:10 left in the game, UAB placekicker capped the scoring with a 26-yard field goal.

The win gives the Blazers their best start in school history at 6-1 as they head to UTEP next Saturday for a 6:30 PM kickoff.

Devlin Hodges' Hot Arm

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Senior quarterback threw for 402 yards Saturday as the Samford Bulldogs defeated the Furman Paladins 38-25 to notch their third consecutive win in Southern Conference play.

Over his last three games, Samford's senior quarterback has thrown for 1,437 yards and is now the SoCon's all-time leader in career passing yards.

Trailing 19-10 halfway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs surged to victory off the arm of Hodges and opportunistic defense. Senior defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden returned a fumble 58 yards to put Samford within two at 19-17. Later in the third quarter, Hodges tossed two of his three second half touchdowns to give Samford a 31-19 lead.

The Bulldogs have the week off and will return to action Nov.3 against Wofford for Homecoming.

Scores around Alabama

#1 Alabama 58 Tennessee 21

Auburn 31 Ole Miss 16

UAB 29 North Texas 21

Samford 38 Furman 25

Southeast Missouri 37 Jacksonville State 14

North Alabama 24 Jackson State 7

West Georgia 27 West Alabama 25

Tuskegee 37 Kentucky State 0

Lane 15 Miles 14

Birmingham Southern 47 Austin 35