After Alabama drew a line, USM charged across and turned the Tide 21-0! The underdog Golden Eagles of coach Jeff Bower actually had little trouble handling Alabama. It was 21-0 by halftime and stayed that way. The big effort before 80,000 in Birmingham was reminiscent of USM’s solid, though losing, game against rugged and now-13th Tennessee. The Eagles are now No. 22.

The Ole Miss Rebels notched their 12-7 win against stubborn Vanderbilt Saturday. Showing a really good defense, the Rebs hung tough and did everything but put the Commodores away while they had them on the ropes.

The Bulldogs’ bark is as good as its bite, I think. And No. 25 Mississippi State will upset unbeaten South Carolina in Columbia Saturday night, I’m predicting. Always dangerous Brigham Young went down 44-28, and you know Memphis ain’t easy for any of Mississippi’s big three.

LSU, as expected, found well-rounded Auburn a mite too much to handle, but the Baton Rouge Bengals, too, show promise of better things down the road. The Tiger schedule will be rougher after they beat (my guess) UAB Saturday.

Unbeaten South Carolina, who plays ’em all tough, will host underdog Mississippi State this Saturday. The Gamecocks derailed Georgia earlier, but something tells me coach Jackie Sherrill’s Bullies will bump off the Gamecocks. State’s unbeaten, too, you know.

Ole Miss could be getting a schedule break at the right time. Vandy bristled up pretty good against the still-questionable Rebs, but an open date before a Sept. 30 date with Kentucky in Oxford could help.

Gimmees don’t come in droves, and Southern Miss realizes that Oklahoma State is anything but. Notice, though, that the Eagles are ferocious in the trenches. Mean. Head-knockers against the likes of Tennessee and Alabama got USM ready. Make it USM over Oklahoma State at USM.

Also, I’m riding with Alabama to beat Arkansas; Florida over Kentucky; Vandy over Duke; Georgia over New Mexico State; Auburn over Northern Illinois; and Tennessee over Louisiana-Monroe … Could be a gimmee or two there.

HURRIED HASH: Coach J.O. &uot;Obie&uot; Brown is doing famously, as the old saying goes, following a fall and broken leg recently in Gulfport, which tells you a lot about his athletic resourcefulness. This according to his very attentive daughter Janet Herold.

The 87-year-old former athlete and coach is indeed doing well at Gulfport’s Golden Park Medical Center. Coach knows a little about &uot;hanging tough.&uot;

Jay Lessley edged defending champion Pete Powell in July’s 30th annual Bill McKenney Memorial City Golf Championship in a two-hole playoff at pretty Duncan Park Golf Course. High five, Jay

And then earlier this month, P.Z. Brewer (his late dad used to call him &uot;Ole P. Z.&uot;) shot his way to a second Beau Pr\u00E9 Club Championship in a row. P. Z. is dangerous with a golf club in his hand. Always has been. And I understand he’s crazy about Beau Pr\u00E9’s beautiful championship course out by meandering Second Creek. It’s something else alright!

Former Ferriday High football star Clyde Ray Webber, now Concordia Parish’s clerk of courts, spoke at the Natchez Lion’s Club recently, and I was privileged to hear him handle that chore as deftly as he used to handle the quarterback-running role for coach Johnny &uot;Red&uot; Robertson’s winning FHS Bulldogs. Talk about popular, the Bulldogs were known far and wide in national prep football ranks in those days.