SEC report: Sept. 29

Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said that tests showed Conner sprained his medial collateral ligament and won't return before the Bulldogs' home game against No. 16 Florida on Oct. 23.

"That's the earliest we can get him back," Croom said.

With Conner out, junior Kyle York will start Saturday against Vanderbilt. Because York's shoulder is not 100 percent after offseason surgery, freshman Mike Henig will also play.

Conner, a receiver last season for the Bulldogs (1-3, 0-2 SEC) is 50-of-89 for 509 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions this season. York is 13-of-27 for 132 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in three appearances.

Croom and his staff expect senior wide receiver McKinley Scott to return this weekend. Scott has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury.

Ware to start, recovered_from bruised lung ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia tailback Danny Ware is ready to pick up where he left off for the Bulldogs.

After sitting out part of one game and all of another because of a bruised lung, the freshman sensation will start at the tailback for the No. 3 Bulldogs in Saturday's crucial game against 13th-ranked LSU.

"He looks good," coach Mark Richt said Tuesday. "He's shown so far that he's a guy who's very physical, who can break tackles and make yards after contact."

Ware became the first freshman running back since the 1940s to start his first game at Georgia (3-0), doing little to dampen expectations when he rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Division I-AA Georgia Southern.

He got off to a good start in the next game, carrying eight times for 41 yards against South Carolina. But before the first half was over, Ware was knocked out of the game.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe."

The medical staff diagnosed a bruised lung and ordered rest. Ware didn't play in a victory over Marshall, then got an extra week to recuperate when the Bulldogs were off last weekend.

It was tough to watch.

"I wanted to play against Marshall, but they told me I couldn't," Ware said. "That was tearing me up on the inside. I wanted to get out there and help my team."

Michael Cooper, Tyson Browning and freshman Thomas Brown shared the job while Ware was on the sideline, but none seems capable of being the sort of 20-carries-a-game back who can bring stability to the running game.

Alabama's offense seeking balance for Guillon TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Marc Guillon's debut as Alabama's starting quarterback provided a perfect summation of the team's offensive dilemma.

The Crimson Tide stuck to the running game against Arkansas because it was producing yards and the passing game wasn't, but couldn't grind out a win.

"It's important to be balanced," Guillon said. "On the other hand, if you've got something working well, you've got to stick with it. You don't want to be too predictable. That's the main thing."

Predictable? Alabama (3-1, 1-1 SEC) produced six completions and 57 passing yards and ran 46 times for a season-high 271 yards. The result, predictably, was a 27-10 road loss.

The Tide will be looking to mix up the run and pass with a little more success Saturday when South Carolina (3-1, 1-1) visits with one of the league's top defenses.

Alabama ranks second in the league in rushing offense and next-to-last (and 91st nationally) in passing.

Offensive coordinator Dave Rader said the strategy will be simple for improving on Guillon's 6-of-18-passing performance: "throw route after route" in practice to build better timing with receivers even if it means backup Spencer Pennington gets fewer snaps.

"We need to improve on that," Rader said. "We were much better in practice. We were hitting high, high percentage of passes during practice.

"That surprised me. I thought we would hit more than that."

Then again, Guillon was in a difficult predicament, making his first career start in a hostile environment after Brodie Croyle's season-ending knee injury. He played all 64 snaps, nearly quadruple his totals coming in.

"Coach Rader told me it was probably the best learning experience I've had so far, and that's probably the biggest thing I took out of that game," Guillon said. "Every day we're going to get better."