Jeff Hart

When the Carolina Panthers face the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Mike Rucker and the rest of the Panthers would like to stop what's become a stinging part of the routine: ending his day talking about another home loss.

Give it up for the Atlantic Sun. Mercer capped a sensational week for the low-major conference, stunning No. 18 Southern California 96-81 Saturday and spoiling O.J. Mayo's college debut.

Renaldo Gray threw for 232 yards and accounted for two touchdowns as Furman beat Georgia Southern 24-22 on Saturday when the Eagles missed a 33-yard field goal on the game's final play.

Three freshmen scored in double figures and Georgia scored the first 21 points of the second half to break open a close game and beat Jacksonville State 107-65 on Friday night. Jeremy Price scored 18 points, Chris Barnes had 14 all in the second half and Jeremy Jacob added 13.

The Flowery Branch football team finished the regular season in strong fashion taking a 41-7 win over West Hall Friday night. The win improved the Falcons to 9-1, 4-0 in Region 7B-AAA and wrapped up the No. 2 seed from the region and a first round home game in next week's Class AAA playoffs.