BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ahmaad Galloway ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns to lift Alabama to a 28-15 victory over Southern Mississippi on Thursday night in a rain-soaked game.

        The victory made the Crimson Tide (6-5) eligible for a bowl game, probably the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. The Golden Eagles (6-4) are expected to receive a bid to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile. GMAC organizers are not considering the University of Cincinnati, which is expecting a bid to the Motor City Bowl in Pontiac, Mich.

        Played in windy, rainy conditions, the game included six first-half turnovers, a safety, three botched extra-point kicks and three missed field goals.

        Both teams were playing without their starting tailbacks. It had little effect on Alabama, particularly in the second half.

        Galloway scored on a 40-yard run in the third quarter and added a clinching 11-yarder with 10:33 left in the fourth.

        He also held onto the ball, running 24 times without a fumble in his second straight 100-yard effort. Santonio Beard, who gained 199 yards in his lone start against Auburn, was suspended following his arrest last weekend on drunken driving charges.

        The Tide still rushed for 221 yards, including 148 in the second half against a defense that came in giving up just 86 per game on the ground.

        Alabama's Andrew Zow, making his second start of the season, threw his 34th and 35th touchdown passes to tie Mike Shula for the school's career mark.

        MAC FINAL:

        Marshall has a score to settle with Toledo in the Mid-American Conference title game — 42-0 to be specific.

        The Rockets beat the Thundering Herd by that score last year, and No.20 Marshall hasn't forgotten as the teams prepare for today's championship in Toledo, Ohio.

        “It's basically the same team that we played last year in the middle of the year that handled us very easily,” Marshall coach Bob Pruett. “We'll see how much we've improved.”

        Marshall (10-1) is 16-2 since the loss to Toledo last season, while Toledo (8-2) is hoping to rebound from a 56-21 loss at rival Bowling Green a week ago.

        “It was a pitiful performance,” Toledo safety Andy Boyd said. “We just don't have time to be moping around and hanging our heads.”

        Win or lose, Marshall will play in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Dec. 19. Toledo heads to the Motor City Bowl in Pontiac, Mich., Dec.29.

        KENTUCKY:

        Junior defensive end Dennis Johnson continues to lead three individual categories in the weekly defensive statistics released by the Southeastern Conference office.

        Johnson paces the league in tackles for loss (17), sacks (11), and fumbles caused (five).

        With one game to play, Johnson already has set the single-season school record for sacks. Last week, he was named third-team All-America by Football News magazine.

        • Junior offensive guard Kip Sixbery has chosen to leave the team, coach Guy Morriss has announced. A starting offensive guard in the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Sixbery was ineligible to play this year.

        UCLA:

        DeShaun Foster's football career at UCLA is officially over.

        The NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee denied the university's appeal to reduce Foster's penalty after a conference call.

        Foster, who reportedly drove a new sport-utility vehicle leased by actor-director Eric Laneuville for several weeks, was suspended Nov. 7 for an extra benefits violation.

        UCLA appealed the NCAA's Nov. 16 ruling that Foster's eligibility would not be restored. Foster, attorney Robert C. Berry, school representatives and the reinstatement committee participated in Thursday's call.

        The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior from Tustin, Calif., didn't play in losses to No.4 Oregon and Southern California, and will sit out Saturday's regular-season finale against Arizona State. He also will miss a bowl game — if the Bruins are invited to one.

        UCLA (6-4, 3-4 Pac-10) could play in the Silicon Valley Bowl in San Jose or the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Both are Dec.31.

        Foster is the nation's fifth-leading rusher with a 138.6-yard average, with 1,109 yards on 216 carries in eight games.

        He finishes his career ranked first in UCLA history with 722 carries and third with 3,194 yards rushing.

        GEBHART DIES:

        Smylie Gebhart, the former Georgia Tech All-America football player who was paralyzed from the neck down in 1979, died of cancer. Thursday. He was 51.

        Gebhart's sister, Sally Perkins, said he was diagnosed with bone cancer five weeks ago and was being treated at Anderson Regional Hospital in his hometown of Meridian.

        Gebhart was a 190-pound defensive end for the Yellow Jackets when he earned All-America honors in 1971. He was paralyzed from the neck down in 1979 after rupturing a disc in his neck.

        Gebhart was inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.

        He is survived by his mother, Ruth Gebhart, along with two sisters and a brother.

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