Tennessee Upsets No. 1-Ranked Auburn : Bo Jackson Is Held to 80 Yards Rushing in Volunteers’ 38-20 Victory

Tony Robinson passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns as Tennessee rolled to a 38-20 victory over No. 1-ranked Auburn Saturday in a Southeastern Conference game.

“I think we played as well as we can play against a good football team,” Tennessee Coach Johnny Majors said. “It was fabulous from every standpoint.”

Robinson, who had a 39-yard run in a 76-yard scoring drive on Tennessee’s first possession, had two touchdown passes following Auburn turnovers. The other two came in the fourth quarter. He finished with 17 completions in 30 attempts.

Tennessee’s defense clamped a lid on the nation’s leading offense, which couldn’t get on track until it trailed, 24-0, going into the final quarter.

“We played awfully, awfully hard and awfully, awfully well,” Majors said. “This was one of our biggest wins at UT.”

The Volunteer defense held Auburn star Bo Jackson to only 80 yards in 17 carries, well below his 247.5 average in the first two games.

Jackson left the game in the third quarter with a bruised or strained left knee and will be checked by a specialist today.

“It’s nothing serious, it just hurts,” Jackson said. “I fell a little funny. I’ve kind of had a nagging injury all season.”

Coach Pat Dye said: “It (the No. 1 ranking) was premature, and I knew it.”

About the game, he said: “We brought everything we had with us and it just didn’t work. It was just a good old-fashioned whipping in every area.”

The Volunteer defense set the tone for the day by holding Auburn to only three yards on its first series.

Charles Wilson scored Tennessee’s first touchdown a three-yard run before Robinson, the nation’s total offense leader, went to work in the air.

Robinson’s first touchdown pass was a 37-yarder to Tim McGee. It came one play after Tennessee’s Fred Bennett forced Auburn quarterback Jeff Burger to pitch poorly behind Jackson, and Terry Brown recovered for Tennessee.

Another errant Auburn pitchout, this one by quarterback Bobby Walden, was recovered by the Volunteers’ Bobby Scott at the Tennessee 39. The Volunteers, sparked by freshman Keith Davis’ 24-yard run to the Auburn 16, scored eight plays later on Robinson’s four-yard pass to Vince Cater.

Carlos Reveiz kicked a 28-yard field goal to give a 24-0 halftime lead.

Robinson’s fourth-quarter touchdown passes went to Joey Clinkscales for 10 yards with 11:28 remaining and to Eric Swanson for 30 yards with 7:06 remaining.

The SEC opener for both teams left Tennessee 1-0-1, Auburn 2-1.

Tommie Agee scored Auburn’s first touchdown on a two-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers added two more on Brent Fullwood’s seven-yard run and Walden’s four-yard pass to Kyle Collins.

Auburn used three quarterbacks--starter Burger, freshman Walden and sophomore Pat Washington--who combined to complete 10 of 26 passes for 100 yards and 3 interceptions. Auburn’s Tom Powell had three interceptions, one of which he returned 50 yards to the Tennessee 24 to set up the Tigers’ second touchdown.

Tennessee rushed for 220 yards, led by Davis with 102 yards in 13 carries.