Southeast Roundup : Auburn Wins Halfheartedly, 31-9

Seventh-ranked Auburn played like champions for 30 minutes, but the Tigers failed to show a killer instinct in the second half as they waltzed past Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt, 31-9, Saturday at Nashville, Tenn.

“The second half was frustrating. We came out and played like the game was already over,” Tiger Coach Pat Dye said. “The coaches and players had the same attitude. We lost our intensity and concentration.”

The Tigers put the Commodores in a hole quickly, scoring on a 38-yard run by fullback Brent Fullwood and a fumble recovery by linebacker Kurt Crain in the Vanderbilt end zone for a 14-0 lead with only 1:06 gone.

Auburn, 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, went on to hold a 31-3 halftime lead.

Vanderbilt Coach Watson Brown said the Tigers rattled his Commodores (1-4, 0-2) with the quick start.

“That took us out of the game quickly. It’s 14-0 and I haven’t even finished my second sip of water. It’s a tough way to start,” he said.

Fullwood finished with 145 yards in 7 carries.

LSU 23, Georgia 14--Harvey Williams carried 24 times for 133 yards, and Sam Martin added 109 yards in 11 carries to lead the 16th-ranked Tigers past the Bulldogs in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rouge, La.

Georgia, 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take a 14-10 lead into halftime. But, behind the running of Martin and Williams, LSU (3-1, 2-0) took over in the second half.

Mississippi 33, Kentucky 13--At Jackson, Miss., Bryan Owen tied a school record by kicking four field goals, two in the final 14 seconds of the first half, and Willie Goodloe ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Rebels (3-2-1) to a Southeastern Conference victory over the Wildcats (3-1-1).

Owen kicked field goals of 39, 48, 34 and 40 yards to tie the Mississippi record set by Todd Gatlin in 1981 against Louisiana State. Owen also converted three extra points for a total of 15 points, establishing a school record for most points in a game by a kicker.

Army 25, Tennessee 21--At Knoxville, Tenn., Charles Williams blocked a punt with 35 seconds remaining, and Reggie Fullwood picked the ball up for a two-yard touchdown that gave the Cadets an upset victory over the Volunteers.

A final effort by Tennessee stalled at Army’s 15-yard line when Jeff Francis’ pass to Joey Clinkscales was tipped several times and then knocked from receiver Anthony Miller’s hands by safety Peel Chronister in the end zone.

Running back William Howard scored all of Tennessee’s touchdowns, on runs of one, four and six yards, marking the third time this season he has scored three touchdowns in one game.

Army is 3-2. Tennessee is 2-3.

Mississippi St. 24, Arkansas St. 9--Quarterback Don Smith ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third at Starkville, Miss., to lead the Bulldogs to a come-from-behind victory.

Smith found the early going rough when he was tackled in the end zone for a safety by the Division I-AA Indians (4-1-1), who then drove 84 yards behind fullback Ricky Jemison to take a 9-0 lead. But the Bulldogs (5-1) scored 17 points in the second quarter, two touchdowns coming on Smith runs.

Florida 52, Kent State 9--Rodney Brewer, starting for injured Kerwin Bell, passed for two touchdowns, and Octavius Gould ran for three others at Gainesville, Fla., as the Gators (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak.

In his first college start, Brewer was 13 of 16 passing for 230 yards.

Gould, a freshman running back, scored his first college touchdowns on runs of seven, two and one yard.