Southeast Roundup : Burger’s Passes Give Fifth-Ranked Auburn a 31-3 Win Over Texas

Auburn quarterback Jeff Burger passed for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns Saturday as the No. 5-ranked Tigers romped past unranked Texas, 31-3, at Auburn, Ala.

Burger, a senior who survived a summer plagiarism controversy and a drunkenness arrest that threatened to end his career, completed 16 of 22 passes.

The victory by the Tigers of the Southeastern Conference spoiled the debut of Texas Coach David McWilliams, who was hired by the Southwest Conference school after last year’s 5-6 record, the Longhorn’s first losing season in 30 years.

McWilliams, who coached Texas Tech last year, took over for the fired Fred Akers.

Auburn, its newly expanded stadium holding an estimated 80,000 fans, relied on Burger’s arm as the fifth-year senior completed touchdown passes of 22 yards to Vincent Harris and 49 yards to Alexander Wright and made key completions that set up all the other points.

The Texas offense, centered on the passing of quarterback Bret Stafford and the running of Eric Metcalf, was stifled by an aggressive Auburn defense near the Tiger end zone.

Auburn, which recovered two fumbles and picked off two passes in the first half, capitalized on an interception by Alvin Briggs and a fumble recovery by Robert Goff to score the first two times it had the ball.

Briggs intercepted Stafford’s pass on the Longhorns’ first possession and returned it 15 yards to the Texas 29-yard line. Four plays later, the Tigers scored on a one-yard run by Reggie Ware.

Stafford was sacked twice on Texas’ next possession, the second causing a fumble that was recovered by the Tigers’ Robert Goff at the Texas 38. Auburn followed with Harris’ touchdown on a pass from Burger.

Texas closed the gap to 14-3 on Wayne Clements’ 35-yard field goal, but Auburn pulled away in the second half. Burger completed a 39-yard pass to Freddy Weygand to set up Wright’s 29-yard touchdown run on a reverse, then set up Win Lyle’s 35-yard field goal with a 56-yard pass play to James Joseph.

Georgia 30, Virginia 22--Georgia tailback Lars Tate, a 208-pound senior, confirmed Virginia Coach George Welsh’s opinion by rushing for 218 yards with scoring runs of 28 and 44 yards for the 20th-ranked Bulldogs at Athens, Ga.

“I thought he was awfully good,” Welsh said. “I thought what I thought looking at him on tape.”

Tate, who had 28 carries, became the first Georgia back to break the 200-yard mark since former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker ran for 219 against Florida in 1982.

“All in all, what you have is a win,” Georgia Coach Vince Dooley said of the comeback from a two-touchdown deficit. “But, there are serious problems on defense with our not being as good as we had hoped.”

Virginia, a 17-point underdog, vaulted into a 14-0 lead when quarterback Scott Secules and wide receiver John Ford teamed for two touchdown passes--the first for 56 yards with 6:47 left in the first quarter and the second for 29 yards with 4:21 elapsed in the second quarter. Secules completed 12 of 19 passes for 205 yards.

Tate’s 24-yard run cut Virginia’s lead to 14-10, and his 44-yard scamper gave the Bulldogs a 30-14 advantage.

Tennessee 49, Colorado St 3--At Knoxville, Tenn., freshman tailback Reggie Cobb ran for one touchdown and caught a pass for another as 17th-ranked Tennessee routed error-prone Colorado State.

Tennessee (2-0) converted four turnovers, including a fumble on the opening kickoff, into touchdowns. The Volunteer offense, meanwhile, came to life behind Cobb’s running and the passing of quarterback Jeff Francis, who completed 10 of 16 passes and contributed an 11-yard touchdown run. Cobb finished with 72 yards.

Mississippi St. 31, SW Louisiana 3-- Freshman quarterback Albert Williams is making Mississippi State fans forget All-Southeastern Conference star Don Smith.

Smith, who accounted for 2,349 total yards offense a year ago, left a huge offensive void to fill, but Williams rushed for a game-high 111 yards, including 34 for a touchdown, in 8 carries at Starkville, Miss. The 6-foot-2, 199-pound red-shirt completed several key passes and threw a block that led to a touchdown.

Running back Hank Phillips, who finished with 82 yards in 16 carries, added scoring runs of 2, 7 and 30 yards as State dominated, rolling up 333 yards rushing and 421 yards total offense.

Memphis St. 16, Mississippi 10--At Memphis, John Butler kicked three field goals and the Memphis State defense stopped Mississippi at the one-yard line with a goal-line stand late in the game.