COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Southeast Roundup : Ninth-Ranked LSU Has the Last Word, 41-36

It was exactly the sort of game that Louisiana State Coach Mike Archer wanted to avoid--an up-and-down-the-field shootout in which the last team to score won.

Happily for Archer, ninth-ranked LSU scored last--a 20-yard touchdown run by Eddie Fuller with 46 seconds left--giving LSU a 41-36 victory over two-touchdown-underdog Tulane at New Orleans.

It was the most points scored in an LSU-Tulane game, a rivalry that began in 1893.

“It’s a shame in a game like this that somebody has to lose,” Archer said. “I’m sure Tulane doesn’t feel very good right now, but they have a lot to be proud of.”

Harvey Williams ran for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Wendell Davis caught a pair of scoring passes for LSU.

Williams finished the season with 1,001 yards. But he injured his knee on his final carry. “It’s major surgery. We don’t know if we’ll have him back next year,” Archer said.

LSU finished its regular season 9-1-1 and has a date with either the Sugar Bowl or Gator Bowl, depending on the outcome of the Southeastern Conference race.

Tulane (6-5) accepted an invitation to the Independence Bowl to cap its first winning season since 1981. The Green Wave’s opponent will be announced today, with bowl officials indicating it would be either Washington or Wake Forest.

Williams, who had 18 carries, scored on runs of three yards and one yard.

Davis’ two touchdown catches give him 19 for his career, breaking the school record of 18 set by Andy Hamilton in an LSU career that ended in 1981.

Tennessee 24, Kentucky 22--Tennessee stopped Kentucky’s Mark Higgs on four runs inside the five-yard line in the final minutes as the 15th-ranked Volunteers held on for a Southeastern Conference victory at Lexington, Ky.

Quarterback Jeff Francis, returning to the Tennessee lineup after missing two games, threw for two touchdowns as the Volunteers improved to 8-2-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the SEC. Kentucky closed its season at 5-6 and 1-5.

Francis completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to wingback Terence Cleveland with 6:25 remaining, giving Tennessee a 24-20 advantage, its first lead of the game.

Glenn Fohr then completed 4 passes for 47 yards, helping Kentucky move to the Tennessee 5.

Higgs went off right tackle on the first two plays and tried dives over the middle on the last two. But on his final attempt, with 1:59 left, he was inches from the goal line.

After the game, Tennessee accepted a bid to the Peach Bowl against Indiana on Jan. 2.

Francis completed 11 of 22 passes for 152 yards.

Reggie Cobb gained 144 yards rushing for the Volunteers, while Higgs had 30 carries for 137 yards, becoming Kentucky’s single-season rushing leader with 1,278 yards.

Mississippi St. 30, Mississippi 20--Freshman Eric Underwood came off the bench and threw for a pair of touchdowns as Mississippi State dominated the second half in a Southeastern Conference game at Jackson, Miss.

Ending a four-game losing streak in the series, Mississippi State (4-7, 1-5) won for only the third time in the last 10 years against the Rebels. Ole Miss, a bowl team a year ago, closed at 3-8, 1-5.

Underwood, who came in midway through the first quarter, threw touchdown passes of 54 yards to Jesse Anderson and 9 yards to Albert Williams as Mississippi State built a 14-13 halftime lead.

He finished by completing 12 of 23 passing for 217 yards as Mississippi State won its first SEC game in the month of November in three seasons.

Vanderbilt 34, Maryland 24--At Nashville, Tenn., Eric Jones hit flanker Carl Parker with a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead the Commodores to a nonconference victory over the Terrapins.

The win, which boosted Vanderbilt to 4-6 for the season, marked the first time since 1984 that the Commodores of the Southeastern Conference have won three straight games.

Maryland, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, closed its season with a 4-7 record, the Terrapins’ first losing year since 1981.

Jones, who completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 225 yards, gave Vanderbilt the lead for good at 10-7 with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Parker with 1:37 left in the second quarter.

The Jones-to-Parker combination struck again eight seconds into the fourth quarter with a 15-yard scoring play that boosted the Commodores into a 31-14 lead.

Maryland’s Dan Henning completed 35 of 42 passes for 376 yards and 2 touchdowns.