Southeast Roundup : Florida Upset by Memphis State; LSU Beats Auburn With Late Score

Memphis State Coach Charlie Bailey began an emotional postgame interview by hugging his father Saturday after his Tigers upset 14th-ranked Florida.

“He taught me everything I know,” Bailey said of his father, Sam, the former football coach at the University of Tampa.

But it was Bailey’s Memphis State team that taught the Gators a lesson in a 17-11 nonconference victory at Gainesville, Fla.

“We shut down their running game and did what we felt we had to do,” said Bailey, whose Tigers (3-3) held the Gators (5-1) to 1 touchdown, a 2-point conversion and a field goal.

The Tigers’ Xavier Crawford carried 13 times for 76 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run that put Memphis State ahead, 12-11, in the third quarter. Quarterback Tim Jones followed that by hitting Charles Wilson for a 2-point conversion.

Crawford, a freshman, said the game was a dream come true.

“I had a dream we were going to win, and I was going to be a factor,” Crawford said.

Crawford, who finished second in the game in rushing yards with 76 behind 89 for Florida’s Emmitt Smith, said he wanted to show Smith up “a little bit.”

“All I’ve heard is Emmitt this and Emmitt that,” he said.

Smith, who had rushed for 100 yards or more in a school-record 8 consecutive games, went out in the third quarter with a sprained left knee after gaining only 89 yards. Gator Coach Galen Hall said Smith’s knee would be evaluated today.

Florida quarterback Kyle Morris broke the small finger on his left hand and is expected to be out for 4 to 6 weeks.

Louisiana State 7, Auburn 6--Tommy Hodson capped a 75-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to tailback Eddie Fuller with 1:41 remaining, and David Browndyke kicked the extra point that gave LSU a Southeastern Conference victory over fourth-ranked Auburn at Baton Rouge, La.

Until the 15-play drive, during which Hodson completed 6 of 14 passes for 74 yards, LSU crossed midfield only once against an Auburn defense ranked third nationally.

But with 6:07 remaining, Hodson came alive. He passed 17 yards to flanker Tony Moss, 12 to backup tight end Willie Williams, 5 to split end Alvin Lee and 20 to Moss on third-and-5 to the Auburn 21.

Fuller dropped a pass at the goal line but, on fourth-and-9 from the 20, Hodson found Williams for the necessary yardage.

Hodson then passed to Fuller, but the officials ruled that he caught the ball just beyond the end zone. Two more passes fell incomplete before Hodson found Fuller at the back of the end zone.

The win snapped LSU’s 2-game losing streak and gave the Tigers a 3-2 record overall, 2-1 in conference play. Auburn is 4-1 and 2-1.

Win Lyle provided all the Auburn scoring with a 41-yard field goal with 1:41 to play in the first half and a 33-yarder with 10:12 left in the game.

Mississippi 22, Alabama 12--Shawn Sykes ran for 2 touchdowns, and Joe Mickles scored 1 as the Rebels overcame a 12-point deficit to upset the 12th-ranked Crimson Tide in the Southeastern Conference game at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Sykes’ second touchdown, a 12-yard run, came with 50 seconds left and gave Ole Miss its first lead, 15-12. The Rebels recovered Jeff Dunn’s fumble 3 plays later, and Mickles scored from the 18.

The victory moved Ole Miss to 2-3 and 1-2 and dropped Alabama to 3-1 and 2-1.

Georgia 41, Vanderbilt 22--Tim Worley rushed for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the 15th-ranked Bulldogs to the SEC win at Athens, Ga.

Worley scored on runs of 12, 1 and 8 yards as the Bulldogs improved to 5-1 and 4-0. Vanderbilt fell to 2-3 and 1-2.