SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP : Auburn Kicks In at End for Victory, 16-14

Apparently intent on keeping its followers in suspense, Auburn waited until the final seconds to decide its game for the second consecutive week.

Jim Von Wyl kicked a 30-yard field goal with three seconds left, giving the No. 5 Tigers a come-from-behind 16-14 victory over Louisiana Tech Saturday at Auburn, Ala.

“I knew that you have to be ready at any time for a situation like this,” Von Wyl said. “You can’t be scared. You have to let it rip.”

Auburn quarterback Stan White, who rallied the Tigers to a 26-26 tie with sixth-ranked Tennessee last week, did it again against Louisiana Tech, directing a 74-yard drive in the final two minutes.

White, a redshirt freshman, has passed for more than 200 yards in all four of his starts. On Saturday, he completed 24 of 37 passes for 272 yards.

Louisiana Tech (3-3), playing only its second season in NCAA Division I-A, took a 14-13 lead when quarterback Sam Hughes connected with Bobby Slaughter on a 24-yard touchdown pass play with 5:50 left in the game.

Auburn (3-0-1) failed to move on its next possession, but got the ball back on its own 13 with 2:03 left.

White completed eight passes for 77 yards as the Tigers moved to the Louisiana Tech 10.

White took a sack in the middle of the field at the 13 before Von Wyl came on to make the game-winning kick.

Mississippi 35, Kentucky 29--Randy Baldwin scored two touchdowns in a Southeastern Conference game at Oxford, Miss., as the Rebels earned their third consecutive victory.

Mississippi, 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, is off to its best start since 1970, when quarterback Archie Manning led it to a 4-1 record.

The Rebels had 352 yards of total offense--including 220 yards and four touchdowns on the ground as Coach Billy Brewer won his 100th game as a college coach.

Baldwin, who finished with a game-high 88 yards in 13 carries, put Mississippi ahead 14-7 with 3:32 remaining in the first half on a 15-yard run. The junior added a 21-yard score on a pitch to the left on the final play of the third quarter.

Kentucky (1-4, 0-1) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on four-yard run by Al Baker.

Baker also scored on a one-yard run on the final play of the game.

Alabama 25, Southwest Louisiana 6--Phillip Doyle tied an SEC record by kicking six field goals to lead the Crimson Tide to a 25-6 victory at Lafayette, La.

Alabama (2-3) is the first Southeastern Conference team to visit Lafayette.

Doyle field goal’s were from 32 yards in the first quarter, 22 yards and 23 yards in the second quarter, 32 yards in the third and 37 yards and 35 yards in the fourth.

Al Del Greco kicked six field goals for Auburn in a game against Kentucky in 1982. Bobby Raymond of Florida did it twice, once in 1983 and again in 1984.

Doyle is third in the SEC in field goals for a career with 68. Southwest Louisiana (2-4) scored on a three-yard run by quarterback James Freeman with 6:42 left in the game.

Syracuse 49, Vanderbilt 14--David Walker ran for a touchdown and passed for another to lead the Orangemen (2-1-2) over the Commodores (1-3) at Nashville, Tenn.

Syracuse built a 21-0 lead in the first half and padded that edge to 35-0 before Vanderbilt’s offense enjoyed some success against the Orangemen reserves.