SOUTHEASTERN ROUNDUP : Von Wyl’s Field Goal Lifts No. 4 Auburn

After a “fumblerooskie” play backfired on Florida State and helped Auburn tie the score, Jim Von Wyl kicked a 38-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, moving the fifth-ranked Tigers into the thick of the national championship race with a 20-17 victory over the seventh-ranked Seminoles Saturday night.

Quarterback Stan White helped set up the winning kick with a fourth-down, 21-yard completion to Herbert Casey. After letting the clock run down to six seconds, Von Wyl came on to kick his second game-winner of the year. Two weeks ago, his 30-yarder beat Louisiana Tech, 16-14.

Stacy Danley tied the score, 17-17, diving over from the two with 3:47 remaining to cap a 57-yard drive that started after the blown “fumblerooskie.”

Quarterback Casey Weldon put the ball on the ground for a lineman to pick up, but it was Auburn’s Walter Tate who covered it.

After Danley’s touchdown, Weldon, who came off the bench to pass for 244 yards, led the Seminoles back to the Auburn 37. But on fourth and five, Weldon was grabbed by Ricky Sutton, stumbled backwards while trying to keep his balance and finally fell for a 22-yard loss with 1:04 to play.

That led to Von Wyl’s kick.

Auburn (5-0-1), which came back from a 17-7 halftime deficit, won on a Saturday when two higher-ranked teams, No. 2 Miami and No. 3 Tennessee, were beaten. Tennessee’s 9-6 loss to Alabama was particularly important to Auburn, moving the Tigers into sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference.

Florida State (4-2) had its national championship hopes dashed as Auburn snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.

Weldon, who had passed for only 223 yards in Florida State’s first five games, entered the game late in the first quarter in place of starter Brad Johnson and sparked the Seminoles to 17 second-quarter points.

Alabama 9, No. 3 Tennessee 6--Alabama came up with an unorthodox way to generate some offense in the midst of a defensive struggle, and Philip Doyle made it pay off.

The result was a 9-6 upset of No. 3 Tennessee Saturday at Knoxville, Tenn.

The offense came in the form of a blocked field-goal attempt with 1:35 left. The ball bounced hard off the chest of the Crimson Tide’s Stacy Harrison and bounced 23 yards downfield to the Tennessee 37.

Four plays later, Doyle won it with a 47-yard field goal, his third of the game, as time expired.

It was a big victory for Alabama Coach Gene Stallings, whose team improved to 3-3, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee fell to 4-1-2 and 2-1-1.

The blocked field goal “worked out great for us,” Stallings said. “It gave us 30 or 40 yards when we needed offense. It was great to get that. We hadn’t made that much in a while.”

Tennessee had a nation-leading, 12-game unbeaten streak halted.

No. 17 Florida 59, Akron 0--The Gators (6-1), coming off a 45-3 loss to Tennessee, bounced back with an easy victory over outmanned Akron at Gainesville, Fla.

Quarterback Shane Matthews paced an offense that produced 595 yards, completing 20 of 32 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Willie McClendon rushed for 105 yards and one score.

Akron (3-4-1) gained only 87 yards and didn’t make a first down in the second half.

Georgia 39, Vanderbilt 28--Garrison Hearst rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Joe Dupree and Andre Hastings connected on a 68-yard touchdown pass play for the Bulldogs in an SEC game at Athens, Ga. The Bulldogs (4-3, 2-2) also got a 58-yard touchdown run from Larry Ware and John Kasay kicked field goals of 38 and 48 yards. It was the 21st consecutive SEC road loss for the Commodores (1-5, 1-3).

LSU 30, Kentucky 20--Harvey Williams rushed for a career-high 213 yards in 28 carries, scored on a 60-yard run, and caught a four-yard touchdown pass to lead Louisiana State (4-2, 2-2) over the Wildcats (2-5, 1-2) at Baton Rogue, La.

No. 18 Mississippi 42, Arkansas State 13--Randy Baldwin scored four touchdowns in the first 19 minutes as Ole Miss (6-1) routed the Division I-AA Indians at Oxford, Miss. The Rebels rolled up 495 yards, one shy of their season high. They also ensured a second consecutive winning season, the first time Ole Miss has accomplished that since 1970-71.