Tennessee Bounces Back, Beats Mississippi, 22-13 : SEC: Volunteer victory brings team near Sugar Bowl berth after loss to Notre Dame a week ago.

Tennessee had the Sugar Bowl on its mind after pushing Mississippi back into the pack in the Southeastern Conference.

Tailback Tony Thompson scored the clinching touchdown on a one-yard run as No. 14 Tennessee beat No. 15 Mississippi, 22-13, Saturday.

For Thompson, who gained 106 yards in 23 carries, downing the Rebels was sweet after last week’s loss to Notre Dame.

“That (Notre Dame) was a big game, but we knew this game was a more important game for the things we wanted to accomplish--the Sugar Bowl,” Thompson said.

The Volunteers, 6-2-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the SEC, combined the talents of Thompson, quarterback Andy Kelly and a defense that intercepted two passes and recovered two Rebel fumbles as scouts from the Sugar, Gator, Peach and Liberty bowls watched.

Florida, which is on NCAA probation and cannot go to a bowl, has a 6-1 SEC mark. Mississippi (8-2) fell to 4-2 in the league.

The victory didn’t surprise Tennessee Coach Johnny Majors.

“It was nothing I really didn’t expect. I thought we had a better football team,” Major said. “I’d say they played their best ball game.”

Kelly completed 19 of 23 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown.

“Everything was going right and it felt great,” Kelly said. “Any time we can get balanced play, we seem to settle down into a groove.”

“We felt like we could get points on the board, but we self-destructed,” Ole Miss Coach Billy Brewer said. “We had too much to overcome. Everything we did, we did the hard way. I guess we wanted to win so bad it probably hurt our effort.”

The game featured the two top running backs in the SEC, with Tennessee’s Thompson raising his conference-leading total to 946 yards in 166 carries.

Mississippi’s Randy Baldwin finished with 95 yards in 13 carries and has 893 yards in 138 carries.

Tennessee overcame a 7-3 Mississippi lead with 41 seconds remaining in the first half when Kelly hit Alvin Harper with a one-yard scoring pass.

The Vols took charge on their second possession of the third quarter, running 7:44 off the clock during a 68-yard march. Kelly completed two passes to start the drive before Thompson took over, moving the Vols to the Mississippi three-yard line on runs of eight and five yards.

After an offside penalty against the Rebels, fullback Greg Amsler got to the one before Thompson circled right end for the touchdown and a 17-7 lead.

The Vols added a 36-yard field goal by Greg Burke for a 20-7 lead.

Russ Shows took Mississippi 61 yards in five plays and hit Darrick Owens with a 29-yard scoring pass with 2:02 to play to pull the Rebels within 20-13.

Any chance Ole Miss might have had after that score was wiped out on the extra point attempt. Brian Lee’s kick was blocked and the Vols’ Floyd Miley returned it to the Mississippi end zone to give Tennessee two points and a nine-point lead.