Tennessee’s Victory Is Sugarcoated : SEC: Volunteers beat Vanderbilt, 49-20, for their second consecutive conference title.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference championship and a trip to the Sugar Bowl with a 49-20 victory over Vanderbilt Saturday.

The 12th-ranked Volunteers, 8-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the SEC, overcame a 17-14 halftime deficit and earned a New Year’s Day date with Virginia in New Orleans. Florida has a 6-1 SEC record but is not eligible for the conference title or Sugar Bowl because of NCAA sanctions.

Tennessee’s victory wasn’t easy. Vanderbilt (1-10, 1-6) trailed only 21-20 late in the third quarter.

“It was tougher than I imagined,” Tennessee Coach Johnny Majors said. “The wishbone presents many difficulties. It runs the clock and shortens the game.”

When Tennessee had the ball, it was a matter of giving Tony Thompson running room.

Thompson carried 31 times for 236 yards, scoring on runs of nine, 12, 11 and 13 yards in winning the SEC rushing title, finishing with 1,261 yards in 219 carries.

“It couldn’t be more appropriate for this team to have Tony Thompson as its captain. He’s a champion, a winner,” said Majors, who guided the Volunteers to back-to-back SEC championships for the first time since the 1938-40 Tennessee team won three in a row.

Vanderbilt’s loss may have been the last appearance on the sideline for Coach Watson Brown, who has lost 25 of his last 27 games and is 4-29 against SEC opposition in his five years.

“You’re asking the wrong people about that,” Brown said when asked about his job security.

Paul Hoolahan, Vanderbilt athletic director, said he had discussed the situation with Brown Friday and that a decision on next season will be reached “in the near future.”

The Nashville Banner and several local television stations have reported that Brown will be fired next week.

Brown said his team did its best Saturday and for most of the season but came up against a Tennessee team that appears to be peaking.

“That’s the best they’ve played since I’ve played them,” Brown said. “We’ve only played half a game (against Tennessee) each year. We’ll have to see if Tennessee will play half a game one year, and knock them off.”

The Volunteers didn’t take the lead until Thompson scored on a 12-yard run with 11:24 left in the third quarter.

Vanderbilt then drove to the Volunteer 19 before settling for a 36-yard field goal by Jeff Owen that cut the deficit to 21-20 with 5:19 left in the quarter.

Thompson then carried on seven of eight plays during a 52-yard scoring drive that gave Tennessee a 28-20 lead. He skirted left end for 11 yards, avoiding six potential tacklers along the way, for his third touchdown of the game.

On Vanderbilt’s next possession, Corey Harris fumbled and Tennessee’s Darryl Hardy recovered. Five plays later, Andy Kelly passed 20 yards to Carl Pickens in the end zone for a 35-20 lead.