PEACH : It’s a Smooth Finish for White and Auburn

Stan White did some quick freshman math and came up with the answer for Auburn.

“We had two minutes and three timeouts,” White said. “I said in the huddle, ‘Look, guys, this is it. This is what it’s all about. We’ve got 80 yards and two minutes.’ ”

White ran the two-minute drill to perfection Saturday and scored on a one-yard bootleg with 39 seconds left as Auburn beat Indiana, 27-23, in the Peach Bowl.

Auburn (8-3-1) took possession on its 28-yard line with 2:19 to play. White, a freshman, completed five of 10 passes for 62 yards in the 72-yard drive.

The winning play came after fullback James Joseph was stopped for no gain on third down at the one-yard line.

White, who completed 31 of 48 passes for 351 yards, said quarterback coach Pat Sullivan made a great call that allowed him to score the winning touchdown on a naked bootleg. He trotted into the left corner of the end zone untouched.

“A guard would never have called that play,” said a smiling Pat Dye, Auburn’s head coach, who was an offensive guard during his playing days at Georgia.

The Hoosiers (6-5-1) had taken the lead moments earlier when quarterback Trent Green, who ran for three touchdowns, scored on an 11-yard run with 2:26 left, giving Indiana a 23-20 lead.

Indiana got the ball after Auburn’s Richie Nell fumbled the snap on a punt. The Hoosiers recovered on the Tigers 29, and it only took four plays to get Green into the end zone.

White scored from six yards out on Auburn’s first drive, and he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alex Smith in the second quarter.

Jim Von Wyl added field goals of 26 and 43 yards for Auburn.

Indiana got touchdown runs from Green of three and two yards, the latter with 6:32 left to get the Hoosiers within 20-16. Green was sacked as Indiana attempted a two-point conversion.

Indiana’s other score came on a 42-yard field goal by Scott Bonnell in the second quarter.

White’s favorite receiver was Herbert Casey, who caught seven passes for 159 yards.

Indiana tailback Vaughn Dunbar, who had 1,143 yards rushing during the regular season, had 81 yards in 21 carries.