SOUTHEASTERN ROUNDUP : Fourth-Quarter Surge Powers Tennessee

Louisville had turned the momentum its way and was 38 yards from cutting Tennessee’s lead to a touchdown at Knoxville, Tenn.

That’s as close as the 13th-ranked Cardinals got Saturday.

Tennessee’s DeRon Jenkins intercepted Jeff Brohm’s pass at the 21 to set up the first of three touchdowns in 3 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, and the seventh-ranked Volunteers blew open a tight game to defeat Louisville, 45-10, in a nonconference game.

“There was a point where we had a football game, but it didn’t last very long,” Louisville Coach Howard Schnellenberger said.

The Cardinals (7-2) pulled to within 24-10 early in the fourth on Brohm’s two-yard touchdown run, then recovered an onside kick at the Tennessee 38. But two plays later Jenkins picked off the pass.

After the interception, the Volunteers drove 71 yards to score on James Stewart’s three-yard run with 8:51 left in the game for a 31-10 lead.

Fourty-four seconds after Stewart’s score, Jenkins picked up a fumble and ran 22 yards for a touchdown, although television replays indicated the play could have been ruled an incomplete pass.

After a short Louisville series, Nilo Silvan ran a reverse on a punt return 69 yards for a score to cap the Volunteers’ fourth-quarter surge.

Shuler’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Cory Fleming put Tennessee (7-1-1) ahead, 24-3, midway through the third quarter. It was Fleming’s ninth scoring catch of the year, a school record.

No. 8 Auburn 55, New Mexico State 14--Stan White, finishing an up-and-down career with a flourish, set a school record with 16 consecutive completions and three touchdowns at Auburn.

White, a freshman star who received much of the blame the last two seasons when Auburn slumped to 5-6 and 5-5-1 records, is once again a favorite of Tiger fans, receiving the biggest cheer when the seniors were introduced prior to the homecoming game.

The applause didn’t stop once the game began, even though Aggies (5-4) jumped ahead, 7-0. The eighth-ranked Tigers (9-0) scored five touchdowns in the second quarter, beginning with Tony Richardson’s 21-yard run that put Auburn ahead, 10-7.

Auburn is still alive in the national championship race with Southeastern Conference games remaining against Georgia and Alabama. The Tigers are ineligible for the league title and bowl consideration because of NCAA sanctions.

Mississippi State 13, Arkansas 13--Tom Burke kicked a 43-yard field goal with 1:03 to play as Mississippi State rallied for an SEC tie at Little Rock.

Freshman Derrick Taite, forced into action when senior Todd Jordan was injured, completed a 20-yard pass to Chris Jones to set up the field goal. The Bulldogs (2-5-2, 1-4-1) have won only two of their last 12 games. The Razorbacks (3-5-1, 2-4-1) haven’t won in the last four games.

Marius Johnson, who hadn’t carried the ball in a month, scored on a 14-yard run in the fourth quarter to put Arkansas on top, 13-10, with 5:36 to play. David Boulware, a freshman walk-on, missed the extra point.

Memphis State 19, Mississippi 3--Larry Porter rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown and the Tigers’ defense set a school record at Memphis, Tenn.

Memphis State (5-4) limited the Rebels to minus-four rushing yards in 30 carries. The Rebels (4-5) netted only 107 yards of offense.

All of the scoring came in the first half. The closest either team came to scoring after the intermission was a missed 45-yard field goal by Memphis State’s Joe Allison in the third quarter.

Quarterback Steve Matthews, the key to Memphis State’s offense, was sidelined for the year when he broke his left leg in the second quarter.

Matthews was 11 of 18 for 94 yards and had paced Memphis State to a 10-0 lead after its first two possessions.

The Rebels’ only score came with just over a minute left in the first quarter on Walter Grant’s 31-yard field goal.

Vanderbilt 12, Kentucky 7--Steve Yenner kicked a 21-yard field goal with 2:29 left and the Commodores’ defense did the rest in an SEC game at Nashville, Tenn.

Cliff Deese set up the go-ahead field goal when he broke a 48-yard run down the right sideline to the Wildcats’ 11 after being slowed at the line of scrimmage.

The Wildcats (5-4, 4-3) kept the Commodores (3-5, 1-5) out of the end zone for three plays before Yenner put Vanderbilt ahead, 10-7. Quarterback Pookie Jones tried to rally the Wildcats, but Alan Young sacked him twice, the second time in the end zone for a safety with 1:08 remaining.