SOUTHEASTERN ROUNDUP : Georgia Holds Off Auburn at the One

Auburn’s James Bostic was stopped at the goal line and time ran out before the Tigers could get off another play and No. 12 Georgia escaped with a 14-10 victory over Auburn in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday at Auburn, Ala.

Garrison Hearst rushed for 105 yards in 35 carries and scored two touchdowns for Georgia, 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the SEC, but it was the final play that had everyone shaking their heads.

Auburn (5-4-1, 2-4-1) had second-and-goal inside the Georgia one with 19 seconds left. Bostic dove into the line and fumbled short of the end zone.

The Tigers apparently recovered in the jumble of bodies, but both teams claimed they had the ball. As the officials tried to sort things out and the Tigers tried to line up for another play, time expired.

Auburn quarterback Stan White ran after the officials pleading for another play, but they hurried off the field as the sellout crowd of 85,214 littered the field with debris and stood around for several minutes afterward in stunned silence.

Mississippi 13, Louisiana Tech 6--Mississippi locked up a Liberty Bowl bid by forcing the Bulldogs to punt 11 times and coming up with a key fourth-down stop late in the game at Oxford, Miss.

Ole Miss (7-3) sacked Louisiana Tech’s quarterbacks four times and the Bulldogs reached Rebel territory just five times. A potential touchdown pass fell just out of the reach of Tech’s Corey Parham with 3:38 remaining and the Rebels ran out the clock.

Liberty Bowl officials invited the Rebels to the Dec. 31 game in Memphis, Tenn., immediately after the game, and Ole Miss accepted. That sets up a rematch of the 1989 Liberty Bowl, when the Rebels beat Air Force, 42-29.

Air Force qualified for the game this year by having the best record among the service academies.

Louisiana Tech fell to 5-5.

Cincinnati 17, Kentucky 13--The Bearcats beat the Wildcats for the first time since 1945 by taking advantage of five turnovers and Craedel Kimbrough’s fourth-quarter touchdown run in this nonconference game at Cincinnati.

Kentucky (4-6) lost its 11-game unbeaten streak against Cincinnati (3-7) by self-destructing near the end zone. The Wildcats got inside the 25-yard line seven times, but managed just two field goals by Doug Pelfrey.

Pelfrey missed a 19-yard field-goal attempt late in the third quarter, and Cincinnati took advantage by driving for the winning touchdown behind Kimbrough, who scored from five yards out.

Kimbrough wound up with 183 yards, including a career-best 35-yard run on the winning drive.

Vanderbilt 27, Navy 7--Tailback Tony Jackson gained 128 yards in 11 carries, one of them a 53-yard touchdown run, to lead the Commodores (4-5) over the Midshipmen (1-8) at Annapolis, Md.