The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 41

f.i'f'IT'f"'! TOP-RANKED PENN STATE BARELY ESCAPES Curtis Enis' 10-yard touchdown run with 3:59 remaining in the game capped a rally that allowed No. 1 Penn State to stave off Minnesota 16-15. On 6C. Other results TSU ASSURED OF LOSING SEASON Tennessee State fell to 1-6 with yesterday's 28-7 loss at UT-Chattanooga. The defeat ensures that the Tigers will have a losing record for the seventh consecutive season.

Story, summary, on 8C. MTSU FALLS ON ROAD MTSU gave up 357 rushing yards in a 30-17 loss at Eastern Illinois. Story, summary, on 8C. NEXT SATURDAY SEC game of the week, TBA, 1 1 :30 am, WSMV Channel 4. Michigan at Michigan State, 11:30 a.m., ESPN.

Southeast Mo. at Middle Tennessee State, 2 p.m., WNAB Channel 58. SEC game of the week, TBA, 2:30 p.m., WTVF Channel 5. Memphis at East Carolina, 2:30 p.m., SportSouth. Complete TV schedule, 2C.

OLE MISS UPSETS N0.8LSU 36-21 John Aveiy ran for two touchdowns and Stewart Patridge passed for two more yesterday to lead Ole Miss to a 36-21 victory at eighth-ranked LSU, which just last week had knocked off Florida. Story, SEC summaries, 4C. ALSO: Kentucky 's Tim Couch threw for 428 yards and six TDs in a 49-1 4 win over Northeast Louisiana. On 4C. 2.

Nebraska 29, Texas Tech 0 3. Florida St. 38, 21. Georgia Tech 0 4. North Carolina 20, N.C.

State 7 5. Michigan 28, 15. Iowa 24 10. Washington 58, Arizona 28 11. Ohio State 31, Indiana 0 13.

Washington St. 63, California 37 20. Kansas St. 36, 14. Texas 17 17.

UCLA 34, Oregon State 10 Fresno State 20, 18. Air Force 17 Purdue 45, 24. Wisconsin 20 Arizona State, 31, 25. Stanford 14 AP Northwestern 19, 12. Michigan St 17 Top 25 schedule, 2C; nation report, 6-7C; summaries, 7C, Penn State's Curtis Enls is congratulated by Floyd Wedderburn for his winning TD.

SI5T COLLEGE GOT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1997 Georai a ruins Vandy homecomin ff David Climer By MIKE ORGAN pyr picked Vanderbilt apart, tossing short passes to four different receivers. That promptly moved the ball into scoring range, where Hap Hines booted a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead less than five minutes into the game. Georgia moved comfortably in front 17-0 just before halftime, when Greer made his first touchdown catch, 25-yarder where he maneuvered in front of Vandy senior cornerback Corey Chavous in the end zone. It could have gotten terribly ugly if the Vandy offense hadnt finally come to life with the long touch- Turn to PAGE 5C, Column 5 lead at 20-6 with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Damian Allen to fullback Paul Morgan early in the third quarter. It's not surprising, however, that the crowd lost interest, after Georgia moved in front so soundly in the third quarter, tasting its first road win of the season.

With the Vanderbilt defense playing no better than the chronically sick offense, there was no hope. The loss did big damage to Vandy's hopes of posting a winning record this season. The Commodores dropped to 3-4 overall, 0-4 in the Southeastern Conference, and have Florida and Tennessee left on the schedule. The dreadful SEC losing streak reached 14 with last night's loss. Georgia, meanwhile, bounced back from a miserable 38-13 loss to Tennessee last week, improving its record to 5-1 overall, 3-1.

It's hard to figure what happened to the defense, ranked fourth nationally and No. 1 in the SEC heading into the game. The unit usually stands up well until it gets worn down after staying on the field because the offense is unable to maintain possession. Last night, however, the offense couldnt be blamed. The defense bent and then broke on the opening drive of the game.

Georgia quarterback Mike Bobo Sports Writer Bad news Vanderbilt's offense is contagious. Whatever mysterious illness has plagued the Commodore attack for woe so many years finally spread to the defense, and Vanderbilt had no chance last night in a 34-13 loss to Georgia. The 19th-ranked Bulldogs wrecked Vanderbilt's homecoming and a less-than-capacity crowd of 35,124 sat quietly waiting for the nationally ranked, always reliable defense to show up. It never did, except for a flash in the fourth quarter after far too much damage had been done. I Vanderbilt report, on 5C.

The crowd started to trickle out of the stadium with 7:33 left in the third quarter, after Georgia freshman flanker Michael Greer beat Vandy safety Ainsley Battles down the right sideline. Greer raced 27 yards with his second touchdown catch, giving the Dawgs a comfortable 27-6 advantage. That touchdown came after Vandy's offense had shown its only spark, mounting a 75-yard, eight-play drive that cut into the Georgia Manning leads 3rd straight win over Alabama By CHRIS LOW Sports Writer Ala. Remember when Legion Field used to be a place of horrors for Tennessee? Not anymore. With senior quarterback Peyton Manning taking one final star-studded bow in this grand old rivalry, Tennessee won its third in a row last night over Alabama, 38-21, before a crowd of 83,091.

When it was all over, Manning bid adieu to the raucous Big Orange contingent by tossing his sweat-bands into the stands. He gave a few pumps of the fist and even led the Pride of the Southland Band in a rendition of Rocky I Vols recruiting update, on 2C. I Larry Woody: Manning's legend looms larger, on 3C. I Alabama Coach DuBose feeling the heat big time, on 3C. Vols focus on business of winning BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Peyton Manning was standing with a couple of teammates, killing an idle moment or two between warmup throws, when the Legion Field public address announcer delivered the news with the proper amount of glee: "Florida 24, Auburn 10." The crimson-tinted crowd roared. The orange-minded fans moaned. Manning clinched his jaw and nodded his head at teammate Peerless Price. Actions, it would seem, speak louder than words. Clearly, the Vols had not gotten any help in their frustrating and, it would seem fruitless quest to overtake Florida in the SEC East Just as clearly, the Vols had a game of their own that merited all their attention.

It was that kind of day for Tennessee, a split-personality team with wavering focus in a divided conference. Just as Generation cannot tear itself away from big-screen televisions and remote controls, Generation UT spent part of the afternoon watching TV, going to a meeting, watching TV, eating a pre-game meal and watching TV. Suffice it to say, Phillip Fulmer made sure the dressing room at Legion Field did not come with a satellite dish attached. There was, of course, no way to insulate the Vols from the SEC sitcom Spurrier Knows Best. It was almost as if Tennessee's game-day alarm clock was set on Florida Standard Time.

When UT packed the buses at the hotel, Florida had a 10-0 lead. By the time the team arrived at Legion Field, Auburn had surged back into a 10-10 tie. The Pride of the Southland's first chorus of Rocky Top came with the Gators leading 17-10. The first wave of Vols came out for warmups with Florida up 24-10. And finally, the announcement of Auburn's demise always a cause for celebration when Alabama fans gather came with the Vols deep into their pregame drills.

Just in case anybody missed it the PA sadist repeated the score when the captains came out for the coin toss, again with the expected response from the crowd. You half-expected the Alabama band to spell out "24-10" to make sure nobody in orange was unaware of Florida's reign on the Loveliest Village of the Plain. It was clear: Tennessee could not expect any more help from its SEC brethren. The Vols were on their own. This is called making the best of a bad situation.

And yes, the Vols have been here before, since Florida seems to be an inextricable thorn in UT's side. Maybe practice makes perfect Instead of being distracted by all the television, the announcements and the Vol-to-Vol communication about the Florida-Auburn score, UT took care of its own business. Perhaps it wasnt the kind of by-the-numbers victory Vols fans may have wanted. Indeed, you were left to wonder if all the pregame attention to the TV set had compromised Tennessee's attention span, because the Vols played much of the first quarter as if they had seen a Gator. But it all came back into focus quickly enough for UT to extend its run of success against Alabama to three games.

And when you put it into the historical context of UT-Bama, it wasnt such a bad day after all for the Vols. David Climer )s a Tennessean senior writer. He can be reached at 259-8020. Top. The entire team returned from the dressing room to celebrate the victory with the UT faithful, who remained long after the game ended.

"It's special," Manning said. "I know what Alabama is. It's good football, and to win in Birmingham twice is very special." The scene was not what Alabama Coach Mike DuBose had hoped for. "Sure, it hurts seeing that," DuBose said. "They earned it That's their right Anything they get after the win, I congratulate them." The Vols, who won 41-14 here in 1995, scored 30-plus points in back-to-back appearances in Birmingham for the first time ever.

It was also the first time Tennessee had won consecutive games at Legion Field since the 1983 and 1985 seasons. Manning, in becoming the first UT quarterback to win three straight over the Crimson Tide, connected on 23-of-37 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns. It was the seventh straight time, dating to last season, that Manning has thrown for more than 300 yards. He hooked up with Jeremaine Copeland on his first two scoring strikes, from 30 and 10 yards. Both came on third-down plays.

Manning's third touchdown was a 52-yard bomb to Peerless Price, who caught the ball on a dead run and then made an inside cut to dive into the end zone. "It feels great" Copeland said. "Any time Tennessee beats Alabama anywhere, it's a great win. Two years ago, we celebrated after the game a little bit but this DELORES DEL VIN STAFF UT quarterback Peyton Manning, right, and Marcus Nash celebrate one of Manning's three touchdown passes last night I Turn to PAGE 3C, Column 4 Green makes sure Florida doesn't miss QB game, Florida devoured Craig, sacking him nine times for 80 yards, intercepting a pass and recovering one of his two fumbles. "I made a lot of dumb mistakes and took a lot of dumb sacks," Craig, who entered the game as a top Heisman Trophy contender but had just 187 yards passing after four straight 300-yard games, said.

"I was just trying to make plays." Craig, on the run all day, finished 18-of-34 for 187 yards and a touchdown, while Palmer was 8-of-14 for 92 yards before he was yanked, and Brindise 5of-ll for 69 yards. For Auburn (6-1, 3-1), the defeat was a bitter one. For a year, the Tigers and their Heisman Trophy hopeful, Dameyune Craig, waited to avenge a 51-10 loss to the Gators. Auburn, however, can gain a rematch in the SEC title game if both teams with their division crowns. "I think that would be our goal," Auburn Coach Terry Bowden said.

"This game is of no factor. It's how we respond to it Look at Florida. They were down in the dumps last week." Without its high-powered offense, which was averaging 44.7 points per through the third quarter to snap a 10-10 tie. "I know I didnt light the world on fire," said Brindise, who mainly handed off and watched Fred Taylor run for 140 yards on 34 carries. "But handing off to a guy like Fred made it easier." The Gators (6-1, 4-1 SEC) are breathing easier after rebounding from last week's 28-21 loss at LSU that knocked them out of the No.

1 ranking. Florida is now back on track for a record-tying fifth straight SEC title and hopes to re-pearls national champs. Associated Press AUBURN, Ala. Florida went to a "Pass Pray" offense, and wide receiver Jacquez Green made sure it worked. Green threw for a touchdown, caught a TD pass from walk-on Noah Brindise and ran 5 yards on a reverse for a score as No.

7 Florida kept all of its title hopes alive with a 24-10 victory over No. 6 Auburn yesterday. "With our quarterback situation muddled, we didnt want to put the game in our quarterback's hands," Florida Coach Steve Spiirrier said. Third-string QB steps up, on 5C. So he benched freshman Jesse Palmer starting for the suspended Doug Johnson early in the third quarter and brought in Brindise, a fifth-year senior who was awarded a scholarship before the season.

Palmer threw two interceptions, but Brindise came through with a 10-yara TD pass to Green midway John Gibson, Assistant Managing EditorSports, 259-8022. Assistant Sports Editors, Laurie E. Holloway, 259-8299, Michael H. Jones, 259-8013, Kevin Procter, 259-8014. Sports Fax: 259-8826..