COLLEGE FOOTBALL : SOUTH ROUNDUP : Auburn, After Trailing 17-0, Rallies to Get Past Georgia Southern, 32-17

Stan White completed 14 of 27 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns as the 17th-ranked Auburn Tigers rallied from a 17-0 deficit for a 32-17 victory over Division I-AA Georgia Southern Saturday night at Auburn, Ala.

The Eagles, two-time defending Division I-AA champions, appeared on track for their first victory ever over a Division I team as they stunned Auburn and more than 79,000 fans by building a 17-3 halftime lead.

But Auburn, as it did four times last season, rallied for victory in the second half. The Tigers scored two touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters while the defense was limiting Georgia Southern to just 58 yards.

White tossed a 23-yard scoring pass over the middle to Herbert Casey with 10:53 left in the third quarter to cap a six-play, 88-yard drive that turned the momentum in Auburn’s favor.

On Auburn’s next possession, the Tigers went 79 yards in 15 plays. Redshirt freshman Joe Frazier ran up the middle two yards for a touchdown with 1:01 left in the third quarter, but Jim Von Wyl missed the extra point to leave Georgia Southern ahead going to the fourth quarter.

The overmatched, outsized Eagles couldn’t hold Auburn, however. White eluded two rushers for his second touchdown pass, a 10-yarder to a wide-open Fred Baxter with 12:24 left.

Reid McMillon sealed the victory with a 32-yard touchdown run with 4:30 left. Auburn scored two-point conversions after each of the final two scores.

Mississippi 22, Tulane 3--Brian Lee, who made only three of 13 field-goal attempts last season, kicked five against Tulane to lead the Rebels over the Green Wave at New Orleans.

Lee’s success came despite the new rule which narrows goal posts in college football from 23 feet 4 inches to 18-6. “If you’re kicking them straight, it doesn’t matter a whole lot,” Lee said.

His field goals were from 25 yards in the second quarter, 44 and 31 yards in the third quarter, and 32 and 23 yards in the fourth. He broke the school record of four shared by three others.

“I didn’t change anything. It’s just that things were clicking today,” Lee said.

Backup quarterback Tom Luke, considered a better runner than starter Russ Shows, scored the Rebels’ lone touchdown on a five-yard run.

Georgia 48, Western Carolina 0--Freshman Eric Zeier passed for 172 yards and two touchdowns and Chuck Carswell returned a punt 71 yards for another as the Bulldogs overpowered the Division I-AA Catamounts at Athens, Ga.

Virginia Tech 41, James Madison 12--Will Furrer completed 16 of 22 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns and broke Virginia Tech’s career touchdown passing record as the Hokies won at Blacksburg, Va.

Furrer now has 31 scoring passes, which breaks the old record of 29, shared by Don Strock and Steve Casey.

Northeast Louisiana 21, Southwestern Louisiana 10--Roosevelt Potts rushed for 123 yards and Greg Robinson ran for two touchdowns as the Indians beat the Rajin’ Cajuns at Lafayette, La.