Tee is for Tempe
Tennessee Fiesta bound after escaping Mississippi St.
Posted: Sunday December 06, 1998 02:21 AM
| |
Fourth-quarter flurry: It took two late TD passes from Tee Martin to put away Mississippi State AP |
ATLANTA (AP) -- Let everyone else worry about polls, quartiles
and strength of schedule.
No. 1 Tennessee knows it will be playing for the national
championship.
After second-ranked Kansas State and No. 3 UCLA were beaten
Saturday, Tee Martin and the Volunteers brought a semblance of
order to the Bowl Championship Series with a 24-14 victory over No.
23 Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference title game.
The Vols won't know until Sunday who their opponent will be in
the Fiesta Bowl. But they've accomplished the most important thing
-- getting there.
"We have one more big one to play," coach Phillip Fulmer said.
It wasn't easy. Tennessee (12-0) needed a fourth-quarter
comeback worthy of a champion to assure itself of a chance to play
for the national title in the January 4 Fiesta Bowl.
Martin, harassed most of the night by incessant blitzing, threw
two touchdown passes 28 seconds apart to erase Mississippi State's
14-10 lead.
"The chance to play for a national championship comes around
once in a lifetime," said Peerless Price, who caught a 41-yard
touchdown pass that put the Vols ahead with 6:15 remaining. "We
knew we had to pick it up."
Kevin Prentiss (12) returned six punts for 152 yards, more than the Bulldog offense managed the entire game AP | |
Mississippi State (8-4) went ahead 14-10 on Kevin Prentiss'
83-yard punt return with 8:43 remaining, but the Vols weren't about
to suffer the same fate as the Jayhawks and Bruins.
Martin, who was 15-of-32 for 208 yards, directed Tennessee's
struggling offense right down the field, throwing the touchdown
pass to Price to complete a five-play, 75-yard drive. Then, after
Wayne Madkin fumbled on State's next play from scrimmage, Tennessee
needed only one play to score again.
Martin stood in the pocket under heavy pressure, lofting a
perfect 26-yard pass to Cedrick Wilson for the clinching touchdown
with 5:47 left.
"This football team showed an incredible amount of character,"
Fulmer said. "That fourth-quarter finish was typical of what this
team was about this year."
One of three undefeated teams at the top of the rankings
beginning the day, Tennessee was the only one at the end. Kansas
State was upset by Texas A&M in the Big 12 championship game,
losing 36-33 in double overtime, while UCLA was stunned 49-45 by
Miami.
Tennessee won its second straight SEC title largely because of
its defense, which limited the Bulldogs to 145 yards and didn't
allow their offense to score a touchdown.
"The defense played great," said Price, who had 97 yards on
six receptions and was named the game's MVP. "They kept us in the
game. They gave us a chance to come back."
Mississippi State, a 14-point underdog, put up a tougher fight
than expected. Tennessee was held under 200 yards until the fourth
quarter, and the Bulldogs had a chance to win because of two long
returns.
| |
Tennessee's Travis Henry (20) puts Mississippi State's Kevin Studer (48) on his back before going down AP |
Robert Bean went 70 yards for a touchdown after intercepting a
Martin pass before Prentiss stunned the largely orange-clad crowd
at the Georgia Dome with his punt return. He seemed to mesmerize
the Tennessee defenders with a studder step, then burst down the
sideline without being touched.
But Martin lofted a pass into the end zone just ahead of another
blitz. Price got a step on Adesola Badon and managed to cradle the
ball and get one foot down for the go-ahead touchdown.
"[Martin] said he was going to throw it early, because he had
been getting hit all night," Price said. "Tee threw a great ball.
He gave me the opportunity to make the play."
"They kept going to the well and finally got water," said
Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill, whose team won its only
SEC title in 1941.
Prentiss had 152 yards on six punt returns, more than
Mississippi State's offense could manage even with James Johnson,
the SEC's leading rusher, back in the lineup after being hobbled by
ankle and shoulder injuries.
The Bulldogs had only 149 yards, including 38 yards on 14
carries by Johnson. Madkin completed only 10-of-22 passes for 84
yards.
"We did not throw and catch the ball to help out running
game," Sherrill said. "But the biggest thing we didn't do was not
converting third downs."
The Bulldogs managed only one first down in 12 third-down
situations.
Phil Fulmer: "That fourth-quarter finish was typical of what this team was about this year" AP | |
After Tennessee built a 10-7 lead at the half, defense dominated
the third quarter. The two teams combined for only 52 yards, but
that only set the stage for a thrilling final period.
"We knew Kansas State and UCLA has lost," Price said. "We
knew we controlled our own destiny."
Travis Henry had 120 yards rushing, 79 coming in the final
period when the State defenders finally tired.
The Bulldogs surprised Tennessee by jumping ahead just before
the end of the first quarter on Bean's spectacular interception
return. When Martin overthrew Price on a deep pass, Bean managed to
make a juggling catch off his knees even when bumped by the
Tennessee receiver.
Going back the other way, Bean almost ran out of bounds along
the right sideline before cutting straight back across the field,
picking up a block from safety Ashley Cooper and tiptoeing the
final five yards to stick the ball across the goal line.
Until Saturday, Tennessee has not given up a touchdown on a
return of any kind.
The Vols evened the score in the second period after an
interception return of its own. Madkin, under heavy pressure, made
a freshman mistake by heaving the all into coverage, and Tennessee
safety Deon Grant drifted in front of the receiver to pick off the
pass.
Grant showed some nifty running on a 24-yard return to the
Mississippi State 20, and the Vols quickly moved into position for
Travis Stephens' 2-yard touchdown run.
The Vols took a lead to the half when Jeff Hall connected on a
31-yard field goal after a couple of big completions by Martin. He
hooked up with Jeremaine Copeland on a 35-yard pass and Price on a
19-yarder.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
