(18) AUBURN 28, VIRGINIA 17
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Dameyune Craig threw for 247 yards and
two touchdowns and ran 17 yards for another score as 18th-ranked
Auburn opened its season with a 28-17 victory over Virginia.
Craig, who completed 12-of-19 passes, found Karsten Bailey in the
second half for scoring tosses of 57 and 77 yards. Bailey
finished with four receptions for 151 yards.
Virginia, also playing its season opener, had a safety early in
the first quarter but was unable to prevent Auburn from making
big plays after that. Cavaliers quarterback Aaron Brooks
completed 25-of-41 passes for 305 yards but had an interception
returned 25 yards for a score by Ryan Taylor 14 seconds into
second half. Terrence Wilkins had seven receptions for 107 yards
and Germane Crowell added six for 102 for the Cavaliers.
Sophomore Thomas Jones had 70 yards on 17 carries for Virginia.
"I don't think we played that well," said Virginia coach George
Welsh. "We made a lot of mistakes -- mental errors, execution
mistakes. We missed too many opportunities in the first quarter."
Auburn improved to 5-0 in openers under coach Terry Bowden. It
was playing out of the conference on the road for the first time
since defeating Texas in 1991.
"This is a tough place to come into and play, and a real tough
place to come in and get a win," said Bowden. "Just like my
father (Florida State coach Bobby Bowden) told me, they are going
to get you in a field position game and get you in trouble.
Dameyune was probably the difference. Without the plays he made
it would have been 7-2 or 7-7 in the fourth quarter."
After Virginia took a 2-0 lead on a blocked punt recovered by
Auburn in its own end zone, Craig got Auburn on the board with
just over nine minutes left in the half. Taking advantage of a
collapsing pocket, Craig broke around the right end for 17 yards
and the go-ahead score.
Auburn pushed the lead to 14-2 just after intermission when
Taylor picked off Brooks and brought it back 25 yards for a
score. The Cavaliers drew within 14-9 just 1:46 later on Brooks'
71-yard bomb to Wilkins, but the Tigers responded two plays later
when Craig found Bailey with a 57-yard scoring strike.
Craig and Bailey hooked up again, 76 seconds into the fourth
quarter, on a 77-yard reception that gave Auburn a 28-9 lead.
Brooks' 10-yard scoring toss to Crowell midway through the fourth
quarter capped the Virginia scoring.
(18) Auburn 28, VIRGINIA 17
1 2 3 4 F
- - - - --
Auburn (18) 0 7 14 7 28
Virginia 2 0 7 8 17
Virginia-Safety
Auburn-Craig 17 run (Holmes kick)
Auburn-R Taylor 25 interception return (Holmes kick)
Virginia-Wilkins 71 pass from Brooks (Roberts kick)
Auburn-Bailey 57 pass from Craig (Holmes kick)
Auburn-Bailey 77 pass from Craig (Holmes kick)
Virginia-Crowell 10 pass from Brooks (Crowell reception for
two-point conversion)
Auburn Virginia
First downs 11 19
Rushed-yards 32-77 28-93
Passing yards 247 305
Sacked-yards lost 2-22 2-13
Return yards 55 129
Passes 12-19-1 25-41-1
Punts 7-33.7 5-36.6
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 8-56 6-45
Time of possession 29:34 30:26
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Auburn-Cooper 9-32, F Beasley 5-18, R Williams 4-12,
Pennington 5-10, Craig 8-5, Robinson 1-0. Virginia-T Jones 17-70,
Kirby 3-12, Brooks 6-9, Southern 2-2.
PASSING: Auburn-Craig 12-19-1-247. Virginia-Brooks 25-41-1-305.
RECEIVING: Auburn-Bailey 4-151, F Beasley 2-54, Goodson 2-21,
Cooper 2-11, Poor 1-7, Dillard 1-3. Virginia-Wilkins 7-107,
Crowell 6-102, Crawford 3-26, T Jones 3-2, Owen 2-28, Hawkins
1-18, S Jones 1-15, Kirby 1-7, Southern 1-0.
Att: 45,300
Courtesy: InfoBeat Sports