(3) TENNESSEE 30, (11) AUBURN 29

ATLANTA -- Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns
as third-ranked Tennessee overcame six turnovers and a 10-point
halftime deficit to defeat No. 11 Auburn, 30-29, in a thrilling
Southeastern Conference title game at the Georgia Dome. The
narrow win could leave Tennessee (11-1) open to criticism and
possibly out of the national championship picture. Fourth-ranked
Florida State could surpass the Volunteers in the polls and may
be a more attractive option for the Orange Bowl, which will
feature a matchup with unbeaten and second-ranked Nebraska.

The Bowl Alliance makes their selections Sunday. Unbeaten and
top-ranked Michigan will face Washington State in the Rose Bowl,
which does not become part of the Alliance until next year. The
Orange Bowl does not have to pick Tennessee, even if it maintains
a higher ranking the Florida State when the new polls come out.

Manning, who completed 25-of-43 passes and became the SEC's
all-time leading passer in the fourth quarter, threw three
touchdown passes in the second half. The final scoring toss was a
73-yard catch-and-run down the right sideline to Marcus Nash 3:46
into the fourth quarter. The extra point gave the Volunteers the
lead for the first time since the opening minutes.

"It's a great feeling. Because usually when you turn the ball
over as many times as we did, you lose," said Manning. "But this
just says something about the character of our team. We just kept
believing and (linebacker) Al Wilson gave a great speech before
the second half. He said, 'Let's go out and win this ballgame.'"

"I am obviously unbelievably proud to represent the Southeastern
Conference as champions," Tennessee head coach Philip Fulmer
said. "It has been a long time coming. We have been so close the
last two years. Our guys kept their noses to the grindstone and
we got better as the season went along. We knew we could win."

Dameyune Craig had a strong first half as Auburn (9-3) opened a
20-10 lead. But he was unable to get the offense -- which was
without a running game -- going over the final two quarters. He
finished 14-of-34 for 262 yards and two TDs, including a 51-yard
scoring strike to Tyrone Goodson. The Tigers likely are headed to
the Citrus Bowl.

"We didn't make enough plays to win," said Auburn coach Terry
Bowden. "If you make enough plays you will win. We didn't. I have
to give credit to Tennessee. Not to take away from the effort of
our guys because they never gave up."

Tennessee won its 12th SEC title but first since 1990. They also
recorded their second 11-win season in the last three years.
Auburn -- which like the Volunteers was playing in its first SEC
title game -- was seeking its fifth 10-win season in the last 10
years.

Auburn's Brad Ware scooped up a fumble and returned it 24 yards
for a 10-7 lead and Quinton Reese returned a blocked extra point
for a two-point defensive conversion for a 29-23 Auburn lead.

Lewis, who finished with 127 yards on 31 carries, moved into
second place on Tennessee's single-season rushing list with 1,364
yards. He also moved into sixth place in NCAA history in rushing
yards by a freshman.


(3) TENNESSEE 30, (11) Auburn 29

                      1  2  3  4   F
                      -  -  -  -  --
Tennessee (3)         7  3 13  7  30
Auburn (11)          13  7  9  0  29

 Tennessee-Price 40 pass from Manning (Hall kick)
 Auburn-FG Holmes 30
 Auburn-Ware 24 fumble return (Holmes kick)
 Auburn-FG Holmes 48
 Auburn-Goodson 51 pass from Craig (Holmes kick)
 Tennessee-FG Hall 27
 Tennessee-Copeland 5 pass from Manning (Hall kick)
 Auburn-F Beasley 24 pass from Craig (Holmes kick)
 Tennessee-Price 46 pass from Manning (kick blocked)
 Auburn-2-point defensive conversion by Reese
 Tennessee-Nash 73 pass from Manning (Hall kick)

                      Tennessee      Auburn
First downs                  22           9
Rushed-yards             36-129      21-M15
Passing yards               373         262
Sacked-yards lost           1-2        4-24
Return yards                171         118
Passes                  25-43-2     14-34-0
Punts                    5-36.4     10-43.8
Fumbles-lost                6-4         5-1
Penalties-yards            9-49       12-78
Time of possession        35:43       24:17

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Tennessee-Lewis 31-127, Manning 4-2, Bryson 1-0.
Auburn-R Williams 6-8, Carter 2-3, F Beasley 5-minus 9, Craig
8-minus 17.

PASSING: Tennessee-Manning 25-43-2-373. Auburn-Craig 14-34-0-262.

RECEIVING: Tennessee-Nash 9-126, Price 8-161, Copeland 4-36,
Lewis 3-45, Edmonds 1-5. Auburn-Poor 3-98, F Beasley 3-56,
Goodson 2-60, Bailey 2-16, Dillard 1-13, McLeod 1-13, Lowe 1-4,
Cooper 1-2.

Att: N/A