College Football Old School Game of the Week: Manning & Vols Overcome Mistakes to Win SEC Title

 

Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning completed 25 of 43 passes for 373 yards and threw four touchdowns in the 1997 SEC Championship Game.

No one would have blamed Peyton Manning if he had left the University of Tennessee to go the NFL after his junior season in 1996.

Manning was projected to be the #1 overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, with the New York Jets holding the rights to the top pick and Bill Parcells set to become their head coach, but more importantly was set to graduate with a degree in speech communication in May after just three years of school.

But in a press conference that was broadcast throughout the Volunteer state, Manning announced he would return for his senior season in which Tennessee fans hoped that Manning could lead the Vols to not only a SEC championship but a national championship.

Tennessee's championship dreams seemed to evaporate in "The Swamp" in the third game of the season as the Vols lost to the Florida Gators 33-20, marking their fifth straight defeat in the series against the Gators and third with Manning as the starting quarterback.

However, two losses by the Gators to the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs in the middle of the season opened the door for Tennessee to claim the SEC East division title which they did as Manning led the Vols to a 10-1 regular season as the senior quarterback threw for 3,446 yards and 33 touchdown passes making him a prime candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

For winning the SEC East division title for the first time since the SEC adopted division play in 1992, the Vols earned a trip to Atlanta where they would face the winners of the SEC West division, the Auburn Tigers, in the SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome.

Manning directed an offense that averaged 34.6 points per game with a supporting cast that featured freshman running back Jamal Lewis who ran for 1,237 yards in the regular season and two stellar wide receivers in Marcus Nash and Peerless Price.

Led by head coach Phillip Fulmer, who was in his fifth full season as the Tennessee head coach, a win in the SEC Championship Game would not only give Tennessee its first SEC championship since 1990 but would earn them a spot in the Orange Bowl where they would play the Nebraska Cornhuskers that if the Vols won plus a Michigan loss in the Rose Bowl, would earn the Volunteers their first national title since 1951.

Standing  in Tennessee's way were the Auburn Tigers, who were also making their first trip to the SEC Championship Game as they won the SEC West title with a dramatic 18-17 win against Alabama in the Iron Bowl as the Tigers finished the 1997 regular season with a 9-2 record.

It was remarkable that the Tigers made it all the way to Atlanta despite the lack of a running game as no Auburn player rushed for more than 300 yards during the 1997 season as quarterback Dameyune Craig threw for 3,015 yards and 16 touchdown passes.

But with a defense that gave up just under 17 points per game, the Tigers had a chance to win their first outright SEC title since 1987 and end the Vols' chances of a national championship.

The Vols came out firing to start the game as Manning completed a 25-yard screen pass to Lewis on the first play of the game which would lead to Manning connecting with Price for a 40-yard touchdown to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead just five plays into the game.

Auburn would get the ball at their 20-yard-line for their first possession of the game as the Tigers lost two yards on two plays to set up 3rd & 12 when Craig scrambled around before completing a 69-yard pass to wide receiver Hicks Poor to help set up a 30-yard field goal by Jaret Holmes to cut the Tennessee lead to 7-3 with 10:25 to go in the first quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Vols had the ball at their 13-yard-line when Manning found Nash for an 11-yard gain, only for Nash to lose the football after a hit by Auburn linebacker Takeo Spikes as free safety Brad Ware would scoop up the fumble and return it for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 5:36 left in the first quarter.

After another Tennessee punt, the Tigers would drive 25 yards in six plays to set up another field goal from Holmes, this one from 48 yards out to extend the Auburn lead to 13-7 as the Vols would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to punt the ball back to the Tigers who had the ball at their 42-yard-line as the first quarter came to a close.

On the second play of the second quarter, Craig would fire his second touchdown of the game, a 51-yard bomb to wide receiver Tyrone Goodson to push the Tigers' lead to double digits at 20-7 just 48 seconds into the second quarter.

Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns despite completing only 14 of 34 passes.

The Tennessee offense would get back on track on their next drive as Manning would complete two passes to Price for 38 yards to move Tennessee to the Auburn 10-yard-line when on back-to-back plays Price and Nash dropped potential touchdown catches, forcing the Vols to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Jeff Hall to cut the Tigers' lead to 20-10 midway through the second quarter.

Auburn would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Vols, who looked like were going to begin their next possession in Tigers territory as Terry Fair returned the punt 44 yards until he fumbled the football as Auburn free safety Larry Melton would fall on the ball to give the Tigers the ball back at their 31-yard-line.

The Vols defense would hold the Tigers offense to a three-and-out to force another punt when Fair fumbled the football again, this time with Auburn fullback Kevin McLeod recovering the loose ball to give the Tigers the ball at the Tennessee 28-yard-line.

However, the Tigers could not convert the turnover into points as Craig fired three straight incomplete passes which was followed by Holmes missing his 45-yard field goal kick to give the ball back to the Vols at their 28-yard-line with 1:51 left in the first half.

Manning would complete three passes for 12 yards before firing a deep pass intended for Nash that was picked off by Auburn cornerback Larry Casher to force the fourth turnover by the Vols in the first half as the Tigers would take over at their 18-yard-line with 79 seconds left before halftime.

Auburn would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Vols who took a knee to run out the clock in the first half as Tennessee would go to the halftime break trailing 20-10.

After holding the Tigers to a three-and-out to start the first half, Fair would redeem himself for his two earlier fumbles to return the Auburn punt 45 yards to the Tigers' 22-yard-line where Manning and the Tennessee offense would take over.

Manning would hit Nash for 13 yards to begin the drive then connected with wide receiver Jermaine Copeland on back-to-back passes with the second pass being a five-yard touchdown to cut the Tennessee deficit to 20-17 with 11:56 to go in the third quarter.

Following an Auburn punt, the Vols got the ball at their 37-yard-line as Lewis would carry the ball four straight times to gain 18 yards until an illegal procedure pushed Tennessee five yards back to the 50-yard-line when Manning completed a 14-yars pass to Copeland then found Lewis for 21 yards to move the Vols to the Tigers' 15-yard-line and poised to give the lead back to Tennessee.

But Manning would throw a pass intended for Copeland, who juggled the ball until it was caught by Auburn cornerback Jason Bray for the interception, who would then run it back 77 yards to give Craig and the Tigers' offense the ball at the Tennessee 19-yard-line.

After an illegal procedure pushed the Tigers back five yards, Craig would fire a 24-yard touchdown pass to running back Fred Beasley to extend the Auburn lead back to 10 points at 27-17 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

Tennessee would answer with a 10-play, 80-yard drive which saw Manning complete a 23-yard pass to Price on a 3rd & 17 which was followed by the Vols going for it on 4th & 3 in Auburn territory where Auburn would jump offsides to give Tennessee a 1st down when Manning hit Nash on a slant route that resulted in a 46-yard touchdown to trim the Vols' deficit to 27-23.

However, the ensuing extra point would be blocked by Tigers defensive tackle Charles Dorsey that was scooped up by linebacker Quinton Reese, who ran it back 78 yards to the end zone, giving Auburn two points to extend their lead to 29-23 with 1:06 remaining in the third quarter.

After an Auburn three-and-out, the Vols advanced to the Tigers' 41-yard-line until they committed their sixth turnover of the game as Lewis fumbled the handoff from Manning as Tigers defensive end Jeff Dunlap would make the recovery at the Auburn 42-yard-line.

The Tennessee defense would hold the Tigers to another three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 27-yard-line when after an incomplete pass on 1st down, Manning would throw a short pass to Nash, who made the catch at the Tennessee 30-yard-line, then broke two Auburn tackles as he raced down the sideline for a 73-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Vols a 30-29 lead with 11:14 left in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee wide receiver Marcus Nash caught nine passes for 126 yards, including the game-winning 73-yard touchdown pass.

Markeith Cooper would return the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to give the Tigers' offense the ball in Tennessee territory only for the Vol defense force their first turnover of the game when Fair stripped Auburn wide receiver Karsten Bailey of the ball at the end of a nine-yard reception as defensive back Fred White would recover the fumble at the Tennessee 40-yard-line.

The two teams would trade punts until there was 3:43 remaining in the game when the Vols took over at the Auburn 39-yard-line with a chance to run out the clock as two runs by Lewis for three yards and a six-yard pass from Manning to Nash set up a 4th & 1 where the Vols went for the 1st down where Manning kept it himself to gain the necessary yard to move the sticks.

From there, Lewis would run the ball on back-to-back plays, gaining five yards to bring up a 3rd & 5 when the freshman running back ran for 18 yards to give Tennessee a 1st down at the Auburn six-yard-line where Manning took a knee to run out the clock as the Vols would come away with the 30-29 victory to secure their first SEC championship since 1990.

The Tigers would return to the Georgia Dome one month later to play Clemson in the Peach Bowl where Auburn would win the battle of the Tigers as Craig led Auburn to 15 straight points to overcome a 17-6 fourth quarter deficit to win the game 21-17 as Auburn would finish the season with a 10-3 record and #11 ranking in both the final AP & Coaches polls.

As for the Volunteers, their slim chances of a national championship would disappear with Michigan's 21-16 victory over Washington State in the Rose Bowl one day before Tennessee's encounter with Nebraska in the Orange Bowl where the Vols would be blown out by the Cornhuskers 42-17 as Michigan and Nebraska would split the national championship while Tennessee finished the season ranked #7 in the AP poll and #8 in the coaches poll.

Manning, who would finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson, would finish his Tennessee career with 11,201 yards and 89 touchdown passes as he would go on to an 18-year Hall-of-Fame career in the NFL.

Ironically one year later, the Vols would finally defeat Florida and win the national championship without Manning at quarterback as Tee Martin, who took over the starting quarterback job and led Tennessee to its first national title since 1951.