STARKVILLE, Miss. - Just when luck and respect seemed exhausted for No. 4 Auburn Saturday, Darrell Crawford's arm appeared out of nowhere to deny fate and Mississippi State.
For the fourth time this season, the unbeaten Tigers played an uninspired game against a clearly inferior team and, with 2:33 left, looked beaten, or at least tied. A team that had not won a Southeastern Conference game in nearly two years drove 80 yards with little resistance from one of the nation's most formidable defenses, pulling within 17-16 on David Fair's two-yard touchdown run.
Then Crawford stepped up to save the day, right on cue. Just as quarterback Stan White, placekicker Jim Von Wyl and the fumblerooskie had rescued Auburn from certain defeat on other occasions, Crawford charged through to block Joel Logan's extra point attempt and preserve Auburn's 17-16 victory and SEC lead.
Crawford seemed more ashamed than proud.
"We shouldn't have had to win the ballgame that way," the inside linebacker said. "This is something we've been doing all year, coming up with the big plays when we need them. It's good to win, but we didn't play well and we were lucky to come out of here alive."
Auburn Coach Pat Dye seemed at a loss for words to explain why his team outgained the Bulldogs in every statistical category but almost lost.
"We're still searching," Dye said. "I really don't have the answers to why we're not playing up to our potential. This is not a great team. We're just not playing together or consistently, and I'm not sure why."
Even though the Tigers (6-0-1, 3-0-1) remain in the driver's seat to win a share of their fourth straight SEC championship, their respect is becoming a casualty of all these close calls.
"They're not that good," said Mississippi State quarterback Tony Snell, who completed 17-of-32 for 184 yards and one touchdown. "I really think Auburn is overrated."
Auburn won the game on defense, but State's much-maligned D at times looked tougher and more inspired.
The Tigers surged ahead 14-3 in the second quarter on White's 8-yard pass to Greg Taylor and Tony Richardon's 1-yard run. However, in what may have been the second most pivotal play of the game, linebacker Juan Long blocked an Auburn punt inside the Tigers' 20 with seconds left in the first half.
Two plays later, Shell's tipped pass somehow reached Chris Firle to bring the Bulldogs within 14-10 at the half.
By the end, the way State was showing the ball down Auburn's throat, the Bulldogs had a good shot of making a two-point conversion. But Coach Rocky Felker, under fire for winning just four SEC games in five years, refused to second-guess his decision.
Even the Tigers concede their luck may be running out.
"I think this will be our last gift from God," Auburn tailback Stacy Danley said.
Copyright 1990 by Keith Dunnavant