Palmer Does It All For Crimson Tide -- Alabama Tames Auburn, 13-6

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Line up freshman David Palmer at flanker and he runs and catches. Put him deep and he returns kicks. Send him in at quarterback and he scores.

Palmer's 10-yard, dodging touchdown run was the difference as No. 8 Alabama defeated Auburn 13-6 yesterday, saddling the Tigers with their first losing season since 1981.

Alabama (10-1), which beat Auburn for the second straight year, will play No. 15 Colorado in the Blockbuster Bowl on Dec. 28.

Auburn (5-6) won't be going to a bowl game for the first time since 1982. The Tigers have been distracted for much of the season by the allegations of former Auburn player Eric Ramsey, who claims he received cash and other benefits from an alumnus and assistant coaches.

Palmer lined up for one play at quarterback and made it good, dodging three defenders at the end of a 10-yard scoring run to the right corner. A 68-yard pass play from Jay Barker to Kevin Turner preceded Palmer's touchdown.

Palmer, with 39 yards rushing, was Alabama's second leading runner behind Siran Stacy, who Matt Wethington kicked field goals of 38 and 39 yards for Alabama, and Jim Von Wyl got field goals of 26 and 22 yards for Auburn, the last coming after the Tigers moved to a first down at the Alabama 1 but wound up on the 5 after three plays.

Palmer caught a 47-yard pass from Barker to set up Wethington's second field goal, which gave Alabama a 13-3 lead in the third quarter.

A 71-yard punt by Tank Williamson got Alabama out of a deep hole early in the second half when the Crimson Tide was on its own 5 and leading 10-3.

Auburn came back with a 37-yard pass from Stan White to Fred Baxter to the Alabama 29 but the Tide held and Von Wyl missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.

In the first period, the first of George Teague's two interceptions gave Alabama the ball at Auburn's 39. The Tide moved to the 21 and Wethington hit a field goal for a 3-0 lead.

Auburn came right back to tie it with a drive that included passes of 34 yards to Baxter and 21 yards to Victor Hall. Palmer's score on the Tide's next possession made it 10-3.

(9) TENNESSEE 45, VANDERBILT 0

-- KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Andy Kelly threw two touchdown passes, including one to defensive tackle Shazzon Bradley on a fake field goal, and the Volunteers rolled up 415 yards rushing.

Tennessee (5-2 Southeastern Conference, 9-2 overall) beat Vanderbilt (3-4, 5-6) at its own game, controlling the ball on the ground with three rushers over 100 yards for the first time in school history.

The Vols, headed for a Fiesta Bowl matchup with Penn State, got 145 yards and two touchdowns from James "Little Man" Stewart, 115 yards from backup Aaron Hayden, and 107 from third-team tailback Mose Phillips.

The two teams got into a fight before the game even started.

Tennessee led 24-0 at halftime, the final score coming on Kelly's 10-yard toss to Bradley, who made a one-handed grab in the end zone.

The Vols' defense, which had seven sacks and held the ground-oriented Commodores to just 150 rushing yards, squelched the Commodores' best chance to get back into the game with a goal-line stand early in the third quarter.

Tennessee took over at its own 1 and drove 99 yards in 11 running plays, with Stewart scoring from 8 yards out to make it 31-0.

(13) CLEMSON 33, DUKE 21

-- TOKYO - Reserve quarterback Richard Moncrief ran 34 yards for one fourth-quarter touchdown and passed 34 yards to Terry Smith for another to lead Clemson (9-1-1).

Duke (4-6-1) threw a scare into the Tigers with scoring bombs of 55 and 72 yards from Dave Brown to Brad Breedlove, giving the Blue Devils a 14-7 lead late in the third quarter.

(18) NOTRE DAME 48 HAWAII 42

-- HONOLULU - Tony Brooks and Jerome Bettis scored two touchdowns each as Notre Dame outlasted Hawaii in a game with nearly 1,000 yards in offense.

Trailing 48-28 after Bettis scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run with 5:15 left, the Rainbows (4-7-1) scored two late touchdowns, with reserve quarterback Ivin Jasper leading the charge.

Jasper scored on a 31-yard run with 3:42 left and Hawaii recovered an onsides kick at its own 49. Seven plays later, Jasper hit Eddie Kealoha for a 7-yard TD with 1:38 to play.

But Notre Dame (9-3) recovered Hawaii's ensuing onsides kick and ran out the clock.

The Irish amassed 499 yards in total offense, but surrendered 473 yards to the scrappy Rainbows.

(22) TULSA 31, SMU 26

-- DALLAS - T.J. Rubley threw three touchdown passes, including the game-winner to Chris Penn with 8:36 remaining that capped the Golden Hurricane's rally.

Tulsa (9-2) will play San Diego State Dec. 30 in the Freedom Bowl. SMU finished its season at 1-10.

With a chilled crowd of 7,900 huddling under blankets, the Mustangs nearly upset the heavily favored Golden Hurricane. But Rubley, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 211 yards, led Tulsa to a come-from-behind victory.

SMU led 26-22 after quarterback Todd Ritz ran for a 1-yard score with 10:37 to go. But Rubley took Tulsa on a 69-yard scoring drive, with the payoff coming on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Penn.

(25) GEORGIA 18, GEORGIA TECH 15

-- ATLANTA - The Bulldogs' Garrison Hearst scored on a 69-yard run and set up the winning field goal with a 30-yard run.

Hearst ran for 175 yards against the nation's seventh-best rushing defense, which had been allowing only 100 yards per game on the ground.

OTHER GAMES

-- TEXAS TECH 52, HOUSTON 46 - Robert Hall threw touchdown passes of 95 and 80 yards to Rodney Blackshear and ran 35 yards for another score as the Red Raiders overcame six touchdown passes by the Cougars' David Klingler. -- SOUTHERN U. 31, GRAMBLING ST. 30 - Malcolm Picou blocked an extra-point attempt, and Nathaniel Harrison threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Thomas in the fourth quarter as the Jaguars edged the Tigers in New Orleans.