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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/score...UBURN----0.htm
NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- No. 3 Auburn came into the Sugar Bowl
trying to lay claim to a piece of the national le. It ended
the game struggling to claim a victory.
The Tigers built a double-digit lead, then hung on late for a
16-13 victory over No. 9 Virginia Tech.
The win wrapped up a 13-0 season for Auburn, the first in school
history. But the record campaign will not end with a national
championship thanks to a game effort from the Hokies.
Top-ranked Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma will battle
for the le in the Orange Bowl on Tuesday.
The Tigers drove inside the Hokies 10-yard line on three
different ocassions in the first half but came away with field
goals each time for a 9-0 halftime lead.
Auburn opened the second half with a touchdown drive capped by a
five-yard pass from Jason Campbell to Devin Aromashodu for a
16-0 lead. The Tigers seemed to be in control at that point, but
the Hokies rallied in the fourth quarter.
Bryan Randall fired a pair of scoring strikes to Josh Morgan to
get Virginia Tech (10-3) back in the game. The second was an
80-yard play with just over two minutes remaining, but Auburn
recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
While Auburn was unable to cap its first-half drives with TDs,
Virginia Tech also made its share of costly mistakes.
Trailing 6-0 in the second quarter, Virginia Tech failed on
4th-and-goal from the 1 when fullback Jesse Allen dropped what
would have been a go-ahead TD. Early in the fourth period,
Brandon Pace missed a 23-yard field goal wide left.
Campbell completed 11-for-16 passes for 189 yards and was
intercepted once.
Randall was 19-of-36 for 280 yards and two interceptions.
