No. 1 Tenn. 24, No. 23 Miss. St. 14

ATLANTA— Let everyone else worry about polls, quartiles and strength of schedule.

No. 1 Tennessee knows it will be playing for the national championship.

After second-ranked Kansas State and No. 3 UCLA were beaten Saturday, Tee Martin and the Volunteers brought a semblance of order to the Bowl Championship Series with a 24-14 victory over No. 23 Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference title game.

The Vols won’t know until Sunday who their opponent will be in the Fiesta Bowl. But they’ve accomplished the most important thing — getting there.

“We have one more big one to play,” coach Phillip Fulmer said.

It wasn’t easy. Tennessee (12-0) needed a fourth-quarter comeback worthy of a champion to assure itself of a chance to play for the national title in the Jan. 4 Fiesta Bowl.

Martin, harassed most of the night by incessant blitzing, threw two touchdown passes 28 seconds apart to erase Mississippi State’s 14-10 lead.

“The chance to play for a national championship comes around once in a lifetime,” said Peerless Price, who caught a 41-yard touchdown pass that put the Vols ahead with 6:15 remaining. “We knew we had to pick it up.”

Mississippi State (8-4) went ahead 14-10 on Kevin Prentiss’ 83-yard punt return with 8:43 remaining, but the Vols weren’t about to suffer the same fate as the Jayhawks and Bruins.

Martin, who was 15-of-32 for 208 yards, directed Tennessee’s struggling offense right down the field, throwing the touchdown pass to Price to complete a five-play, 75-yard drive. Then, after Wayne Madkin fumbled on State’s next play from scrimmage, Tennessee needed only one play to score again.

Martin stood in the pocket under heavy pressure, lofting a perfect 26-yard pass to Cedrick Wilson for the clinching touchdown with 5:47 left.

“This football team showed an incredible amount of character,” Fulmer said. “That fourth-quarter finish was typical of what this team was about this year.”

One of three undefeated teams at the top of the rankings beginning the day, Tennessee was the only one at the end. Kansas State was upset by Texas A&M in the Big 12 championship game, losing 36-33 in double overtime, while UCLA was stunned 49-45 by Miami.

Tennessee won its second straight SEC title largely because of its defense, which limited the Bulldogs to 145 yards and didn’t allow their offense to score a touchdown.

“The defense played great,” said Price, who had 97 yards on six receptions and was named the game’s MVP. “They kept us in the game. They gave us a chance to come back.”

Mississippi State, a 14-point underdog, put up a tougher fight than expected. Tennessee was held under 200 yards until the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs had a chance to win because of two long returns.

Robert Bean went 70 yards for a touchdown after intercepting a Martin pass before Prentiss stunned the largely orange-clad crowd at the Georgia Dome with his punt return. He seemed to mesmerize the Tennessee defenders with a studder step, then burst down the sideline without being touched.

But Martin lofted a pass into the end zone just ahead of another blitz. Price got a step on Adesola Badon and managed to cradle the ball and get one foot down for the go-ahead touchdown.

“(Martin) said he was going to throw it early, because he had been getting hit all night,” Price said. “Tee threw a great ball. He gave me the opportunity to make the play.”

“They kept going to the well and finally got water,” said Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill, whose team won its only SEC title in 1941.

Prentiss had 152 yards on six punt returns, more than Mississippi State’s offense could manage even with James Johnson, the SEC’s leading rusher, back in the lineup after being hobbled by ankle and shoulder injuries.

The Bulldogs had only 149 yards, including 38 yards on 14 carries by Johnson. Madkin completed only 10-of-22 passes for 84 yards.

“We did not throw and catch the ball to help out running game,” Sherrill said. “But the biggest thing we didn’t do was not converting third downs.”

The Bulldogs managed only one first down in 12 third-down situations.

After Tennessee built a 10-7 lead at the half, defense dominated the third quarter. The two teams combined for only 52 yards, but that only set the stage for a thrilling final period.

“We knew Kansas State and UCLA has lost,” Price said. “We knew we controlled our own destiny.”

Travis Henry had 120 yards rushing, 79 coming in the final period when the State defenders finally tired.

The Bulldogs surprised Tennessee by jumping ahead just before the end of the first quarter on Bean’s spectacular interception return. When Martin overthrew Price on a deep pass, Bean managed to make a juggling catch off his knees even when bumped by the Tennessee receiver.

Going back the other way, Bean almost ran out of bounds along the right sideline before cutting straight back across the field, picking up a block from safety Ashley Cooper and tiptoeing the final five yards to stick the ball across the goal line.

Until Saturday, Tennessee has not given up a touchdown on a return of any kind.

The Vols evened the score in the second period after an interception return of its own. Madkin, under heavy pressure, made a freshman mistake by heaving the all into coverage, and Tennessee safety Deon Grant drifted in front of the receiver to pick off the pass.

Grant showed some nifty running on a 24-yard return to the Mississippi State 20, and the Vols quickly moved into position for Travis Stephens’ 2-yard touchdown run.

The Vols took a lead to the half when Jeff Hall connected on a 31-yard field goal after a couple of big completions by Martin. He hooked up with Jeremaine Copeland on a 35-yard pass and Price on a 19-yarder.

Associated Press