Stallings Wins, Resigns At Alabama

South

Dennis Riddle caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Freddie Kitchens with 26 seconds left Saturday night to give No. 15 Alabama a thrilling 24-23 win over Auburn at Birmingham, Ala., in Gene Stallings’ last game against the Tide’s arch rival.

Immediately after the game, Stallings announced that this would be his last season as Alabama’s coach.

“I talked to the players and the coaches and told them there comes a time for everyone to pass the torch,” said Stallings, who has a 69-15-1 record at Alabama. “You guys don’t understand the pressure of how a loss affects someone.”

Stallings, who led the Crimson Tide to the 1992 national championship, said he will stay with the team through the end of the season. The Crimson Tide has two games remaining, the Southeastern Conference title game and a bowl.

The loss clinched the SEC West for Alabama (9-2, 6-2 SEC) and relegated Auburn (7-4, 4-4) to a lesser bowl game.

(3) Florida State 48, Maryland 10: At Miami, the Seminoles (10-0, 8-0) rolled over the Terrapins (5-6, 3-5), even with quarterback Thad Busby limping.

(9) Tennessee 56, Kentucky 10: At Knoxville, Tenn., The Volunteers (8-2, 6-1 SEC) ran off 42 consecutive points to cruise past the Wildcats (4-7, 3-5).

(13) North Carolina 27, Duke 10: At Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Leon Johnson scored two touchdowns and rushed for 167 yards as the Tar Heels (9-2, 6-2 ACC) beat Duke, sending the Blue Devils (0-11, 0-8) to the first 0-11 season in league history.

(17) Virginia Tech 31, (23) West Virginia 14: At Blacksburg, Va., Jim Druckenmiller picked apart the nation’s top defense, passing for 238 yards, and Cornell Brown had three sacks and swiped a pitch in the backfield as the Hokies (9-1, 6-1) defeated the Mountaineers (8-3, 4-3).

(18) LSU 35, Tulane 17: At Baton Rouge, La., Herb Tyler passed for one touchdown and ran for two more as the Tigers (8-2) defeated the Green Wave (2-9).

(25) Miami 43, Boston College 26: At Miami, the Hurricanes (7-3, 5-1 Big East) compiled a season-high 617 yards to thwart the Eagles (5-7, 2-5).

South Carolina 34, (22) Clemson 31: At Clemson, S.C., Duce Staley ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns as the Gamecocks (6-5) upset the Tigers (7-4).

Also: Arkansas 16, Mississippi St. 13, OT: Todd Latourette, who missed a 48-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, kicked a 30-yarder in overtime for the Razorbacks. … Mississippi 31, Georgia 27: The Rebels outscored the Bulldogs 17-0 in the second half. … Navy 36, Georgia Tech 26: Chris McCoy scored three touchdowns to lead Navy.