This Date in College Football Belt History – November 5

The 3^rd ranked, 7-1 Auburn Tigers & coach Pat Dye welcomed the 7^th ranked Maryland Terrapins of coach Bobby Ross who stood 7-1.  Three different Auburn running backs rushed for more than 100 yards with a touchdown as the Tigers amassed 450 yards rushing & Auburn’s RB Tommie Agee scored 2 touchdowns as the Tigers retained The Belt with a 35-23 win over the Terrapins.  The Tigers took the lead early in the 2^nd quarter after a scoreless 1^st quarter when QB Randy Campbell threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to WR Chris Woods to finish an 8-play, 74-yard scoring drive.  Auburn pushed the lead to 14-0 when Agee broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run.  Maryland’s only points of the 1^st half came midway through the 2^nd quarter when PK Jess Atkinson hit a 30-yard field goal but the Terrapins still trailed 14-3 at the half.  Maryland rallied in the 3^rd quarter with QB Boomer Esiason throwing 2 touchdown passes to give the Terrapins the lead.  The first came on a 10-yard pass to WR Sean Sullivan with 12:07 left in the 3^rd quarter while the second came on a 14-yard pass to WR Greg Hill to finish a 12-play, 99-yard scoring drive with just 1:32 left in the quarter.  Trailing 17-14 as they entered the 4^th quarter, Auburn a 9-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by All-American RB Bo Jackson giving the Tigers a 21-17 lead.  Agee’s second touchdown came on a 44-yard run with just 5:19 left in the game & gave Auburn a 28-17 lead that appeared to be safe but Esiason had other ideas.  Esiason’s 40-yard touchdown pass to WR Russell Davis came just 3 plays later but the missed 2-point conversion attempt left the Terrapins trailing 28-23 with 4:32 to play.  Auburn ran down the clock before Tigers’ P Lewis Colbert pinned Maryland at their own 2-yard line with 0:38 left.  The Terrapins’ last chance for a rally ended with Esiason fumbling while being sacked by Auburn’s DE Quency Williams & the Tigers’ All-SEC DT Donnie Humphrey fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.  Campbell finished with 67 yards passing with a touchdown as well as an interception, RB Lionel James rushed for 115 yards, & Jackson rushed for 105 yards with his touchdown to complement Agee.  For Maryland, Esiason threw for 355 yards to set a Maryland school-record along with his 3 touchdown passes while Davis had 4 catches for 113 yards with his touchdown.  Auburn finished the season 11-1; SEC Champions & ranked 3^rd nationally while the Terrapins finished 8-4 & ACC Champions.  Maryland would play for The Belt again in 1986.

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