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1988 Sugar Bowl
Syracuse 16, Auburn 16
Jan. 1, 1988
New Orleans, La.
An Auburn field goal by Win Lyle with one second on the clock led to the first stalemate in the 54-year history of the Sugar Bowl and put the only blemish on SU’s 11-0-1 season.
The Orange entered the game unbeaten for the first time since winning the national championship in 1959. Don McPherson, the game’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, was 11-of-21 passing for 140 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked five times by the Auburn defense.
After Syracuse tied the score 7-7 on a McPherson-to-Deval Glover pass early in the second quarter, the game turned into a field-goal kicking contest. Tim Vesling hit a 38-yard field goal with 2:04 left to give SU its first lead at 16-13, but Auburn came right back behind the passing of Jeff Burger, moving the ball to the SU 13-yard line before opting for the tie. Burger completed 24-of-33 passes for 171 yards. His most frequent target was Lawyer Tillman, who had six catches for 125 yards.
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RUSHING: Syracuse - Drummond 17-82, Johnston 14-50, McPherson 20-31, Owens 4-11. Auburn - Danley 13-42, Ware 4-3, Burger 4-minus 2, Weygand 1-minus 2.
PASSING: Syracuse - McPherson 11-21-0-140. Auburn - Burger 24-33-1-171. Donaldson 1-1-0-58.
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RECEIVING: Syracuse - Glover 6-91, Kane 2-30, Kelly 1-8, Johnston 1-6, Drummond 1-5. Auburn - Danley 7-34, Tillman 6-125, Donaldson 4-14 Reeves 3-20, Weygand 2-18, Ware 2-0, Bolton 1-18.
Jan. 1, 1988
New Orleans, La.
An Auburn field goal by Win Lyle with one second on the clock led to the first stalemate in the 54-year history of the Sugar Bowl and put the only blemish on SU’s 11-0-1 season.
The Orange entered the game unbeaten for the first time since winning the national championship in 1959. Don McPherson, the game’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, was 11-of-21 passing for 140 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked five times by the Auburn defense.
After Syracuse tied the score 7-7 on a McPherson-to-Deval Glover pass early in the second quarter, the game turned into a field-goal kicking contest. Tim Vesling hit a 38-yard field goal with 2:04 left to give SU its first lead at 16-13, but Auburn came right back behind the passing of Jeff Burger, moving the ball to the SU 13-yard line before opting for the tie. Burger completed 24-of-33 passes for 171 yards. His most frequent target was Lawyer Tillman, who had six catches for 125 yards.
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| Â Score By Quarter | Â 1 | Â 2 | Â 3 | Â 4 | Â F |
| Â Syracuse | Â 0 | Â 7 | Â 3 | Â 6 | Â 16 |
| Â Auburn | Â 7 | Â 3 | Â 0 | Â 6 | Â 16 |
| Â Scoring Summary | ||
| Â Team | Â Play | Â Score |
| Â AU | Â Tillman 17 pass from Burger (Lyle kick) | Â 0-7 |
| Â SU | Â Glover 12 pass from McPherson (Vesling kick) | Â 7-7 |
| Â AU | Â Lyle 40 field goal | Â 7-10 |
| Â SU | Â Vesling 27 field goal | Â 10-10 |
| Â AU | Â Lyle 41 field goal | Â 10-13 |
| Â SU | Â Vesling 32 field goal | Â 13-13 |
| Â SU | Â Vesling 38 field goal | Â 16-13 |
| Â AU | Â Lyle 30 field goal | Â 16-16 |
| Â Team Stats | Â SU | Â AU |
| Â First Downs | Â 23 | Â 14 |
| Â Rushing Yardage | Â 174 | Â 41 |
| Â Passing Yardage | Â 140 | Â 229 |
| Â Total Offense (Plays-Yds) | Â 76-314 | Â 56-270 |
| Â Passes | Â 11-21 | Â 25-34 |
|  Passes Had Intercepted |  0 |  1 |
| Â Punts/Avg. | Â 5/35.6 | Â 6/44.8 |
| Â Punt Returns | Â 3-18 | Â 0-0 |
| Â Kickoff Returns | Â 4-64 | Â 5-105 |
| Â Fumbles-Lost | Â 2-0 | Â 1-0 |
| Â Penalties-Yards | Â 2-20 | Â 5-43 |
RUSHING: Syracuse - Drummond 17-82, Johnston 14-50, McPherson 20-31, Owens 4-11. Auburn - Danley 13-42, Ware 4-3, Burger 4-minus 2, Weygand 1-minus 2.
PASSING: Syracuse - McPherson 11-21-0-140. Auburn - Burger 24-33-1-171. Donaldson 1-1-0-58.
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RECEIVING: Syracuse - Glover 6-91, Kane 2-30, Kelly 1-8, Johnston 1-6, Drummond 1-5. Auburn - Danley 7-34, Tillman 6-125, Donaldson 4-14 Reeves 3-20, Weygand 2-18, Ware 2-0, Bolton 1-18.
