updated 1:08 a.m. ET Jan. 4, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - Auburn’s defense, at least, made a decent case for No. 1.

Thrust into several tough situations, the third-ranked Tigers stymied No. 9 Virginia Tech and Bryan Randall for most of Monday night’s 16-13 victory in the Sugar Bowl.

The nation’s top scoring defense produced a little bit of everything: a goal line stand, two key interceptions and a handful of bone-jarring tackles.

“It all comes down to defense,” coach Tommy Tuberville said.

It sure did this time.

Fabulous for 53 minutes, Auburn (13-0) did have a shaky finish defensively. The close score didn’t help the team’s hopes of sharing the national title, but it hardly hurt the Tigers’ claim that they have the best defense in the country.

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Auburn gave up two touchdown passes by Randall in the final seven minutes, including an 80-yarder to Josh Morgan with two minutes left when free safety Will Herring fell down.

Auburn’s defenders more than compensated for an offense that coughed up two second-half turnovers, holding the Hokies scoreless for the first 53 minutes.

The Tigers harried Randall, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, into rare mistakes and held the Hokies to 299 yards, 66 below their season average.

“We put pressure on them,” safety Junior Rosegreen said. “We tried to rattle them a little bit.”

Rosegreen, often overshadowed by All-American cornerback Carlos Rogers, had several huge plays. First, he returned an interception 32 yards to set up a field goal in the first quarter.

He also had a hand — literally — in Auburn’s goal line stand in the second. A diving Rosegreen got a fingertip on the ball, and fullback Jesse Allen dropped what looked like a sure touchdown in the end zone.

“I got up in the defense’s face and let them know they weren’t going to get in the end zone,” Rosegreen said.

Tuberville called that stand “a key of the game.”

“We made them throw the ball from the 1-yard line,” he said. “That means we had convinced them we could stop the run.”

Rosegreen deflected a pass into linebacker Derrick Graves’ hands to help thwart Virginia Tech’s comeback try in the fourth quarter. Randall hadn’t thrown an interception in the last four games and had only one in the last seven.

After Jason Campbell’s interception gave Virginia Tech the ball at the Auburn 32 late in the third quarter, the defense held again. The Hokies converted one fourth-down play to set up first-and-goal, again from the 10.

Randall briefly appeared to have some running room, but Rogers flipped him with a nice tackle and Brandon Pace missed what turned out to be an important 23-yard field goal attempt.

Auburn’s defense was supposed to be the team’s big question mark after losing five stars from the front seven. The Tigers attracted so much attention for the defenders who were gone — such as linebackers Karlos Dansby and Dontarrious Thomas — they gave themselves the “No-Name” tag.

They also proved a nightmarish third quarter in the Southeastern Conference championship game was an aberration.

The Tigers gave up an 80-yard touchdown run to Tennessee’s Gerald Riggs and allowed three rushing TDs after giving up only one in the first 11 games.

The Hokies couldn’t add another.

“After the Tennessee game, a lot of people were saying our first 11 games were a fluke,” linebacker Travis Williams said. “We knew Virginia Tech could put up big points, but we play in the SEC and we see that every week.

“We knew it was going to be a 12-rounder.”

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