By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- It was fourth down. It was now or never. And Ricardo Louis wanted the ball.
"I just heard in the huddle that Ricardo said, 'Give me a chance, I'll make a play.'"
Auburn's Gus Malzahn heard right and Ricardo Louis made the play for the ages with 25 seconds left, catching a long, long pass that bounced off defender Josh Harvey-Clemons and right into his hands on the way to Auburn's dramatic 43-38 victory over Georgia in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night.
It was a fourth-and-18 when Louis caught the bounce in stride behind two Georgia defenders and raced untouched into the end zone to complete a 73-yard miracle throw from Nick Marshall.
"It was one of those memorable moments that we'll remember for a long time," Malzahn said. "I told our team that I think we're in the midst of something special here."
Auburn's fairytale season continued in a most-storybook way. The Tigers improved to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference, and now waits to play Alabama in Jordan-Hare on Nov. 30 for the SEC West title. Georgia fell to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the league.
This Iron Bowl will be something special. But there's time for that unbridled buildup.
"I'm going to enjoy this one tonight," Malzahn said. "The one aged me; I've lost some years off my life. I'll go to church in the morning and after church, I will flip the switch."
Malzahn may need time to catch his breath because the Bulldogs didn't go quietly. They erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a 38-37 lead with 1:49 to play, and then drove to the Auburn 5 in the final seconds, falling only when Aaron Murray's last pass fell incomplete on the game's final play.
"Our guys find the way to win," Malzahn said. "This team has the 'it' factor. That's the bottom line."
But it was nerve-racking, for sure. Murray ran 5 yards for the go-ahead touchdown as part of what looked as if he was writing the fairytale finish. But Auburn had one more chance.
"Believe it or not, I felt good because all we need is a field goal," Malzahn said. "We have a great field goal kicker."
But Auburn didn't need Cody Parkey. The Tigers needed Marshall, Louis and a little luck.
"Obviously, it was an unbelievable game the way it unfolded," Malzahn said.
"Our guys find the way to win. This team has the 'it' factor. That's the bottom line."
Auburn, 3-9 a year ago without Malzahn, now has a chance to win the SEC West and go to the league title game.
"Congratulations to Gus Malzahn. What's he done to this team is tremendous," said Georgia coach Mark Richt.
The Tigers survived behind the early work of Marshall, Tre Mason and Corey Grant provided the offensive firepower. Auburn's defense held when it counted in the final minutes.
Georgia had won six of the last seven meetings before Auburn turned the tables.
Auburn led 27-10 at the half, and Murray scored on the Bulldogs' first series of the second half. But Marshall answered that, completing a 44-yard pass to Ricardo Louis, and then scoring on a 6-yard run to reestablish Auburn at 34-17 midway through the third quarter.
Auburn led by 20 in the second half until Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray willed the Bulldogs to victory. He scored on a 5-yard run with 1:49 remaining. Officials reviewed the play, and reviewed the play again, to see if Murray's knee hit the ground before he reached the end zone. It was close, but the officials didn't see enough evidence to overturn the touchdown call on the field.
It was a dominating first half for Auburn. The Tigers led 27-10, running up 327 yards to Georgia's 174, rushing for 246 to Georgia's 36, picking up 22 first downs to the Bulldogs' eight.
Early on, Auburn had 129 yards. Georgia had minus-5.
So much of the pregame talk was about Auburn threw only 16 passes in its previous two games. The Tigers didn't care you knew that. Auburn ran 13 of its first 15 plays setting up a Cody Parkey 23-yard field goal to start the game.
Did somebody say Auburn doesn't like to pass? Marshall threw it four straight times to open up Auburn's second series, setting up Grant's 21-yard absolute speed-burning touchdown run to give the Tigers a 10-0 lead with 4:29 left in the first quarter.
Parkey hit a 35-yard field goal to make it 13-0 with 13:07 left in the second quarter, but Georgia's Todd Gurley answered that with a 9-yard TD run three minutes later.
Auburn went back to the run, splitting the carries between Grant, Mason and Marshall before Marshall ran untouched up the middle for a 20-7 Auburn lead.
Parkey tried another field goal after that, but it was blocked. But Auburn's Ryan Smith intercepted Aaron Murray to set up more running. Mason finished the drive with a 24-yard touchdown run with a minute left in the first half. Georgia's Marshall Morgan kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to cut Auburn's halftime advantage to 27-10.
And then the fun really began.