Oct. 14, 2017
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
BATON ROUGE, La. - Kerryon Johnson ran for 156 yards and scored his 13th touchdown of the season, but two late LSU field goals gave the Bengal Tigers a 27-23 win over No. 10 Auburn Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
"Tough loss," said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. "We're disappointed. This is only one loss in the SEC. We still control our destiny, and it's not going to be the end of the world. We're going to rebound, and I truly believe we will, and our players feel the same way."
DJ Chark's 75-yard punt return for a touchdown cut Auburn's lead to two points at 23-21 with 14:33 left in the game.
Connor Culp's 42-yard field goal gave LSU its only lead with 2:36 to play. The LSU kicker added a 36-yard kick with 38 seconds remaining.
Auburn's last drive ended at its 33-yard line when LSU sacked Jarrett Stidham on fourth down with two seconds left.
Needing a fast start after falling behind early in recent trips to Baton Rouge, Auburn delivered, getting points on the opening drive courtesy of Daniel Carlson's 46-yard field goal.
On LSU's third play, Stephen Roberts stripped the ball after Chark's 39-yard reception. Carlton Davis recovered, returning 12 yards to Auburn's 48.
One play later, Stidham hit Will Hastings for a 49-yard touchdown and a 10-0 Auburn lead with 11:31 remaining in the first quarter. Hastings had three receptions for 65 yards.
After Nick Coe's tackle for loss forced an LSU punt, Stidham beat a blitz by finding Ryan Davis, who ran 52 yards to the 3, leading to Johnson's 4-yard TD, No. 13 on the season. Johnson logged a career-high 31 carries.
"I thought Kerryon did an outstanding job," Malzahn said. "He ran extremely hard. We kept asking him how he feels, and he wanted to stay in the game."
Auburn added to its lead in the second quarter. Stidham's 25-yard pass to a diving Darius Slayton set up Carlson's second field goal, a 48-yarder, giving the visiting Tigers a 20-0 lead at the 12:50 mark.
"I thought Jarrett did a solid job," said Malzahn of Auburn's quarterback, who completed 9-of-26 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. "Jarrett's a warrior. He was under duress some, but I thought he played fine."
On a 70-yard LSU run, Marlon Davidson ran down Russell Gage, eventually catching the receiver at the Auburn 7. Stephen Sullivan's 1-yard touchdown run got LSU on the board at 20-7.
Davis laid out for a 15-yard highlight-reel catch, leading to Carlson's third field goal, a 26-yarder that put Auburn up 23-7 with 2:16 left in the half.
LSU scored with 32 second left when Danny Etling hit Gage for from 14 yards, trimming Auburn's halftime lead to 23-14.
Defensively, Jeff Holland led Auburn with two sacks while Stephen Roberts, Darrell Williams, Deshaun Davis and Dontavius Russell each had seven tackles.
The Tigers' (5-2, 3-1) road trip continues next Saturday night at Arkansas.
"We've got to win out, that's what on our mind," Malzahn said. "We're going to finish this season strong. There's no doubt in my mind. Our players feel that same way."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer