ATLANTA - Undeterred by two previous drives that yielded 8 yards, No. 9 Auburn put together a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown drive in Saturday's 21-16 win over No. 6 Washington.
The drive began with a chain-moving completion between roommates. It ended with a touchdown run by a redshirt freshman whose high school has fewer students than Auburn's marching band.
Trailing 16-15 with 8:55 remaining, facing third-and-9 at its 25, quarterback Jarrett Stidham found his first Auburn roommate, Chandler Cox, for 12 yards.
"We had a big third down where Jarrett hit Chandler Cox," said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, spotlighting the play's significance in his postgame media session. "We stalled two series before that."
A face masking penalty against Washington moved Auburn across midfield, where Stidham connected with Darius Slayton for 21 yards to the Huskies' 25.
Four straight rushing plays, three by Kam Martin, advanced the ball to Washington's 10.
On third-and-7, Auburn ran again. Auburn's offensive line cleared a path up the middle for JaTarvious Whitlow. At the 2, he met Washington safety JoJo McIntosh, in perfect position to make the tackle.
Propelled by second effort, Whitlow recovered from the initial impact, powering into the end zone to reclaim the lead for Auburn.
"We were at a point where we needed to pound, and we needed to go," said Whitlow of his first Auburn touchdown. "Everybody needed to count on everyone else."
Whitlow starred at Lafayette High School, a half-hour drive north of Auburn. Enrollment: 245.
"It means the most," he said. "I'm here from a small school. They put their trust in me, coming from a small school. I wanted to show the coaches they could trust me all the time no matter what the situation."
A year ago, Whitlow impressed coaches with his tough running, until an injury resulted in him redshirting. This preseason, adversity came in the form of the death of his grandmother.
"I'm proud of that guy," said Kam Martin, Auburn's leading rusher with 80 yards on 22 carries. "We just kept him in our prayers, and I'm glad he came out here and finished the drive. I was just so happy for that guy. He deserves it."
Whitlow's touchdown ended a 24-minute scoring drought, providing Auburn's only points of the second half. It culminated a 10-play, 76-yard drive, the impact of which would be hard to overstate.
"There's no doubt it can give us momentum when you beat a top 10 team," Malzahn said. "They've well-deserving of that, so it definitely gives us momentum as far as before we get into SEC play. It's just one game, but we're excited to get the victory.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer