STARKVILLE, Miss. – His left knee wrapped in ice, Deshaun Davis scoffed at the thought of not returning after being helped off the field early in the fourth quarter Saturday at Mississippi State.
"It was a 16-9 game. I'm the senior linebacker. I have to come back," said Davis, who tallied 10 tackles, his seventh career game with double digit tackles.
"In a game like that, you're not supposed to sit out, unless you can't walk. And I could walk fine."
Davis injured his knee after he and Derrick Brown stopped Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at Auburn's 41.
"When I made that fourth down stop, I wrapped the guy up and I was trying to pull him down, my foot got struck in the ground, the crowd kind of fell on me."
Auburn capitalized on the momentum and the shorter field, driving for a field goal to pull within a touchdown at 16-9.
While Auburn fans were surprised to see Davis back on the field for State's next possession. Deshaun's teammates were not.
"He's a leader, and he's a winner, and a champion," said Daniel Thomas, who made eight tackles. "He laid it all on the line for all of us. Really respect him for that."
Marlon Davidson made a career-high 10 tackles and blocked his first field goal, which Thomas returned 32 yards. A personal foul penalty on State gave
Auburn possession on MSU's 43 with 7:38 to play, trailing by a touchdown.
"Just trying to make a play for the team," Thomas said.
"It was electrifying," said Davis, who has 203 career tackles. "We felt like we were in striking distance. We felt like that leaf was turning for us. We had our chances, offense and defense. We didn't execute. Didn't get the job done."
Jeremiah Dinson made a career-high 15 tackles, the most by an Auburn defender since Darren Bates had 16 vs. Ole Miss in 2012.
"Mixed emotions," said Dinson, whose first quarter interception led to Anders Carlson's 47-yard field goal. "The individual stats are good, but we didn't get the win.
"You can't dwell on this loss. Got to come in tomorrow, be a pro, look at the things you can fix and move forward. Get ready for Tennessee."
Q. "How were you able to come back and get back on the field?"
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 7, 2018
A. "It was a 16-9 game. I'm a senior linebacker. I have to come back."
10 tackles for @_Davis_Boy12 in gutsy effort at MSU. pic.twitter.com/0RLnxHTjXp
A career-high 15 tackles for @New_EraJD3
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 7, 2018
Jeremiah & @gamechanger021 thought they stopped MSU's QB short of the goal-line as first half ended.
"We can't go back and fix it now. It is what it is."
"Look at the things you can fix. Move forward & get ready for Tennessee." pic.twitter.com/s6DShB8pOS
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer