AUBURN, Ala. – Left hash, 20-yard line. That's the spot on the field where Auburn wanted to run the double pass – a play the Tigers had been working on in practice since September.
On Saturday, down 3-0 late in the first quarter against Texas A&M, the Auburn defense forced a fumble that swung the momentum and gave the offense the ball back. The ball also just happened to be on the left hash at the 20-yard line. There could not have been a more perfect opportunity.
So on the first play, wide receiver Ryan Davis lined up behind Jarrett Stidham in the backfield. When the ball was snapped, Davis ran out to his right where Stidham threw him the ball.
"We've been kind of running that formation with me in the backfield and throwing me screens the past few weeks," Davis said. "We knew teams were driving on it."
Like every other team, Texas A&M drove on it. The linebacker, cornerbacks and safety on that side of the field all took off hard after Davis believing he was going to run. But this time it wasn't a screen pass. Davis wasn't going to run. Instead, the senior caught it, took two steps and threw a strike to a wide-open Sal Cannella in the end zone for the first Auburn touchdown of the game.
Stidham knew when the play was called that he had the easy throw. It was up to Davis, a former quarterback turned wide receiver, to hit Cannella in the end zone.
"We had a turnover. They called it. And I was like, 'All right Ryan, drop a dime,'" Stidham said. "He's got a great arm for playing receiver, which I know he played quarterback in high school, but he can drop dimes. So I was like, 'Dude just get it to him.' And it was wide open."
It's been four years, but Davis made plenty of those same passes while in high school. As a senior, he threw for 2,140 yards and 18 touchdowns. In fact, he still holds the Pinellas County all-time passing record with 6,760 career yards. Still, this was only his third passing attempt and second completion since he's been at Auburn. The other completion came last year on a reverse pass, and he threw a 62-yard touchdown to Darius Slayton.
So the former high school quarterback is now 2 of 3 for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
"Every time, I always think about my high school technique," Davis said. "And how my coach back in high school used to teach me and coach me. It was great to reflect and go back a little bit."
Left hash, 20-yard line. It was the perfect spot, the perfect call, and from Stidham to Davis to Cannella, it was perfect execution. It also turned the game in Auburn's favor at that moment, and though it wasn't the go-ahead touchdown, the Tigers likely would not have won without it.
"It was big," Stidham said. "It was kind of a momentum starter for us. We died down a little bit in the middle of the game, but that was huge. To capitalize on the turnover and to come out and run a double pass, it was good to see."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf