AUBURN, Ala. – The first half was winding down, and Auburn needed a spark. The offense had moved the ball effectively to that point but only had three points to show for it. Growing restless, the fans needed a reason to get excited, a reason to get out of their seat.
After the defense forced a punt from Ole Miss, the offense trotted back out onto the field with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter. On the first play, Shivers carried it for one yard. Nothing too exciting, except that it would set up the next play – the play that changed the game.
Based on the personnel, it looked as if it would be another running play. Quarterback Bo Nix lined up in the shotgun formation with Shivers to his right and Harold Joiner to his left. Spencer Nigh was also in the game along with wide receivers Shedrick Jackson and Marquis McClain. There was no Seth Williams or Anthony Schwartz or Eli Stove.
Sure enough, Nix took the snap and looked to hand it off to Shivers again. Only this time he pulled it back, and threw it to Joiner, who slipped out of the backfield on a wheel route and had gotten behind the Ole Miss linebackers.
"That play is to set me up through the back door," Joiner said. "I saw the linebacker coming up, I had to get around him, and then that had me open."
"We had just had a run the play before to kind of set up that one," added Nix. "(Joiner) just snuck out of the backfield, and nobody covered him. He did a good job of catching the ball and running with it after."
Joiner caught it at his own 38-yard line and started running. There was only one defender between him and the end zone, but that defender was helpless thanks to the downfield blocking by wide receiver Shedrick Jackson.
A play that likely goes for 30 yards turned into gain of 78 because of Jackson, who started blocking his man at midfield and continued all the way to the goal line.
"He's going to fight," fellow wide receiver Seth Williams said of Jackson. "Every time he gets in, he's going to fight. We're always going to help our brothers out on things like that. It's just football. You've got to do it. And Shedrick is one of those guys that is going to go out and do it every time he's on the field."
With Jackson in front leading the way, Joiner sprinted down the left sideline, periodically checking behind him to see if anybody was closing in on him.
"I didn't think anybody was going to come up behind me because in my head, I was like 'OK, we made it this far, so nobody should catch me,'" Joiner said.
The defense ultimately did catch Joiner, bringing him down one yard shy of the goal line. But at 78 yards, it was still the longest pass play of the season for Auburn, and more importantly, it was the spark that the Tigers needed. It sent the fans into a frenzy. And on the very next play, running back D.J. Williams scored with a little help from offensive lineman Prince Tega Wanogho to give Auburn a 10-0 lead.
"A play like that, it really helps the offense with momentum," Nix said. "It gets the crowd into it. And you feel like you can really do a lot of other things because now the defense is on their toes and doesn't really know what to expect."
For Joiner, it was significant because he fumbled on the previous drive. Though Auburn recovered the fumble, head coach Gus Malzahn still could have benched him. Instead, Malzahn sent him back out on the very next drive, and he rewarded them for it.
"It was good because it shows that he still believed in me," Joiner said.
Joiner and Jackson. Two unheralded players. Both doing their job to help Auburn win.