COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tank Bigsby raced past the 100-yard mark for the second straight game and scored his first collegiate touchdown Saturday but No. 15 Auburn lost 30-22 at South Carolina.
Bigsby passed the century mark in the fourth quarter on runs of 30 and 19 yards, setting up Anders Carlson's third field goal to make it a one-score game with 6:36 to play. Bigsby gained 111 yards on 16 carries.
Auburn's defense held the Gamecocks to one first down before the Tigers got the ball back with 2:15 to play, needing to go 80 yards with no timeouts.
Auburn drove to the Gamecocks' 12-yard line with 9 seconds remaining, but on fourth-and-5, Bo Nix was tackled at the 9-yard-line, two yards short of the first down.
"I'm proud of our guys for fighting to the end," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "Give South Carolina credit. They played well. Disappointing loss, but I am proud of our guys fighting to the end."
Auburn scored on the opening drive of the second half to lead 19-14 after marching 54 yards on 11 plays and converting two third downs to set up Carlson's second field goal, a 35-yarder.
The Gamecocks answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive, taking a 20-19 lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass. South Carolina's attempted two-point pass was incomplete with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
Owen Pappoe's first career interception ended South Carolina's red zone threat late in the third quarter, but the Gamecocks soon regained possession with their third interception and scored on an 8-yard run on their next play to lead 27-19 with 54 seconds left in the quarter.
Gallery: (10-17-2020) Auburn at South Carolina
Auburn led 16-14 at halftime after scoring on its first two possessions. After the Tigers' defense forced a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, Auburn drove 62 yards on 14 plays with Carlson kicking a 35-yard field for a 3-0 lead. Nix's 22-yard pass to D.J. Williams on third-and-9 keyed the drive.
After Auburn forced another three-and-out, the Tigers drove 56 yards on seven plays with Nix hitting Eli Stove for an 11-yard touchdown on third-and-10. Going for two, Auburn's pass was incomplete, giving the Tigers a 9-0 lead with 4:33 left in the first quarter.
"We got off to a very good start, defensively, some three-and-outs and got the ball back for the offense," Malzahn said.
South Carolina intercepted the first play of the second quarter at Auburn's 29-yard-line, capitalizing on the turnover and short field with a 3-yard touchdown run that cut Auburn's lead to 9-7.
Nix and Seth Williams then combined on Auburn's longest pass play of the season, a high-arcing 44-yard gain that showcased Williams' physicality. Bigsby capped the drive with his first Auburn touchdown, a 2-yarder, to put the Tigers ahead 16-7 with 10:24 remaining in the half.
"He ran extremely hard again this week for the third week in a row," Malzahn said. "Broke tackles, ran with an attitude. He did a really good job."
South Carolina (2-2) converted another turnover into a touchdown, intercepting Nix after a deflection at midfield and scoring on a quarterback sneak with 35 seconds left in the half.
Zakoby McClain led Auburn with 13 tackles and a sack, his third straight double-digit game. Pappoe added 10 tackles.
Auburn (2-2) remains on the road next Saturday when the Tigers travel to Ole Miss at 11 a.m. CT.
"Your character really has to come out," Malzahn said. "I really believe our team will. We're capable of being a good team. We will be a team that improves, I will promise you that. You will see this team improve. You've got to make the corrections needed. We're going to have be big boys and man up, put it behind us and go on to next week and find a way to win, get that good feeling back and get some momentum."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
GAME NOTES
- Captains: K.J. Britt, Big Kat Bryant, Bo Nix, Shaun Shivers
- Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers; South Carolina will receive
- Attendance: 15,766
- First-time starters for Auburn: Cam Riley
- Auburn has scored in 97 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
- Auburn scored first in the game for the 34th time in its last 48 games
- Seven Auburn receivers caught a pass in the first quarter, the most against an SEC opponent since vs. Florida in 2000 (also seven)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Eli Stove's first-quarter TD catch was his second score of the season and fifth TD catch of his career. With 102 career catches, Stove ranks 10th among Auburn's career leaders, tied with Greg Taylor (102 from 1987-90)
- The touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Eli Stove was Nix' fifth scoring pass of the season and 21st of his career
- Luke Deal records his first career reception
- Tank Bigsby scores his first rushing touchdown of the season and of his career.
- Bigsby records his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game and is now 27th among Auburn freshman rushers all-time with 303 yards, passing Malik Willis (221 in 2017), Demontray Carter (233 in 1997), Anthony Schwartz (236 in 2018) and James Joseph (265 in 1986)
- Junior Seth Williams now has 1,654 career receiving yards, ranking 11th among Auburn career leaders, passing Rodgeriqus Smith (1,598 from 2004-08) and Darius Slayton (1,605 from 2016-18)
- Williams ranks 11th all-time in career receptions with 101, passing Ben Obomanu (97 from 2002-05), Ricardo Louis (98 from 2012-15) and Freddy Weigand (99 from 1984-88)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Owen Pappoe records his first career interception
- Zakoby McClain recorded his second sack of the season, giving him 2.5 for his career
- With 13 tackles today, McClain records his third consecutive game with double-figure tackles, the first Auburn player to do so since Deshaun Davis vs. Southern Miss (10), Mississippi State (10), Tennessee (10), Ole Miss (13) in 2018
- McClain has passed the 100-tackle mark for his career; he now has 114
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Anders Carlson is now 10th in career scoring at Auburn with 222, passing Joe Cribbs (216 from 1976-79)
- Carlson is now 7th in career field goals made with 41, passing Jorge Portela (38 from 1977-79) and Cody Parkey (39 from 2010-13)
- Carlson is now 7th in career PAT made at Auburn with 99, passing Gardner Jett (98 from 1970-72)