AUBURN, Ala. – Coaching in his 100th game at Auburn on Saturday, head coach Gus Malzahn notched another victory as the Tigers beat Tennessee, 30-17, inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"I'm real proud of our team," Malzahn said. "It was a quality win against a talented team."
It was Auburn's first game in 21 days, and there might have been a little rust early as the home team fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter. But the Tigers responded with 27 unanswered points and made plays in all three phases to pull away in the second half for their third straight win.
"Not playing in 21 days is extremely challenging," Malzahn said. "We knew it would be, but our guys showed a lot of fight. They showed a lot of character. The first quarter was ugly on our end. We were sleepwalking a little bit. But they flipped the switch, and the last three quarters we played good Auburn football."
Gallery: (11-21-2020) Auburn 30, Tennessee 17
The biggest play of the night came late in the third quarter from the Auburn defense. With the Tigers leading 13-10 and Tennessee threatening to score, junior safety Smoke Monday intercepted a pass from Jarrett Guarantano in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.
"That changed the dynamics of the game," Malzahn said. "Owen (Pappoe) got pressure on the quarterback, hit him and then Smoke stepped in front. We got a good block about the 20-yard line, and he went house call with it. That gave us some breathing room and gave us some confidence."
It was the second career pick-six for Monday, and it was the longest interception return for a touchdown by an Auburn player since Zakoby McClain took one back 100 yards last year against Alabama.
After the defense held again on the next drive, it was the offense's turn to put the game away. The Tigers went 80 yards on 12 plays, and D.J. Williams capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 27-10. Williams had 38 yards on the drive and led Auburn's ground attack with 66 yards on 11 carries.
Williams and backfield counterpart Shaun Shivers, who finished with 65 rushing yards, picked up the slack with freshman Tank Bigsby forced to leave the game in the first quarter.
"We knew both those guys could get it done in a big game," Malzahn said. "Throughout their career, they have played real well. It didn't surprise us at all. Those are both really quality backs."
Quarterback Bo Nix also had to shake off some rust Saturday, but after struggling in the first quarter, he connected with Anthony Schwartz on a 54-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter to put the Tigers on the board. It was the second straight game the two have hooked up on a touchdown of 50 yards or more, and it was the third receiving score of the season for Schwartz.
"Those are what you live for as a quarterback," Nix said. "I couldn't get the ball to him quick enough. But whenever a guy like him is running wide open, just don't overthrow him."
For Nix, it was the spark he needed. The sophomore signal caller was 15 of 19 for 189 yards after the first quarter, and in addition to the touchdown, he completed multiple passes to convert on third down and keep drives going. Auburn was 9 of 15 on third down for the game and 6 of 8 in the second half.
While Schwartz led the team with 84 yards receiving, fellow wide receiver Seth Williams finished with 52 yards and had a team-high five receptions, including four on third down that resulted in first downs.
On special teams, Anders Carlson made all three of his field-goal attempts. He tied the game with a 25-yard kick late in the first half and then gave Auburn a 13-10 lead when he connected on a 27-yarder midway through the third quarter. The junior kicker also drilled a 50-yard field goal in the final minutes. It was his longest kick of the season and the fourth kick of 50 yards or more in his career.
With the win, Auburn improves to 5-2 on the season. The Tigers will play the first of three remaining games next week at Alabama. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on CBS.
Rumble, young man, rumble 😤
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 22, 2020
Smooth like butter 🧈
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 22, 2020
TEAM NOTES
- Captains: K.J. Britt, Big Kat Bryant, Bo Nix, Shaun Shivers
- Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers. Tennessee will receive
- Attendance: 17,490
- Miss Homecoming: Madison Birckhead (Charlottesville, VA)
- First-time starters for Auburn: none
- Auburn has scored in 100 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
- Auburn's Homecoming record is 82-8-4; the Tigers have won their last 29 Homecoming games
- After 100 games as Auburn head coach, Gus Malzahn is 64-33 overall
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Seth Williams now has 1,927 career receiving yards, ranking 9th among Auburn career leaders; next is Freddy Weygand (1,946 from 1984-88
- Seth Williams is 8th all-time in career receptions with 118, two ahead of teammate Eli Stove (116); they have passed Darvin Adams (115 from 2008-10), and Rodgeriqus Smith (114 from 2004-08). Anthony Schwartz is 12th in Auburn career receptions with 104, passing Greg Taylor (102 from 1987-90)
- Schwartz ranks 23rd in Auburn career receiving yardage with 1,303 yards, passing Thomas Bailey (1,243 from 1991-94)
- Schwartz' 54-yard touchdown reception from Bo Nix was his second longest of the season (91 vs. LSU) and the second-longest reception of his career vs. Tennessee (76 yds from Jarrett Stidham vs. Tennessee in 2018)
- Bo Nix has 10 touchdown passes for the season and 26 for his career
- This was Nix' ninth career 200-yard passing game
- Eli Stove ranks 27th in Auburn career receiving yardage with 1,076 yards, passing Willie Gosha (1,048 from 1993-96)
- D.J. Williams scored his second rushing touchdown of the season and the fourth of his career
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Smoke Monday's 100-yard interception touchdown was the longest of his career and his second career pick six; the first was a 29-yard INT touchdown against Alabama last season. It was the longest interception touchdown by an Auburn player since Zakoby McClain against Alabama last season
- Owen Pappoe records double-digit tackles for the fourth game in his career and was Auburn's leading tackler for the fourth time in his career
- Jamien Sherwood now has 2.5 career sacks
- Big Kat Bryant now has 8.0 career sacks
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Anders Carlson is now 8th in career scoring at Auburn with 243 points, passing Al Del Greco (236 from 1980-83)
- Carlson is now 6th in career PAT made at Auburn with 111, passing Al Del Greco (110 from 1980-83)
- Carlson is 6th in Auburn career field goals made with 44, passing Al Del Greco (42 from 1980-83); next are Damon Duval (45 from 1999-2002) and Win Lyle (45 from 1987-89)
- Carlson's 50-yard field goal was his longest of the season and the fourth of 50 yards or longer in his career