AUBURN, Ala. – In a most improbable ending, Cayden Bridges recovered a fumble in the end zone after Anders Carlson kicked a field goal to give Auburn a 17-14 overtime victory Saturday on Homecoming at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"I told our players I'm proud of them," Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. "They did what they needed to do to win the football game."
"I'm going to take positives from this game," said Carlson, who ranks second in program history with 71 field goals. "This is my first overtime game at Auburn. To come out with a win and kick that field goal for the team, it's special and we're going to celebrate it."
After Carlson connected from 39 yards on the opening possession of OT, Missouri's Nathanial Peat raced 20 yards but fumbled while reaching for the goal line, with Bridges recovering in the back of the end zone to secure Auburn's victory.
"The guy is trying to make a play and the ball goes into the end zone," Harsin said. "The ball bounced our way. We needed that turnover. Crazy finish. Both teams fighting hard to win the football game and we were able to get it done."
With a minute and half remaining in the fourth quarter, Missouri stopped Auburn on fourth-and-1 at the visiting Tigers' 29-yard-line, then hit a 39-yard pass play to Auburn's 3-yard line, but Mizzou missed a 26-yard field goal as time expired, sending the game to overtime tied 14-14.
After Colby Wooden's sack forced a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, the Tigers turned back the clock with a 14-play, all-rush touchdown drive that consumed nearly half of the first quarter with 85,750 enjoying a sunny fall afternoon at Pat Dye Field.
"Our crowd was fantastic to get up early and be there at 11 a.m.," Harsin said.
Tank Bigsby twice moved the chains on fourth-and-short, and first-time starter Robby Ashford scored on an 11-yard quarterback draw, his first career rushing TD, for a 7-0 Auburn lead.
Derick Hall produced Auburn's first takeaway of the season, intercepting a deflected pass and returning it 19 yards to Missouri's 24-yard-line.
DERICK HALL CAN DO ALL 🔥
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 24, 2022
☑️ First career INT for @derick_hall9#WarEagle🦅 | 📺 https://t.co/pQk5h4rqz3 pic.twitter.com/WgTKUjuo3g
"Rush and coverage playing together," said Hall, who added two sacks and now has 16.5 for his career. "One thing we say is tipped balls are picked balls. I was blessed to be able to pick that ball and take it back a little bit."
Ashford connected with Omari Kelly for 12 yards on third-and-6, then completed to Camden Brown to set up Bigsby's 3-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. Koy Moore led Auburn with 74 receiving yards on four catches.
"We had momentum early in the game and then things started to slow down," Harsin said.
Missouri evened the score in the second quarter, scoring on a 9-yard rush to cap a 54-yard drive and a Brady Cook quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line with 30 seconds left in the half after a 79-yard drive.
Auburn forced five three-and-outs in the second half while shutting out Missouri after the second quarter.
"I've never won a game like that," said Owen Pappoe, who led the Tigers with eight tackles. "It's a game of inches. It's a testament to the fact that you've got to play to the very end. I'm proud of our guys."
Auburn was plus-two on turnovers thanks to Hall's interception and Bridges' game-ending fumble recovery.
"You win the turnover battle you win the game," said Hall, who recorded three of Auburn's seven tackles for loss.
Auburn (3-1, 1-0) concludes its five-game homestand next Saturday when the Tigers host LSU at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
"Sometimes you've got to find a way and we did that," Harsin said. "We found a way to win the game and I'm really proud of our guys for that."Postgame Notes>> Captains: Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, John Samuel Shenker, Eku Leota
>> Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers; Missouri to receive
>> Eagle Flight: Aurea from flagpole
>> Attendance: 85,750
>> Miss Homecoming: Emmy Beason (Leeds, Ala.; Public Relations)
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: DB Cayden Bridges, QB Robby Ashford.
>> Auburn has scored in 121 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
>> Auburn's defense has allowed only 25 first-quarter touchdowns in its last 70 games.
>> Auburn is now 9-8 all-time in overtime games, 7-4 at home and 2-6 in SEC overtime games.
>> Auburn's overall Homecoming record is now 84-8-4; the Tigers have won their last 31 Homecoming games.
>> Auburn's record in SEC openers is 52-32-5 since 1933.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>> Robby Ashford's 11-yard TD run in the first quarter was his first career rushing score.
>> Tank Bigsby now has 2,214 career rushing yards, to rank 16th all-time at Auburn, passing Kenny Irons (2,186 from 2005-06); next is Cameron Artis-Payne (2,218 from 2013-14).
>> Bigsby's first-quarter TD run was his 4th of the season and 19th of his career.
>> John Samuel Shenker is 6th in career tight end receptions (56), passing Victor Hall (54 from 1989-91); next are Fred Baxter (57 from 1990-92) and Robert Johnson (57 from 2002), Walter Reeves (58 from 1986-89), Philip Lutzenkirchen (59 from 2009-12).
>> Shenker is 4th in tight end career receiving yardage (679); next is Robert Johnson (741 from 2000-02).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> Derick Hall's interception was the first of his career and Auburn's first of the season. With two sacks today, Hall now has 16.5 sacks for his career.
>> Colby Wooden's sack was his first of the season and 10th of his career.
>> After his third-quarter sack, Eku Leota has 9.0 sacks at Auburn and 15.5 sacks for his career.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Anders Carlson is now second in Auburn career scoring with 372 points; the career leader is Daniel Carlson with 480 points from 2014-17.
>> Carlson ranks second at Auburn in career field goals made with 71; Daniel Carlson is the career leader with 92.
>> Carlson is tied for third in career PAT made at Auburn with 162, tied with John Vaughn (162 from 2003-06); next is Wes Byrum (183 from 2007-10).
>> Carlson (372) is now 7th among SEC career scoring leaders passing Jeff Hall, Tennessee (371 from 1995-98); next is Leigh Tiffin, Alabama (385 from 2006-09).
>> Carlson (71) ranks 9th among SEC career leaders in field goals made, tied with Fuad Reveiz, Tennessee (71 from 1981-84) and Seth Small, Texas A&M (71 from 2018-21); next are Austin MacGinnis, Kentucky (72 from 2014-17) and Parker White, South Carolina (72 from 2017-21).
>> Oscar Chapman's 61-yard punt was his longest of the season and third longest of his career.