COLUMBIA, Mo. – Auburn scored two touchdowns in a minute and a half and took a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter but No. 19 Missouri rallied to win 21-17 Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“Another disappointing day,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “It’s bitter to know we’re not able to get across the finish line against another top 20 team. Give Missouri credit for not folding and continuing to battle.
“Our kids fought hard. We’re not making enough plays or enough right calls at times to win these close games right now.”
Missouri drove 95 yards on 17 plays and scored the winning touchdown on Jamal Roberts’ 4-yard run with 46 remaining in the game.
Oscar Chapman had pinned Missouri at its 5 with 4:26 to play. Missouri advanced to Auburn’s 39-yard after a defensive pass interference penalty before Jalen McLeod’s sack pushed the home team back across midfield.
A 13-yard pass play set up fourth-and-5 at Auburn’s 41, but the home team moved the chains with a 16-yard pass. Missouri converted again on third-and-10 to get to the 15-yard line and scored three plays later.
Tied 3-3 at the half, Auburn struck quickly on the opening possession of the third quarter. Payton Thorne returned one play after absorbing a hard hit on a 9-yard rush, then capitalized on a clean pocket to connect with Cam Coleman for a 47-yard touchdown pass.
"Cam ran a good route, Coach called a good play. I was excited when I heard that one get called," said Thorne, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 176 yards and a TD. "My eyes were on the safety, Cam did a good job digging, and I was able to connect and get in the end zone. That was positive."
After Auburn forced a punt with a three-and-out, the visiting Tigers also failed to pick up a first down but scored on special teams to take a 17-3 lead, scoring 14 points in 86 seconds.
Malcolm Simmons pressured Missouri returner Luther Burden III, who muffed the punt that Antonio Kite recovered in the end zone for a touchdown that put Auburn ahead 17-3.
"It's on us to continue to play and execute in those moments, and not be satisfied until (the clock reads) zero-zero," said Eugene Asante, who recorded a career-high two sacks and made eight tackles.
Missouri kicked a field goal to trim Auburn’s advantage to 17-6 midway through the third quarter.
After Auburn missed a short field goal, Missouri starting quarterback Brady Cook returned after exiting with an ankle injury on the opening series, finding Mookie Cooper for 78 yards on third-and-10 to give Missouri first-and-goal the Auburn 2-yard line at the end of the third quarter.
Marcus Carroll’s 2-yard touchdown run and Cook’s two-point conversion run cut Auburn ‘s lead to 17-14.
Auburn sacked Cook on back-to-back plays to force a punt, with Malik Blocton and Dorian Mausi teaming up for the first, and Asante making the second. Mausi led Auburn with nine tackles.
Oscar Chapman’s 49-yard punt pinned Missouri at its 2-yard line, and Auburn’s defense followed with another three-and-out. Keionte Scott returned Missouri's punt 8 yards to UM's 37 with 5:56 to play, but Auburn netted minus-3 yards in three plays and punted back to Missouri, leading to the game-winning drive.
Missouri grabbed an early 3-0 lead with a 51-yard field goal on its opening drive.
After a slow start, Auburn drove 64 yards on 11 plays and tied the score at 3-3 on Towns McGough’s 32-yard field goal with 11:12 remaining in the second quarter.
McLeod recovered a fumble at Auburn’s 37-yard line and the visiting Tigers drove across midfield but a fumble ended the drive.
Late in the half, after Missouri missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, Auburn drove to Missouri’s 33-yard-line but the drive ended in a punt.
Auburn held Missouri to 27 rushing yards in the first half on 16 attempts, an average of 1.7 yards per carry.
“I thought the defense played extremely hard and played well enough to win,” Freeze said. “We’ve got to score more than 17 points.”
Jarquez Hunter rushed for 57 yards on 19 carries, passing Ronnie Brown for 10th place in program history with 2,757 career yards.
Auburn (2-5, 0-4) concludes its October road trip next Saturday at Kentucky at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer