AUBURN, Ala. – A costly and controversial goal-line fumble proved pivotal Saturday in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, helping No. 10 Georgia defeat Auburn 20-10 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I’m not at all taking anything away from Georgia or the previous opponents, but I’m not sure they did as much to win the game as what we’re doing to put ourselves in a position to lose it,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said.
With Auburn on the verge of taking a 17-0 lead late in the first half, a video review upheld the officials’ on-field ruling that Jackson Arnold fumbled before crossing the goal line on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard-line.
“Very disappointing and maybe a little deflating the way the half ended,” Freeze said. “I still felt like we were going to win the game.”
It ended up being a 10-point swing, souring an otherwise festive night in which Auburn retired Cam Newton’s jersey and Tiger fans packed the stadium for a program-record 18th consecutive sellout.
“They were incredible tonight,” Freeze said. “The atmosphere was incredible, Cam was incredible. I wish we were in Toomer’s celebrating right now. I ask them to stay with us. We’re close and we need one to go our way. We get another one at home next week.”
Trailing 13-10, the Tigers ran only three plays in the fourth quarter before Georgia put together a 16-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, taking a 20-10 lead with 1:53 remaining on Gunner Stockton’s 10-yard run to secure the Bulldogs’ ninth straight series win.
Before that drive, Auburn had a chance to take a fourth-quarter lead when Eric Singleton Jr. raced past a Georgia defensive back, diving for a deep pass that was just beyond his reach.
“Those are the plays that we’re not making now that change the game,” Freeze said.
Xavier Atkins again led Auburn’s defense with eight tackles. Elijah Melendez and Robert Woodyard Jr. both recorded sacks for the Tigers, who held Georgia without a third-down conversion until the fourth quarter.
“You’re close to being a top 10 team but not until you cut out the mistakes that are putting you in losing ways,” Freeze said.
Consuming nearly half of the first quarter, Auburn drove 75 yards on 14 plays on the opening possession, taking a 7-0 lead on Arnold’s 2-yard touchdown run.
“We had two weeks to get a good plan together,” Freeze said. “We called the base stuff that we had scripted to start the game, and it worked really nice for three drives.”
Arnold completed 5 of 6 passes for 27 yards and carried four times for 13 yards on the drive, helping Auburn convert all four of its third-down plays. Arnold finished 19 for 31 for 137 yards, adding a game-high 55 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
Robert Woodyard Jr. sacked Stockton on Georgia’s first possession, forcing a punt after two Bulldog first downs.
Auburn then chewed up the rest of the first quarter, taking a 10-0 lead on Alex McPherson’s 25-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
After the Tigers’ defense forced consecutive three-and-outs, Auburn engineered another mammoth drive, devouring 7 minutes and 55 seconds in 15 plays, gaining 79 yards but coming away empty-handed on the goal-line fumble.
Georgia (5-1, 3-1) then drove 88 yards in 12 plays, getting on the scoreboard with a 29-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the half to cut Auburn’s lead to 10-3.
Both teams were stopped on fourth down on their first second-half possessions before Georgia used two explosive pass plays to set up Chauncey Bowens’ 2-yard touchdown run, tying the score at 10-10 midway through the third quarter.
Georgia’s only sack of the game forced an Auburn punt, then the Bulldogs took a 13-10 lead on Peyton Woodring’s 53-yard field goal with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Auburn (3-3, 0-3) remains at Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday, hosting No. 14 Missouri 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