AUBURN, Ala. – No. 16 Missouri led off double overtime with a touchdown run, then stopped Auburn on fourth down to win 23-17 Saturday at sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“Another game where we find ways not to win,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “We’re finding ways to not make enough plays collectively in all facets – coaching, offense, defense, special teams.
“We have the greatest fans, our administration. This place is special, and these kids are special. I’m so ready for them to enjoy success. They’ve had an incredibly difficult stretch of games against really good football teams, but they’ve proven every time that they’re a really good team. Any of them could’ve gone our way and none of them have. I can’t even explain how frustrating it is. They fought their guts out tonight again.”
Missouri (6-1, 2-1) converted on third-and-10 to lead off the second overtime period, then took the lead on Beau Pribula’s 3-yard touchdown run. An incompletion on the 2-point try kept Auburn within six points, but the home Tigers lost yardage on two of their four plays, ending the game on an incompletion.
“Our plan in overtime wasn’t great offensively,” Freeze said. “We tried to get the ball in Eric’s hands and they had a jet call on with their D-end at just the right time. That put us behind the chains.”
Auburn went first in overtime and lost seven yards on its possession, missing a 50-yard field goal attempt. Missouri missed a chance to win the game when its 38-yard field goal attempt was wide right.
Trailing 10-7 at the half, Auburn’s Xavier Atkins continued his elite productivity by recording his fourth sack of the season on the opening possession of the third quarter. Atkins and Robert Woodyard Jr. led Auburn with 11 tackles each.
Jeremiah Cobb’s 41-yard run gave Auburn a first down at Missouri’s 26-yard line but the Tigers missed a chance to tie when a 38-yard field goal attempt bounced off the right upright.
After Auburn’s defense forced another punt shy of midfield, the Tigers put together perhaps their best drive of the season, marching 86 yards in 12 plays, converting on third-and-5 on Jackson Arnold’s 7-yard pass to Cam Coleman.
“Most of the game we were running the football effectively with Cobb and throwing the RPOs off of those pretty well,” Freeze said. “That’s what worked the best on those drives.”
Cobb picked up 12 yards to give Auburn first-and-goal at Missouri’s 5-yard line. After two quarterback runs netted 4 yards, hometown freshman Omar Mabson II scored his first career touchdown on his first carry of the game, giving Auburn a 14-10 lead with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.
“He’s practiced well this week. He’s going to be a really good player,” Freeze said. “It was good to see him get that action and get in the end zone.”
After Auburn’s defense allowed zero yards on three plays and forced a third second-half punt, Cobb crossed the 100-yard mark for the third time in his career with a 23-yard run.
On the next play, Arnold and Coleman teamed up for a 37-yard completion, setting up Alex McPherson’s 22-yard field goal, giving Auburn a 17-10 lead with 10:31 to play in the game.
Capitalizing on two 15-yard Auburn penalties, Missouri tied the score at 17-17 on Ahmad Hardy’s 3-yard touchdown run at the 5:07 mark of the fourth quarter.
On third-and-10, Auburn gained 34 yards when Arnold scrambled and found Perry Thompson for a 34-yard gain into Missouri territory, but Auburn was forced to punt, despite ample contact from a Missouri defensive back on Coleman on a deep incompletion, giving the ball back to Missouri with 3 minutes to go.
Auburn’s Crawfords – Keyron and Jay – made clutch plays to preserve the tie after Missouri advanced to Auburn’s 30-yard line. Keyron Crawford’s sack moved Missouri to the brink of field goal position, then on third-and-23, Jay Crawford intercepted Beau Pribula’s pass at the 17-yard line to force overtime.
For the second straight week, Auburn received the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown on its first drive.
The Tigers marched 75 yards in 12 plays, eschewing a punt on fourth-and-2 from midfield and picking up a first down on a defensive pass interference penalty.
Arnold rushed for 12 yards on third-and-5, then scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season on third-and-goal from the 1 to give Auburn a 7-0 lead.
Auburn missed a chance to double its lead on the first play of its second possession when Arnold’s on-target deep ball was dropped. On the next play, Arnold’s streak of 324 consecutive passes without an interception ended when Missouri’s Toriano Pride Jr. picked off his pass and returned it 2 yards to the Tigers’ 29.
Auburn held Missouri to a 24-yard field goal but the visiting Tigers forced a three-and-out, then drove 65 yards and took a 10-7 lead on Hardy’s 2-yard touchdown run with 10:21 remaining in the first half.
After another Auburn three-and-out, Missouri reached the red zone before Kayin Lee’s third-down interception at Auburn’s 7-yard line.
Arnold then connected with Coleman for 46 yards to Missouri’s 14-yard line, but after back-to-back sacks, the Tigers missed a 40-yard field goal, costing Auburn a chance to tie the score before the half.
Auburn (3-4, 0-4) travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas, next Saturday to play the Razorbacks at 11:45 a.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