ATHENS, Ga. – Down go the Dawgs.
Auburn recovered a fumble in the final minute and Alex McPherson kicked a 34-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 27-24 victory over No. 1 Georgia Saturday at Sanford Stadium in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Auburn scored 24 consecutive points and took a 10-point lead to the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs tied the game with 2:58 to play.
Auburn dug out of a second-and-20 hole at its own 7-yard line, picking up a first down before punting to Georgia.
Cody Sigler forced a fumble that Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered at Auburn’s 44-yard line.
The Tigers drove to Georgia’s 19-yard line and won the game on McPherson’s kick as time expired.
Leading 17-14 at the half, Auburn opened the second half with a nine-play, 76-yard touchdown drive.
Byrum Brown connected with Arlis Boardingham for 14 yards, then Brown rushed for 20 yards on the next play.
After two 15-yard penalties against Georgia gave Auburn first-and-goal at the 5, Brown ran left for a 5-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers a 24-14 lead at the 11:28 mark of the third quarter.
Brown surpassed the 100-yard mark on the drive, joining Cam Newton as the only Auburn quarterbacks to do so against Georgia in the last 40 years.
On Georgia’s first possession of the second half, Georgia drove to Auburn’s 24-yard line, but Elijah Melendez forced the Tigers’ second takeaway of the game, intercepting Gunner Stockton’s pass.
Melendez delivered another big play on the Bulldogs’ next possession, sacking Stockton on the final play of the third quarter, leading to a Georgia field goal that reduced Auburn’s lead to 24-17 with 14:15 left in the game.
The teams traded punts, then Auburn drove to near midfield before a punt pinned Georgia at its 6-yard line with 8:14 remaining.
The Bulldogs drove 94 yards on 13 plays, tying the game at 24 all on Stockton’s 4-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys with 2:58 to play.
Georgia looked like the country’s top-ranked team on the opening possession, going 75 yards in five plays and taking a 7-0 led on Dwight Phillips’ 15-yard touchdown run.
After an Auburn punt, the Bulldogs drove 89 yards and increased their lead to 14-0 on Gunner Stockton’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Lawson Luckie midway through the first quarter.
The Tigers shut out the Bulldogs for the rest of the half, forcing two punts, blocking a field goal and intercepting a pass.
Auburn got on the scoreboard with a 75-yard drive, gaining 25 yards on Byrum Brown’s scramble, then converting on fourth-and-3 on Brown’s shovel pass to Jeremiah Cobb.
Christian Neptune threw a 24-yard touchdown to Keshaun Singleton on a halfback pass that trimmed Georgia’s lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter.
After Auburn forced a punt, the Tigers narrowly missed an 80-yard touchdown on Brown’s perfectly thrown deep pass on the drive’s first play.
The Tigers produced back-to-back explosive plays, picking up 18 yards on third-and-5 on Brown’s pass to Jeremiah Koger, followed by 18 more yards on Brown’s quarterback draw to Georgia’s 39-yard line.
After an Auburn punt pinned Georgia at its 12-yard line, the Tigers’ forced a three-and-out.
Jeremiah Cobb opened the next drive with a 14-yard run. Ten plays later, from Georgia’s 9-yard line, Brown threw to the end zone for Chas Nimrod, who made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch to tie the score at 14-14 midway through the second quarter.
Auburn blocked Georgia’s field goal attempt, then Alex McPherson kicked a 49-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 17-14 lead with 1:20 to play in the first half.
AnQuon Fegans then intercepted Stockton’s to preserve the Tigers’ three-point lead at halftime.
Auburn returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday to host No. 22 LSU at 11 a.m. CT on either ABC or ESPN as well as the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer