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.
“When they turned it over, I knew my guys were going to get me into range,” McPherson said. “Just go out and execute and have their back. Hudson Powell and Hudson Kaak did a great job, great snap and hold. Our entire line did a great job and made my job pretty easy. I was able to put it through, and I couldn’t be happier to do it for the team and for this university.”
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 then dug out of a second-and-20 hole at its own 7-yard line, picking up a first down before punting to Georgia.
Two plays later, Cody Sigler forced a Gunner Stockton fumble that Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered at Auburn’s 44-yard line.
“I saw that he tucked the ball and I reacted to it quickly,” Smith-Reed said. “Sigler got the ball out, the ball’s on the ground, all I had to do was fly to it and jump on top of it. It was either us or them. I wanted it more.”
The Tigers drove to Georgia’s 19-yard line and won the game on McPherson’s kick as time expired, Auburn’s first walk-off field goal in regulation since Wes Byrum clinched the 2010 national championship against Oregon.
“I’m happy for our guys, I’m happy for our staff,” said head coach Alex Golesh, who earned Auburn's second road win over a top-ranked team in program history and the first since 1994. “It’s awesome for them to get that feeling. The thing I’m most proud of is that nobody flinched. That’s the sign of a team that believes in each other.”
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 in 40 years to do so against Georgia.
“Super duper excited,” said Brown, who completed 15 of 26 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown while rushing 26 times for 115 yards and a score. “I’m proud of this group. We had a tremendous bye week, came back and locked in. Everyone did their job. It wasn’t pretty but we found a way in the end.”
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 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 that reduced Auburn’s lead to 24-17 with 14:15 left in the game.
Melendez led Auburn with nine tackles, including a sack. Bryce Deas added eight solo tackles.
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 marched 94 yards in 13 plays, tying the game at 24-24 on Stockton’s 4 yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys with 2:58 to play.
Georgia (6-1, 4-1) looked like the country’s top-ranked team on the game’s 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 Stockton’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Lawson Luckie midway through the first quarter.
The Tigers shut out the Bulldogs 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 Brown’s scramble, then converting on fourth-and-3 on Brown’s shovel pass to Jeremiah Cobb.
Christian Neptune threw a 24-yard halfback pass to Keshaun Singleton for a touchdown that trimmed Georgia’s lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter.
After Auburn forced a punt, 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, who gained 61 yards on 13 carries, opened Auburn’s 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 touchdown catch to tie the score at 14-14 midway through the second quarter.
Auburn blocked Georgia’s field goal attempt, then 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 to preserve the Tigers’ three-point lead at halftime.
After winning between the hedges for the first time since 2005, Auburn (4-2, 2-2) returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday to host No. 22 LSU at 11 a.m. CT on ABC and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer