By all accounts, Auburn should not have walked off of Pat Dye Field undefeated. They were outplayed in nearly every aspect of the game for nearly the entire day, but—despite being on the ropes against an FCS school at home—the Tigers pulled one more rabbit out of that magic hat they’re known for, topping Jacksonville State 27-20 in overtime.
“A lot of times over the course of a season, it’s how you win,” head coach Gus Malzahn said. “Last week we faced some adversity, and you find out how you react. Today we faced major adversity at home.”
Down by a touchdown with three minutes left, Auburn was driving deep in Gamecock territory when an all-too-familiar disaster struck. Peyton Barber coughed up a fumble when a critical score was imminent, showing flashes of the way Auburn’s game against Texas A&M ended in 2014. Jacksonville State got the ball back, but the Tiger defense stood tall, forcing a punt that was shanked out of bounds at the 31-yard line.
Jeremy Johnson, who had carried his struggles over from the Louisville game, led a crucial, albeit short, drive to keep Auburn’s season alive. A pass to freshman Chandler Cox. A strong run by Barber. A screen to Ricardo Louis, and then an incompletion to Louis.
Suddenly, the game was in the hands of the quarterback who had thrown his fifth interception of the season only a few drives earlier.
Johnson rolled right, saw senior Melvin Ray breaking for the end zone, and fired a laser into the corner—for a game-tying touchdown.
“It felt great (throwing that touchdown), and coach always said we’d find a way to win,” Johnson said. “Melvin Ray went up and made a great catch.”
And then on 3rd-and-nine in overtime, Johnson made his best decision of the day—and possibly the season. Instead of forcing yet another throw into heavy coverage, he swung a checkdown to Barber, who barreled ahead for the biggest first down of the game. On the next play, Barber, according to Malzahn, “willed himself” into the end zone to put Auburn on top.
However, the Tigers still needed one more stop. Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins had shredded the Auburn defense all day, to the tune of 277 yards and a touchdown on 26-43 passing, along with 67 yards on the ground. He routinely placed throws where only his receivers could come down with them, and his speed in the backfield had stymied Auburn’s pass rush.
But for one play, the defense stymied him.
Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Jenkins scrambled to find someone open, but the Tigers blanketed everyone. He dashed to the sideline, but chose not to throw it away, hoping one of his guys could spring open. Instead, senior linebacker Cassanova McKinzy—who left the game earlier after getting hurt on a kickoff—dragged him down for a 15-yard sack, one that whipped the Jordan-Hare crowd into a raucous frenzy. The Gamecock’s desperation heave on 4th down fell out of bounds, and the Tigers, in the strongest sense of the word, escaped.
“There are a lot of things we need to improve on,” Malzahn said. “But the bottom line is our guys found a way to win in a very adverse situation…I’d say most teams wouldn’t have won that game.”
Had Auburn lost this game, it would have gone down as arguably the most monumental upset in college football history. Auburn entered the game as a 41.5-point favorite, and was roughly projected to win by a score of 56-7. The only games that rival the impact this one would have are Appalachian State's upset of Michigan in 2007, and Stanford's upset of USC, also in 2007.
Next week, Auburn has to travel to Baton Rouge and face LSU in Death Valley, which is consistently acknowledged as one of the most intimidating venues in all of college football. Johnson will have his first true road test there, but he’s ready.
“We’re very confident,” Johnson said. “All we’re going to do is watch film and get ready for LSU. We feel good about where we’re at. We’re 2-0, we got the win, and that’s all that matters.”
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