Nick Marshall looked to his go-to number one target last season, Sammie Coates, in crucial situations in the Saturday, Nov. 1 35-31 road victory at No. 4 Ole Miss.
"(Sammie) had a great night tonight," Marshall said. "He was in due time for one. He put his trust in me and I put my trust in him and I was able to give him a couple of deep shots tonight."
Coates led Auburn's deep receiving core with five receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown in the matchup against the Rebels.
"Our receiving core is unbelievably good," Coates said. "We've got so much talent and we keep making plays for our quarterback."
According to Coates, he is now playing at 100 percent and knew that his breakout game would come this season.
"You just have to wait on your time," Coates said. "You miss some, you catch some, you can't win them all though. When you get a chance to make a play, you make a play."
Marshall and Coates finally connected on the deep ball route they have missed on a couple of time earlier in the season. This one was completed for a 57-yard touchdown pass to tie the score up at 14 in the second quarter.
"[That touchdown pass to Sammie] gave me a lot of momentum," Marshall said. "I was just able to make a great throw and he was able to make a great play."
Coates played a large role in Marshall's impressive stat line, which was 15-for-22 with 254 yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as 50 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Besides Coates' deep ball touchdown catch, he made another clutch play while making a catch on a jump ball on a third down conversion.
Coates credits that third down conversion catch to everyone but himself.
"You win the game on third downs," Coates said. "Our running backs block and run the ball hard. Our o-line blocks their butts off on third down. Any time you get your o-line blocking for your quarterback and your wide receivers, you can't help but to make plays for them."
Marcus Davis, who also had a touchdown reception from Marshall against Ole Miss, was not shocked by Coates' performance.
"I see that from Sammie all the time in practice, so it wasn't a surprise to me," Davis said. "I was just happy he was able to lift up the team tonight."
Coates said the main reason why Auburn thrives while playing in close games is because of their ability to stay together and fighting until the end.
"We don't have any quit," Coates said. "That's one thing Malzahn preaches to us: fighting until the end. That's what we did. We just kept fighting and we found a way to win."
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