It was a catch Jordan-Hare knew Seth Williams could make. It was a throw they prayed Jarrett Stidham would complete.
Stidham found the true freshman in the back corner of the end zone with just under two minutes remaining to cap off a furious comeback win for Auburn, 28-24 over No. 20 Texas A&M on Saturday.
"They put us in the 2-minute situation and we were able to execute," Stidham said. "Our number was called and the offensive line did a great job protecting and those receivers did a great job getting open. I was giving them the ball and they were doing their thing."
The scoring drive was the second in the fourth quarter for Auburn (6-3, 3-3 SEC) after the team mustered just 23 yards of offense in the third. Prior to the first touchdown possession — an 8-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a Chandler Cox 1-yard score, cutting A&M's lead to 24-21 — the Tigers had 16 total yards in the second half.
Then Stidham caught fire, completing eight of his final nine passes for 125 yards and Williams' touchdown — the second of the day for the freshman. Before the two touchdown drives, the Tigers' offense had 149 yards.
"I told the guys let’s take advantage of this," Stidham said. "Throughout the entire game we’re blessed to be doing this on a daily basis and it’s not every day when you’re down 10 in the fourth quarter and you have an opportunity to come back and win a game.
"That was my message to the guys: keep fighting for each other and sure enough it worked out."
Both of Williams' touchdown snags — his only catches of the game — were in the same spot: far corner of the north end zone. Both were 11-yard completions on fade routes. And on both, Williams knew he had his man beat.
“Zero chance it wasn’t coming down with me," Williams said. "It’s going to come down with me if it’s up in the air.”
Stidham struggled to find Williams elsewhere on the field. Twice over the middle, the quarterback either overshot or threw behind the true freshman.
But when Auburn entered the red zone, like it did for the fourth time after Ryan Davis zig-zagged through the Texas A&M secondary for 47 yards, the 18-year-old receiving phenom was the go-to target — and he wasn't going to be denied.
"When I get in the red zone, I feel like we as a team should score the ball," Williams said. "That's how the whole offense feels: When we get in the red zone, we're going to score the ball."
A starter since Week 2, Williams is looking to continue to etch his name into Auburn's recordbooks for both freshman and overall production.
However, he's not quite ready to crown himself a top pass-catcher in the SEC. Yet.
"I don't know yet. I think my ceiling's going to be pretty high," Williams said. "Knock on wood."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
