Houston receiver and kick returner, Nathan Dell hesitated and took the opening kickoff out of his own end zone and Auburn swarmed and droped him at Houston’s own 13-yard line.
It seemed as if the Tigers had come out hot, but the Cougars responded by taking it 87 yards down field in 12 plays to capture an early 7-0 lead.
This was a lead that remained throughout the first quarter in Tuesday’s Birmingham Bowl between No. 20 Houston and Auburn, which the Tigers lost 17-13.
Auburn struggled heavily on offense in the opening quarter, as it was held scoreless and only recorded 33 total yards. It did not record a first down until just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter, and it moved the chains only twice in the first 15 minutes.
The second quarter was more of the same. Neither offense looked strong in the opening half. Each team added a pair of field goals in the second quarter to make the score 10-3 with Houston leading going into the half.
The Tiger’s offense showed some sparks in the passing game in the second quarter. After quarterback TJ Finley went 2-5 for just five yards in the first quarter, he ended the half 10-20 with 128 yards. Auburn marched down into Houston territory and threatened to score several times in the second quarter.
Auburn, however, was unable to take advantage of these times where it threatened to reach the end zone in the first half. The Tigers went for it on a fourth-and-three situation from the Houston 20-yard line and did not convert on a pass to Shedrick Jackson that was initially ruled a catch, but it was reversed after replay and resulted in a turnover on downs for Auburn.
On the next offensive possession for the Tigers, they converted a third-and-six with a screen pass to Tank Bigsby that he took for 51 yards into Cougar territory. After Auburn reached the opponent’s 10-yard line, Ben Patton trotted in and made a 27-yard field goal.
One thing that head coach Bryan Harsin was proud of, was Auburn’s screen game.
“Our screen passes worked effectively. That’s an easy pass,” Harsin said.
With 1:36 left in the half, Auburn got the ball back, looking to get on the board again before the half ended. Finley dropped back and dropped a dime in to Kobe Hudson near the sideline for 30 yards. The Tigers got another new set of downs and reached the opposing side of the field again. Then, the offense returned to first quarter form and was forced to punt.
These are not the results Auburn wanted on promising drives. Coach Harsin made a statement early by keeping the offense on the field on fourth-and-three. Auburn needed touchdowns and did not want to settle for field goals. However, that is what ultimately happened. The team went to the locker room with only three points to show for those drives.
However, the defense stood its ground after the first drive, and Houston did not reach the end zone again in the opening half. The Tiger defense did not force any turnovers in the first half, but each team punted three times.
The third quarter was all Auburn. The Tigers drove down to the Houston 18-yard line, and Patton nailed a 35-yard field goal home to make it 10-6 Houston.
Following the field goal, the Auburn defense forced another punt from Houston. The Tigers then took it 78-yards in 11 plays for a clock-chewing touchdown drive. The six-minute drive was capped off by Finley dropping a 12-yard dime to Hudson in the back of the end zone. This was Auburn’s first touchdown of the game, giving the team its first lead, 13-10.
That is where the Tigers seized momentum and took over. The next three Houston drives resulted in turnovers.
First, Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted an overthrown pass by Clayton Tune and took it to the Houston 27, but a targeting call on Smoke Monday negated the gain and Auburn took over at its own 28-yard line.
After an Auburn punt, Houston got it back and marched into Auburn territory. When the Cougars reached the Auburn 34, they elected to keep the offense on for fourth-and-eight. Houston’s quarterback Tune kept the ball and ran for six yards, but came up short of the first down.
After another Auburn punt, Houston got the ball back and tried something new to get momentum back, a double-pass. Tune threw a backwards pass to tight end, Seth Green, who immediately loaded up to throw back across the field. Auburn was not fooled. The ball was tipped and caught by Chandler Wooten as he dragged one foot in bound for an interception.
Once again, Auburn’s offense was not able to take advantage of the turnover and Houston forced a three-and-out. The punt went through Houston’s end zone for a touchback.
The Cougars then took the ball at their own 20 with 3:52 left in the contest. This seemed to be the last chance for them. Despite not reaching the end zone since their opening drive, they marched 80 yards down the field and scored on a 26-yard pass to their tight end, making it a 17-13 lead.
This score with three minutes and 27 seconds left proved to be the deciding points, as Auburn then ran four plays and turned it over on downs. Tank Bigsby ran for eight yards on first down and then three straight incomplete passes sent the offense back to the bench. Houston then took a knee and won the game.
This game was a hard-fought defensive battle, but Houston was able to put together drives at the perfect times to push the Cougars to victory. The Cougars only touchdown drives were their first drive of the game and their last.
Tune was named Birmingham Bowl MVP. He totaled 283 yards through the air along with two touchdowns. He only threw one interception and added 43 rushing yards.
This game continued a season of tough luck on targeting penalties for Auburn. Senior Smoke Monday was called for targeting twice during the game. The first call was reversed, but the second call in the second half stood and the safety was ejected. Next, Roger McCreary’s replacement Jaylin Simpson, was called and ejected for targeting.
“I think the penalty (targeting) is different in each set of officials, and in each league, sometimes,” Harsin said. “I don’t disagree with the need for it, but it’s just hard to make those calls.”
The toughest part of the targeting penalty is that it means to the team loses the player who committed the penalty for a whole game.
“When you lose starters, you don’t just lose them, but you lose the 180 reps or however many they took in practice,” Harsin said.
Experience was already a concern for the Auburn team coming into today and then the team lost two starters in the secondary.
All eyes on offense were on quarterback TJ Finley.
After three-year starter Bo Nix announced he is transferring to Oregon, the QB position became a question mark for Auburn. Finley was the sole QB for the Tigers today. He went 19-37 with 227 yards and a touchdown.
Harsin described Finley’s performance as “good, but inconsistent.”
The coach said he was impressed by some of the throws he was able to make, and he was happy with the sophmore’s decision making.
“We threw it to the right guys, but the execution on those throws needs to be better,” Harsin said.
No turnovers by Finley is another encouraging sign. He did a good job taking care of the ball, which has been one of the main weaknesses for him in the past.
As for freshman quarterback Demetrius Davis, who took backup reps in practice, he got no playing time. When asked about replacing Finley, Harsin said, “if they aren’t starting, that is for a reason.”
Auburn ends the season with a 6-7 record, and Houston improves to 12-2. Houston ended its four-game bowl losing streak.
The Cougars had an impressive season. The team’s only losses were to Texas Tech in the season opener and to playoff-bound Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Championhip.
Harsin said he is proud of his team, and he does not feel like their record reflects the kind of season they had.
“It just comes down to finishing” Harsin said. “We weren’t able to finish in some key situations.”
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