Auburn walked into Athens and ripped the No. 1 ranking out of Georgia’s hands with one final swing.
Alex McPherson drilled a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired Saturday, giving Auburn a 27-24 upset of the Bulldogs behind a bruising performance from quarterback Byrum Brown. Auburn controlled the ground game, outgained Georgia on the ground, and survived a frantic fourth-quarter rally before the last kick sent the Tigers sprinting onto the field.
Georgia had a chance to steal it back late, but Gunner Stockton’s fumble with 58 seconds left slammed the door. Driving for what could have been a go-ahead field goal, Stockton lost the ball on a run from the Auburn 46, and Sylvester Smith-Reed pounced on it for the Tigers at the Auburn 44. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Georgia’s Gabe Harris Jr. helped set up McPherson’s winner.
“It’s pretty neat,” said Auburn first-year coach Alex Golesh. “I’m really proud of our guys. Really proud of them.
“We’re going to build Auburn back to where everybody wants it, one game at a time. Just hang with us.”
Brown was the engine of the upset. He ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, added a scoring pass, and kept Auburn moving with the kind of physical, stubborn rushing attack Georgia never fully solved. Auburn finished with a 192-113 advantage on the ground, and Jeremiah Cobb added 61 yards as the Tigers leaned hard into the run game.
The win carried a bigger ripple effect, too. It marked the second straight week the top team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked opponent after then-No.
1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday. According to Sportradar, it was the first time since October 1990 that the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 lost in consecutive weeks.
Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) saw two long streaks snap with the loss: nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams. It also ended the Bulldogs’ short, one-week stay at No. 1.
Stockton did what he could to keep Georgia alive late. He led a 94-yard, 13-play march that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys, tying the game after Georgia had trailed 24-14. Before that, Peyton Woodring had chipped in a 42-yard field goal to start the comeback.
But Stockton’s night was defined by the mistakes as much as the heroics. He threw two interceptions, doubling his previous season total through six games, and Georgia was hurt by three personal foul penalties. Coach Kirby Smart didn’t sugarcoat it.
“We helped them,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart. “We had three turnovers and critical penalties. ... We had some really, really untimely, uncharacteristic and undisciplined penalties.”
Auburn had already flipped the game before Georgia’s late push. After the Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead, Auburn scored the next 24 points. The Tigers answered a shaky start with a physical response, and Brown kept wearing on the Georgia defense with his runs after the handoff and after dropping back to pass.
Georgia looked sharp early even after Stockton had to leave on the first play following a helmet-first hit. Ryan Puglisi completed all three of his passes, including a 41-yarder to Craig Dandridge Jr., before Dwight Phillips finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run. Stockton returned on the next possession and threw a 24-yard touchdown to Lawson Luckie for the 14-0 lead.
Then Auburn took over.
Its first touchdown came on a trick play, with Brown pitching to Christian Neptune, who uncorked a 28-yard touchdown pass to Keshaun Singleton. Georgia defensive backs Ja’Marley Riddle and Ellis Robinson IV collided in the end zone on the play. Riddle was starting in place of KJ Bolden, who wore a walking boot on his right foot and did not play.
It was Neptune’s second completion - and second touchdown pass - of the season.
Brown finished 15 of 26 passing for 150 yards and one touchdown, and Auburn’s offense finished the job after Georgia’s rally. The Tigers, coming off an open week, also scored the final 17 points of the first half after trailing by 14.
For Georgia, the second quarter became a grind. The Bulldogs’ defense was on the field for 45 plays in the first half, and while fatigue showed, Smart said the issues went beyond that. He also noted Stockton was checked for a concussion after the opening drive and later seen by trainers after taking a hit to his throwing shoulder.
“He had a stinger in his shoulder that numbs your shoulder,” Smart said. “That happens a lot in football.”
Stockton completed 22 of 34 passes for 272 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Brown’s physical running and Auburn’s mistakes-proof finish were enough to send the Bulldogs home stunned.
Auburn now turns to No. 22 Louisiana State, which beat No.
16 Mississippi State 31-0 on Saturday, at Auburn next Saturday. Georgia has an off week before facing Florida, which upset No.
7 Texas 27-24 on Saturday, on Oct. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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Auburn Has A Real Chance To Make Georgia Sweat
Auburn heads into its matchup with Georgia carrying the kind of underdog profile that can make a favorite uncomfortable, at least on paper. SportsLines 1,000 simulations point to the Tigers covering the spread nearly 60 percent of the time, a nod to a game model that sees Auburn in better shape than the oddsmakers do. The Tigers are also coming off a bye week, and the projections lean toward a lower-scoring game in which Auburns rushing attack could look sharper.
There are still obvious hurdles to clear in Athens, starting with Georgias home dominance under Kirby Smart and Auburns own personnel hit after linebacker Xavier Atkins was suspended. But the simulation results suggest this might be more than a routine road spot for the Tigers, especially if they can control tempo and make the game play out on their terms. The question now is whether Auburn can turn that theoretical edge into the kind of performance that forces Georgia into a real fight. [Read more 🡒]
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Auburn heads into one of the toughest assignments on its schedule Saturday, when the Tigers travel to Athens for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against No. 1 Georgia on ESPN. The matchup brings the usual rivalry pressure, but this one also arrives with the Bulldogs again looking like the more complete team, and with Auburn beat writers pointing to the gap in talent and Georgias recent control of the series.
Still, the bye week gives Auburn a little extra time to sort through its issues before walking into Sanford Stadium, and that was a recurring part of the discussion in the staff predictions. Even with Georgias edge and Auburns uneven season so far, there is at least some belief that a better-prepared Tigers team can make the trip more competitive than the matchup on paper might suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Faces The SEC Test That Could Change Everything
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For Auburn, the matchup is about more than just another prediction column. It is the sort of test that can alter the conversation around the Tigers in a hurry, because every SEC weekend seems to carry extra weight and every pick comes with a built-in argument. The forecasts are only opinions, of course, but they reflect the stakes well enough: Auburn is heading into one of those Saturdays where the result can change how the rest of the season feels. [Read more 🡒]