Auburn walked into Athens and left with the kind of win that flips a Saturday on its head.
Alex McPherson drilled a 34-yard field goal as time tightened, and unranked Auburn stunned No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday, handing the previously unbeaten Bulldogs a loss that few saw coming.
It was the second straight week the AP Top 25’s top team got knocked off by an unranked opponent, after then-No. 1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday.
The finish had plenty of chaos packed into it. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton helped engineer a long fourth-quarter drive to tie the game, but the Bulldogs gave the ball away with 58 seconds left while still in range to set up a potential go-ahead field goal.
Stockton, who also threw two interceptions, lost a fumble on a run from the Auburn 46. Safety Sylvester Smith-Reed fell on it for Auburn at the 44.
That set the stage for McPherson, who had already shown his nerve all season. He was 12 of 12 in his career in fourth-quarter kicks, and after being iced once, he still came back and buried the winner. A roughing-the-passer call on Georgia’s Gabe Harris Jr. helped Auburn move into position for the decisive kick, and the Tigers poured onto the field once it went through.
Afterward, Auburn coach Alex Golesh had more than just the upset on his mind. In an emotional moment on the field, he said his 12-year-old son Barrett - Bear - had predicted the whole thing.
“(Golesh’s son) Bear said Thursday, my family isn’t here tonight because my daughter has homecoming, he said, ‘Dad, can I come on the field after we win? You on the field, bro,”
Golesh spoke with gratitude and emotion as he reflected on his team and the people around it.
“I’m just grateful to our guys for continuing to just plug. You can have so many narratives and stories, I’m grateful to our guys.
Grateful to our coaches, our fan base. It’s been through a lot.
“We’re going to build Auburn to where everybody wants its one game at a time. Just hang with us. This locker room, these dudes that chose to stay, that’s what it is all about.
“It’s pretty neat. I’m really proud of our guys.”
The Tigers got a major lift from Brown, who piled up 115 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. He also added a scoring pass. In all, Brown accounted for 150 passing yards and a touchdown to go with his 115-yard rushing day and another score, helping Auburn pull off one of the biggest results of the weekend.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Auburn Faces A Brutal Early Test In Athens Under Alex Golesh
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
Week 7 brings the kind of SEC slate that can reshape an October in a hurry, and Auburn is right in the middle of it with a trip to face Georgia drawing plenty of attention. Around the league, five analysts have weighed in on eight upcoming conference matchups, underscoring how much uncertainty still hangs over the race and how thin the margin is in games like Auburn-Georgia, Alabama-Tennessee and Missouri-Ole Miss.
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 🡒]