Auburn didn’t just beat No. 1 Georgia on Saturday in Athens. The Tigers spent real time on the field doing it.
In a 27-24 upset, Auburn survived an early 14-0 hole, won the turnover battle and leaned into a game script that usually hasn’t tilted their way this season. Offensively, that meant a heavy workload: 80 snaps, even while Auburn lost the time-of-possession battle.
That total was Auburn’s highest since Week 2 against Southern Miss, and it marked the most offensive plays the Tigers have run against a Power Four opponent this year. Auburn had hit 78 snaps in the Baylor win, and until Saturday had not cracked 69 offensive snaps against an SEC team.
Up front, Auburn’s offensive line barely came off the field. Wilson Zierer, Kenneth McManus IV, Stanton Ramil and Cole Best each played every offensive snap, with all four finishing at 80.
Zierer handled left guard for the full game and was especially strong in pass protection, where he earned an 85.1 grade. Jacob Strand was the only regular exception along the line, taking over at left tackle for Jo Simmons and logging 76 snaps before Simmons returned for four plays.
Byrum Brown was nearly as constant. He played 79 snaps, sitting out only one after leaving briefly following a run. Tristian Ti'a stepped in for that single play and threw an incompletion.
A few other offensive usage notes stood out. Jake Johnson logged 56 snaps, his heaviest workload of the season by far.
That was one more than he had against Baylor, and before Saturday he had not gone above 29 snaps in any other game. Keshaun Singleton played 66 snaps, Chas Nimrod 61 and Jeremiah Cobb 53.
Defensively, Auburn was on the field for 68 plays, the same total it posted at Tennessee two weeks earlier. And like the offense, the defense helped turn a shaky start into a win. The Tigers overcame that 14-0 deficit by forcing three turnovers and limiting Georgia to 113 rushing yards.
Elijah Melendez was on the field for every defensive snap, finishing with 68 at linebacker. Bryce Deas was right behind him with 65 snaps in Xavier Atkins’ absence, and he graded at 80.0 or better in both run defense and tackling.
Among the rest of the defense, Rayshawn Pleasant logged 62 snaps, Kaleb Harris 58 and Andre Jordan Jr. 55.
Anquon Fegans was the top-graded Auburn defender at 87.0 overall and came away with an interception. He also played more snaps at safety than Eric Winters, who started, and finished with the second-most snaps among non-starters, 11 behind Jordan Jr.
Several starters saw lighter workloads than expected. Chris Murray, Dallas Walker and Champ Anthony all played 30 snaps or fewer. Meanwhile, Jared Smith, Darrion Smith, Demarcus Riddick and Jourdin Crawford all saw meaningful action despite not starting.
Auburn is back next Saturday at LSU. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT.
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