Former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn didn’t need much to sum up what happened Saturday night in Athens.
After Auburn’s 27-24 upset of No. 1 Georgia, he posted just five words on X: “Waffle House kind of night.”
That line carried extra weight for anyone who remembers Malzahn’s Auburn days. When he was coaching the Tigers, he and his wife, Kristi Malzahn, made a habit of stopping at Waffle House for a late-night meal after every win. More than a decade ago, that tradition even became a headline when the couple shared a photo of their postgame trip after a season-opening win against Washington State.
On Saturday, the old routine looked like it still fit the moment.
Auburn delivered the stunner in dramatic fashion, with Alex McPherson drilling a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired. The Tigers leaned on quarterback Byrum Brown’s bruising running game to pull off the upset and knock off the nation’s top-ranked team.
It was the second week in a row that the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 fell to an unranked opponent. Texas, then ranked No. 1, lost to Oklahoma last Saturday.
Georgia had a chance to survive. Gunner Stockton pushed the Bulldogs on a long fourth-quarter drive to tie the game, but the final sequence unraveled quickly.
With 58 seconds left and Georgia moving toward a possible go-ahead field goal, Stockton lost a fumble on a run from the Auburn 46. Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered for Auburn at the 44, and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Georgia’s Gabe Harris Jr. helped set up McPherson’s winning kick.
Auburn players poured onto the field after the kick went through.
Brown powered the Tigers with 115 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, and he also added a scoring pass.
For Georgia, the loss snapped a pair of streaks: nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive victories over unranked teams. It also ended the Bulldogs’ brief, one-week stay at No. 1 in the AP Top 25.
Georgia quarterback Stockton finished with two interceptions in addition to the late fumble, and Auburn controlled the game on the ground. Tailback Nate Frazier returned from a rib injury to start for Georgia, but he was held to just 19 yards on nine carries.
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Auburns win over No. 1 Georgia in Athens already stood out as one of the seasons biggest shocks, but the finish made it feel even more memorable. The Tigers snapped a long drought with their first victory in Athens since 2005 and their first over Georgia since 2017, and they did it with a last-minute 34-yard field goal that sent the visiting sideline into celebration.
Alex McPherson has been through far more than a pressure kick at the end of a rivalry game. The Auburn kicker battled inflammatory bowel disease and underwent surgery before returning to the field, and head coach Alex Golesh made sure he got the game ball afterward, praising his leadership and perseverance as much as the winning kick itself. [Read more 🡒]
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Xavier Atkins was nowhere to be found when Auburn knocked off No. 1 Georgia on Saturday, and his absence was one of the quieter storylines inside an upset that will be remembered for a long time. The All-SEC linebacker has been central to what Auburn wants to do defensively, so losing him for a game of that magnitude only adds to the uncertainty around a unit that managed to come through anyway.
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Mays currently plays at Northeast Mississippi Community College and brings the kind of profile that can shift an early recruiting board fast. For Auburn, it is another reminder that one big moment in the rivalry does not end the bigger chess match, especially when Georgia is already making its move for one of the cycles most sought-after defensive linemen. [Read more 🡒]