Tigers make statement in rally against Huskies
Auburn scores late touchdown before its stout defense secures the victory.
ATLANTA — The Auburn Tigers had some bad memories from their last two trips to Atlanta. They headed home from this one feeling a whole lot better.
With a performance that didn’t earn a bunch of style points but will look good on the resume, No. 9 Auburn rallied for a 21-16 victory over No. 6 Washington when JaTarvious Whitlow ran 10 yards for a touchdown with 6:15 remaining Saturday.
The Auburn defense came through at the end, preserving the win with a fierce pass rush against Jake Browning.
“We talked about overcoming adversity,” Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. “Last season we didn’t win hardly any close games. We knew this game was going to come down to the end.”
The Tigers closed last season with back-to-back losses at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — first to Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game, then to Central Florida in the Peach Bowl.
They were facing another disappointment, trailing 1615 after scoring a touchdown on their opening possession of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game but missing a surprise two-point conversion.
Jarrett Stidham got Auburn rolling with a 12yard pass to Chandler Cox on third and nine. Then, facing third and seven deep in Washington territory, Auburn handed off inside to Whitlow, who knocked over a Washington safety as he barreled into the end zone to cap a 10-play, 76-yard drive.
“It was an amazing feeling,” said Whitlow, part of the group trying to replace workhorse runner Kerryon Johnson, who’s in the NFL. “I’m so grateful that the coaches have confidence in me in that situation.”
Washington drove to the Auburn 37 with time to pull off the comeback, but Myles Gaskin was thrown for a three-yard loss and Browning was left running for his life on the Huskies’ last two offensive plays. Big Kat Bryant sacked the quarterback for another three-yard setback, and safety Smoke Monday finished it off with a blitz that forced Browning to just fling the ball away, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty.