The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Auburn survives despite FG flubs
Auburn piled up yards, if not points, while the defense didn’t permit many of either.
Bo Nix passed for a careerhigh 340 yards and had a 1-yard touchdown run and the 11th-ranked Tigers withstood visiting Mississippi’s final drive to escape with a 20-14 victory Saturday night.
Auburn (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) mostly dominated on the stat sheet but struggled to put the 19-point underdogs away after repeated stalled drives and three missed field goals. Anders Carlson’s third miss, a 49-yarder with 1:14 to play, gave Ole Miss (3-6, 2-4) a shot at a winning drive.
A defense that has kept Auburn in every game made one final stop.
“When the game was on the line, I’m real proud of the offense flipping the field and real proud of the defense ending the game the way it did,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
The Tigers endured some harrowing moments along the way.
The Rebels, who had no timeouts left, quickly moved from their 31 into Auburn territory. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee hit Braylon Sanders for a 17-yard pass after a holding call negated a big gain, and then ran 20 yards.
Finally on fourth-and-3 from the 35, Plumlee scrambled around and made a desperate heave under pressure. Christian Tutt intercepted the ball and raced most of the way to the other end zone. And Auburn, which was coming off a 23-20 loss at No. 1 LSU, managed to survive.
Nix completed 30 of 44 passes, including a 78-yarder to Harold Joiner that set up Auburn’s first touchdown.
Auburn outgained the Rebels 507-266 in total yards but couldn’t convert much of that production into points. Carlson did make kicks of 20 and 38 yards.
Nix’s fellow freshman D.J. Williams got most of his 24 carries and 93 yards in the second half. Anthony Schwartz gained 89 yards on nine catches, including a 50-yarder.
Plumlee led the Rebels on a 15-play, 91-yard touchdown march late to cut it to one score. Jerrion Ealy burst outside on fourth-and-1 from the 5 to set up Snoop Conner’s 1-yard run with 5:45 left. Auburn was flagged for two personal fouls on the drive.
“We tried to stay consistent in the run game, and it gave us a chance to win the football game,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. “A few three-and-outs left our defense on the field a long time. I think that hurt our defense in the second half for sure.”
Nix answered in the battle of freshman quarterbacks with a final drive that included three passes for first downs and worked most of the clock down.
Malzahn called a timeout with 1:20 left facing fourthand-2. Carlson’s potential clinching kick went wide right. The coach said he never considered going for it and running down the clock.
Plumlee passed for 86 yards and ran for 92, setting the Ole Miss record for single-season QB rushing. He now has 600 rushing yards in 2019, surpassing Jeremiah Masoli’s 544 yards in 2010.
In other games late Saturday (last week’s rankings):
No. 7 Oregon 56, (at) USC 24: Justin Herbert passed for 225 yards and threw three touchdown passes to Juwan Johnson in the second half, powering the Ducks (8-1, 6-0 Pac-12) past the Trojans (5-4, 4-2).
(At) No. 24 Memphis 54, No. 15 SMU 48: Brady White threw for 350 yards and three TDs, Antonio Gibson had a school-record 386 all-purpose yards with three scores, and the Tigers held on, putting both teams at 8-1 and 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference.
No. 17 Cincinnati 46, (at) East Carolina 43: The Bearcats (7-1, 4-0 AAC) rallied past the Pirates (3-6, 0-5) as Sam Crosa kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired.
No. 21 Boise State 52, (at) San Jose State 42: Freshman George Holani ran for 126 yards and four touchdowns to carry the Broncos (7-1, 4-0 Mountain West) past the Spartans (4-5, 1-4).