Georgia vs Auburn Fumble costs Auburn in 20-10 loss to No. 10 Georgia USA Newyorktimes
A costly and controversial goal-line fumble proved decisive in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry on Saturday, helping No. 10 Georgia defeat Auburn 20-10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said, “I’m not criticizing Georgia or past rivals, but I’m not sure they would have tried as hard to win the game as we did to put ourselves in a position to lose.”
Auburn was on the verge of taking a 17-0 lead at the end of the first half when a video review upheld the on-field officials’ ruling that Jackson Arnold had fumbled before crossing the goal line on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.
Freeze said, “The way the half ended was very disappointing and maybe a little frustrating. I still felt we were going to win the game.”
In the end, it proved to be a 10-point upset, overshadowing a celebratory night in which Auburn retired Cam Newton’s jersey and Tiger fans packed the stadium, leading to a program-record 18th consecutive sellout.
Freeze said, “They were amazing tonight. The atmosphere was amazing, Cam was amazing. I wish we were celebrating at Toomer’s house right now. I urge him to stay with us. We’re close and we need another win. We’ll get another win at home next week.”
Trailing 13-10, the Tigers managed just three plays in the fourth quarter before Georgia mounted a 16-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, taking a 20-10 lead on Gunner Stockton’s 10-yard run with 1:53 remaining, giving the Bulldogs their ninth consecutive series win.
Before that drive, Auburn had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter when Eric Singleton Jr. outran a Georgia defensive back and threw a deep pass that was just out of his reach.
Freeze said, “It’s the plays we’re not making right now that change the game.”
Xavier Atkins again led Auburn’s defense with eight tackles. Elijah Melendez and Robert Woodyard Jr. both recorded sacks for the Tigers, who held Georgia without a third-down conversion until the fourth quarter.
Freeze said, “You’re close to being a top 10 team, but not until you eliminate the mistakes that are leading you to defeat.”
Taking up nearly half the first quarter, Auburn drove 75 yards in 14 plays on the opening possession, taking a 7-0 lead on Arnold’s 2-yard touchdown run.
“We had two weeks to develop a good plan,” Freeze said. “Whatever script we wrote to start the game, we called it ‘base stuff,’ and it really worked for three drives.”
Arnold completed 5 of 6 passes for 27 yards and rushed four times for 13 yards on the drive, helping Auburn convert all four of its third-down plays. Arnold also passed for 137 yards by completing 19 of 31 passes and had a game-high 55 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
Robert Woodyard Jr. sacked Stockton on Georgia’s very first possession, forcing a punt after the Bulldogs lost two first downs.
Auburn then capitalized the rest of the first quarter and took a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter with Alex McPherson’s 25-yard field goal.
After consecutive three-and-outs by the Tigers’ defense, Auburn mounted another tremendous drive, taking 7 minutes and 55 seconds in 15 plays, gaining 79 yards, but coming up empty-handed on a goal-line fumble.
Georgia (5-1, 3-1) then drove 88 yards in 12 plays, and with 13 seconds remaining in halftime, scored a 29-yard field goal to cut Auburn’s lead to 10-3.
Both teams were stopped on fourth down on the first possession of the second half, after which Georgia used two explosive pass plays to set up Chauncey Bowens’ 2-yard touchdown run, tying the score at 10-10 midway through the third quarter.
Georgia’s only sack of the game forced Auburn to punt, then the Bulldogs took a 13-10 lead on Peyton Woodring’s 53-yard field goal with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Auburn (3-3, 0-3) will host No. 14 Georgia next Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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