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OKLA |
AUBURN |
No. 21 Oklahoma rallies late, stuns Auburn for first-ever Southeastern Conference win
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Kip Lewis returned an interception 61 yards for the game-winning touchdown, and No. 21 Oklahoma rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Auburn, 27-21 on Saturday for its first-ever Southeastern Conference win.
“That was my first experience with Sooner magic as a head coach,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “That was an amazing last four drives on offense and defense. ... We played our best ball when it mattered most.”
It was Oklahoma’s first SEC road game after leaving the Big 12. The Sooners bounced back from a loss at home to Tennessee the previous week in their SEC opener.
True freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. gained 230 yards of total offense in his first career start for Oklahoma after replacing Jackson Arnold during the Tennessee game.
The Sooners (4-1, 1-1 SEC) struggled on offense for much of this game, but they took advantage of several missed opportunities by the Tigers (2-3, 0-2). Oklahoma stopped Auburn on fourth down at the 1-yard line in the first quarter, and the Tigers missed two chances at a short field goal late in the second quarter.
Auburn’s Payton Thorne passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, but his sixth interception of the season turned out to be the decisive play.
“I’ve got to make sure that (Thorne) understands the situation better, and we should’ve had runs there,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “I have to be clearer with him on what we have to do there.”
Oklahoma’s Jovantae Barnes cut into Auburn’s 21-10 lead with 8:32 remaining with a 2-yard touchdown run that was set up by a 60-yard pass from Hawkins to J.J. Hester. The 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Tigers ahead by five points.
Lewis then intercepted Thorne, who was making his return to the starting lineup after a two-game absence, and ran it all the way back with 4:06 left to play.
After a late Oklahoma field goal extended the visitors’ lead to six points, Thorne’s last-second pass came up short of the end zone.
Auburn finished the game with nearly 200 more yards of offense than Oklahoma.
“We didn’t play very well,” Venables said. “But we played amazingly when we needed to.”
Oklahoma: The Sooners’ slow offensive start, marked by a large number of injuries at wide receiver and inconsistent line play, continued Saturday. But Hawkins could provide a real spark going forward with his dual-threat ability alongside what has been a strong defense under Venables so far this season.
Auburn: Penalties, questionable clock management and empty scoring drives continue to haunt the Tigers, who have lost all three of their home games against power-conference opponents this season. Now Auburn will start the toughest stretch of its schedule with a losing record.
After a 22-yard run from Jarquez Hunter with a little more than 11 minutes remaining and a two-score lead, Thorne threw back-to-back incompletions before a run for no gain. That led to a missed 51-yard field goal.
The possession only took 1:31 off the clock, and it opened the door for Oklahoma’s rally.
Oklahoma will have a good chance to climb back into the Top 20 with this road comeback win.
Oklahoma: Has an off week before facing No. 1 Texas in Dallas on Oct. 12.
Auburn: Visits No. 2 Georgia next Saturday.
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M. Hawkins Jr.
9 QB 161 PaYds, 69 RuYds, RuTD |
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P. Thorne
1 QB 338 PaYds, 3 PaTDs, INT, 23 RuYds |
Team Stats | ||
---|---|---|
1st Downs | 11 | 26 |
Rushing | 4 | 11 |
Passing | 5 | 14 |
Penalty | 2 | 1 |
3rd Down Conv | 3-11 | 5-14 |
4th Down Conv | 0-1 | 2-4 |
Total Net Yards | 291 | 482 |
Total Plays | 47 | 75 |
Avg Gain | 6.2 | 6.4 |
Net Yards Rushing | 130 | 144 |
Rush Attempts | 32 | 43 |
Avg Rush Yards | 4.1 | 3.3 |
Yards Passing | 161 | 338 |
Comp. - Att. | 10-15 | 21-32 |
Yards Per Pass | 9.1 | 8.4 |
Penalties - Yards | 10-78 | 7-61 |
Touchdowns | 3 | 3 |
Rushing TDs | 2 | 0 |
Passing TDs | 0 | 3 |
Other | 1 | 0 |
Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
Fumbles - Lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
Int. Thrown | 0 | 1 |
Punts - Avg | 5-47.6 | 3-49.3 |
Return Yards | 63 | 12 |
Punts - Returns | 1-0 | 3-12 |
Kickoffs - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Int. - Returns | 1-63 | 0-0 |
Safeties | 0 | 0 |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
M. Hawkins Jr.
9 QB
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M. Hawkins Jr. | 10/15 | 161 | 0 | 0 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
M. Hawkins Jr.
9 QB
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M. Hawkins Jr. | 14 | 69 | 1 | 48 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Barnes
2 RB
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J. Barnes | 18 | 61 | 1 | 16 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
J. Hester
13 WR
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J. Hester | 3 | 3 | 86 | 0 | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B. Sharp
10 TE
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B. Sharp | 4 | 4 | 43 | 0 | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B. Thompson
15 WR
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B. Thompson | 3 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Pettaway
17 WR
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J. Pettaway | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Roberts
87 TE
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J. Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
B. Bowman Jr.
2 DB
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B. Bowman Jr. | 7-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
R. Spears-Jennings
3 DB
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R. Spears-Jennings | 4-2 | 1.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Lewis
10 LB
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K. Lewis | 4-1 | 0.0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Malone
4 DB
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D. Malone | 4-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Ford
30 DL
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T. Ford | 4-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
R. Thomas
32 DL
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R. Thomas | 3-1 | 2.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
P. Bowen
22 DB
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P. Bowen | 3-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. McKinzie
11 LB
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K. McKinzie | 3-2 | 1.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Stutsman
28 LB
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D. Stutsman | 2-2 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
S. Omosigho
24 LB
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S. Omosigho | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
E. Bowen
23 DB
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E. Bowen | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
W. Washington
5 DB
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W. Washington | 2-4 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Walker
26 DB
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K. Walker | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
C. Woullard
90 DL
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C. Woullard | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Boganowski
25 DB
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M. Boganowski | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
E. Downs
40 DL
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E. Downs | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
G. Halton
56 DL
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G. Halton | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Williams
52 DL
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D. Williams | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Terry
95 DL
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D. Terry | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 |
Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
Z. Schmit
34 K
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Z. Schmit | 2/2 | 39 | 1/1 | 7 |
Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
L. Elzinga
48 P
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L. Elzinga | 5 | 47.6 | 2 | 57 |
Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
S. Franklin
20 RB
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S. Franklin | 1 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
P. Bowen 22 DB
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P. Bowen | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
J. Hunter
27 RB
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J. Hunter | 17 | 97 | 0 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Alston
0 RB
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D. Alston | 7 | 24 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
P. Thorne
1 QB
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P. Thorne | 17 | 23 | 0 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
S. Jackson V
18 WR
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S. Jackson V | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
C. Coleman
8 WR
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