For three quarters, the Auburn Tigers matched the pace of the nation’s top team.
It took No. 1 Georgia nearly the entire game to put the nail in the coffin but did so with 2:52 remaining in the game. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck connected with tight end Brock Bowers for a 40-yard touchdown pass to secure the 27-20 victory on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) outgained Auburn (3-2, 0-2 SEC) 275-134 in the second half, and outscored the Tigers 17-10 to pull away for the win. Bowers was a key component in Georgia’s second-half surge. He caught eight passes for 157 yards and a score in the win after securing just two catches for nine yards in the first half.
Entering Saturday’s game, Auburn had failed to score in the first quarter in three straight games. That all changed when the Tigers dropped 10 points on Georgia in Saturday’s opening quarter.
Auburn’s first score would come off the legs of [autotag]Alex McPherson[/autotag], who ended an eight-play, 84-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal to put Auburn ahead, 3-0 at the 6:04 mark. Auburn struck again with 2:00 remaining in the quarter when [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] rushed from five yards out to extend the Tigers’ lead to 10-0. The touchdown drive was set up by [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag]’s fourth interception of the season.
It would not take long for Georgia to strike back. With 11:50 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Georgia’s Dijuan Edwards scampered into the end zone from two yards out to cut into Auburn’s lead, 10-7. The drive was Georgia’s longest at that point, covering 56 yards on 11 plays.
Auburn’s defense allowed Georgia to gain 61 yards on their next drive but ended with a win as they forced the Bulldogs to kick a field goal. Peyton Woodring’s 37-yard attempt tied the game at 10-10 with 5:57 remaining in the first half.
Auburn’s strong first-half start continued into the second half, as they forced a turnover on the first play of the 3rd quarter. [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] fell on the football at the Georgia 32-yard line to put the ball back into his team’s hands.
The Tigers needed just two plays to make Georgia pay for the turnover. Robby Ashford rushed nine yards to paydirt to extend Auburn’s lead to 17-10 with 13:31 in the quarter. Ashford rushed for 27 yards in Auburn’s 32-yard drive.
Auburn’s defense held strong until the waning minutes of the 3rd quarter. Georgia pieced together a 10-play, 98-yard drive to tie the game at 17-17 with 1:03 to go in the quarter. The headlining play was a 29-yard pass from Beck to Brock Bowers, which set up a 13-yard touchdown rush by Edwards on the very next play.
Georgia grabbed their first lead of the game with 10:57 remaining in the game on a 38-yard field goal by Woodring. McPherson answered with 6:21 remaining to set the score at 20-20 by nailing a 42-yarder.
The final nail in the coffin was driven in by Bowers with 2:52 remaining in the game. He hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Beck to push Georgia ahead for good, 27-20.
Auburn enters the bye week with a 3-2 record, and 0-2 in SEC play. On the other side of the bye week is SEC West rival, No. 12 LSU. Kickoff and broadcast information will be announced Monday morning.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__