Auburn Field Goal at the Gun Topples No. 1 Georgia 27-24

ATHENS, Ga. — Top-ranked Georgia suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, falling 27-24 to unranked Auburn when Alex McPherson split the uprights from 34 yards as the clock hit zero at Sanford Stadium.

The Bulldogs had every reason to feel in control early. They jumped ahead 14-0, then watched the visitors rattle off 24 consecutive points and carry a 24-14 cushion into the final quarter.

Turnovers sank the comeback. Quarterback Gunner Stockton was picked off twice, and after an Auburn snap went awry on third-and-11 with 1:16 left and forced a quick punt, Stockton coughed the ball up near midfield with 58 seconds remaining. Auburn got it back holding all three timeouts.

Penalties added to the damage. Georgia was flagged for three personal fouls on Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown, the last of them in the closing seconds, which moved the Tigers into range for the winning kick. Georgia also had a field goal attempt blocked.

Auburn won the game up front. Brown ran for 115 yards and Jeremiah Cobb added 61 on 13 carries, while the Georgia ground game managed just 113 yards on 28 attempts. Nate Frazier, back in the lineup, averaged 2.1 yards a carry. The Tigers did it without their top defender, Xavier Atkins, who was suspended for the game.

The numbers behind the upset are stark. Georgia came in favored by 20 1/2 points, had beaten Auburn nine straight times since 2017 and had gone 18-0 at home while ranked No. 1 under head coach Kirby Smart. It was Auburn’s first victory in Athens since 2005 and its first road win over a No. 1 team since 1994.

Georgia drops to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference, giving up its spot as the league’s last unbeaten team. Auburn, in its first season under coach Alex Golesh, improved to 4-2 and 2-2. The loss also meant the nation’s No. 1 team fell to an unranked opponent for a second straight week, something that had not happened since 1990, after Texas lost to Oklahoma a week earlier.

Filed under: Savannah GA Sports News