Auburn 27, Jacksonville 20 (In OT) In Three Things

1. Auburn survived, scoring on a ten-yard Melvin Ray touchdown catch to force overtime, and got the game-winner on a four-yard Peyton Barber run in the extra frame. Jacksonville State’s final overtime pass attempt was caught out of bounds.
2. Jacksonville State controlled most of the game. The Gamecocks took a 20-13 lead late in the fourth on a five-yard Troymaine Pope run, but a bad punt gave Auburn good field position for the final drive.
3. Jeremy Johnson struggled, but he threw two touchdown passes including a 51-yard scoring play to Roc Thomas in the third.

Auburn

Don’t push the panic button quite yet. The defense struggled to hit the curveball from Jacksonville State’s quirky offense, and while Jeremy Johnson and the Tiger attack struggle, it came through when it had to. Every once in a while a team has a really, really sleepy game – this might have been it. Johnson has a ton of work to do on refining his game, and the defensive front couldn’t figure out what the Gamecocks were doing, but it’s a win in a game that was really, really close to being an all-time disaster. Take the W and move on.

– Jeremy Johnson completed 21-of-32 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns with two picks

– The running game wasn’t as strong as the numbers. The Tigers ran 38 times for 165 yards and a score. It never found a rhythm.

– Auburn got outplayed. Jacksonville State outgained the Tigers 438 yards to 401.