No. 21 Oklahoma rallies late, stuns Auburn for first-ever Southeastern Conference win
AUBURN, Ala. -- — 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.”
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.
The possession only took 1:31 off the clock, and it opened the door for Oklahoma’s rally.
Auburn: Visits No. 2 Georgia next Saturday.
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