ARLINGTON, TX – The 16th ranked Auburn Tigers rallied to defeat the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, August 31st at AT&T Stadium to kick off the 2019 season. Tigers QB Bo Nix connected with Seth Williams on a 20 yard TD strike with 9 seconds left to seal the 27-21 win.
Early on, it looked as if the Ducks were in full control. Potential Heisman candidate Justin Herbet was lights out for most of the game. In the first quarter, he performed exceptionally well, completing 8 of 11 passes for 109 yards and a TD as they took an early 14-3 lead.
The second quarter wasn’t as electrifying for the Ducks QB with just five pass attempts on the teams 13 offensive plays of the quarter. However, the Tigers didn’t fare very well either, as they were only able to muster up an additional field goal, sending the Ducks into the locker room with a 14-6 lead.
In the second half, after a quick 3 and out from the Tigers offense, Oregon got back to work. Herbert led the Ducks on a nine-play 53-yard drive, with Darrian Felix cashing in on a 6 yard TD run to push their lead to 21-6 with 9:23 left in the 3rd.
After the Ducks scored, things slowed down for them from an offensive perspective. On the other hand, the Tigers seemed to kick things into high gear. Soon thereafter, Auburn was able to put their first TD on the board as Nix connected with Eli Stove in the endzone for 11 yards and the score.
Then in the fourth quarter, the momentum continued to shift. After a Ducks three and out, the Tigers got back on the board as Joey Gatewood punched in a score as he reached over the goal line with 9:48 left to play. Auburn elected to kick the extra pint instead of taking a shot at two due to a false start penalty by Prince Wanogho, pushing the attempt back to the 8-yard line. This made it 21-20 with the Ducks still on top.
As time continued to wind down, the Tigers would get one last shot at a comeback. The drive started with 2:14 left to play and used almost all of the allotted time, with hope dwindling. Then, on a 1st and 10 at the Oregon 26 yard line, Nix found his comfortability in the pocket and slung one just near the endzone goalline connecting with Seth Williams, who was able to muscle past Verone McKinley III for the go-ahead score.
After tacking on the PAT, it was 27-21 Auburn with only 9 seconds left on the clock. However, a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the kickoff back 15 yards at the Oregon 30. The result would give the Ducks one last shot with 3 seconds to go.
The last ditched hope effort was soon gone in the blink of an eye as Herbert lofted one deep into the endzone. However, the ball soared well out of reach of anyone, four yards out of the endzone. At that moment, the scoreboard read 00:00, and the game was a lock historically.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was the first to admit that the Tigers have a lot of room for improvement from this one.
“Bottom line is we didn’t play our best. They’re a really good team. We got a lot of things that we can work on, that we can improve.”
It was just one piece of the puzzle, but the Auburn Tigers were able to overcome adversity, shift momentum to seal the win eventually. Then will look to get back to work next week when they welcome Tulane to Auburn.
Meanwhile, the Ducks will have to prep for the Wolfpack of Nevada who will head to Autzen Stadium.
Written by Adrian Beecher
