SEC
AUBURN 30, KENTUCKY 27
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Something about third down seemed to spark Auburn, and Peyton Barber's clutch execution on the money play helped give the Tigers a long-awaited SEC victory.
Barber rushed for two short touchdowns, including a 3-yarder on a third-and-1 play with 7:56 remaining, to help Auburn outlast Kentucky 30-27 on Thursday night and earn its first SEC victory.
That final touchdown provided a critical buffer against Mikel Horton's 1-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left that brought Kentucky within a field goal.
That score was also the last of Barber's three third-down runs totaling 10 yards that extended the Tigers' key possession and ended up providing a crucial cushion.
Those plays also typified a night in which the Tigers (4-2, 1-2 SEC) converted 11 of 18 chances. Meanwhile, their defense was stingy, allowing Kentucky (4-2, 2-2) to make just 5 of 13 opportunities.
The combined effort helped give Auburn a sorely needed conference victory in hopes of contending in the West Division. The Tigers started and closed strong behind Barber, who rushed for a 1-yard touchdown on their opening drive en route to 92 yards rushing on 26 carries.
Kerryon Johnson added 36 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown on nine attempts. Sean White threw for 255 yards, including 154 to Ricardo Louis, as the Tigers won their ninth consecutive in Lexington.
Kentucky's final attempt to at least tie the game ended with quarterback Patrick Towles being sacked on fourth down with 25 seconds left.
Auburn was outgained 497-407 but made several timely plays of both sides of the ball, including the defensive stand that denied Kentucky 3 yards on two plays on its final drive.
"Big win for our team. I'm very proud," said Tigers Coach Gus Malzahn, who went visor-less to honor South Carolina counterpart Steve Spurrier, who retired Tuesday.
Malzahn's visor will be auctioned off to help that state's flood relief efforts.
"All three phases helped us win this game, and we probably played our best overall game of the year," Malzahn said. "We had some explosive plays and finally got in a rhythm. We were very good on third down."
Auburn hasn't always played like that after starting the season ranked sixth before falling out of the Top 25, but the Tigers made Kentucky play catch-up all night and maintained its dominance at Commonwealth Stadium.
"We made some adjustments and played much better in the second half, and had plenty of opportunities to get the game tied up or go up," Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. "We never could do that and get that momentum."
Auburn set the tone right away with touchdowns on its first two possessions and points on five of its first six drives. White had a lot to do with those first two touchdowns, using lots of time to find receivers and complete his first three third-down passes for 59 yards alone. He completed 17 of 27 passes without an interception and was sacked only once.
Barber and Johnson capped both drives with touchdowns runs, and Daniel Carlson added field goals from 34, 29 and 52 yards, his third from beyond 50 this season.
Kentucky managed to tie the game on its first possession thanks to speedy sophomore Boom Williams, who returned from a one-game absence to handle personal matters. He quickly made his presence felt by taking a delayed handoff for 60 yards to the Auburn 3 before scoring from the 1 two plays later.
Kentucky trailed 23-10 at halftime before regrouping on both sides of the ball to score 10 consecutive points. That's when Auburn's offense awoke from a scoreless third quarter to provide the crucial score and spoil Kentucky's first Thursday night home game since 1939 before a sellout crowd.
Towles completed 27 of 44 passes for 359 yards. Williams gained 113 yards on 16 carries.
CONFERENCE USA
WESTERN KENTUCKY 55,
NORTH TEXAS 28
DENTON, Texas — Brandon Doughty passed for 350 yards and four touchdowns and Anthony Wales had 259 total yards and three touchdowns to help Western Kentucky beat North Texas for its seventh consecutive Conference USA victory.
Doughty found Wales out of the backfield for a 5-yard touchdown to open the scoring and connected with Jared Dangerfield on a short touchdown to make it 14-0. In the second quarter, Doughty threw a deep ball to Taywan Taylor for a 56-yard score and later found Taylor in the end zone for 31 yards.
Taylor finished with 134 yards receiving for Western Kentucky (6-1, 4-0), which is off to its best start since joining the FBS in 2008.
DaMarcus Smith threw four touchdown passes in his first career start for North Texas (0-6, 0-3).
Mike Canales was named interim coach for North Texas on Sunday after Dan McCarney was fired following a blowout loss to FCS Portland State.
Sports on 10/16/2015