NO. 6 AUBURN 27,
JACKSONVILLE STATE 20, OT
AUBURN, Ala. -- It's difficult to imagine any victory over Jacksonville State ranking with the most memorable in Auburn's history.
Then again, No. 6 Auburn's ability to avoid a major upset could prove to be just as important to its championship hopes as the program's biggest landmark victories in recent years.
Auburn dodges a loss that would have ranked among the biggest upsets in college football history, riding a dramatic touchdown catch in the final minute and Peyton Barber's overtime touchdown run to a 27-20 victory over the Gamecocks on Saturday.
Barber, making his first start at tailback, ran for 125 yards. The most important came on his 4-yard scoring run to cap Auburn's first possession in overtime.
Barber said he never stopped believing Auburn would win, even when the Tigers trailed 20-13 with less than 6 minutes remaining in regulation.
"That's one thing I was always saying, was that we cannot lose to this team," Barber said.
Jacksonville State (1-1) is the first Football Championship Subdivision team to take a ranked FBS team to overtime, but Coach John Grass said that is no reason to celebrate.
"I don't want to hear no moral victory stuff," Grass said.
The shaky victory may inspire self-doubt in some Auburn circles.
"We've got some growing up to do," Coach Gus Malzahn said. "There's no doubt about that."
Malzahn also applauded his team's recovery. Maybe it wasn't as memorable as the 100-yard return of a missed field goal to beat Alabama in 2013, or the catch by Ricardo Louis off a defender to beat Georgia the same year, but it was special nonetheless to Malzahn.
"A lot of times in the course of a season it's how you win," Malzahn said. "Today we faced major adversity, and we faced major adversity at home."
A 17-yard punt by Jacksonville State's Hamish MacInnes gave Auburn the ball in great field position at the Gamecocks 31 with 2 minutes remaining, and Melvin Ray's leaping 10-yard catch in the right corner of the end zone with less than a minute remaining in regulation saved Auburn (2-0) from a stunning loss.
"Coach always said we were going to find a way to win, and Melvin went up and made a great play," quarterback Jeremy Johnson said.
Troymaine Pope's 5-yard touchdown run with 5:38 remaining gave the Gamecocks the 20-13 lead.
No FCS team has defeated a ranked FBS team since Aug. 31, 2013, when Eastern Washington beat No. 25 Oregon State 49-46. An Auburn loss would have compared with No. 5 Michigan's loss to Appalachian State on Sept. 3, 2007.
Johnson threw two interceptions, giving him five in two games. He insisted confidence isn't a problem as the Tigers prepare to play No. 14 LSU next week.
"We feel good about where we're at," Johnson said. "We're 2-0, we got the win, and that's all that matters."
Johnson completed 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Malzahn said after the game Johnson will keep his starting job.
It was the first meeting of the Alabama schools located 108 miles apart.
Jacksonville State played even with Auburn, the highest-ranked opponent in the program's history. Auburn struggled to stop the Gamecocks offense, led by quarterback Eli Jenkins' runs, throws and fakes.
Jenkins' 11-yard touchdown pass to Josh Barge gave Jacksonville State a 10-6 lead going into halftime, and the visiting fans chanted "JSU! JSU!" as the teams left the field.
Jenkins completed 26 of 43 passes for 277 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He also ran for 37 yards but was thinking about what might have been.
"It definitely would've shocked the world," he said. "Jacksonville State asserted itself today."
NO. 16 TEXAS A&M 56,
BALL STATE 23
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Kyle Allen threw for 126 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and Texas A&M rolled past Ball State.
It was the perfect party to celebrate the first game after a $485 million redevelopment of Kyle Field that increased its capacity to 102,733, making it the largest stadium in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation.
A field goal by the Cardinals (1-1) on their first drive cut their deficit to four, but the Aggies (2-0) then reeled off 42 consecutive points, helped by a defensive score, to make it 49-3 at halftime. Kyler Murray took over for Allen with about two minutes left in the first half and threw his first career touchdown pass for 10 yards to Christian Kirk to cap the first-half scoring.
NO. 17 MISSISSIPPI 73,
FRESNO STATE 21
OXFORD, Miss. — Chad Kelly threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns, three to Quincy Adeboyejo, in Mississippi’s victory over Fresno State.
Kelly started his second consecutive game after winning what Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze called a close quarterback race during preseason camp against Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade.
He was sharp from the outset, leading the Rebels (2-0) to a 28-0 lead over the Bulldogs (1-1) after one quarter. He completed 20 of 25 passes overall.
Ole Miss had two interceptions in the third quarter that ended any hope of a Fresno State comeback. Trae Elston’s was returned for a 38-yard touchdown, which was his second consecutive game with an interception return for a score. Ole Miss finished with 607 total yards.
FLORIDA 31,
EAST CAROLINA 24
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Will Grier threw two touchdown passes, Jalen Tabor returned an interception for a score and Florida held on to beat East Carolina on Saturday night.
The Gators (2-0) secured the victory when quarterback ECU Blake Kemp fumbled and Alex McCalister recovered it with 12 seconds left. McCalister possibly could have scored, but teammate Jarrad Davis tackled him near midfield to prevent a fumble.
Florida trailed 17-14 late in the third quarter when Tabor stepped in front of Kemp’s sideline pass and went untouched the other way for 39 yards and his first score. That provided some much-needed breathing room for an offense that never really got into rhythm against the Pirates (1-1).
A week after totaling 61 points and 606 yards against overmatched New Mexico State, Florida looked far from polished in the Birmingham Bowl rematch.
The Gators managed 373 yards, converted 4 of 13 third-down attempts, committed 12 penalties for 105 yards, missed 2 field goals and had 2 turnovers.
KENTUCKY 26,
SOUTH CAROLINA 22
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Stanley “Boom” Williams ran for 107 yards on 14 carries as Kentucky held on to beat South Carolina.
The Wildcats (2-0, 1-0 SEC) snapped a 22-game road losing streak despite gaining 92 yards and getting just four first downs in the second half.
South Carolina (1-1, 0-1) had a chance to tie on a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter, but Pharoh Cooper fumbled on the try and Denzil Ware returned the ball 98 yards to give Kentucky two points and what proved to be the final margin.
Cooper had nine catches for 100 yards. Junior quarterback Perry Orth took over for injured starter Connor Mitch. He was 13 of 20 for 179 yards, but threw an interception with 4:32 to go at the Wildcats 26 with the Gamecocks down four.
It was Kentucky’s first SEC road victory in six years.
Sports on 09/13/2015