No. 6 Auburn escapes Jacksonville State in overtime

No. 6 Auburn escapes Jacksonville State in overtime, It's difficult to brainstorm any win over Jacksonville State baronial with the a lot of memorable in Auburn's history.

Then again, No. 6 Auburn's adeptness to contrivance a above agitated could prove to be just as important to its championship hopes as the program's better battleground wins in contempo years.

BOX SCORE: AUBURN 27, JACKSONVILLE STATE 20 (OT)

Auburn abhorred a defeat that would accept ranked with the better upsets in academy football history, benumbed a affecting touchdown bolt in the final minute and Peyton Barber's overtime touchdown run to a 27-20 win over the Gamecocks on Saturday.

Barber, authoritative his aboriginal alpha at tailback, ran for 125 yards. The a lot of important came on his 4-yard scoring run to cap Auburn's aboriginal control in overtime.

Barber said he never chock-full assertive Auburn would win, even if the Tigers trailed 20-13 with beneath than 6 account actual in regulation.

"That's one affair I was consistently saying, was that we cannot lose to this team," Barber said.

Jacksonville State (1-1) is the aboriginal Football Championship Subdivision aggregation to yield a ranked FBS aggregation to overtime, but drillmaster John Grass said that's no acumen to celebrate.

"I don't wish to apprehend no moral achievement stuff, for sure," Grass said.

The all-a-quiver win may affect self-doubt in some Auburn circles.

"We've got some growing up to do; there's no agnosticism about that," said drillmaster Gus Malzahn.

Malzahn aswell acclaimed his team's recovery.

Maybe it wasn't as memorable as the 100-yard acknowledgment of a absent acreage ambition to exhausted Alabama in 2013, or the bolt by Ricardo Louis off a apostle to exhausted Georgia the aforementioned year. But it was appropriate to Malzahn.

"A lot of times in the advance of a division it's how you win," Malzahn said. "Today we faced above affliction and we faced above affliction at home."

A 17-yard punt by Jacksonville State's Hamish MacInnes gave Auburn the brawl in abundant acreage position at the Gamecocks 31 with 2 account remaining.

Melvin Ray's leaping 10-yard bolt in the appropriate bend of the end area with beneath than 1 minute actual in adjustment adored Auburn (2-0) from a beauteous loss.

"Coach consistently said we were gonna acquisition a way to win, and Melvin went up and fabricated a abundant play," said quarterback Jeremy Johnson.

Troymaine Pope's 5-yard touchdown run with 5:38 actual gave the Gamecocks the 20-13 lead.

No FCS aggregation has defeated a ranked FBS aggregation back Aug. 31, 2013, if Eastern Washington exhausted No. 25 Oregon State 49-46. An Auburn accident would accept compared with No. 5 Michigan's accident to Appalachian State on Sept. 3, 2007.

Johnson threw two interceptions, giving him 5 in two games. He insisted aplomb isn't a botheration as the Tigers adapt to play No. 14 LSU next week.

"We feel acceptable about area we're at," Johnson said. "We're 2-0, we got the win, and that's all that matters."

Johnson was 21 of 32 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Malzahn insisted afterwards the bold Johnson will accumulate his starting job.

It was the aboriginal affair of the Alabama schools amid 108 afar apart. Jacksonville State played even with Auburn, the highest-ranked adversary 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 canyon to Josh Barge gave Jacksonville State a 10-6 halftime lead, and the visiting admirers chanted "JSU! JSU!" as the teams larboard the field.

Jenkins completed 26 of 43 passes for 277 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He ran for 37 yards and again was larboard to dream about what ability accept been.

"It absolutely would've abashed the world," he said. "Jacksonville State asserted itself today."
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