AUBURN, Ala. — Thanks to a 41-yard field goal by senior kicker Cole Tracy, No. 12 LSU pulled off the upset and won 22-21 over No. 7 Auburn. It was LSU’s first win in Jordan-Hare since a 12-10 victory in 2012.
“Great job by our coaching staff, total team victory,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said after the game. “We talked about poise going into this game. We knew it was going to be tough. We talked about exploding at 2:39 Central Standard Time, not before. An emotional game for our players and our coaches, and we knew it was going to take all we had. And they did.
LSU started out fast against one of the best defenses in the Southeastern Conference. An interception by sophomore safety Grant Delpit on the first drive of the game set the Tigers up at Auburn’s 34, and the drive was capped off with a 1-yard run by sophomore Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
It looked like Delpit forced another turnover on the next drive when he hit Auburn wide receiver Ryan Davis who lost the ball. However, the pass was ruled incomplete and was never reviewed.
After a 31-yard catch by sophomore receiver Justin Jefferson, LSU (3-0, 1-0 SEC) found themselves deep in Auburn territory, but a low block by junior right guard Damien Lewis resulted in a 15-yard penalty. The drive stalled soon after, and Auburn took over at its 10.
Two big passes by Auburn (2-1, 0-1 SEC) quarterback Jarrett Stidham, and a penalty on sophomore cornerback Greedy Williams moved the ball to LSU’s 24. On 4th-and-1 at LSU’s 17, junior linebacker Devin White broke through the line and stuffed Auburn’s JaTarvious Whitlow for a loss of two.
Burrow and senior running back Nick Brossette led LSU’s offense into Auburn territory, but at the end of the first quarter, Cole Tracy missed his first kick of the year from 52 yards out.
Tracy made up for it on the next drive for LSU and made a 26-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-0 lead over Auburn early in the second quarter.
But the home Tigers quickly bounced back. They scored touchdowns on their next two drives and went into half up 14-10 on LSU.
Auburn scored once again on its first drive of the second half after LSU went for it on 4th-and-3 and sophomore punter Zach Von Rosenberg’s pass on a fake punt to senior tight end Foster Moreau fell incomplete.
It seemed like Auburn was on the verge of breaking LSU’s backs, but Orgeron’s Tigers kept fighting and cut the score to 21-13 by the end of the third quarter.
Auburn had a chance to make the score 24-13, but Anders Carlson’s 52-yard field goal went wide.
After each team exchanged possessions, LSU began a drive on its own 29. Burrow dropped back and lofted a pass between three Auburn defenders into the hands of junior receiver Derrick Dillon. Dillon ran it up the sidelines for a 71-yard touchdown.
LSU didn’t convert the two-point attempt, but Dillon’s touchdown cut Auburn’s lead to 21-19.
After a three-and-out by Auburn, Burrow had a chance to cement himself in LSU lore. Burrow and the Tigers started the drive at their own 24 with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left on the clock.
Burrow marched LSU down the field with the help of two pass interference penalties on the Auburn defense, but the biggest play of the drive was a 9-yard completion to junior receiver Stephen Sullivan on 4th-and-7 at the Auburn 48.
After draining the clock down to three seconds, Tracy came out for the game-winning kick, and much like his previous attempts, it was right down the middle.
“I knew on Monday that it could possibly come down to this,” said Tracy, who was 3-for-4 on his field goal attempts against Auburn. “I’ve been preparing the entire week for this opportunity.”