AUBURN, Ala — Danny Etling evaded two Auburn defenders, rolled to his right, pointed to D.J. Chark in the end zone and flinged a pass toward the 6-foot-3, 187-pound wide out.
Touchdown LSU.
“I celebrated. I thought we won,” Etling said about the last play of the game.
Jubilation and excitement spread throughout No. 18 LSU’s sideline as all players ran over to dog-pile Chark and Etling after what they thought was a game-winning touchdown.
But none of that ever happened, at least not officially.
“This probably the most confusing situation I ever been in,” said sophomore defensive end Arden Key, who watched the last drive unfold from the sideline.
Trailing 18-13 with 2:56 left in the game, LSU (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) slowly crept in Auburn (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) territory and eventually reached the Auburn 10-yard line.
With no timeouts and running clock, Etling quickly lined up the offense for possibly one last play, snapped the ball and found his senior wide receiver Travin Dural to convert a first down on fourth and five.
Facing one second left in the game, LSU sprung up to call another play from three yards out, until head referee Hebert Owens faced the Jordan-Hare crowd to call a penalty on LSU for an illegal shift.
Chark failed to be aligned correctly on the line of scrimmage before Etling snapped the ball and LSU was moved back five yards with a single second left on the clock.
The next play, Owens and the SEC officiating crew in Atlanta ruled that LSU didn’t snap the ball before regulation ended.
In a matter of five minutes, it was the 87,451 Auburn fans inside Jordan-Hare Stadium who went from anguish to celebratory hugs and cheers after its first home win versus a SEC opponent since 2014.
“We realize that they would not give us any signal as when the clock was being run,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “They raised their hand and apparently got the clock running and we didn’t get the play off, I’m told.”
Moments leading up to the last play, the LSU offense was confused, rushing to line up and run a play.
“I didn’t hear that at all,” said senior center Ethan Pocic about the clock running out. “Danny told us just snap it and that’s what we did.”
After the game, Miles said he knew getting a play off with only second would difficult, but Etling figured LSU had more time.
“Basically, we had enough time in my opinion,” Etling said. “Clock was running, there’s a second left. As soon as the whistle sounded, I called for the ball. It was a quick second, or it’s just impossible to get the ball off in one second.”
For LSU, the gut wrenching loss stings, but the season is long and they won’t have much time to digest it.
“Get to work Monday,” said junior safety Jamal Adams. “We’ve got to put it behind us as much as it hurts.”
