Update: Auburn survives scare from Jacksonville State

Sixth-ranked Auburn didn’t provide its fans many highlights worthy of its new state of the art scoreboard Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium as it survived a monumental upset bid from Jacksonville State.

In the final minute of regulation, Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson hit Melvin Ray for a 10-yard touchdown to force overtime where Peyton Barber scored from 3 yards out to give the Tigers a 27-20 lead.

Auburn’s defense stopped a JSU offense that put up more than 400 total yards of offense to secure the victory.

Linebacker Cassonova McKinzy made the key play knocking the Gamecocks quarterback Eli Jenkins back 16 yards on third down with his second sack of the afternoon.

The Tigers (2-0) had not lost to a non-Division I-A team since falling to Wofford and Southeastern Louisiana in 1950.

A series of plays at the end of regulation helped keep that streak intact. Auburn's defense came through with a three-and-out, the first and only time in the game, with the Gamecocks backed up at their own 14-yard-line.

Jacksonville St. punter Hamish MacInnes muffed his second punt of the game to give the Tigers great field position at the 31-yard line. Johnson completed three passes to different targets on the short ensuing drive to get his team into the end zone with 39 seconds left on the clock.

“When our backs are against the wall, we are not going to give up,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “We are going to find a way to win. I’m telling you, that’s big. It doesn’t make a difference who you’re playing. I’d say most teams wouldn’t have won that game.”

Jacksonville State, a FCS school out of the Ohio Valley Conference, had the Tigers on the ropes for much of the game. 

It jumped out to a 10-6 lead before halftime, and running back Troymain Pope’s 5-yard touchdown run with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter gave the Gamecocks a 20-13 lead.

It wasn’t until Johnson hit running back Roc Thomas for a 51-yard touchdown in the third quarter that fans were able to enjoy the 10,800-square-foot, crystal clear high-definition picture on their new scoreboard.

On the ensuing drive, Auburn’s defense forced its first turnover of the game with safety Rudy Ford picking off a throw from Jenkins in the end zone.

Jenkins. a senior from Birmingham, Ala., was nearly perfect up to that point.

He led the Gamecocks with poise, piling up 182 yards on 15 of 24 passing in the first half, and finished with 314 total yards of offense. 

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder spread the ball around the field showing great command of a no-huddle, read-option offense.

“Auburn is a great team,” Jenkins said. “We put up 20 points, 20 points against Auburn, with a great defense. The odds were probably just like the tennis match with Serena Williams. They were probably three thousand to one. … Michigan State beat us pretty bad last year, but we came in with a mindset to win. We came close.”

Wide receiver Josh Barge and Ruben Gonzalez helped Jenkins out by showing up Auburn’s secondary throughout the game. Barge finished with 14 catches for 132 yards with the touchdown, and Gonzalez had eight catches for 101 yards.

Barge caught a 29-yard pass down the Tigers’ sideline against good coverage from Blake Countess to help set up a 32-yard field goal from Connor Rouleau.

“Their quarterback, give him credit, he made a couple of throws on the sidelines, there aren’t very many people making those throws,” Malzahn said. “There were three or four that were perfect, back of the shoulder, all the way across the field. When they make a play, they make a play.”

Barge, the Gamecocks’ top receiver, also made a nice grab in the end zone for the lone touchdown of the first half.

Jenkins avoided pressure from both sides of the pocket on the play, but his throw to Barge was low. The senior cradled the ball, and kept it from hitting the turf.

Gonzalez caught three passes on Jacksonville St.’s first drive, and displayed his toughness on a 25-yard throw from Jenkins. He caught the ball in mid-air while getting hit from behind by a defensive back.

Auburn’s defense missed starters Carl Lawson (hip) and Tray Matthews (shoulder). Both players spent the afternoon watching the game from the sidelines in street clothes.

Adding to the Tigers’ struggles in the secondary was Countess’ ejection in the second quarter. The starting defensive back was called for targeting trying to tackle Pope.

Officials reviewed the penalty but upheld the call.

Auburn’s offense continued its early season woes with Johnson throwing a pair of interceptions, and only leading one trip into the red zone through three quarters.

“We sputtered, they have some good players, but bottom line is the offense sputtered in the first half,” Malzahn said. “We took awhile to get into a rhythm.”

The Tigers turned the ball over a third time with Roc Thomas fumbling at JSU’s 13-yard line with 2:31 to go in the game.

For a second straight week, it was Barber that was a lone source of consistency. He ran for 125 yards on 23 carries, and converted a critical third down in overtime with a catch for nine yards.

Malzahn called Barber’s reception in overtime “unbelievable.” The play involved the sophomore making a 360-degree spin move, and breaking three tackles to get to the first down.

“I felt like Peyton Barber really stepped up and took over the game in the fourth quarter when we needed someone to,” Malzahn said.

Daniel Carlson continued to be one of the team’s MVPs hitting two field goal attempts. He set a career-high last week with a 56-yarder, and connected from 27 and 49yards out in the first half.

Michael Niziolek covers Auburn football for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Email him at mniziolek@ledger-enquirer.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Update: Auburn survives scare from Jacksonville State."