The No. 23 ranked Auburn Tigers kicked off the 2011 season as defending national champions before a crowd of 85,245 Saturday, stealing a last-minute, 42-38 win against the unranked Utah State Aggies.
The Tigers suffered a 10-point deficit in the bottom of the fourth quarter before Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen caught a 15-yard pass from quarterback Barrett Trotter —bringing the score to 38-35 with 2:07 left in the game.
The following kickoff, the Tigers recovered the onside kick and after a short drive down the field, running back Michael Dyer secured Auburn’s victory with 30 seconds remaining. The Tigers managed to redeem themselves after unimpressive performances in the preceding quarters.
“We didn’t play well, period,” said coach Gene Chizik. “No excuse, no nothing. I thought it was a very poor defensive performance. That’s not acceptable here at Auburn, so I fully expect us to rectify that next week. Offensively, I thought the same for much of the game. I think finally in the last quarter or so, we actually looked like an offense that is a college offense. We have a lot of work to do.”
It was Utah State’s quarterback Chuckie Keeton who scored the first touchdown of the game, shortly before Auburn wide receiver Emory Blake leveled the score after grabbing a 56-yard pass from Trotter. Utah State running back Kerwynn Williams scored another touchdown for the Aggies after a 43-yard run—leaving the Tigers behind by seven at the start of the second quarter.
With 7:58 left in the second quarter, Utah State running back Robert Turbin scored a third touchdown for the Aggies, putting them ahead of the Tigers by a 14. Seconds later, freshman Tre Mason returned the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, shrinking the deficit to seven.
The third quarter opened with a crowd-rousing play by Dyer, resulting in a game-tying touchdown—until Utah State placekicker Josh Thompson secured a 34-yard field goal and three more points for the Aggies. With minutes left in the quarter, Auburn wide receiver Travante Stallworth weaved through opposing team members to catapult Auburn to a four-point lead before the start of the game-defining final quarter.
“Obviously any time you can get a win, no matter how you get it, you have to be pleased with that,” Chizik said. “I was pleased with a very young team being able to fight through a lot of adversity and persevered through times that didn’t look very good. Our kids, as they’ve done so many times since we’ve been here, they found a way to come back and win—and that’s really good to see in our young guys.”
Utah State dominated in rushing yards, accumulating 227 compared to Auburn’s 78, though Auburn remained close in passing yards.
“Coach just really keeps our mind grounded with staying focused on the game and making sure we do the right things,” Dyer said. “We always say we’re going to fight through the struggles and be a team.”
Despite a scare for the Tigers, the win against Utah State earned the team its 16th consecutive victory. The Tigers entered the game tied for the third-longest active winning streak in school history.
“Thrilled to have a win, thrilled to come out on top,” Chizik said. “My hat’s off to our players and our coaches to finding a way to come back and win at the end and that’s what matters. We’ve got a lot of improvement to do, as everybody who saw the game knows, and that’s what our aim is going to be before we start in conference play next week.”
The Tigers return to action this Saturday in their first conference face-off against No. 20 Mississippi State University at 11:21 a.m. The theme for the game is “True Blue,” and all fans are encouraged to show their Tiger spirit by wearing blue.