Write On Sports LLC - "Auburn Holds Off Late LSU Rally" by Frank Sita

Auburn Holds Off Late LSU Rally

2006-09-17 10:46:05 | By: Frank Sita

AUBURN, AL -- For the third straight time, the Auburn-LSU contest came down to the final play of the game.

Auburn’s Eric Brock tackled LSU’s Craig Davis on the AU 5 as the clock ran out, lifting the Tigers to a 7-3 victory over the Bayou Bengals Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn in a heavyweight defensive battle between two teams ranked in the Associated Press top 10.

“LSU put a lot of pressure on our defensive secondary,” Brock said after the game. “This was a team effort, and this win is very sweet for us after what happened last year in Baton Rouge (a 20-17 overtime loss).

“It can’t get any better than this. It’s one of the reasons why I came to Auburn to play in a game like this. Coach (Tommy) Tuberville said this game would be like a heavyweight fight, and that’s what it was.”

Tuberville was pleased with the outcome, pushing his squad to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference, while LSU fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the SEC.

“Holy Cow, what a game,” Tuberville said. “It was a real fistfight between two very evenly matched teams. We just got one more big play, but this was one of the best defensive efforts I’ve seen from an Auburn team.

“Kenny Irons had 70 yards rushing and would have gotten over 150 yards against anybody else. I was proud to see our offensive line respond in the second half after we got punched in the mouth in the first half.”

Jamarcus Russell completed 21-of-37 passes for 267 yards for LSU, but the junior came up short on two big pass plays, one in the first quarter and one in the fourth that were both overturned by the SEC officiating crew.

Russell moved the visitors to the AU 32 and found running back Jacob Hester for a short gain on fourth down and a yard. However Auburn’s Karibi Dede pulled the ball out and after the play was reviewed, the call was overturned, giving the ball to AU on downs.

Auburn’s offense did nothing the whole first half, not picking up a first down until 10:52 was left in the half on a six-yard scramble by quarterback Brandon Cox. The Tigers best weapon on the day was the punting of senior Kody Bliss, who boomed six punts for a 48-yard average and kept LSU at bay with field position.

“We came into the game knowing that LSU had a great defense,” Bliss said. “We expected the kicking game would be a difference. But to win on a national stage like this is sheer redemption against one of our biggest rivals. We just had a street-fighter mentality.”

Tiger running back Kenny Irons, who a had 70 yards on the ground, helped Auburn move the ball to the LSU 9. But the drive stalled and kicker John Vaughn missed a 26-yard field goal, hitting the left upright. Vaughn has missed his last six kicks against LSU after missing five field goals last year.

LSU turned around and drove 55 yards to a 42-yard Colt David field goal on the last play of the first half, giving the Bengals a 3-0 advantage.

Irons spearheaded a drive for Auburn’s only score in the third period, gaining 31 yards on seven rushes. Cox, who was 11-of-17 passing for 109 yards, hooked up with Courtney Taylor for 17 yards and fullback Carl Stewart for 19 yards to the LSU 2. Cox then snuck over from a yard out, giving AU a 7-3 lead with 4:53 left in the third quarter.

However the visiting Tigers threatened twice in the fourth quarter, coming up empty on both occasions. LSU could not run the football against Auburn, being held to 42 yards.

“Beating LSU is awesome,” said AU defensive tackle Josh Thompson. “Coach Tuberville stressed all week that we had to stop the run, and the defensive line did all we could do. We got pressure on Russell but he’s hard to bring down.”

Doucet caught a 37-yard pass from Russell to push the ball to the Auburn 33. Three plays later, Russell heaved a pass toward Doucet on fourth down at the AU 10. But Brock deflected the pass away on a diving stab, negating a pass interference penalty.

Taking over on downs, Auburn ran out the clock with Bliss pinning the Bengals deep with a 51-yard punt to the LSU 20.

Back came Russell one last time. Battling the clock, Russell hit Craig Davis for 20 and 21 yards, and Dwayne Bowe for 21 to the AU 19 with 14 seconds left. After a penalty, LSU had one last chance from the 24. Russell’s pass to Davis was completed to the AU 6 where Brock made the game-saving tackle.