Auburn holds off No. 17 LSU after final-play touchdown is overturned
AUBURN, Ala. — The scoreboard read, “LSU 19, Auburn 18” with 0:00 on the Jordan-Hare scoreboard.
But unless someone took a picture …
LSU quarterback Danny Etling had just rolled right and found wide receiver D.J. Chark in the deep corner of the right end zone for a 15-yard, apparent, thrilling, game-winning touchdown as time expired. Chark made the catch and artfully kept his feet in bounds as the LSU bench erupted with the victory.
But ...
“The previous play is under review,” came the ominous words from the game official on the public address system moments later as the Auburn fans erupted. After some tense moments, the official took the microphone again and said LSU did not get the snap off in time as only one second remained before the play.
Ball game. The scoreboard was corrected. Auburn won 18-13.
"That was unbelievable," LSU center Ethan Pocic said. "I definitely thought we won. It's crazy. One second you do (win), but then one second you don't."
Many of LSU's players left the field not knowing what just happened after experience euphoria just seconds previously.
"I don't know what happened. I didn't see the replay or nothing. I just will have to see what happened," LSU outside linebacker Arden Key said.
"When you see the replay, it's obvious. They didn't get the play off," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
And there was no chance that LSU could get the play off because the previous play did not stop the clock permanently until the next snap as when a player steps out of bounds or after an incomplete pass. On the previous play at the Auburn 10-yard line, which was a fourth-and-six completion by Etling to wide receiver Travin Dural for eight yards to the 2, Dural did not get out of bounds. He was tackled in bounds for a first down with one second to play. An illegal shift penalty of five yards was then assessed against LSU, which stopped the clock — but only temporarily.
When the official set the ball down at the 2 and whistled for the clock to start, LSU obviously did not have enough time to be set for one second — which an offense must do by rule — and get the snap off, no matter how quickly it was snapped by center Ethan Pocic. LSU was done before the play started.
"The call was good," LSU coach Les Miles said. "They raised their hand, let it down to start the clock, and we didn't get the play off. They (game officials) say that you cannot start a play in less than two seconds. I knew it would be difficult. Don't know if I've ever come as close to winning a game that we finished second in. We had a nice drive going. Felt like we had the play that we needed. Felt like we executed the play that we needed and felt like that we, and our kids, did everything we could do."
LSU drove 60 yards in 13 plays for the wild finish that wasn't after getting the ball with 2:56 to play following Daniel Carlson's sixth field goal of the game — a 29-yard boot for the 18-13 lead.
Etling completed 5 of 10 passes for 41 yards on the drive and rushed twice for 30 yards. He completed a sixth pass on the drive to Dural, but that was nullified. And he completed a sixth pass to Chark for the win, but that one was also nullified. He finished 15 of 27 for 118 yards with a 3-yard touchdown pass — the only TD of the game — to tight end Foster Moreau for a 7-3 lead with 2:47 to go in the first quarter.
"I don't even know what was going on," Pocic said. "We snapped it. I had no idea if the clock was running or not or what was going on, but that's football. That's just the way it is."
LSU tailback Leonard Fournette led all rushers with 101 yards on 16 carries for a 6.3-yard average — a number that aggravated Miles.
"Leonard Fournette was the leading ground gainer with half the carries of anyone else," Miles said, criticizing offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's play calling. "I would have liked to have seen more of him."
Auburn (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) won its first SEC home game since the 2014 season, breaking an 0-for-6 dry spell in such games, without the benefit of a touchdown. Carlson hit a school record tying six field goals — a 51-yarder in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead, two 29-yard field goals in the second quarter for a 9-7 lead that stood at halftime, a 31-yard field goal early in the third quarter for a 12-7 advantage and two from 37 and 29 yards, respectively, in the fourth quarter for the 18-13 lead that stuck.
"He's the best kicker in the country," Malzahn said of Carlson. "He proved that tonight."
No. 17 LSU (2-2, 1-1 SEC) got two field goals from Colby Delahoussaye — a 29-yard boot with 5:36 left in the third quarter to get the Tigers within 12-10 and a 25-yard kick to take a 13-12 lead with 2:32 left. Carlson's 37-yarder then put Auburn up 15-13 with 12:36 to play.
The Tigers outgained Auburn 220 yards to 154, but suffered a critical fumble by Etling with 11:33 left in the fourth quarter with Auburn leading 15-13 after LSU had driven to the Auburn 32 yard-line in two plays. Chark gained 35 on an end around, and Fournette gained eight to the Auburn 32. But on second and two, Etling just dropped the ball as he was about to hand it off to Fournette. Two possessions later, Auburn went up 18-13 on Carlson's 29-yard field goal.
"If we don't turn the ball over and do the things we are supposed to, then it is a different ball game," Miles said.
The Tigers would have trailed by a significant margin at halftime were it not for its defense, which kept Auburn out of the end zone with goal line stand as the half ended to keep Auburn’s lead just at 9-7.
"We played good," LSU outside linebacker Arden Key said. "We stopped them when we really needed a stop on the goal line in the first half. We just have to keep pushing.
"Yeah, this is tough. It's hard mentally. But we have to find a way to get over the hump."
PHOTOS FROM WEEK 4 IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
In the first game that showed Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee as the primary playcaller, Auburn quarterback Sean White was efficient finishing with 234 yards passing despite once again struggling in red zone situations.
Auburn limited the negative plays against an aggressive LSU defense to have only four three-and-outs.
LSU (2-2, 1-1 in SEC) had several missed opportunities to pull off its fifth win in six attempts against its Western Division rival. LSU had a missed field goal, fumbled the ball away on a botched handoff and a miss on a deep ball that had Auburn’s safeties beat down the field.
Auburn’s offense, which has been much maligned after poor performances against No. 3 Clemson and No. 13 Texas A&M, outgained LSU 388-338, and the Auburn defense contained LSU tailback Leonard Fournette to 101 yards on 16 carries by frustrating Etling all evening.
“Clearly we knew a 1-2 start wasn’t acceptable and we needed to show that we could do enough to get a win,” White said. “Now we just need to get touchdowns instead of field goals.”
Before last night, Auburn had lost seven straight games to Power 5 conference opponents but pulled off an upset of a top 20 program thanks to an aggressive defense that got eight tackles for loss, three sacks and seven quarterback hurries.
Glenn Guilbeau writes for the Gannett Louisiana, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK