AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn suffered its first loss of the Alex Golesh era Saturday, falling 44-39 to Florida in its SEC opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers struggled to contain Florida’s explosive rushing attack, allowing 243 yards on the ground.
Florida struck first with an interception from cornerback Cormani McClain that gave teh Gators possession. After several quick carries took the Gators closer to the end zone, quarterback Aaron Philo tossed the ball to running back Jadan Baugh for the touchdown, capping a three-play, 41-yard drive.
Auburn’s next drive ended in a three-and-out, continuing a slow offensive start for the Tigers. Hudson Kaak punted, and Florida took over.
Florida’s drive stalled when Philo’s pass was deflected and intercepted by edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack. Womack returned the interception 8 yards to the Florida 8-yard line, setting up a 40-yard field goal by Alex McPherson, putting the Tigers on the board, 7-3.
Florida controlled the line of scrimmage on its next possession, but Auburn eventually got its first stop of the drive, resulting in a 3-yard loss for the Gators.
Florida completed a 13-yard pass for the touchdown but is brought back on a personal foul. The Gators then put together a 16-play, 75-yard drive that carried into the second quarter. Duke Clark finished the possession with a 20-yard rushing touchdown, extending Florida’s lead to 14-3.
With possession of the ball, Auburn finally answers. After the eight-play, 75-yard drive, Jeremiah Cobb runs it in for a 2-yard touchdown. Auburn brings the score to 10-14, with the Gators still in the lead.
Florida answers as Philo passes to Kahleil Jackson, who throws a double pass downfield to tight end Amir Jackson for a first down at the 13-yard line. Florida’s drive ended with Patrick Durkin’s 26-yard field goal, extending the Gators’ lead to 17-10.
A 48-yard pass from Brown to wide receiver Keshaun Singleton moved Auburn to the 21-yard line for a first down. Two plays later, Brown finds Singleton again for a third-and-goal touchdown pass. After McPherson kicks a successful extra point, the score is tied 17-17.
Florida responded with another sustained drive, using its star of the night, Baugh. Auburn lineback Xavier Atkins sacked Philo in the backfield, forcing the Gators to third down.
Florida settled for the field goal, and the kick is good, giving the Gators a 20-17 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Philo opened the drive with a 37-yard pass to Vernell Brown III for a first down with less than 40 yards to the end zone. One play later, Baugh broke through Tiger traffic to the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown run, his second touchdown of the night, giving the Gators a 27-17 lead.
Florida continued to generate explosive plays. After converting on third down, Philo found Dallas Wilson for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The Gators led 34-17 after the extra point.
Auburn answered with its longest drive of the night, moving 75 yards on 15 plays. Brown moved the chains before finding wide receiver De’Shawn Spencer, who made a diving catch in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.
The extra point is good, and the score was 34-24 entering the fourth quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Baugh slips through Auburn’s defense for a 53-yard touchdown, his third of the night, giving Florida a 41-24 lead.
Auburn answered with a 90-yard touchdown drive. Brown rushed three times for 60 yards, including a 21-yard rushing touchdown. The Tigers converted the two-point attempt when Brown connected with tight end Arlis Boardingham, cutting Florida’s lead to 41-32.
Auburn then attempted an onside kick, but Florida recovered and regained possession. Florida moved down the field by Philo but could only attempt a 40-yard field goal, which Durkin let sail through the uprights, adding three more to the Gators' lead, 44-32.
An unsuccessful screen from Florida lets Auburn’s Chas Nimrod slip through their defense for the first down. With 24 seconds remaining, Brown drove Auburn 75 yards in eight plays before connecting with Chas Nimrod for a 35-yard touchdown, making it 44-39.
Auburn attempted another onside kick, but Florida recovered and ran out the clock to secure the five-point victory.
In Golesh’s postgame conference, he addressed the Tigers' loss and Florida’s ability to create explosive plays as two defining factors.
“I understand the expectation; the expectation is to win. We got to run the ball better; we gotta be more efficient starting off the game. We gotta eliminate the explosives,” Golesh said.
Auburn finished with 373 total yards, including 271 passing and 102 rushing. Florida totaled 495 yards, with 243 coming on the ground.
After starting the season with a win against both Baylor and Southern Miss, Golesh’s team had yet to feel a loss or sense of defeat.
“This is really the first bit of adversity that, like, real adversity that we got to face as a team, just challenged our guys to handle it the right way,” Golesh said. “There’s a certain way winners handle it, there’s a certain way losers handle it, and we got to go handle it the right way, and that will be growth for us as a program.”
With the first Gator-Tiger matchup on the Plains in 15 years resulting in a loss for the home team, the Tigers look ahead to next week's match-up. The Tigers return to Jordan-Hare Stadium this Saturday for a Homecoming matchup against Vanderbilt to continue SEC play at 3:15 p.m. CT.
