Big plays in second half lead Bulldogs past Tigers

ATHENS, Ga. - For a few moments in the third quarter, Auburn appeared to have taken control of Saturday’s game against Georgia.

The feeling didn’t last long.

Georgia’s big plays in the second half blew open the game, sparking the Bulldogs to a dominating 45-20 win in the Southeast’s oldest rivalry.

It was a bitter pill for Auburn, which was officially eliminated from the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.

Georgia (8-2, 5-2 SEC) had six plays longer than 20 yards, including four deep throws.

The Bulldogs buried Auburn’s lead in an avalanche of scoring, with 28 unanswered points to close the game. In his postgame press conference, AU head coach Tommy Tuberville used the word “collapse” three separate times to describe his defense’s effort.

UGA’s 45 points were the most scored by any opponent against Auburn since 1996, when Georgia scored 56 in four overtimes. This time, the Bulldogs did their scoring in four quarters.

“I thought we looked confused out there a couple of times,“ Tuberville said. “When you give up 45 points, you’ve been taken to the woodshed pretty good.“

Auburn (7-4, 4-3) bounced back from a rough start, taking a 20-17 lead on a Wes Byrum field goal with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

But the Tigers couldn’t sustain the comeback.

Georgia regained the lead on its next drive, racing 68 yards in four plays. Wideout Sean Bailey picked up most of that yardage with a 45-yard reception, one of several long passes by quarterback Matthew Stafford.

That set up a 24-yard touchdown by freshman tailback Knowshon Moreno, which put UGA ahead 24-20.

“Somehow, we found a way, like we have all year long, of being able to stay in the ballgame,“ Tuberville said.

“And then the defense absolutely collapsed.“

Moreno’s scores opened the floodgates.

“We started getting after them - finally,“ Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “When Bailey made that play, there was a sudden breakdown on defense that was enough to give us some wiggle room.

“Momentum shifted and it never went back.“

Auburn’s defense gave up 417 yards, its second-worst showing of the season.

The offense’s struggles were equally ugly: Quarterback Brandon Cox threw a season-high four interceptions and finished with 133 yards passing.

And Cox didn’t get much help from his teammates.

The run game had its worst showing since the season opener, finishing with 83 yards. The receiving corps dropped several passes. And the offensive line allowed Georgia’s defense to pound Cox, sacking him three times and hitting him at least a half-dozen more.

“It was another tough night,“ Cox said. “We couldn’t get anything going. Everything went Georgia’s way. It was just bad luck.“

Auburn is off this weekend. The Tigers’ next game is the Iron Bowl against Alabama on Nov. 24 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.