Auburn vs South Carolina Recap: The Tigers Hang On to a 42-35 Victory

The Head Ball Coach threw everything he had into this game and almost pulled it out, but the Auburn Tigers were able to make defensive stops when they needed to hold on for the victory.

Until the end of the game, South Carolina converted every fourth down conversion attempt that they faced during the game. Gus Malzahn was quoted afterwards as saying that South Carolina held nothing back, and that is definitely the truth. Auburn's defense allowed more touchdown passes tonight than it had all season, but the defense came up big when it was needed most.

Jonathon Jones recorded two interceptions, including the game clinching one as time ran out for the Tigers. He was also called for one of the worst pass interference calls I've ever seen on the Gamecock's second to last drive. Auburn generated zero pass rush tonight, even as the South Carolina center continuously rolled balls back to QB Dylan Thompson.

In the end, Auburn's offense was only stopped from scoring a touchdown three times: once on the first drive of the game, once on the last drive of the 1st half, and then at the very end with less than two minutes to play. They scored a touchdown on every other drive.

Nick Marshall played an excellent game tonight, Cameron Artis-Payne was a beast with the football, and Duke Williams made the clutch catches that make him the star that he is. The offense rolled for most of the night and looked about as good as it has looked all season long. The tempo was fantastic and the play calling was mostly brilliant. The game was truly a chess match of two of the greatest offensive minds in college football over the past 20 years.

42 is more than 35. We may be lucky the Tigers pulled this game out, but a win is a win is a win. Auburn is still in excellent position to make the College Football Playoff. War Eagle.