Countdown to Kickoff: 30 Days

I remember walking to Jordan-Hare Stadium with my father last November before Auburn’s showdown with then #1 Georgia thinking “man we really need this one”. By “we” I meant not only the Auburn football team but the Auburn fanbase as well. Things were feeling gloomy for the Tigers even though they sat at 7-2 on the season and were still firmly in the SEC West hunt. But it was hard for fans to shake the memory of that 20 point collapse in Death Valley and Gus Malzahn needed a strong showing the final weeks of the season to keep his job.

You could say AU had a strong showing that Saturday.

After UGA marched down the field and put 7 points on the board on their first drive, Auburn took the game over. Three straight Daniel Carlson field goals put Auburn up 9-7 before the Tigers offense broke through, starting with this 42 yard bomb to Darius Slayton.

That gave the Tigers a comfortable 16-7 lead heading into halftime. Auburn got the ball first to open the 2nd half but couldn’t do much on their first possession. However, Mecole Hardman muffed the ensuing punt and the Tigers recovered. All of a sudden, Auburn was in business. It only took 4 plays for the Tigers to score again.

Auburn would not relent. An absolutely vicious sack by Dontavius Russell on the ensuing Dawgs possession would help lead to another Dawg punt. A great return by Ryan Davis along with a personal foul penalty on Sony Michel would set the Tigers up once again in Bulldog territory. This time the Tigers would need half as many plays to find paydirt.

If your counting at home, that’s THIRTY unanswered points for the Tigers. The Dawgs would break up the fun with a field goal but the damage had already been done. Auburn would go on to route Kirby Smart’s squad 40-17, setting up a top ten Iron Bowl clash and breathing new life once again into the 2017 season. We all know how this story didn’t end exactly as we had hoped but for a few weeks late in November, nobody was playing better football than Malzahn’s Tigers.

If you wanna enjoy the beatdown once again check out the video below.

30 days till kickoff! War Eagle!