Georgia stuns Auburn thanks to controversial goal-line fumble recovery

AUBURN, Ala. — Linebacker CJ Allen forced a fumble at the goal line in a momentum-turning play, and No. 10 Georgia rallied to beat Auburn and win the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry for the ninth consecutive year, 20-10 on Saturday night.

Allen finished with 10 tackles, including a sack, and a pass breakup. But his most significant play came late in the second quarter and with Auburn (3-3, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) on the verge of pulling ahead 17-0.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) got a break when Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold fumbled on a third-and-goal play with 1:32 to play in the half.

Although replays appeared to show the ball breaking the plane of the goal, officials had no conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field.

So the play stood with Allen getting credit for a forced fumble and Kyron Jones getting credit for a fumble recovery.

Georgia then drove 88 yards for a field goal just before the break. The 10-point swing irritated Auburn — coach Hugh Freeze and assistants gave officials an earful heading into the locker room — and invigorated the Bulldogs.

The Tigers managed just 50 yards in the second half.

Georgia converted a fourth-and-3 play at the Auburn 40 with 5:19 to play to keep a nearly nine-minute lengthy drive alive, and Gunner Stockton sealed the victory with a 10-yard bootleg with less than two minutes to go.

Georgia scored the final 20 points after Arnold’s goal-line fumble.

Poll implications

With No. 3 Oregon and sixth-ranked Oklahoma losing, Georgia could move up a few spots in the next AP Top 25 College Football Poll.

Cam Newton’s jersey retired at halftime

Auburn formally retired Cam Newton’s No. 2 jersey at halftime, engraving his name and number into Jordan-Hare Stadium amid a light show. Newton became the fourth player in program history to receive the honor, joining Pat Sullivan’s No. 7, Terry Beasley’s No. 88 and Bo Jackson’s No. 34.

The takeaway

Georgia: The Bulldogs mustered fewer than 100 yards in the first half but played much better after the break. Of course, they were down seven points instead of 17 at halftime because of the game-changing fumble.

Auburn: The Tigers have dropped three in a row — none of them because of their defense. The stout unit gave Auburn a chance in consecutive games at Oklahoma, at Texas A&M and against Georgia. The Bulldogs failed to convert on their first seven third downs.

Up next

Georgia: Hosts unbeaten and fourth-ranked Ole Miss next Saturday.

Auburn: Hosts No. 14 Missouri next Saturday.