Auburn football hands Oklahoma victory with late pick-six at Jordan-Hare
AUBURN — Auburn football fell short in its second straight conference game, losing to No. 21 Oklahoma 27-21 on Saturday at Jordan Hare-Stadium.
After leading late in the fourth quarter, Payton Thorne threw the game's only interception when it mattered most. The pick was returned for a 60-yard Oklahoma touchdown, giving the Sooners their first lead since the opening quarter.
Auburn (2-3, 0-2 SEC) entered the halftime break with a touchdown lead behind Thorne's two first-half passing touchdowns. He also led the Tigers in rushing at the break, but took crucial sacks on Auburn's final drives after giving up the lead.
On defense, the Sooners (4-1, 1-1) were held to only 161 passing yards in Michael Hawkins Jr's first collegiate start. Auburn's defense finished with two sacks and allowed two trips to the red zone for Oklahoma.
Auburn's offense set the tempo early, late turnover haunts Tigers
Auburn football seemed to have the turnover bug fixed until the crucial pick-six interception late turned the game. The Tigers were plagued by turnovers in their losses to Arkansas and Cal.
Thorne completed 66% of his passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns in his third start this season. Despite going 0-for-2 in red zone, Thorne led the offense to 26 first downs and averaged 6.4 yards per play.
Wide Receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith scored his sixth touchdown of the season, grabbing a 31-yard reception for the Tigers' first score of the game. Freshman Malcom Simmons added a 48-yard touchdown reception late in the second for the longest completion of the game.
The ground game finished with 144 yards, with Jarquez Hunter leading the charge with 97 yards. Damari Alston added 24 yards.
Defense shuts down Oklahoma's freshman QB
Freshman Hawkins completed 10 of 14 passes for 161 yards. He led the Sooners' rushing attack with 69 yards and exploded for a 48-yard touchdown run for the game's first score.
Following the opening score, The Tigers held the Sooners to just a field goal heading into the final quarter. Oklahoma finished with only 11 first downs and averaged 6.2 yards per play. They only converted 2 of 9 third-down attempts.
Freshman Demarcus Riddick got his first sack of his career finishing with four total tackles and a tackle for loss. Jalen McLeod got the Tigers' second sack on a crucial fourth-down stop in the final quarter.
What's Next?
The Tigers will travel to Athens to play Georgia.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football falls to Oklahoma after late pick-six topples Tigers
