ATLANTA – Bryum Brown’s tie-breaking 11-yard touchdown run gave Auburn a late lead and Eric Winters secured the victory with a game-saving, goal-line tackle to give the Tigers a dramatic 17-16 victory in Alex Golesh’s debut Saturday in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“We found a way,” Golesh said of Auburn’s first one-point victory since the 2010 Iron Bowl. “You talk about a team that needed to be connected, that’s the one thing I’m so proud of. It’s a bunch of guys who stuck together and found a way. If that’s our identity, then that will be something to build off of. We’ve got a lot to clean up. Wins are hard to get. I’m glad to get this first one. We’ve got a long way to go.”
After Baylor tied the score at 10-10 with a field goal with 4:34 to play, Brown led Auburn on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, scrambling and finding Chas Nimrod for 26 yards on third-and-5 to the Bears’ 18-yard line.
Three plays later from the shotgun, Brown raced to his left and powered into the end zone from 11 yards out for the decisive points, thrilling the Auburn fans who comprised the vast majority of the 55,068 in attendance.
“Coach (offensive coordinator Joel) Gordon called it, I followed my blocks, I followed (Jeremiah) Cobb, he led me to the promised land,” said Brown, who completed 26 of 35 passes for 259 yards. “Protect the ball and as soon as I crossed the goal line, I celebrated with my teammates.”
“What an incredible crowd,” Golesh said. “I’m so grateful for our fans for coming out here in Atlanta and making it a real home-field advantage.”
Baylor did not go down without a fight. Facing fourth-and-10, quarterback DJ Lagway found Gavin Freeman for 28 yards to the Tigers’ 36-yard line with two minutes remaining.
Lagway hit another deep pass down the middle for 27 years to give Baylor first-and-goal at Auburn’s 4-yard line. Three plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 5, Lagway found Freeman for a touchdown that pulled the Bears within one point with 11 seconds to play.
Passing up an opportunity for overtime, Baylor went for the win from 3 yards out. Lagway completed a short pass, but Winters’ textbook takedown of Matthew Klopfenstein inches from the goal line saved the day for Auburn.
“We were prepared for it,” Winters said. “Once I saw him go, I went too. As soon as he caught the ball, I wrapped him up.”
Preseason All-American Xavier Atkins needed only two plays to impact the game, sacking Lagway for a 7-yard loss.
The Bears converted two third-and-longs to cross midfield, but on third-and-2, Winters forced a Lagway fumble that Kaleb Harris recovered at the Tigers’ 29-yard line for Auburn’s first takeaway.
The Tigers converted the turnover into points on consecutive completions to Jake Johnson for 10 yards and Jeremiah Koger for 30 to set up Alex McPherson’s 43-yard field goal. McPherson’s 15th consecutive make gave Auburn a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Auburn’s defense forced another turnover on Baylor’s second possession when edge Jared Smith dropped in coverage and intercepted Lagway at the Tigers’ 40-yard line.
In the second quarter, Auburn drove 57 yards for its first touchdown of the season. Brown completed to Singleton for 15 yards on third-and-8, then Bryce Cain gained 25 yards on a reverse to set up Jeremiah Cobb’s 15-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers a 10-0 lead with 3:51 remaining in the half.
Baylor converted on fourth-and-3 from its 46-yard line on a 15-yard completion from Lagway to Louis Brown IV. Four plays later, those two teamed up again for a 14-yard touchdown that trimmed Auburn’s lead to 10-7 with 1:30 left in the half.
Auburn drove 57 yards to the Bears’ 18-yard line, but Brown’s second interception of the quarter ended the possession in the closing seconds of the half.
The Tigers’ defense began the second half with a three-and-out and Auburn’s offense followed with a 12-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a missed field goal attempt.
Baylor then moved 58 yards to Auburn’s 16-yard line before Rayshawn Pleasant broke up a pass on fourth-and 2 to preserve the Tigers’ lead.
Auburn ran 24 plays for 111 yards in the third quarter and crossed midfield on all three drives but failed to score, taking a 10-7 lead to the fourth quarter.
Elijah Melendez led Auburn with 12 tackles and Winters made 11, including two tackles for loss.
Auburn (1-0) hosts Southern Miss next Saturday at 6:45 p.m. CT for Kickoff on The Plains on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer