Published August 6, 2012 - 2:00pm
NEW: Discuss this topic in the Google+ community for SEC fans.
SDS is counting down the 10 most memorable games of 2011. This countdown will not include any bowl games, the SEC Championship, nor the national championship because they would obviously take precedence. Let’s stick to the regular season. After all, it is the best regular season in all of sports.
Game 10: Utah State at Auburn – Week 1
Yes, Utah State-Auburn is a memorable game. Why? It has been dubbed the “Miracle on the Plains”, and it is still hard to believe the way it ended. It took two Auburn touchdowns and a successful onside kick in the last 3:38 of the game to pull the win.
The defending national champions were thought to run Utah State out of the stadium, but Auburn was in for a battle until the final whistle. Utah State torched the Tigers on the ground, rushing for 227 yards as a team.
Auburn was down 10 (38-28) with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter and needed a miracle.
They got their miracle in the form of a 15-yard pass from Barrett Trotter to Phillip Lutzenkirchen to cut the lead to 38-35 with 2:07 left. Then, AU completed a successful onside kick.
The Tigers then drove it down the field, and Michael Dyer punched in the final touchdown to give the Tigers a 42-38 edge with 30 seconds left.
“As they’ve done so many times since I’ve been here, they found a way to come back and win,” Chizik said. “That’s kind of been instilled in this group that you never look at the clock and the scoreboard until it says zero-zero-zero.”
Utah State might have outplayed Auburn for three and a half quarters, but there was no quit in this Tigers’ team on this day.
Final Score: Utah State 38, Auburn 42
It was over when: Mike Dyer ran in the final score to make it 42-38 with 30 seconds left
Notable play: Freshman Tre Mason’s 97-yard kickoff return for a TD
Notable stats: Barrett Trotter threw for 261 yards and three TDs in his first start, and Mike Dyer rushed for two TDs
Uh-oh moment: Utah State went up 38-28 on a one-yard TD run with 3:38 left
