Heartbreaker doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The Auburn Tigers nearly wrote the perfect script for the next big sports movie blockbuster … almost.

Auburn legend Cadillac Williams returns to the school at which he excelled as a college football player. Years after setting the program record for rushing attempts (741) and rushing touchdowns (45) he takes the reins as interim head coach and revives the team and the program, beginning with a 21-point comeback victory that puts the Tigers back on track.

Almost.

The rally from a 3-TD deficit is true. It did happen. The Tigers erased a 24-3 deficit and took the lead twice in the 4th quarter. They appeared to have pulled off the miracle. But it was Mississippi State that ultimately won it, 39-33, in overtime.

As quickly and as impressively as Auburn scored 27 second-half points for what could have been a momentum-builder for the final 3 games of the 2022 season with Williams, it all slipped away. The homestanding Bulldogs tied it at 33 in the final 29 seconds of regulation and won with an overtime touchdown.

It was a disappointment that overshadowed the efforts of quarterback Robby Ashford, who rushed for a game-high 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. He became the first Auburn quarterback with 100 rushing yards since Nick Marshall ran for 100 at Mississippi State in 2014.

It made up for a bad night throwing the football. Ashford, who may or may not be the future for the Tigers at the position, completed just 7 passes (22 attempts, 0 interceptions) for 75 yards.

The heartbreaking outcome overshadowed a lot of outstanding efforts on Saturday. Tank Bigsby’s exhilarating 41-yard TD run put the Tigers in front, 25-24. It was his 8th rushing TD of the season as he closes in on Ronnie Brown for 9th place on the Tigers’ all-time rushing list. With 2,609 career rushing yards, Bigsby needs 99 more to surpass Brown.

But the fact that the Tigers rallied says a lot about Williams’ impact on the team. He wouldn’t allow them to quit, not that they have given any indication this season that they might.

They didn’t look so good early on. The Tigers are a team that usually hits you hard, plays aggressively and is around the football. But it didn’t seem that way for most of the first half. They looked disjointed and tentative. Perhaps that can be expected with a new coach.

Auburn really didn’t look like Auburn until probably the second half. That’s when players settled in and produced the brand of football they’ve shown them all year. The bottom line is Williams wouldn’t allow them to quit. Even down 3 scores, the team continued to play for him. It wasn’t pretty at times. It wasn’t smooth and it didn’t come easy. It was blue-collar Auburn football that was almost good enough to have the Tigers come away winners.

But that’s been the way this season has gone. Now 3-6 on the year (1-5 in the SEC), the Tigers would have to win out in order to avoid a 2nd consecutive losing season. That hasn’t happened since the 1998 and 1999 seasons. But it appears inevitable with home games against Texas A&M and Western Kentucky still left on the schedule before the annual Iron Bowl game to close it out.

If Williams could squeeze out the production for an entire game what he got out of the team in the 2nd half on Saturday, there’s still a slim chance for a .500 season and a bowl bid.

If he can do that, and get the Tigers to the postseason, after the year they’ve had so far, he would have to be considered for the job full-time. But for that to happen he’ll need to get a much more consistent effort from start to finish to even garner a look.

It should be interesting to see how the Tigers finish out the 2022 schedule now that they’ve moved on from former head coach Bryan Harsin.