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| Oct 24, 2015; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Drew Morgan (80) dives into the end zone to score the winning touchdown during the quadruple overtime against the Auburn Tigers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Arkansas Razorbacks defeat the Auburn Tigers 54-46. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports |
Lindy's Sports
It could have been the thing by which legends are made. Facing the improbable, somehow achieving the impossible.
And, it could have been the thing by which programs are crushed, expectations smacked down by reality, dreams transformed into full-fledged nightmares.
With just over a minute remaining in regulation on Saturday in Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, legends and nightmares came face-to-face.
Arkansas had led Auburn from the first drive of the first quarter and with just 67 ticks left in the game, the score was 24-21 for the Hogs. The Tigers had the ball at their own 26-yard line. Then, with 33 seconds remaining after a holding call, Auburn freshman quarterback Sean White faced 2nd down and 20, still back at the Tiger 28, with no timeouts left.
Improbable … certainly. Impossible … probably.
White, making only his fourth career start, showed the poise of a veteran, staring down the rush and completing two long passes, putting the Tigers at the Razorbacks’ 24-yard line with just nine seconds on the clock. Daniel Carlson’s field goal knotted the score and sent the game into overtime.
The pending nightmare would make the legend seem even more miraculous.
Arkansas had not just led the game, it had dominated it in humiliating fashion. At one point late in the second quarter, the Hogs had about 200 yards total offense to the Tigers’ 17. Auburn had no offensive first downs.
After a disappointing start to the season – Arkansas was ranked in all preseason polls, but entered the Auburn game with a 2-4 record – Razorback fans were literally dancing in the aisles. After a surprising road win in Knoxville and a disappointing road loss in Tuscaloosa, the home crowd finally had something to cheer about.
But, when Auburn’s comeback started late in the first half and continued after intermission, euphoria turned to worry, then to disbelief.
An Arkansas loss and the nightmare would be official. At 2-5 after a monumental collapse, the season that started with such promise would be an unmitigated disaster.
Of course, it didn’t happen that way. Auburn couldn’t overcome its horrendous start and Arkansas was able to survive.
The Razorbacks dug deep and found a way to win, answering every Tiger overtime touchdown and two-point conversion. When the offense had to make third-down and fourth-down conversions, it did. And, when the defense had to find one more fourth down stop, it did just that, tipping away a pass on the game’s last play.
After seven more combined touchdowns during four overtimes, Arkansas got the win, 54-46.
You have to give credit, too, to Gus Malzahn and the Auburn coaching staff. A lot of teams being demolished early like that would have called it a day, but they wouldn’t let that happen. Despite eight dropped passes by Tigers’ receivers, including an uncontested drop in the end zone in the final overtime and several fir
st-down-losing drops throughout the game, Auburn evened the stats and the score before falling at the end. (How many teams can win after dropping eight passes anyway?)
Unfortunately for both teams, it’s too late to meet this season’s expectations.
Arkansas, now with three victories, has to win three more in order to qualify for the postseason. With four more SEC games (at Ole Miss, at LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, plus a game against UT-Martin), finding that trio of wins is not guaranteed.
Auburn has four wins and a fifth against Idaho in late November is a near certainty. But, with Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama ahead, can getting that sixth win be considered a sure thing? The Tigers’ game against the Rebels on Saturday is as close to a “must” win as there can be.
At this point, legends and nightmares are put on hold.
White will have other chances to make his mark on Auburn football history. Arkansas will have other chances to meet and exceed its dreams.
The line between legend and nightmare is often a thin one. For now, these teams just need to find a way to survive.
Lyn Scarbrough of Lindy's Sports is a regular contributor during the College Football season to this blog.
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