Auburn’s furious fourth-quarter rally falls short in 44-39 shootout loss to Florida

AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - A valiant fourth-quarter comeback bid by the Auburn Tigers ran out of time Saturday, as Auburn fell to the Florida Gators 44-39 in a high-scoring SEC battle.

Florida set the pace early on, scoring on a costly first-possession turnover by Byrum Brown, then opening the second quarter with 67-yard drive that ended on a 20-yard touchdown run to put the Gators up 14-3.

Auburn’s offense found its footing in the second quarter as Byrum Brown led an explosive 75-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers capitalized on the momentum when Brown found Keshaun Singleton inside the endzone on a 4-yard pass to tie the game 17-17. Florida secured a field goal to end the first half with a 3-point lead.

In a reversal of norms, it was the offense that kept Auburn alive through the second half, while the defense struggled to stop Florida on the pass.

After falling behind 41-24 early in the fourth quarter, the Tigers mounted a late charge.

Brown ripped off a 21-yard touchdown run and connected on a 2-point conversion with 6:10 remaining, then answered a Florida field goal with a 35-yard touchdown strike to Chas Nimrod on fourth down with just 24 seconds on the clock.

However, Florida recovered Auburn’s subsequent onside kick attempt and took a knee to extinguish the Tigers’ rally.

Brown accounted for five touchdowns in the effort, throwing scoring passes to Nimrod (twice), Kaleb Singleton, and DeShawn Spencer while adding a pair of rushing scores alongside Jeremiah Cobb.

The Tigers open SEC play 0-1 and will host Vanderbilt next week. Auburn fell to the Commodores 45-38 in an overtime thriller last year.

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