#12 Wofford 28, Chattanooga 27

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Down to the final minute of the regular season, the Wofford football team scored a touchdown with 37 seconds remaining to win 28-27 over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium.

The Terriers are 8-3 on the season and 6-2 in the SoCon to finish second. Chattanooga is 5-6 overall and 3-5 in conference play. For Wofford, Eric Breitenstein and Donovan Johnson each had over 100 rushing yards. Johnson had 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Breitenstein had 140 yards and one touchdown. Mitch Allen added a touchdown run. The Mocs were led by B.J. Coleman with 26-of-39 passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Three different receivers had touchdowns for the Mocs.

The Mocs had the ball to open the game and picked up two first downs. B.J. Coleman then found Marlon Anthony for a 44-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead with 11:57 on the clock in the first quarter. Wofford answered with a ten play drive that covered 66 yards and was capped by an eight yard touchdown run by Donovan Johnson with 7:10 in the quarter to tie the game.

On the second drive of the day for Chattanooga, B.J. Coleman hit Joel Bradford in the end zone with a 13-yard touchdown pass to take a 14-7 lead at 2:25 in the first. With the ball back, the Terriers gained three first downs before failing to convert a fourth-and-two. The Mocs then drove 72 yards in nine plays and added a touchdown on a pass from Coleman to Faysal Shafaat to take a 21-7 lead with 8:30 left in the first half.

Wofford gained a first down, but then Mitch Allen was intercepted by D.J. Key at the 45-yard line. The Mocs returned the favor when Blake Wylie intercepted B.J. Coleman at the eight-yard line with 5:17 on the clock in the second quarter. The Terriers gained a first down, but had to punt back to the Mocs. A tackle for loss by Mike McCrimon backed the Mocs up and they went three-and-out. Wofford picked up a first down before the half ended. Chattanooga had a 229 to 152 lead in total offense at the half.

The Terriers opened the second half with the ball and picked up a fourth-and-one by Mitch Allen, but were forced to punt. The Mocs moved the ball with a couple passing first downs, but failed to convert on a fourth-and-three and turned it back over to the Terriers. Bryan Youman ran for 27 yards and Jeff Ashley caught a 30-yard pass to set up first and goal. Eric Breitenstein then ran it in from four yards out for the touchdown. The score was 21-14 at 5:10 in the second quarter.

After a short kickoff and penalty, Chattanooga took advantage of the short field and Nick Pollard kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:05 left in the third quarter for a 24-14 lead. Wofford had the ball back, but failed to convert a fourth-and-five at the 36-yard line to start the fourth quarter.

The Mocs picked up two fourth-and-one attempts on a drive that was capped by a 23-yard field goal by Nick Pollard for a 27-14 lead with 9:16 left in the game. Donovan Johnson broke several tackles on a 51-yard touchdown run on the next drive for the Terriers. The score was 21-27 with 8:08 on the clock.

The Wofford defense then forced a three-and-out and punt by the Mocs. The Terriers got the ball back at the 47-yard line with seven minutes left in the game. Wofford was faced with a fourth-and-two, but were short on the run and turned it over on downs. On second down for the Mocs, Alvin Scioneaux intercepted B.J. Coleman with 4:22 on the clock at the 48-yard line.

Donovan Johnson then ran for 34-yard on third-and-eleven to get the ball inside the 20. On fourth-and-three, Brenton Bersin picked up the first down with 1:01 remaining. Two plays later, Mitch Allen ran in from one-yard for the touchdown. After the point after, Wofford had a 28-27 lead with 37 seconds left. On the second play for the Mocs, James Zotto picked off B.J. Coleman to secure the victory.

Wofford had 388 total yards, with 358 on the ground. Chattanooga had 350 total yards, 232 of which were rushing. Wofford was 7-of-14 on third downs and 2-of-5 on fourth down. Chattanooga was 4-of-11 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down. Wofford had three penalties, while Chattanooga was flagged once. Wofford had the time of possession by a 30:56 to 29:04 margin.

#8 Appalachian State 28, Elon 24

ELON, N.C. - Appalachian State University matched its biggest rally in 40 seasons of NCAA Division I football, overcoming a 21-0 deficit to down Elon, 28-24, in Saturday's regular-season finale at Rhodes Stadium.

The 21-point deficit matched the largest that Appalachian (8-3, 6-2 SoCon) has ever overcome in a victory since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1972. ASU also overcame a 21-point deficit in a 42-41 triumph over Chattanooga in the 2010 season opener.

A multitude of mistakes in the early stages of the game led to Appalachian being down by three touchdowns just 12:23 into Saturday's game. On three-straight possessions, ASU fumbled at its own 35 yard line, shanked a punt to give Elon possession on the Mountaineer 32 and threw an interception that gave the Phoenix the ball just 27 yards away from paydirt. Elon turned all three miscues into short touchdown drives and Appalachian found itself in a 21-0 hole with 2:37 still left to play in the opening period.

Despite the early comedy of errors, the Mountaineers got back into the game quickly by putting together back-to-back touchdown drives, capped by scoring strikes from Jamal Jackson to Brian Quick and Travaris Cadet that cut the deficit to 21-14 less than midway through the second quarter.

Elon added a field goal with 21 seconds to go in the first half to stretch its advantage to 24-14, a lead that stood up going into halftime when a 50-yard field goal by Sam Martin was negated by a snap infraction.

Led by its defense, it was all Appalachian after the break. After Elon rolled up 264 yards of offense in the first half, the Mountaineer defense limited the Phoenix's high-powered offense to just four yards and forced two turnovers on Elon's five series after halftime.

ASU drew within four points on Quick's second touchdown catch of the day with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter but the tide of the game turned completely on the fifth play of the fourth period when true freshman Ronald Blair crushed Phoenix quarterback Thomas Wilson, causing a fumble that was recovered by Brandon Grier at the Elon 30. Five plays later, Jackson threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game to a wide-open Steven Miller and Appalachian took its first lead of the game at 28-24.

Elon made it interesting when, after taking over on its own 14 yard line with 2:38 to play, it drove 73 yards to the ASU 13 yard line. However, Appalachian's defense had one more big play left in it, and Jeremy Kimbrough delivered when he stepped in front of a slant pattern by Elon's Jeremy Peterson and batted down the pass before it reached Peterson in the end zone to give ASU the ball back with 1:23 to go. One play later, Cadet rumbled 12 yards for a first down that sealed the Mountaineers' 16th-straight victory over Elon.

After being knocked out of the contest after a vicious hit on the game's first series, Jackson rebounded to complete 26-of-42 passes for 284 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Quick hauled in 11 of Jackson's 26 completions for 150 yards and two scores. In addition to matching a career high with the 11 catches, Quick also became only the fifth player in ASU history to go over 1,000 receiving yards in a season and tied a school record with his seventh 100-yard game of the campaign.

Defensively, ASU surrendered 384 yards but just 120 after halftime. The Mountaineers forced three turnovers, two of which came in the second half, and took Elon's Aaron Mellette, who caught 14 passes for 236 yards, out of the game for much of the second-half comeback. Mellette did not catch a pass in the second half until after Appalachian had taken the lead in the fourth quarter.

Kimbrough led the defensive effort with 12 tackles, including one for loss, and the game-saving pass break-up. Demetrius McCray, who did a yeoman's job in tough assignment of covering Mellette for most of the ballgame, finished with 11 tackles, two pass break-ups and an interception. Up front, Blair had two sacks and a quarterback hurry to go along with the game-changing forced fumble while John Rizor added 1.5 sacks and two QB hurries.

South Carolina 41, The Citadel 20

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Three second-half touchdowns by 14th-ranked South Carolina proved to be the difference in the 41-20 victory over The Citadel at Williams-Brice Stadium in front of 76,816 in attendance on Saturday.

The Gamecocks avenged a 38-35 Citadel victory that took place 21 years ago when the two teams last met at Williams-Brice and now hold a 40-7-3 edge in the all-time series between the two schools.

The Citadel offensive attack was highlighted by 241 yards on the ground, including a team-high 88 by Darien Robinson. The Bulldogs also had solid performances from Rickey Anderson (8 carries, 69 yards) and Ben Dupree (18 carries, 61 yards). The offense committed four fumbles, but recovered all of them, resulting in no turnovers on the day. The Cadets also showed their discipline with only one penalty for a total of five yards, maintaining their ranking as the least penalized team in the FCS. Defensively, the efforts of Rod Harland, who finished with a team-high nine tackles, including one for a loss of 11 yards, led the way for the Dogs. Teammate Tolu Akindele added eight tackles, including five solo, to cap off his four-year career.
 
"I can't say how proud I am of our players and how they handled themselves in front of 76,000 people and our guys did not blink at all," said Citadel Head Coach Kevin Higgins. "We needed to have no penalties; we had one penalty for five yards. We're the least penalized team in the country right now. We needed to have no turnovers, we had zero turnovers and we hoped to get two or three to win the game and we got one. If we could have gotten one or two more in the third quarter, that may have made a difference."

South Carolina took the opening possession of the game from its own 31-yard line. The Gamecocks opened with a 22-yard pass from Connor Shaw to Alshon Jeffrey, placing themselves at the Bulldogs 47. Seven plays later, following a Harland sack of Shaw that pushed the ball back 11 yards, a completion to Brandon Wilds set up USC at the Dogs 7-yard line. Shaw pushed the offense forward to the one-yard line where Wilds capitalized on a touchdown at the 10:17 mark of the quarter.

The opening drive for The Citadel did not fare as well, after a fumble on the option exchange between Dupree and VanDyke Jones put the Bulldogs at their own 16-yard line. However, the Bulldogs were able to rely on the strength of their special teams with a 59-yard boot from Cass Couey that placed South Carolina at its own 25-yard line.

Three plays later, after Wilds gained 11 yards for the Gamecocks, Rah Muhammed intercepted a Shaw pass and returned it four yards to set up the Dogs offense at the South Carolina 39.

A heavy dose of Robinson ensued for The Citadel, as the running back carried the ball five times for a gain of 34 yards to move the ball to the South Carolina five-yard line. Robinson ran behind center and was hit by Rodney Paul, forcing a fumble, but recovered the fumble in the end zone to knot the game at 7-7 with 4:47 remaining.

South Carolina took the third possession of the contest from the 28-yard line, and battled through two early third-down situations to put themselves at The Citadel 36-yard line on the ninth play of the drive. Shaw moved the offense to the 26 on a 10-yard gain on a fourth-and-nine situation, to put the Gamecocks at the 26. Eight plays later Wilds capped off an 18-play, 72-yard drive with a touchdown at the 9:18 mark of the second quarter to give the Gamecocks a 14-7 advantage.

Robinson picked up 29 of The Citadel's next 72 yards as the Dogs offense pushed the ball into South Carolina territory for the first time in the game. With the ball at the Gamecocks 15-yard line, a pair of short gains by Dupree set up a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Sellers that cut the Gamecock deficit to 14-10 with 8:20 remaining.

South Carolina overcame a Victor Hampton fumble at their own 21-yard line, during the kickoff return, to take over at the 29. Three plays later, from the 40, Shaw eluded the Bulldogs defense on a draw play for a 60-yard dash into the end zone for the 21-10 lead.

The Citadel offense returned to the field and quickly took advantage of a 13-yard gain by Rickey Anderson. A pair of gains by Dupree, which included carries of four and eight yards, placed the Dogs at the USC 23 with three seconds before halftime. It was there that the Cadets turned to Sellers, who converted a 41-yard field goal for the 20-13 halftime score.

Opening the second half on its own 19, The Citadel utilized 20 yards on a pair of carries by Rickey Anderson to move to their own 42 by the fourth play of the drive. Three plays later, highlighted by a 12-yard gain by Dupree, the Bulldogs again moved to the USC 40. A pair of rushing attempts by Robinson and Jones moved the ball to the 35, before an attempted lateral pushed the Dogs out of field goal range, forcing a Couey punt.

Pinned inside their own 10, South Carolina relied on the running game of Wilds, who picked up 54 yards on four plays, to move to The Citadel 25. The Gamecocks spent their first timeout of the second half to set up a Shaw 25-yard pass to Ace Sanders which resulted in a 27-13 lead with 2:44 remaining.

Following a Citadel possession that resulted in only 10 yards from scrimmage, South Carolina again took over the ball inside its own 10-yard line. On the second play of the drive Shaw hooked up with Jeffrey for an 18-yard gain that moved the ball to the Gamecock 29 for the final play of the third quarter. USC sustained the drive, moving to the Bulldogs 38 following a pair of six-yard carries by Wilds. The following play, Shaw found Jeffrey in the corner of the end zone for an acrobatic one-handed touchdown reception, resulting in the 34-13 lead.

Keith Gamble broke off a 37-yard kickoff return to set-up The Citadel at its own 42. Behind Dupree, who carried the ball five times among the first nine plays, the Dogs moved the ball to the South Carolina 12-yard line. It was there that Anderson found paydirt in his final collegiate game on a 12-yard run to the end zone, making for a 34-20 score.

The Gamecocks answered on their final possession with a six-play drive that covered 38 yards in just over three minutes, capped off by a 20-yard pass from Shaw to Rory Anderson. Jay Wooten tacked on the extra point to make for the 41-20 final.
 
Wilds anchored the South Carolina offense with 20 carries for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Shaw connected on 16-of-18 passes for 217 yards and three strikes, as South Carolina posted 473 yards of total offense on 55 plays. Shaw also managed 90 yards on the ground, including his career-long 60-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Teammate Rodney Paulk led the USC defense with 12 tackles, seven solo, and was one of five players to record a tackle for loss. 

The Citadel closes out the 2011 campaign at 4-7, including a mark of 2-6 against Southern Conference competition. Meanwhile, South Carolina heads into their regular season finale with a record of 9-2 overall.

Florida 54, Furman 32

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- John Brantley passed for 329 yards and four touchdowns to lead Florida to a 54-32 win over FCS 24th-ranked Furman in football action Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Brantley completed 16 of 28 passes, including scoring strikes of 14, 80, 29, and 64 yards, to help Florida (6-5) overcome a 22-7 second quarter deficit.

Jerodis Williams rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead Furman (6-5) and become the first Paladin 1,000-yard rusher since 2003. Williams, a junior from Prattville, Ala., finished the season with 1,055 yards and nine touchdowns.

Furman quarterback Chris Forcier passed for 166 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice in the second half, both of which were returned for touchdowns. His first half scoring strike, a 31-yard connection to David Hendrix that staked the Paladins a 15-0 lead, gave him 23 touchdown passes for the season, a new Furman season mark.

Furman registered 446 yards in total offense against the Gators, including 233 on the ground.

"I thought we played really hard. I don't think the score is really indicative of how the game went," said Furman head coach Bruce Fowler. "We had those two picks that they ran back there late that stretched the score out a bit. We were able to run the ball pretty well, which is something we need to do that we've been talking about doing to be successful as a program. We're making some progress that way."

Furman grabbed the early momentum by scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions. A Williams 1-yard touchdown plunge followed by safety put the Paladins up 8-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Paladins made it 15-0 less than three minutes later on Forcier's 31-yard connection to Hendrix and, following a Florida score, took a 22-7 lead on a 47-yard touchdown pass from tight end Colin Anderson, who took a lateral from Forcier, turned, and lofted the ball behind the Florida secondary into the hands of a streaking Sederrik Cunningham.

The Gators answered with a 20-point second quarter, keyed by a 1-yard touchdown run by Hunte rJoyer, an 80-yard scoring strike from Brantley to Andre Debose, and 29-yard connection to Quinton Dunbar, set up by a blocked Furman punt that gave the Gators the ball at the Furman 34-yard line.

The Paladins and Gators traded field goals to open the second half and, following a series of punts, combined for a pair of big offensive plays in the final minute of the third quarter.

The Gators made it 37-25 with Brantley's fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 64-yard hook-up with Debose with 52 seconds left in the period, but the Paladins responded on next play from scrimmage when Jerodis Williams shed a couple of Gator defenders, broke to the outside, and out-ran the Florida secondary on a career long 77-yard touchdown run. Chas Short's PAT cut UF's advantage to 37-32.

The fourth quarter was a different story for the Paladins, whose upset bid took two decisive hits in the form of a pair of interceptions that were returned for scores. The first covered 25 yards by De'Ante Saunders and the second was returned 75 yards by Jelani Jenkins with four minutes to go, effectively sealing the game's outcome.

Alabama 45, #2 Georgia Southern 21

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Georgia Southern Football team put forth a solid effort on the road in their final regular season game of the year. The Eagles fell 45-21 to the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday and now await the FCS Playoffs. GSU had a number of bright spots in the contest, including scoring the most points and rushing for the most yards allowed by UA this season.

"I am proud of our team and how hard they fought. I thought our kids put forth a tremendous effort against what I think is one of the best college football teams in America," said Head Coach Jeff Monken.

Alabama (10-1) outscored Georgia Southern (9-2) 21-7 in the second half to pull away with the win. The Eagles trailed by 10 points at halftime but could have entered the locker room tied at 17 all if it had not been for a 10-point swing on a blocked field goal in the first quarter.

Adrian Mora had not missed a field goal all season before Donte Hightower blocked his attempt with 5:12 to play in the quarter. With Alabama leading 3-0, Dre Kirkpatrick scooped the loose ball and ran 55 yards for a touchdown.

Alabama added a second touchdown on a 10 play 71 yards drive to lead 17-0. However, the Eagles did not give up and scored twice in the second quarter to pull within 10 points, 45-21. Dominique Swope busted an 82 yard run around right end, the longest rush allowed by Alabama this season, for the Eagles first touchdown.

Swope powered an Eagle offense that nearly doubled the most rushing allowed by Alabama this season. He carried the ball 18 times and accounted for 153 yards of the team's 302 yards. Jaybo Shaw completed one pass for 39 yards, a second quarter touchdown toss to Johnathan Bryant right before halftime.

Alabama marched down the field on its first drive of the second half, scoring a touchdown on a 10 play 85 yard drive. Brad Smelley caught a 34-yard pass from A.J. McCarron to take a 31-14 lead. Laron Scott pulled Georgia Southern back within 10 points with a 95-yard kickoff return, the third longest in GSU history, on the ensuing kickoff.

The Crimson Tide's offense combined for 462 yards and featured a balanced attack. Trent Richardson led a ground game that posted nearly 300 yards on the ground with 175 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

A.J. McCarron completed three touchdown passes in 14 completions and totaled 190 yards passing.

Coastal Carolina 45, Western Carolina 21

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina scored three touchdowns through the air on Saturday afternoon in the first-ever meeting with Coastal Carolina on the football gridiron. However, the Catamounts were unable to score a victory for their 14 seniors - four of whom were forced to the sidelines by injury - in the final game of the 2011 season, falling to the Chanticleers, 45-21, at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

Coastal Carolina quarterback Aramis Hillary threw three touchdown passes to a trio of receivers, while also adding a rushing score to lead the Chanticleers past WCU in the regular season finale for both squads. Hillary threw for 213 yards on 15-of-25 passing with one interception.

Sophomore quarterback Brandon Pechloff completed 14-of-26 passes for 229 and three scores for the Catamounts. But, the Glenn Ellyn, Ill., native tossed a costly interception from his own end zone that the Coastal's Johnnie Houston returned for a touchdown that turned a 10-point deficit into a 24-7 hole late in the second quarter.

With its wide receiving corps., embattled with injuries to its top three producers on the year, Pechloff managed to find four different offensive teammates including three receivers and junior running back Michael Vaughn for his 14 completions. George Richardson led the foursome with five catches for 43 yards while Gary Green paced the squad in total yardage with four catches for a career-best 86 yards.

Senior Nate Harris led the squad with 107 total all-purpose yards including a touchdown receiving.

With a program-record tying seven sacks by the Chanticleers, WCU was reduced to just 32 yards on the ground marking the second-straight week the Catamounts failed to reach the 50 net yard average. It was also the fifth time this season WCU was limited to under 100 yards of rushing offense. Sophomore Shaun Warren carried the ball 12 times for 56 yards while Vaughn added 15 yards on the ground.

Western Carolina's defense stood strong on Coastal's opening possession of the game, stopping the Chanticleers on a fourth-and-long play after they had driven 41 yards into the red zone. The Catamount offense appeared to return to old form as it moved down the field on its first possession including a 20-yard pass-and-catch between Pechloff and Green on an end-around, toss-back pass play that had the Chanticleer defense turned nearly inside out.

The Catamount drive stalled, however, at the Chanticleer 21-yard line where Clark Sechrest had a line-drive field goal opportunity blocked that would have handed WCU the early lead. Coastal Carolina (7-4) proceeded to drive 62 yards in eight plays to take the lead on a Hillary to Jamie Childers touchdown pass on a tight end streak.

Grant Clayton banged through a 26-yard field goal to culminate an 11-play, 69-yard drive for the Chanticleers for a 10-0 advantage early on the third play of the second quarter.

Western Carolina answered, though, as Pechloff orchestrated a quick-strike drive that covered 75 yards in just three plays. Vaughn hauled in his career-long reception of 45 yards on the first play of the drive with Warren rushing for nine yards on the second. After an offsides penalty whistled against Coastal, Pechloff found Richardson in the end zone from 16 yards out to put the Catamounts on the board and trim the deficit to three, 10-7.

Looking to keep the positive momentum, the Catamounts tried to pull a fast one on Coastal with an on-sides kick after the score but were unable to cover the bouncing ball near mid-field. The Catamount defense, though, held strong and forced a quick three-and-out with the offense taking over at the 22 yard line.

Unfortunately for the Catamounts, momentum quickly swung back to the visitor's sideline as Warren fumbled on the first play of the drive, giving Coastal the ball in scoring position. WCU's defense made the 27-yard scoring drive tough as the Chanticleers needed eight plays to reach pay-dirt, but eventually did so on a two-yard rush by Hillary to reclaim the 10-point edge.

Special teams then played a big part in helping Coastal Carolina add some distance on the scoreboard. Chanticleer punter Austin Cain - the younger brother of WCU senior punter Blake Cain - pinned WCU inside its own one-yard line on a perfect pooch punt.

After a near-miss on a safety as Warren was corralled just after crossing the one-yard line, Pechloff stepped out of a would-be sack in the backfield for what would have been a two-pointer, but forced a pass to a teammate where Houston intercepted and stepped across the goal line for the interception and a 24-7 Chanticleer advantage.

Just before intermission, Harris made a spectacular reception around Buck Buchannan Award candidate, Josh Norman, for a career-long, 49-yard touchdown for the halftime score of 24-14.

Coastal Carolina added a pair of third quarter touchdowns including a three-yard Travis Small rush and a 58-yard TD pass from Hillary to Matt Hazel to surge ahead, 38-14, entering the fourth quarter. Then, on just the second play from scrimmage in the final frame, the Chanticleers added their final score as Hillary found Akeem Wesley for a 24-yard scoring strike to lead, 45-14.

Small rushed 18 times for 109 yards and the score, while Hazel and Wesley both had two catches apiece for 69 and 42 yards, respectively.

On the ensuing drive after falling behind by 31, Pechloff guided the final scoring drive of the season for the Purple and Gold. The offense moved 71 yards in eight plays with Green hauling in his third touchdown pass in the last four games. The Fayetteville, N.C., native caught the 26-yard strike just before going out of the back of the end zone for the score to provide the final tally.

Three Catamounts finished with double-digit tackles including a career-high 15 for sophomore Courtland Carson, who made the start for injured senior Brandon Vaught. Carson added one tackle behind the line of scrimmage and his second career interception. Leading tackler Rock Williams finished with 13 tackles in the game and 115 on the season to just miss the single-season top 10 list.

Freshman Christon Gill added 10 stops including one for a loss and one pass break-up. Brian Johnson tallied 1.5 sacks with four total stops on the day.

Auburn 35, Samford 16

AUBURN, Ala. - The Samford football team wrapped up the 2011 season with a hard-fought 35-16 loss at defending BCS National Champion Auburn Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 85,347 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The crowd was the largest to ever see a Samford game.

Freshman running back Jeremiaha Gates led the Samford offense with 28 rushes for a career-high 119 yards. The game marked the first time the freshman has rushed for 100 yards in a game. Senior quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 17-of-33 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Taliaferro finishes his career with a Samford record 707 completions, surpassing the old record of 704 set by Ray Nelson from 2001-04.

"I thought our kids played awfully hard today," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We blocked a little better up front than I thought we could. Dustin (Taliaferro) had a good game and we were able to get some things going. Jeremiaha Gates ran the ball well."

Sullivan was honored before the game for the 40th anniversary of his Heisman Trophy winning season as Auburn's quarterback in 1971. Sullivan's teammates from Auburn, his family and the Samford and Auburn teams joined in the ceremony.

"Having all of them (his former teammates) come back and seeing the emotions, seeing the love ... it's no different than it was 40 years ago," Sullivan said.

Samford trailed 14-10 at halftime, and the Bulldogs pulled to within one point at 14-13 in the third quarter before Auburn scored 21 of the game's final 24 points to pull away for the win.

In addition to Gates' rushing totals, he caught four passes for 70 yards. Kelsey Pope led Samford's receivers with 13 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Place-kicker Cameron Yaw was good on all three of his field goal attempts, making kicks of 40, 28 and 37 yards.

Defensively for Samford, Alvin Hines II led the Bulldogs with eight tackles, all solo. Keith Shoulders and Brandon Wilkinson had a fumble recovery each for the Bulldogs.

For Auburn, Michael Dyer rushed 30 times for 157 yards and a touchdown. Clint Moseley completed 13-of-20 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown. Moseley also had a rushing touchdown in the game.

Defensively for Auburn, Daren Bates had 12 tackles. Neiko Thorpe and Ikeem Means had an interception each for the Tigers.

Auburn jumped on top first when Moseley hit Phillip Lutzenkirchen for a 32-yard touchdown with 7:07 to go in the first quarter. Cody Parkey added the extra point to give Auburn at 7-0 lead.

Samford answered with a score of its own early in the second quarter. Taliaferro hit Pope for an eight-yard touchdown with 14:27 left in the second quarter. Yaw added the extra point to tie the score at 7-7.

The Tigers took the lead again when Onterio McCalebb scored on a 10-yard run with 10:03 to go in the second quarter. Parkey's PAT made the score 14-7.

Samford struck again late in the second quarter. Yaw kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:32 left in the second quarter to cut Auburn's lead to 14-10.

The Bulldogs pulled to within one point of the Tigers on Samford's first offensive possession of the second half. Yaw kicked his second field goal of the game, this one from 28-yards out to make the score 14-13 with 7:22 left in the third quarter.

Auburn's Dyer scored on a six-yard run with 3:25 to go in the third quarter. Parkey added the PAT to push Auburn's lead to 21-13.

Yaw added a 37-yard field goal with 13:22 left in the fourth quarter. The kick cut Auburn's lead to 21-16.

Moseley scored on a 22-yard run with 11:28 to go in the game, and Parkey's PAT pushed the Tigers' lead to 28-16. McCalebb added a 10-yard touchdown with 2:17 left in the contest, and Parkey's extra point made the final score 35-16.

Samford finished the season with a record of 6-5 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference play. The season marks Samford's first winning season since 2008. Auburn improves to 7-4 overall, and the Tigers are 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play.