Rewinding Auburn's 31-10 win over Memphis in Birmingham Bowl
By James Crepea | jcrepea@al.com
Final Attendance: 59430
Scoring Summary
Stats
AUBURN 1st Qtr 8:35 Daniel Carlson 20 yd FG
AUBURN 1st Qtr 1:58 Kerryon Johnson 8 yd run (Daniel Carlson kick)
MEM 2nd Qtr 10:03 Jake Elliott 53 yd FG
MEM 2nd Qtr 3:06 Reggis Ball 53 yd interception return (Jake Elliott kick)
AUBURN 3rd Qtr 3:12 Jason Smith 11 yd pass from Jeremy Johnson (Daniel Carlson kick)
AUBURN 4th Qtr 14:57 Jeremy Johnson 5 yd run (Daniel Carlson kick)
AUBURN 4th Qtr 12:57 Jovon Robinson 4 yd run (Daniel Carlson kick)
Sean White started at quarterback for Auburn (6-6), which avoided a losing season.Gus Malzahn has a personal streak of 22 winning seasons as a coach.
Paxton Lynch, perhaps the top quarterback prospect in the upcoming NFL Draft, led a potent Memphis (9-3) offense but it was not enough.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE -- AUBURN
-- Gus Malzahn confirms Kevin Steele will be Auburn's next defensive coordinator.
-- Malzahn on season: "We had some close losses... but these guys played their tail off."
-- Malzahn says seniors "meant a lot to the program" and helped Tigers reach BCS National Championship.
-- Kris Frost: "We're praying for Cass (McKinzy)"
-- Kris Frost feels good about what Auburn's next defensive coordinator is inheriting.
-- Carlton Davis says his freshman season was a "growing year." He tried to improve at least one thing in practice every day.
-- Quarterback Jeremy Johnson "handled himself like a champ," Malzahn says. "He gave us momentum in that second half, there's no doubt about it."
-- Malzahn says Carlton Davis is "starting to establish himself as one of the better lock-down corners in our league."
-- Jovon Robinson on facing Memphis: "It's definitely been a blessing... This game today is special because it's personal. I knew a lot of guys who play for Memphis... It's a rivalry for me."
-- Malzahn happy that Jovon Robinson protected the football.
-- Malzahn is proud of the defensive effort, says Tigers "harassed" Paxton Lynch.
-- Malzahn on his players: "Great to see the smiles on their faces." Says good things are ahead.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE -- MEMPHIS
-- Memphis QB Paxton Lynch: "My own performance, I'm definitely disappointed in myself. ... I'm not really worried abut what I'm going to do after this right now."
-- A Memphis player, what appeared to be No. 39, accosted a member of Auburn's equipment staff after the game. There was a scrum on the turf on Auburn's sideline and the player stole a football and ran off the field.
Darrell Dickey says on postgame altercation with a player and Auburn equipment staffer: "We will certainly look into what happened and get the facts squared away. ... Certainly that's not us ... but I don't have all the information with me at this time."
FINAL: AUBURN 31, MEMPHIS 10: Auburn's last drive runs out the clock and Auburn comes away with the win to finish 7-6. Memphis ends at 9-4
-- AUBURN 31 MEMPHIS 10 - 4:44: Peyton Barber opens the drive with a 15-yard gain and a first down.
FOURTH QUARTER: AUBURN 31 MEMPHIS 10 - 6:13
-- Auburn forces a turnover on downs and will take over at its own 22.
-- AUBURN 31 MEMPHIS 10 - 12:57: Jovon Robinson carries one in from 4 yards out
-- Memphis forced to punt again and Marcus Davis with a 56-yard return to the Memphis 6-yard line.
-- AUBURN 24 MEMPHIS 10 - 14:57: Jeremy Johnson runs in from five yards out
-- Jovon Robinson enters the quarter with 22 carries for 102 yards
END OF THIRD QUARTER: AUBURN 17 MEMPHIS 10
-- Jeremy Johnson opens the drive with a 17-yard run. Sean White comes back in, throws a 29-yard strike to Melvin Ray.
-- Memphis goes three-and-out and Auburn takes over at own 24.
-- AUBURN 17 MEMPHIS 10 - 3:12: Jeremy Johnson throws an 11-yard scoring pass to Jason Smith
-- Jovon Robinson with runs of 1, 3, 6, 0 and 2 yards. Sean White with passes of five yards to Marcus Davis and 16 yards to Ricardo Louis. Jeremy Johnson comes in on first-and-10 from the 11 and connects with Jason Smith for a touchdown.
-- Memphis goes nowhere and Marcus Davis returns a punt 30 yards to the Memphis 44-yard line.
-- Sean White completes a 21-yard pass to Melvin Ray to convert a third down.Peyton Barber tops the 1,000-yard mark for the season on the drive. Auburn's drive stalls and Memphis will take over at its own 11 with 8:37 to go.
-- Tray Matthews intercepts Paxton Lynch in the end zone and returns it to the six-yard line. Carlton Davis tipped the pass to setup Lynch's fourth interception of the season.
-- Auburn's kickoff goes out of bounds
Some news at halftime regarding the futures of Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams, who are both draft eligible following this game. They were among the five Auburn underclassmen whose draft prospects we reviewed earlier this week.
HALFTIME: AUBURN 10 MEMPHIS 10
-- Gus Malzahn tells ESPN at halftime: "We're just not getting it done. ... Turnovers are the difference in the game."
-- Kevin Phillips leads Auburn with 37 passing yards in the first half
-- Sean White is intercepted on the ensuing drive, his second in as many possessions, and that may do it for the redshirt freshman. White has had a terrible game so far, 3 of 7 for 28 yards and two interceptions and was nearly picked off a third time.
-- AUBURN 10 MEMPHIS 10 - 3:06: Sean White is intercepted on fourth-and-two and Memphis' Reggis Ball returns it 53 yards for a game-tying touchdown.
-- Blake Countess blocks a 34-yard field goal attempt by Jake Elliott with 5:55 to go.
-- Cassanova McKinzy goes down with an apparent right leg injury. The senior linebacker is helped off the field and did not place any weight on his right leg with 8:34 to go in the quarter. Updates to follow.
-- Auburn goes three-and-out and Memphis takes over at own 48.
-- AUBURN 10 MEMPHIS 3 - 10:03: Jake Elliott 53-yard field goal
-- Memphis drive stalls.
-- Auburn tries a trick play on a reverse pass with Jason Smith, who throws directly to a defender. Memphis regains possession.
-- Memphis facing fourth-and-two from the 50 and Auburn calls another timeout. Memphis fails to convert.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: AUBURN 10 MEMPHIS 0
First quarter stats of the Birmingham Bowl.
-- Auburn forces a punt and starts at its own 21. Tigers facing a forth-and-one to open the second.
-- Last time Auburn held an opponent scoreless in a quarter was the first quarter against Georgia.
-- AUBURN 10 MEMPHIS 0 - 1:58: Kerryon Johnson 8-yard run
-- Tony Stevens with catches of 12 and 13 yards. Jovon Robinson adds runs of 10, 0, 3 and 4 yards. Kerryon Johnson has a nine-yard run and caps the drive with a eight-yard scoring run.
-- Paxton Lynch delivers a strike to the left side for a conversion but is later sacked by Carl Lawson and other players. Auburn forces a punt and will take over at its own 30.
-- AUBURN 3 MEMPHIS 0 - 8:35: Daniel Carlson 20-yard field goal is good.
-- Auburn converts a fourth down with a trick play as punter Kevin Phillips tosses to Kerryon Johnson, who runs it to the 5. AU stalls though and settles for a 20-yard field goal from Daniel Carlson.
-- Memphis won the toss and deferred. Auburn will receive and defend the North end zone to start the game.
There is a light rain falling in Birmingham and it appears more is on the way for the early going of today's contest. Auburn has played in rain twice this season.
Very wet start to the Birmingham Bowl. Not seeing lightning now, but a clap of thunder is not out of the question pic.twitter.com/YnNAO3wlut
Birmingham Bowl by the numbers: A new record awaits Auburn
A collection of stats and facts, feats and streaks about the Birmingham Bowl, featuring Auburn and Memphis, which kicks off at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Legion Field in Birmingham.
PREGAME
-- Auburn closed as a 3-point favorite, according to VegasInsider.com, and Memphis is embracing the underdog role.
-- Gus Malzahn on pregame radio interview says, "Sean White's going to start out the game. He's back, he's close to 100 percent. ... Jeremy Johnson will also play. He's had good practices. I think we're in a good spot from the quarterback position." Says there are "a couple of packages" for Johnson, who started the last four games of the regular season.
-- Backup center Xavier Dampeer and walk-on running back Damian Lewis are not dressed out.
-- Stephen Roberts takes reps with the first-team defense. Blake Countess at nickel. Tray Matthews and Rudy Ford repping with second-team.
-- ESPN's Chris Lowe reports LSU defensive coordinator could be hired for the same position with Auburn. Lance Thompson will serve as Auburn's interim defensive coordinator today.
-- Peyton Barber enters today's game with 976 yards and 13 touchdowns andready to prove doubters wrong again.
Should Barber top the 1,000-yard mark, he'll become the ninth Auburn player to do so since 2009 and extend the program's SEC-best streak to seven straight seasons with at least one 1,000-yard rusher. It won't be easy though, as Memphis has a stout run defense.