Auburn quarterback Peyton Thorne threw three touchdowns against No. 16 Oklahoma, but an interception that resulted in a score cost the Tigers the victory. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
No. 21 Oklahoma won its first SEC game Saturday with a 27-21 win over Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Kip Lewis completed a 63-yard interception for pick No. 6, giving the Sooners a 22-21 lead. OU QB Michael Hawkins Jr. then circled the right end and jumped over the pylon for a two-point conversion for a three-point lead.
Oklahoma then made a field goal to make it 27-21. With the win, Hawkins, a true freshman who made his first start in place of benched Jackson-Arnold, began his college career with a road SEC victory.
Auburn took a 21-10 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard pass from Peyton Thorne to Luke Diehl. The seven-play, 58-yard drive ended with a nice grab by Cam Coleman along the left sideline for a 42-yard gain. Five plays later, Auburn reached the end zone and appeared to upset Oklahoma.
Despite the late turnover, Thorne did enough to justify head coach Hugh Freeze’s decision to reinstate him as the starter after coming off the bench in place of freshman Hank Brown. A 48-yard pass to Malcolm Simmons gave Auburn the lead with a touchdown midway through the second quarter.
The senior QB threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns while completing 21 of 32 passes. But that pick-six was a backbreaker. Freeze also mentioned turnovers when changing quarterbacks.
Harquez Hunter led Auburn with 97 yards on 17 carries and helped speed up the Tigers’ time until Thorne’s interception. Cam Coleman had three catches for 82 yards receiving, followed by Keandre Lambert-Smith with five receptions for a touchdown and 77 yards.
On Oklahoma’s next possession, the offense failed to score, and Hawkins was sacked on fourth-and-10 at the Auburn 40-yard line.
Injuries to the Sooners’ receivers seemed particularly noticeable as the offense was unable to advance down the field with explosive plays. Deion Burks, Nick Anderson, Jaden Gibson, Jahlil Farouq and Andrell Anthony all played against Oklahoma on Saturday.