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Friday, December 13, 2002
No. 23 Auburn 29, No. 13 Georgia 26 (OT)
Associated Press
BOX SCORE
AUBURN, Ala. -- Quarterback Ben Leard scored on a 1-yard run in overtime as No. 23 Auburn beat 13th-ranked Georgia 29-26 on Saturday night.
Rudi Johnson ran 34 times for 152 yards and gained 21 yards in overtime to set up the winning score. The Tigers (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) beat the Bulldogs in Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time since 1990.
Auburn players and a number of fans stormed the field after the game as the Tigers matched their win total of the past two seasons.
The Bulldogs (6-3, 4-3) were limited to Billy Bennett's 25-yard field goal to start the overtime. Cory Phillips' third-down pass went out of the end zone.
Auburn started out losing 2 yards on a pass to Deandre Green. Then, Johnson churned out runs of 10 and 4 yards. Leard hit Marcel Willis on a 5-yarder and Johnson scampered 7 yards on a toss sweep down the left sideline.
Jermaine Phillips saved a touchdown by knocking Johnson out of bounds, but Leard scored on the next play.
That spoiled a nice comeback for the Bulldogs, playing without injured quarterback Quincy Carter
Georgia scored 10 points in the final minutes of regulation, tying it up on Billy Bennett's 19-yard field goal with 41 seconds left.
Phillips hit Terrence Edwards for a 16-yard TD pass on third-and-15 with 5:16 left. The 42-yard drive was set up by Cory Collier's blocked punt.
Auburn's offense went three-and-out, giving Georgia the ball back at its own 42 with 3:20 left. Phillips hit Damien Gary four times for 38 yards, including a 10-yarder on fourth-and-3.
Then, Edwards lined up at quarterback on third-and-goal from the 8. He was run out of bounds at the 2, setting up Bennett's tying kick.
Auburn ran out the final seconds, sending it to overtime.
Before Georgia's late rally, Auburn had scored 23 unanswered points after trailing 13-0 until Damon Duval's 48-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
Johnson, held to 23 yards on 12 carries in the first half, rambled 54 yards on the first play of the third quarter. That set up Leard's 6-yard TD toss to Reggie Worthy.
Duval added a 37-yarder to tie it after a Georgia fumble. He also hit a 48-yarder and a 49-yarder, both career highs.
Leard then hit Ronney Daniels for a 10-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter, putting Auburn up 23-13. Both scores were set up by Georgia turnovers.
Johnson set an Auburn record with his ninth 100-yard effort of the season against a defense that came in yielding 108 yards per game on the ground.
Leard threw a pair of first-half interceptions, but finished 24-of-38 for 149 yards.
His first pick was returned 75 yards by Terreal Bierria for a first-quarter TD.
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