AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — No. 16 Missouri may have delivered the knockout blow to Auburn coach Hugh Freeze.
Beau Pribula scored on a 3-yard run in the second overtime, lifting Missouri to a 23-17 victory over reeling Auburn on Saturday night.
Ahmad Hardy ran for 58 yards and two scores for Missouri (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference). The Tigers bounced back from a home loss to Alabama to beat the other team from the state.
“We talked all week about how the game was played between the lines, not to let the exterior factors of the noise and the stadium affect us,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “The guys did a great job, and I just thought there was a refusal to lose.”
Missouri got a defensive stop on fourth down on the final possession in overtime to seal the one-possession victory.
“This just sucks,” Freeze said. “This stinks, and there’s nothing you can say to make anyone feel better in that locker room. Our fans are incredible, and we’d love to be at Toomer’s (Corner) with them right now. But we’re still obviously not finding ways to win games.”
Auburn has dropped 11 of its last 13 SEC games, and Freeze is 5-15 in league play.
Pribula threw for 252 yards, with two interceptions, and ran for 28 more. Hardy’s short run with 5:07 to go in regulation tied the game at 17.
Auburn (3-4, 0-4) intercepted Pribula’s pass in the final drive of regulation to send it to overtime, but Alex McPherson missed a field goal on Auburn’s first possession. It was his third miss of the night.
Blake Craig missed a winning attempt on the other end for Missouri.
Auburn opened the scoring with Jackson Arnold scoring from a yard out. But coach Hugh Freeze’s team — like so many other times in his three seasons — had trouble moving the ball for most of the game. Arnold finished with 207 yards passing and his first interception of the season.
Freeze, however, has hopeful they can turn it around.
“If you look at this stretch of games, they were all really good teams,” Freeze said. “And we were really close. Eventually they’ll start to flip our way.”
Jeremiah Cobb had 111 yards on the ground. Cam Coleman caught six passes for 108 yards.
Poll implications
After improving to 6-1 with its tight road win, Missouri could move up a few spots in the next AP Top 25 College Football Poll.
Freeze’s future on the Plains
Freeze is just the third Auburn coach since 1948 to have a losing record at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He sits at 9-10 since taking over the job. The Tigers are 1-19 in their last 20 matchups with ranked opponents.
The takeaway
Missouri: This was Missouri’s first road test of the season, and they passed. The defense allowed an opening-drive touchdown, then held Auburn to 10 points the rest of the night.
Auburn: The Tigers continue to struggle on offense. Once again, the defense held strong, but the offensive product wasn’t enough to secure the win. The Tigers are still searching for their first win in conference play.
Up next
Missouri: At No. 17 Vanderbilt next Saturday.
Auburn: At Arkansas next Saturday.
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By MARSHALL DOWNING
Associated Press
