Turning Point for Auburn Football in Win Over Arkansas State

There were a lot of big moments for Auburn football Saturday night, but here is the play we think turned the game in Auburn’s favor.

There wasn’t a lot of back-and-forth in this game as Auburn put it away early, but there was a defining moment for Auburn football Saturday night that seemed to put this game away.

Auburn jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, even after turning the ball over on their first offensive possession.

A lapse in coverage by the secondary on Arkansas State’s next offensive possession set them up for a game-tying touchdown.

At that point we had people on Twitter saying that Auburn was struggling with Arkansas State. Auburn silenced them quickly before the end of the first quarter with another touchdown making it 14-7.

Not long into the second quarter Auburn scored again to make it 21-7, but you still felt like it was a game at that point.

Auburn’s defense yet again shutdown the Arkansas State offense, giving the Tigers the ball back with 12:55 left in the second quarter.

A nine-play drive had stalled at the Arkansas State 20-yard line. Gus Malzahn called for a field goal, which would have made it a comfortable 17 point lead.

Sep 10, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers kicker Daniel Carlson (38) fakes a field goal and scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

However, the coach caught everyone by surprise by calling for the fake field goal. He pulled one out of the Les Miles playbook by having the holder toss the ball over his head, which actually went over a defender rushing in as well, and right into the hands of kicker Daniel Carlson who ran the ball 20 yards into the end zone.

That gave Auburn a much more comfortable 28-7 lead.

A field goal would have been nice and given Auburn a three possession lead, but the fake field goal for a touchdown really put the nail in the coffin for this game.

Plus, it was just a beautiful play.

It was nice to have a game where we didn’t have to sweat it out until the end, but the fake field goal midway through the second quarter definitely put this one out of reach.

War Eagle!