A late South Carolina rally fell short and the No.2 Auburn Tigers behind the strong rushing of tailback Kenny Irons, held on to defeat the Gamecocks 24-17 in Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC Thursday night.
The South Carolina offense was kept off the field completely in the third quarter as Auburn controlled the ball and the clock finally scoring on a John Vaughn field-goal to go up 17-10.Then the Tigers caught the Gamecocks off guard with an on-side kick to retain possession. After a short drive to finish the third quarter, Kenny Irons scored on the first play of the final period on a one-yard plunge. After the Vaughn PAT the Tigers had a 14- point lead, 24-10. From that point on, Auburn had to hold on for its life as the South Carolina offense came alive behind the throwing and scrambling of quarterback Svelle Newton.
Newton guided South Carolina on a 15- play drive that consumed six minutes off the clock culminating in a 25-yard touchdown strike to tight-end Jared Cook drawing the Gamecocks back within a touchdown 24-17.
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Following the South Carolina kickoff, Auburn took over at its own 22-yard line. Auburn quarterback Brian Cox handed off three straight times to Irons but was stopped a yard short on the drive having to punt the ball back to South Carolina.
Newton took advantage of a fatigued Auburn defense and led the Gamecocks on a time-consuming 18-play drive that finally ran out of steam at the Auburn five-yard line preserving a Tiger victory.
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“I am proud of our team.” Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said after the game. “We played hard. We weren’t as consistent and opened up as they were, and it was kind of hit and miss for us. We ran the ball well and we controlled it. We took some chances in the third quarter with the wind in our face after we scored. We felt like the pooch kick would work and keep them off the field. We didn’t have the answer to what they were doing on the offense with their quarterback. He has been out there two weeks, he looked like he had been out there forever.” Newton finished the game, his second start, completing 21-of-35 for 240 yards. Newton also rushed 20 times for 44 yards.
Auburn tailback Kenny Irons began his collegiate career at South Carolina in 2002 but found himself buried in the depth chart under the Lou Holtz tenure. Disgruntled by the lack of playing time, Irons transferred to Auburn after the 2003 season. After having to sit out the entire 2004 campaign, due to NCAA transfer regulations, Irons took over full-time tailback duties in 2005 and became a unanimous All-SEC selection after playing in all 12 games and rushing for 1,293 yards. In the game against his old school Thursday night Irons gained 117 yards on 24 rushes and scored two touchdowns.
“This game meant a lot and I came out here with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder.” Irons said. “ But I came out and played hard.
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier thought Auburn’s control of the third quarter led to his teams demise. “The third quarter killed us,” Spurrier said. “I don’t know what we need to do. We may blitz the first five plays in the third quarter from now on and either stop them or let them score. Two punts by them and one by us, and they scored on two four and ones; barely. Auburn had the good fortune and we didn’t. We threw the interception to Sidney. We had our chances and dropped on. Jared Cook had that one and didn’t make the play.”
