CFB Week 9: #5 Auburn def. South Carolina, 42-35

Auburn QB Nick Marshall had more rushing TDs (3) than incompletions (2) in a shootout win over the Gamecocks.

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The #5 Auburn Tigers defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks in a high-scoring SEC showdown between two teams trying desperately to get back into the SEC title hunt.

South Carolina was eager to pull the upset on the road against the Tigers, scoring the first TD of the game and taking the lead 3 times in the first quarter without giving it up. But Auburn tied the game at 21-21 thanks to a 37-yard Nick Marshall TD run to end the first half, and in the second half the Tigers prevented the Gamecocks from taking the lead again, trading TDs throughout the 3rd quarter but holding them without a score in the 4th quarter to take a 7-point lead and end the game with a win.

Auburn QB Nick Marshall was amazing both through the air and on the ground, going 12 of 14 for 139 yards and a TD while adding 10 rushes for 89 yards and 3 TDs, including the decisive rushing TD in the 4th quarter to give the Tigers the lead for good.  The ground game was also running like a well-oiled machine, with a team average of 8.4 yards/carry and 395 rushing yards on the day to go along with two 100 yard rushers.

Gamecocks QB Dyland Thompson threw for 5 TDs on the day to go along with his 402 yards passing, but he threw 3 INTs that were absolute backbreakers.  The running game was not nearly as effective as Auburn’s with a 3.6 team yards/carry average on the day.

With the win, the Auburn Tigers rise to 6-1 and are a narrow 4th place in the SEC West with games still to play against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama still on the schedule. With the loss, the Gamecocks fall to 4-4, putting them in 5th place in the SEC East and have now lost 3 of their last 4 games against SEC opponents.