AUBURN, Ala. – Kip Lewis returned an interception 61 yards for the game-winning touchdown, and No. 21 Oklahoma rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Auburn for the first time ever in a 27-21 win on Saturday Southeastern Conference.

“This was my first experience with the Sooner magic as a head coach,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “These were fantastic last four attacks on offense and defense. … We played our best ball when it counted.”

It was Oklahoma’s first SEC road game after exiting the Big 12. The Sooners rebounded from a home loss to Tennessee the previous week in their SEC opener.

True freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. totaled 230 yards of offense in his first career start for Oklahoma after replacing Jackson Arnold during the Tennessee game.

The Sooners (4-1, 1-1 SEC) struggled on offense for most of this game, but capitalized on several missed opportunities by the Tigers (2-3, 0-2). Oklahoma stopped Auburn at the 1-yard line on fourth down in the first quarter, and the Tigers missed two short field goal chances late in the second quarter.

Auburn’s Payton Thorne passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, but his sixth interception of the season proved to be the game-winning play.

“I need to make sure (Thorne) understands the situation better, and we should have had runs there,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “I need to tell him more clearly what we need to do there.”

Oklahoma’s Jovantae Barnes cut Auburn’s 21-10 lead with 8:32 left with a 2-yard touchdown run, set up by a 60-yard pass from Hawkins to JJ Hester. The 2-point conversion failed and the Tigers were ahead by five points.

Lewis then intercepted Thorne, who returned to the starting lineup after a two-game absence, and ran all the way back with 4:06 to play.

After a late Oklahoma field goal extended the visitors’ lead to six points, Thorne’s last-second pass landed just above the end zone.

Auburn finished the game with nearly 200 yards more offense than Oklahoma.

“We didn’t play very well,” Venables said. “But we played great when we needed to.”

The takeaway food

Oklahoma: The Sooners’ slow offensive start, marked by a large number of injuries at wide receiver and inconsistent line play, continued Saturday. But Hawkins could provide a real spark up front with his dual-threat ability and strong defense so far under Venables this season.

Auburn: Penalties, questionable time management and empty scoring opportunities continue to plague the Tigers, who have lost all three home games against power conference opponents this season. Now Auburn begins the toughest phase of its program with a losing record.

Game changing drive

After a 22-yard run by Jarquez Hunter with just over 11 minutes left and a two-score lead, Thorne threw back-to-back incompletions before a no-gain run. That led to a missed 51-yard field goal.

The possession only lasted 1:31 minutes and opened the door for Oklahoma to convert.

Impact on the survey

With this away comeback win, Oklahoma has a good chance of climbing back into the top 20.

Next

Oklahoma: Has an off week before facing No. 1 Texas on Oct. 12 in Dallas.

Auburn: Visits No. 2 Georgia next Saturday.

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