AUBURN, Ala. – Crucial mistakes continued to plague Auburn as the Tigers blew a 21-10 fourth-quarter lead against Oklahoma. Payton Thorne, leading 21-16 and needing time late in the game, was intercepted by Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis, who raced 63 yards down the sideline to give the Sooners the go-ahead points. From there, the Sooners held on to a 27-21 victory in their first game ever at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Entering the game, Auburn ranked last or near-last in the NCAA in interceptions thrown, fumbles thrown, fumbles lost and turnover margin. The Tigers had no fumbles on the day, no interceptions, until Thorne’s pick-six with 4:06 left in the contest.

The game was mismanaged overall by Hugh Freeze, the Auburn coaches and Thorne.

With less than 11 minutes left, Auburn had the ball at the Oklahoma 33-yard line for a 21-10 lead, and trailing Jarquez Hunter had success on the ground. But Auburn threw the ball incomplete on its first and second downs. The third down call was a run up the middle that set up freshman Towns McGough, who then missed from 51 yards.

McGough had a tough performance. After the Auburn team ran out of time at the end of the first half, McGough missed from 31 yards out. He was given a second chance due to an Oklahoma penalty and also missed from 27 minutes.

Auburn had more chances to score points. In the first quarter, Freeze decided to go for it at the Oklahoma one-yard line and a wild quarterback sweep by Sam Jackson V was stuffed.

The Tigers were just one of three players to score in the red zone.

Aside from the series of poorly executed plays, Auburn controlled the game and dominated the middle portion of the contest on both sides of the ball, outscoring Oklahoma 21-3.

Auburn totaled 482 yards on offense, a number that wins most games, especially when the defense holds the opponent to 2-10 on third down, and only manages 291 yards on offense.

After Auburn’s botched possession early in the fourth quarter with a 21-10 lead, Oklahoma scored its first touchdown since the game’s first possession. Receiver JJ Hester hit Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee 60 yards. Two plays later, the Sooners cut the score to 21-16 when Jovantae Barnes went untouched for a two-yard touchdown.

Auburn was bleeding and had moved the ball into Oklahoma territory when Thorne threw the pick-six interception.

The first few possessions went in the Sooners’ favor, forcing a three-pointer and then putting the first points on the board. On a third-and-5 pass near midfield, Michael Hawkins Jr. dropped back to pass and then raced 48 yards to the middle of the field for a score. The Sooners led 7-0 with 12:30 left in the first quarter.

Auburn came back with a 13-play, 74-yard drive, but Oklahoma’s defense stood firm as it scored on a pass to Jackson on fourth-and-goal and maintained a 7-0 lead.

The Oklahoma offense failed on the next five possessions and the Auburn offense took advantage. Thorne found KeAndre Lambert-Smith in single coverage down the right sideline, and the senior receiver came down with a 50/50 ball from 31 yards out, leaving the Tigers tied the game 7-7 early in the second quarter.

On the following Auburn possession, the Tigers took the lead on a long throw from Thorne to Malcolm Simmons. The Tigers were on maximum defense and Simmons was able to beat his man over the top of the defense for a 48-yard score.

With Auburn’s defense shutting down Oklahoma, Auburn had another chance for points at the end of the half, but unfortunately that scoring opportunity was squandered by coaching and kicks.

Auburn outscored Oklahoma 203 to 24 in the second quarter. At halftime, the Tigers ran 40 plays for 278 yards, compared to 111 on 19 plays for the Sooners. However, Auburn was 0 for 2 in the red zone and only led 14-7 at halftime.

On Oklahoma’s second possession of the second half, the first productive offense since the game’s opening series managed 51 yards on 11 plays. The Sooners entered the Auburn red zone, but the Keldric Faulk-led Tigers held on and forced a 24-yard field goal.

That made it 14-10 Auburn, and the Tigers’ offense was on a roll that looked like it was time to score enough points for the win. On second down from Auburn’s 46, the Sooners fielded a corner kick that left freshman Cam Coleman one-on-one with safety Peyton Bowen. Coleman landed the jump ball at the OU 12-yard line.

As the game moved into the fourth quarter, Thorne scored on a fourth down QB sneak. Two plays later, Thorne found senior tight end Luke Deal in the end zone, extending Auburn’s lead to 21-10.

What happened from there was the type of game that pushed Auburn to 2-3, 0-2 in the SEC. The Tigers continue to win the most snaps per 60 minutes, but have found ways to go 0-3 against Power 4 competition so far this season.

Auburn travels to Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia next Saturday to take on the Georgia Bulldogs.