(6) FLORIDA 24, (7) AUBURN 10
AUBURN, Ala. -- Wide receiver Jacquez Green had touchdowns
throwing, receiving and rushing, and Dameyune Craig was sacked
eight times as No. 6 Florida rebounded from its only loss of the
season with a 24-10 Southeastern Conference victory over
seventh-ranked Auburn. Green caught four passes for 42 yards as
Florida held a 327-159 advantage in total yardage.
The Gators (6-1, 4-1 SEC) played without quarterback Doug
Johnson, who was suspended one game for violating team rules.
True freshman Jesse Palmer split time with senior Noah Brindise.
Brindise was 5-of-11 for 69 yards, while Palmer was 8-of-14 for
92 yards and two interceptions, both by Brad Ware. Fred Taylor
helped take the pressure off the QBs, rushing 34 times for 140
yards.
"Noah is a fifth-year senior," Green said. "No one was nervous
when Noah came into the game because he has been around this
offense for a long time. We had to come out fighting in this
game. We had our backs against the wall coming off a loss to LSU
and losing our starting quarterback. We knew we had to come in
here playing hard."
Auburn (6-1, 3-1), which was unable to protect Craig, saw the
Heisman Trophy candidate have his worst game of the season. Craig
was 18-of-34 for 187 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
"I don't know what will be written about Dameyune, but there
wasn't always time for him to throw the ball. ... It was just a
case of their defense being better than our offense," said Auburn
coach Terry Bowden. "I have always thought their defense was one
of the best in the SEC and the nation."
Auburn was undone by the Florida defense, which kept the
versatile Craig scrambling all day. The Tigers' running game was
smashed for a school-record minus-26 yards. The previous Auburn
rushing low was minus-16 yards against Mississippi in 1992.
"We were ready to play, and I think this was our best effort
since the Tennessee game," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said.
"This loss doesn't hurt Auburn because they beat LSU, and they
are basically in the same position that we are."
Four minutes into the game, Green lined up on the left side and
went in motion. He took the handoff, ran toward the right
sideline and threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Jamie Richardson.
Florida's Collins Cooper added a 22-yard field goal in the first
quarter. Auburn's only TD came on a 15-yard strike from Craig to
Tyrone Dillard and Jaret Holmes tied the game, 10-10, on the
final play of the first half with a 20-yard field goal. Green
caught a 10-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to break the
tie and sealed it on a 5-yard TD run with 4:24 left in the game.
(6) Florida 24, (7) AUBURN 10
1 2 3 4 F
- - - - --
Florida (6) 10 0 7 7 24
Auburn (7) 7 3 0 0 10
Florida-Richardson 12 pass from Green (Cooper kick)
Florida-FG Cooper 22
Auburn-Dillard 15 pass from Craig (Holmes kick)
Auburn-FG Holmes 20
Florida-Green 10 pass from Brindise (Cooper kick)
Florida-Green 4 run (Cooper kick)
Florida Auburn
First downs 16 13
Rushed-yards 39-154 27-M28
Passing yards 173 187
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 9-76
Return yards 86 77
Passes 14-26-2 18-34-1
Punts 6-40.8 9-41.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 5-2
Penalties-yards 4-25 3-16
Time of possession 30:49 29:11
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Florida-F Taylor 34-140, Carroll 2-5, Green 1-5, Palmer
2-4. Auburn-R Williams 8-22, Cooper 6-14, Carter 3-11, Craig
10-minus 75.
PASSING: Florida-Palmer 8-14-2-92, Brindise 5-11-0-69, Green
1-1-0-12. Auburn-Craig 18-34-1-187.
RECEIVING: Florida-Green 4-42, T McGriff 3-44, Karim 2-29,
Richardson 2-26, F Taylor 1-24, Frazier 1-6, Edge 1-2.
Auburn-Bailey 4-56, Robinson 3-21, F Beasley 3-15, McLeod 2-32,
Goodson 2-27, Poor 2-17, Dillard 1-15, Cooper 1-4.
Att: 85,244