Kip Lewis returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter as No. 21 Oklahoma rallied for a 27-21 win over Auburn in an SEC matchup on Saturday in Auburn, Al.
With just over four minutes remaining and Auburn leading 21-16, Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne looked to Cam Coleman over the middle before throwing his only interception of the game.
Coleman nearly chased Lewis down, but the Sooners’ linebacker dove for the end zone, giving Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1) its first lead since the second quarter.
Thorne finished 21 of 32 for 338 and three touchdowns. The interception was his sixth of the season.
Michael Hawkins Jr., making his first career start after replacing a struggling Jackson Arnold in last week’s loss to Tennessee, finished 10 of 15 for 161 yards and ran for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Hawkins also dove for the two-point conversion after Lewis’ touchdown.
Auburn (2-3, 0-2) outgained the Sooners 482-291.
After Oklahoma cut the deficit to 14-10 with a field goal late in the third quarter, the Tigers’ offense answered.
Auburn converted on fourth-and-1 from the Sooners’ 3-yard on the first play of the fourth quarter before Thorne hit Luke Deal for a 1-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead.
Oklahoma took over from there, scoring 17 points in the final 8:32 to pull off the comeback.
Jovantae Barnes pulled the Sooners within 21-16 on his 2-yard run before Lewis thwarted the Tigers’ next possession.
Hawkins got off to a hot start, running for a 48-yard touchdown on Oklahoma’s first drive of the game to put the visitors ahead 7-0.
Auburn’s defense clamped down and kept the Sooners from doing much offensively until late in the third quarter.
The Tigers squandered a chance to extend their 14-7 lead entering halftime after driving deep into Oklahoma territory.
After coming up short on third down in the final seconds before halftime, the Tigers rushed kicker Towns McGough onto the field for a 31-yard try. The kick went wide, but the Sooners were called for having 12 men on the field.
McGough missed wide again on the ensuing untimed down to keep the halftime margin at seven.
–Field Level Media
