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Gators booted Duval's 44-yard field goal lifts Auburn past Florida 23-20
Updated: Sunday October 14, 2001 12:39 AM
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Rex Grossman and No. 1 Florida are mortal, after all. Auburn is better than anybody thought. Damon Duval kicked a 44-yard field goal with 10 seconds left and the Tigers intercepted four of Rex Grossman's passes to shock No. 1 Florida 23-20 Saturday night. "Twenty-one point underdogs!" Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville exclaimed. "How about that?" The Tigers (5-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) entered the game given little chance to beat a Florida team that looked invincible in winning its first five games by an average of 40 points Auburn fans celebrated the improbable win by storming the field and wrestling down the goal posts in front of the student section, while Florida players headed to the locker room with their national championship hopes in serious doubt. "They looked like the best team out there," said Gators coach Steve Spurrier, adding that his team might have bought into its own hype. "They kicked our butts." They also stymied the nation's top offense, holding Florida to minus 36 yards rushing and pressuring Grossman, a Heisman Trophy favorite. Once again, though, it came down to Duval. He responded with his third consecutive game-winning field goal despite a brisk win, following a 48-yarder with 18 seconds left to beat Mississippi State and a 49-yarder in the final minutes against Vanderbilt. "Damon came to me and told me to get the ball to the 35 and we would win this thing," Tuberville said. "He told me not to worry about the wind. He has just answered the call the past three weeks." With the stumble, Florida (5-1, 3-1) opened the door for No. 2 Miami to recapture the top spot in the rankings after dominating Florida State 49-27. Backup quarterback Daniel Cobb played most of the game for Auburn, rebounding from a 4-of-15 start to throw for 152 yards. Cobb finished 11-of-23 and didn't throw an interception after entering the game 5-of-8 on the season. He also scored on a 1-yard run. Not everybody was shocked by the win. "We were the only ones, folks," defensive end James Callier said. "Those guys in the other room [his teammates] knew it Monday, that we were going to shock the world." The Gators, playing without injured tailback Earnest Graham, lost 36 yards rushing. Grossman, who had only been intercepted three times all season, looked out of synch most of the night against the nation's fourth-rated pass defense. He was 25-of-42 for 364 yards and two touchdowns to favorite targets Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell. The Gators had rolled up 500-plus yards in each of their previous five games, but managed only one big play. Auburn linebacker Mayo Sowell returned Grossman's third interception to the Florida 22, but the Tigers had to settle for Duval's 32-yard field goal with 12:27 left. Eighteen seconds and one 80-yard pass later, it was tied. Gaffney slipped behind free safety Stanford Simmons, then slow-stepped into the end zone, taunting the lagging Simmons for much of the final 10 yards. Grossman was driving the Gators again when Karlos Dansby picked off another pass, an underthrown ball to Gaffney. "Too many opportunities wasted," Grossman said. "We let this one slip away. I had a lot of mistakes and it cost us the ball game. The Tigers took over with 76 yards to go and 4:30 left. Cobb, who relieved redshirt freshman Jason Campbell, was 4-of-4 for 39 yards on the drive. The Gators outgained Auburn 328-239. The gap was even worse entering the fourth. Florida had dominated statistically, 228 yards to 91, but led only 13-10. That lead came on Grossman's 20-yard scoring pass to Caldwell midway through the third. The Tigers made one first down on the ensuing possession, but then were pushed back 26 yards with a bad shotgun snap and a holding penalty. Florida one-upped Auburn for moving in reverse on its next possession. After back-to-back penalties set up a third-and-25, Spurrier tried to punt. Matt Leach couldn't handle the snap and the Gators lost 18 more yards. Snap problems again bedeviled Florida, with Auburn taking over at the 2 off another botched punt to set up Butler's score. Despite holding Auburn to 1 yard on its first 12 plays, Florida found itself in unfamiliar territory at halftime: trailing 10-6. It was the first time the Gators hadn't scored a touchdown in a first half since a 37-17 loss to Georgia in 1997. The Tigers are 3-6 against No. 1 teams, including a 36-33 win at Florida in 1994. The Gators had won seven straight meetings since then.
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