Kicker Alex McPherson drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired to beat Georgia 27-24 as an 18.5-point underdog.
Auburn walked into Sanford Stadium as an 18.5-point underdog and walked out with one of the bigger upsets of the season. Alex McPherson's 34-yard field goal as time expired gave the unranked Tigers a 27-24 win over No. 1 Georgia in Athens on Saturday evening.
It marks the second straight weekend a top-ranked team has fallen to an unranked opponent, after Oklahoma beat No. 1 Texas the week before.
McPherson's kick carries extra weight given what he has been through. In 2024, severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease led to the removal of his entire large intestine. He has described running to the bathroom 15-20 times a day during the worst of it before doctors figured out what was wrong. His brother, Evan McPherson, is in his sixth season as the Cincinnati Bengals' kicker, so game-winning field goals apparently run in the family.
ESPN's broadcast team called it one of the great upsets of the year as Auburn's sideline mobbed McPherson after the kick split the uprights to end Georgia's night atop the rankings.