Marshall law and luck prevail at Auburn

Marshall, the born-again man behind center, beat the team he once called his own with a fourth-and-18, 73-yard scoring bomb to Ricardo Louis. Louis collected the tipped ball like low-hanging fruit and glided into the end zone with the winning points with only 25 seconds left. Auburn 43, Georgia 38, and the Tigers’ miracle season survives for at least another two weeks.

“I went through all my reads, and when saw (Louis) had a step on his defender, I delivered the ball, and he was able to come down with an awesome catch for us,” Marshall said.

Was the play the product of preparation, athleticism or plain luck?

“A little of all of the above,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.

The play was a moment straight out of some sappy B-movie: Former outcast comes back to beat his old team on an improbable, outlandish pass that will be the part of highlight packages for as long as they engage in tackle football. Marshall had begun his career as a freshman defensive back-in-training at Georgia before the Bulldogs dismissed him for some petty larceny against a teammate. He went off to junior college and back to his first love, quarterbacking. Malzahn then brought him to Auburn to help guide a Tigers resurrection.

“He has that ‘it’ factor,” Malzahn said.

Part of his “it-ness” has to revolve around a lucky horseshoe embedded somewhere on his body.

For the pass did not hit Louis before it bounded off the hands of Georgia’s Josh Harvey-Clemons, who actually tipped the ball out of the reach of teammate Tray Matthews. While all that was going on, Louis ran on and had the ball drop almost providentially into his hands.

“First I was going to jump for it,” Louis said. “But I stayed focused on the ball and just told myself, ‘Look it in, look it in.’ Coaches are always telling you that and today it paid off.”

“I can’t say it was luck. (Louis) made an awesome play on it,” Marshall said.

Marshall’s first option on the fourth-down play was a shorter route to receiver Sammie Coates. But in the huddle, Louis proved himself a very convincing lobbyist.

He looked his quarterback in the eyes and demanded, “Throw me the ball.”

“I put my trust in Ricardo. When he looked me in my eyes, I could tell he really wanted the ball. I put my trust in him, and he was able to make a play,” Marshall said.

Known for guiding Malzahn’s run-heavy, up-tempo offense, Marshall did his bit with the feet against Georgia, rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns. But he also can throw: 15-of-26 for 229 yards and the big touchdown; the majority of his completions not bouncing off a Georgia defender.

“When you start talking about the best player in the country, he better be in the conversation,” Malzahn said.

After the stunning victory, there were plenty of hugs all around on the field between Marshall and some of his one-time Georgia teammates. And later, in the interview room, he resisted any urge to crow.

“It felt weird at first, but then again, it was just another team, another opponent,” he said. “I didn’t pay it too much mind.

“Just another team on the list. I don’t try to take it personal because I played at Georgia my freshman year. They are just another team. It’s just great be a part of this Auburn family.”

Malzahn told his team — 0-8 in the SEC a year ago, now in position to play for the SEC West crown — that “we’re in the midst of something special here.”

And it is Marshall given much of the credit for the turnaround. After surviving Georgia’s fourth-quarter, three-touchdown rally, after making a throw that might not have worked any other season, his part in the remarkable, overnight revival will only be capitalized.

Auburn has an off-week before what will be a highly anticipated Iron Bowl meeting with Alabama, the winner going to Atlanta for the SEC championship.

Betting against Marshall and his current teammate in that one would seem to be a dangerous proposition after what played out here Saturday. “This is a special group,” Malzahn could say Saturday without fear of contradiction.