Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said special teams could be the difference in Monday’s BCS Championship game.
He was right.
Levonte “Kermit” Whitfield’s 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 4:31 left in the game gave Florida State its first lead since the first quarter and put all the momentum on the Seminoles’ sideline.
“We didn’t do a very good job … a couple guys just mis-fitted,” Auburn special-teams coordinator Scott Fountain said after the game. “It wasn’t a good thing.
“We didn’t do a very good job of staying in our lanes and covering the kick.”
But it wasn’t all bad for Auburn’s special teams.
Steven Clark’s lob-wedge punt that checked up at the Florida State 2-yard line set up Auburn’s first touchdown of the game toward the end of the first quarter.
Clark dropped five of his six punts inside the FSU 20-yard line, including one after Auburn’s final possession of the third quarter, which was downed at the 4 after Jonathan Jones kept it from bouncing in the end zone. Jones was standing with his heels just before the goal line and deflected the bouncing punt, knocking it to the 4 where it was downed.
“(Steven) had a great night,” Fountain said. “I though he probably had one of his better nights. But he’s been doing that for us a lot this year, which makes a difference.”
With the Seminoles’ unable to move the ball a single yard after starting from their own 2, they were forced to punt to Auburn’s dangerous senior returner Chris Davis.
Davis, the Iron Bowl hero, returned Cason Beatty’s punt 22 yards to give Auburn a first-and-10 at the FSU 25-yard line with 5:18 to play in the opening quarter.
Six plays later, Auburn was in the end zone for a 7-3 lead, stealing the early momentum.
Later in the first half, however, Florida State made a huge play on a punt that pulled some of it back.
On its final possession of the second quarter, the Seminoles were faced with a fourth-and-4 from their own 40. That’s when coach Jimbo Fisher went to his bag of tricks and called a fake punt that saw Karlos Williams gain 7 yards and a first down.
That’s when Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, who had struggled early in the game, went to work. Winston completed 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards, while running for 29 on the drive, including a 21-yard scramble that broke three tackles, taking the ball down to Auburn’ 3-yard line.
Devonta Freeman scored on a 3-yard run the next play to make the score 21-10 at halftime. It was a key score for the Seminoles, who got the ball to start the second half, trailing by 11 points.
But it was Whitfield’s kickoff return that made the biggest difference.
“That was a big play in the game,” Malzahn said of the 100-yard touchdown. “That was uncharacteristic, but at the same time, you’ve got to give (Florida State) credit.”
