Georgia football got beat in every way possible against Auburn throughout the first 28 minutes of the first half. But then the biggest play of the game (and maybe even the season) occurred that gave Georgia new life in this game.
Auburn was driving up 10-0 and had the ball on the 1-yard line late in the second quarter. The Tigers opted to run the QB sneak with Jackson Arnold which usually guarantees that short of a gain, but that is when all hell broke loose.
A clear Auburn touchdown gets ruled a fumble and stays a fumble after review, taking away a touchdown pic.twitter.com/XNoEOalaod
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) October 12, 2025
Georgia saved by incredible play, but the officials still may have gotten it wrong
As Arnold dove for the goal line, Raylen Wilson punched the ball out of Arnold's hands. Kyron Jones recovered the fumble and sprinted 100 yards down field thinking he scored Georgia's first points of the game. It was at this point that no one knew what was going on.
The refs eventually ruled that there was a fumble on the play but was down. This play was reviewed for what felt like hours, but the call was eventually upheld.
Auburn fans have a great reason to be upset about this call because it looked like Arnold may have crossed the goal line before fumbling the ball. But the call on the field was a fumble and the replay officials determined there wasn't enough to overturn the call.
At the end of the day Georgia should be thankful they were able to force this turnover because Auburn was that close to taking a 17-0 lead. But at the same time Georgia has a reason to be upset as well.
Jones recovered the ball and looked to be lying on another Georgia defender before he stood up and ran the ball 100 yards to the other end zone. So instead of Georgia getting the ball back on their 1-yard line, the Bulldogs maybe should have been kicking an extra point to pull within three points. Georgia did march down the field and hit a field goal to pull within a touchdown, but the refs may have stolen a touchdown from Georgia's defense that they deserved.
Georgia and Auburn enter the halftime locker room with the Tigers leading 10-3. And with the way this game has gone so far, anything is possible in the second half.