Gurley jokes he cursed No. 1 Georgia in Auburn upset
A late Stockton fumble and a roughing penalty gave Auburn the opening it needed to stun the top-ranked Bulldogs.
No. 1 Georgia blew a 14-point lead and lost to Auburn 27-24 on Saturday after quarterback Gunner Stockton fumbled with 58 seconds left, handing the Tigers a game-winning field goal attempt at Sanford Stadium. Former Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley blamed himself for the collapse — jokingly.
Gurley had flown aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump and attended a Friday political rally at Dalton Municipal Airport supporting Republican Senate nominee Mike Collins and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson ahead of Georgia’s midterm elections. The next afternoon, his alma mater surrendered 24 unanswered points.
“Damn I done made UGA lose,” Gurley wrote on X.
The actual damage came from Stockton’s turnover near midfield. Tigers safety Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered the ball at the Auburn 46-yard line. A roughing-the-passer penalty against Georgia outside linebacker Gabe Harris Jr. moved Auburn into range, and Alex McPherson drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired.
Stockton finished 22-of-34 passing for 272 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had kept the Bulldogs alive earlier, engineering a 94-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys. Kicker Peyton Woodring added a 42-yard field goal to tie it at 24 before the late fumble erased the effort.
Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown carried the ball 26 times for 115 yards and a touchdown, completing 15 of 26 passes for 150 yards and another score.
Georgia built a 14-0 first-quarter advantage that evaporated entirely. The defeat snapped a nine-game winning streak against Auburn and a run of 53 consecutive victories over unranked opponents. The Bulldogs dropped to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in Southeastern Conference play. Auburn improved to 4-2 and 2-2 in the SEC.
Trump has leaned heavily on college football culture during campaign stops in battleground states, frequently appearing alongside prominent athletic figures to energize crowds. Gurley, who played at Georgia from 2012 to 2014 before the Los Angeles Rams drafted him in the first round, fits that strategy. He won NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2017.
Georgia sits idle next week. The Bulldogs face Florida on October 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
