Attitude and Adjustments: How Auburn's defense rallied to win in Death Valley

Auburn's defense looked like it was going to be in for another long night. Here's how that quickly changed in the comeback over LSU.

(Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)

Bydarrius Knighten knew LSU’s touchdown shouldn’t have happened that way.

After Auburn’s defense was gifted 22 free yards on a botched snap, LSU faced a second-and-goal situation on the 31-yard line. LSU quarterback Max Johnson lofted a deep ball toward star receiver Kayshon Boutte, who was covered in the slot by Zion Puckett.

The coverage was solid — Boutte had a slight step on Puckett, but he wasn’t running free to the end zone by any means. Pritchett, as the lone deep safety, went over to aid Puckett. But the pass from Johnson was placed perfectly, hitting Boutte in stride near the pylon and falling just out of the reach of both Auburn defensive backs.