Jackson relishes game-winning catch

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'Just wild:' Jackson relishes game-winning catch

ByPhillip Marshall

3-4 minutes

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Senior Auburn wide receiver Shedrick Jackson had celebrated with teammates after game-winning plays, but he had never had one of his own. That changed Saturday when he snagged a fourth-down, 10-yard pass from backup quarterback T.J. Finley with 45 seconds left as Auburn finally subdued Georgia State at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Jackson caught four passes for 70 yards in Auburn’s 34-24 victory, but the last one is one he will not soon forget.

“In the moment, it was just wild,” Jackson said. “I told him I was going to make a play for him. Over the years, being here four years, I've seen a lot of game-winning touchdowns and last-minute wins. So, it's just crazy to make one of those and make plays for the team.”

Jackson is tied for the Auburn with 13 catches and second in receiving yards with 166. After his final catch, Finley hit Kobe Hudson for a two-point conversion and Smoke Monday returned an interception 36 yards to close it out.

The winning play did not start out to be what it came to be. But Finley was under intense pressure and scrambled to his right before throwing strike to Jackson.

The original call, Jackson said, was for a fade. When he saw Finley scramble, he went with him.

“Man, it was a broken play,” said Jackson, nephew of Auburn icon Bo Jackson. “T.J. did a great job of scrambling and keeping his eyes downfield and just finding somebody to throw the ball to. When I saw him, I just knew he was going to throw it. I had to make a play.”

The game-winning drive covered 98 yards in 13 plays. Finley, who replaced starter Bo Nix late in the third quarter, completed passes for 64 yards and ran once for 16 yards on the game-winning drive.

“That's big-time,” Jackson said. “People don't understand. Coming into a game like that and not starting, just waiting a whole half or whatever it was, coming and making plays like that -- that's hard to do. He took control of the offense; He was confident. He was poised and he was ready to go. That's big-time.”

Jackson said Auburn’s offense rallied around Finley when he came into the game.

“We knew we had to help him out,” Jackson said. “We were off to a rough start, kind of slow, especially at receiver. We had to get in a rhythm and make those plays. He was confident, too, and he was ripping the ball. He ripped it and we made plays and got a win.”

Jackson said Finley’s heroics did not create a quarterback controversy.

“He came in and did a great job,” Jackson said. “Bo did a great job. We're confident in both of those guys. I'm behind either one of them.”

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