Alex McPherson kicks 34-yard field goal as time expires to lift Auburn over No. 1 Georgia 27-24

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Odum, C. (2026, October 17). Alex McPherson kicks 34-yard field goal as time expires to lift Auburn over No. 1 Georgia 27-24. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/auburn-beats-no-1-georgia-27-24-on-alex-mcpherson-s-last-second-34-yard-field-goal/article_e450f733-8189-54bf-99fd-1f4ecb49c5e3.html

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Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-17 · by Charles Odum

Quick Summary

Alex McPherson kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired, lifting Auburn to a 27-24 upset victory over top-ranked Georgia on Saturday. Quarterback Byrum Brown led Auburn with 115 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Georgia’s Gunner Stockton threw two interceptions and lost a critical fumble in the final minutes. The loss ended Georgia’s streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive victories over unranked teams, dropping them from first place in the AP Top 25 rankings.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 17, 2026, Alex McPherson kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to lift Auburn over top-ranked Georgia in a stunning 27-24 upset win. This marked the second straight week that the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked opponent, following Texas's loss to Oklahoma last Saturday. In this game, Byrum Brown led Auburn with a dominant running performance of 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, while also throwing a scoring pass. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) ended their streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams, losing not only the game but also their short one-week stay atop the AP Top 25 rankings.

Written for “Auburn Upsets Top Ranked Georgia” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Auburn Upsets Top Ranked Georgia
Sports · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post · 0.95 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 28 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the identical football game where Auburn upset No. 1 Georgia with a last-minute field goal on October 17, 2026.”
The Guardian · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 28 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles describe the exact same football game where Auburn upset No. 1 Georgia with a last-second field goal, including identical details such as the winning score, player names, and events leading to the final outcome.”
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 4 of 21 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the exact same football game where Auburn upset Georgia with a last-second field goal.”
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 2 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe Auburn's upset victory over No. 1 Georgia on the same date with a game-winning field goal as time expired.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 30 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles describe the exact same football game where Georgia lost to Auburn on October 17, 2026, with a final score of 27-24, and focus on key moments including Gunner Stockton's turnovers.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 7952 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Charles Odum
22 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) saw its streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams come to an end in a loss that also will end the Bulldogs’ short one-week stay atop the AP Top 25.
🔮 ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — One week after showing off its impressive depth in a tight win at Alabama, No. 1 Georgia is expected to have starting running back Nate Frazier return for Saturday’s visit from Auburn.
🔮 Penix was expected to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday.
🔮 When asked if Penix will be able to start on Sunday for the Falcons (2-3) against Chicago, Stefanski said he would have a better idea later in the week.
🔮 Penix overcame a slow start to pass for 240 yards and a touchdown but could only watch from the bench with a towel on his head as the Ravens put the game away.
🔮 Michael Harris II hit Glasnow’s first pitch for a single before stealing second and eventually scoring from third on a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Will Smith’s chest protector.
🔮 The Braves hoped giving Sale extra rest would be a winning formula in the pivotal third game.
🔮 The critics thought Weiss should have started Chris Sale in Game 2 so the ace left-hander might also be an option if a Game 5 is necessary.
🔮 “I didn’t want to put him in that position because I knew that even if he was hanging, he would tell me yes,” Weiss said.
🔮 Turning to All-Star closer Jhoan Duran in the seventh inning made it appear Mattingly was hoping his best reliever could cover the final three innings and protect a beleaguered bullpen.
Also by Charles Odum
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by Charles Odum →

Topics

ATHENS Auburn Bulldogs Georgia Tigers

Subjects

Georgia GPE · 12× Auburn ORG · 11× Brown PERSON · 6× Stockton PERSON · 6× Bulldogs ORG · 5× Tigers ORG · 3× Texas ORG · 2× ATHENS GPE · 1× Alex McPherson PERSON · 1× Ga. GPE · 1×

Narrative

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Alex McPherson kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired and Auburn, led by quarterback Byrum Brown’s dominant running game, upset No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday. It’s the second straight week the top team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked foe after then-No. 1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) saw its streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams come to an end in a loss that also will end the Bulldogs’ short one-week stay atop the AP Top 25.

Claims (28 extracted, 0 hedged)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Alex McPherson kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired and Auburn, led by quarterback Byrum Brown’s dominant running game, upset No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday. It’s the second straight week the top team in the AP Top 25 lost to an unranked foe after then-No. 1 Texas fell to Oklahoma last Saturday. asserted
Texas → kick → Oklahoma
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton led a long game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter but lost a fumble with 58 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs driving for a potential go-ahead field goal. asserted
Bulldogs → lead → goal
Stockton, who also threw two interceptions, fumbled on a run from the Auburn 46. asserted
who → throw → 46
Safety Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered for the Tigers at the Auburn 44. asserted
Reed → recover → 44
A roughing-the-passer penalty on Georgia’s Gabe Harris Jr. helped set up McPherson’s game-winning kick. asserted
penalty → rough → kick
Auburn players swarmed the field. asserted
players → swarm → field
Brown ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and added a scoring pass. asserted
Brown → run → pass
Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) saw its streaks of nine straight wins over Auburn and 53 consecutive wins over unranked teams come to an end in a loss that also will end the Bulldogs’ short one-week stay atop the AP Top 25. asserted
that → see → Top
Auburn (4-2, 2-2) beat the Bulldogs on the ground. asserted
Auburn → beat → ground
Tailback Nate Frazier returned from a rib injury to start for Georgia but was ineffective, gaining only 19 yards on nine carries. asserted
Frazier → return → carries
Georgia trailed 24-14 before rallying with a 42-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring. asserted
Georgia → trail → Woodring
Stockton led a tying touchdown drive that began at the Georgia 6 and covered 94 yards in 13 plays, capped by his 4-yard pass to London Humphreys. asserted
that → lead → Humphreys
Stockton’s two interceptions doubled his previous season total through six games. asserted
interceptions → double → games
The Bulldogs also were hurt by mistakes, including three personal foul penalties. asserted
Bulldogs → hurt → penalties
After Georgia took a 14-0 lead, Auburn scored the next 24 points. asserted
Auburn → take → points
Georgia looked dominant in the opening minutes, even after Stockton had to leave after hitting the field helmet-first on the first play of the game. asserted
Stockton → look → game
Ryan Puglisi completed each of his three passes, including a 41-yarder to Craig Dandridge Jr., before Dwight Phillips’ 15-yard scoring run. asserted
Puglisi → complete → run
Stockton returned for the next possession and threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lawson Luckie for the 14-0 lead. asserted
Stockton → return → lead
Auburn responded with a physical run-first attack led by the 235-pound Brown, who was effective both on designed runs and when taking off after dropping back to pass. asserted
who → respond → pass
Top-ranked teams had won 93 consecutive home games against unranked teams since LSU lost to Arkansas 50-48 in two overtimes on Nov. 23, 2007. asserted
LSU → rank → Nov.
The Tigers, coming off an open week, scored the final 17 points of the first half in an impressive answer to giving up the first 14 points. asserted
Tigers → come → points
Brown threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chas Nimrod, but his lead role in the Tigers’ running attack was most valuable. asserted
role → throw → attack
Brown wore down the Georgia defense with his physical runs. asserted
Brown → wear → runs
One week after a much-anticipated 20-17 win at No. 6 Alabama, the Bulldogs appeared to fade in the second quarter as its defense was on the field for 45 plays in the first half. asserted
defense → anticipate → half
The failure to maintain momentum after taking a 14-0 lead on its first two possessions was due to more than fatigue, however. asserted
failure → maintain → fatigue
A personal foul on a late hit on Brown by freshman linebacker Khamari Brooks was the big play in Auburn’s tying touchdown drive. asserted
foul → tie → drive
Stockton looked at intended receiver Humphreys too long on a pass that was intercepted by Anquon Fegans later in the first half. asserted
that → look → half
Up Next Auburn plays No. 22 Louisiana State, which beat No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0 on Saturday, at Auburn next Saturday. Georgia has an off week before playing Florida, which upset No. 7 Texas 27-24 on Saturday, on Oct. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. asserted
which → play → Atlanta
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