Saturday was a big day for Jason Dufner and his alma mater, Auburn University. As reported by PGA.com, at halftime of the Auburn-Georgia game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Dufner was honored for winning this year’s PGA Championship, his first major. Among the spoils of victory: he got a street named after him in Auburn: Jason Dufner Drive.
Before the game, Dufner was a guest on “This Week in SEC Football,” and offered his thoughts on the opposing Bulldogs:
“I think like Coach (Gus Malzahn) said earlier this year, Georgia was a highly ranked team, they had some injuries, they slipped a little bit,” he said. “I think a lot of their guys are back this week, so it’s going to be a really tough contest, but I know Auburn is really confident right now with the way they’re playing, and I know the coaches and the guys aren’t going to kinda have a letup this week. I think they’re going to be really prepared to play well.”
Dufner was right about it being a “really tough contest,” but he couldn’t have predicted how the game would play out. No. 9 Auburn dominated its SEC opponent most of the game, taking a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter. But Georgia rallied, taking a 38-37 lead with 1:49 remaining.
Then, on fourth and 18, Auburn scored on a deflected 73-yard touchdown pass from Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis with 25 seconds left to win 43-38.
Dufner tweeted: As Rickey Bobby would have said, “that just happen” #dawgtears
These were Dufner’s thoughts about the upcoming “Iron Bowl” matchup with Alabama. “I know the coaching staff and the guys are extremely focused on what’s going on this Saturday,” he said. “Hopefully we can get a win and then we’ll think about the Iron Bowl.
“I definitely would not be surprised to see Auburn pull that one out, either.”
