BERKELEY, Calif. – The thousands wearing orange and blue Saturday in 100-year-old California Memorial Stadium were delighted to be called Fairweather fans.
Rivaldo Fairweather scored the go-ahead touchdown and D.J. James ended Cal's last chance with an interception to lead Auburn to a 14-10 win, the Tigers' first in four tries in the Golden State.
"I'm so proud of our kids and staff. Really proud of our defense. There was no quit in us," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. "You find a way to win and we can grow from that. That's what this season is about."
After generating only four first downs and 99 yards in the first half while going 1-for-6 on third down, the Tigers offense found its rhythm in the fourth quarter, marching 69 yards on 10 plays to take a 14-10 lead on Payton Thorne's 5-yard touchdown pass to Fairweather with 6:31 to play.
"I've seen Rivaldo do that too many times in practice," Freeze said of his decision to target the 6-4, 251-pound tight end on a second-and-goal fade route.
"I thank Coach Freeze," said Fairweather, Auburn's leading receiver with three catches for 39 yards. "I trusted his plan when I came here that he was going to flip the script at Auburn. I thank Coach Freeze for putting me in position to make plays."
Six plays earlier, Thorne and Fairweather connected for Auburn's biggest gain of the game, a critical 28-yard pickup on third-and-17 from the Tigers' 31-yard line.
After Fairweather's TD, Auburn's defense stopped the Bears and forced a punt, but the Tigers' fourth turnover gave Cal another opportunity with 4 minutes remaining from Auburn's 41-yard line.
An 11-yard pass and a penalty gave Cal the ball on Auburn's 15-yard line but once again, the defense rose to the occasion.
On fourth-and-13 from the 18, James intercepted Cal's attempt at a game-winning touchdown in the end zone with 1:44 to play to secure the victory.
"Just playing my call: read the quarterback and break when it's thrown," James said. "That's what I did and made a play. I'm put in those circumstances at practice. It's just like at practice; we compete with each other and we're ready for it in the game."
Cal capitalized on an early Auburn turnover and kicked a 39-yard field goal to lead 3-0 at the 9:42 mark in the first quarter.
An Auburn three-and-out gave Cal another short field at the Tigers' 33-yard-line but Marcus Harris' sack on third-and-10 forced a missed 42-yard field goal attempt.
Auburn's defense delivered again on Cal's first offensive play of the second quarter when Donovan Kaufman forced and recovered a fumble on the Bears' 17-yard line.
On third-and-6, Thorne hit Jay Fair on a crossing route for a 13-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 7-3 lead at the 11:50 mark of the second quarter.
Auburn forced another punt and drove across midfield but fumbled at Cal's 35-yard-line. The Bears changed quarterbacks and drove 65 yards, taking a 10-7 lead on Jadyn Ott's 14-yard touchdown run with 4:47 left in the first half.
An Auburn interception, the Tigers' third turnover of the half, gave Cal possession in Auburn territory for the third time in the half but a holding penalty negated a 51-yard field goal and Jaylin Simpson intercepted a long pass at the goal-line to end the first half.
Auburn's defense continued to produce in the second half, stopping Cal's opening possession of the third quarter on Jalen McLeod's tackle on fourth-and-4 after a 1-yard-pass. Auburn drove across midfield but Cal stopped the Tigers on fourth-and 2 from the Bears' 42-yard-line.
Eugene Asante led Auburn with 12 tackles, making a tackle for loss and a sack on third downs on plays that preceded missed Cal field goals in the second half.
"In the midst of chaos, there's opportunity," Asante said. "The fans really pumped us up. They give us energy. I'm forever grateful to this coaching staff. It was a great game. The defense fought, offense capitalized toward the end."
"They continued to find a way to get us out of trouble," Freeze said of a defensive unit that shut out the Bears in the second half and limited Cal to 113 rushing yards on 40 attempts, an average of 2.8 yards per carry. "All the credit goes to that side of the ball tonight."
Auburn (2-0) returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday for Homecoming vs. Samford at 6 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
>> Captains: Luke Deal, Elijah McAllister, Kam Stutts, Payton Thorne >> Coin Toss: Cal wins the toss and defers; Auburn receives
TEAM NOTES >> First-time starters for Auburn: Larry Nixon III, Jaden Muskrat >> Auburn has scored in 131 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history. >> The 7:40 p.m. Pacific start is the latest kickoff in Auburn history.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE >> Payton Thorne's second-quarter TD pass to Jay Fair was the second touchdown combination of the season for both. It's Fair's second career TD catch.
>> Rivaldo Fairweather scored his first touchdown at Auburn on a fourth-quarter pass from Thorne. It's the sixth touchdown catch of Fairweather's career (5 at FIU) and Thorne's 52nd TD pass overall (49 at Michigan State).
>> With 1,314 career rushing yards, Jarquez Hunter now ranks 40th among Auburn's career rushing leaders, passing Ed Dyas (1,298 from 1958-60); next up is William Andrews (1,347 from 1976-78).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE >> D.J. James records his first interception of the season and fourth of his career (2 at Oregon).
>> Jaylin Simpson records his second interception of the season and fifth of his career.
>> Marcus Harris records his second sack of the season and the sixth of his career.
>> Donovan Kaufman forced his second fumble of the season; it was his first fumble recovery of the year and of his Auburn career.
>> Eugene Asante records his second sack of the season.
>> Asante led the Tigers with 12 tackles, the most of his career; it's the second straight game he has led Auburn in tackles.
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